Lofthouse Colliery

Located 3 miles north of Wakefield, Lofthouse Colliery Nature Park consists of woodland, heathland, playing fields and a pond.

Lofthouse Colliery was the lifeblood of the local community for over a hundred years. The two shafts were sunk between 1873 and 1877, and by 1895 the colliery was producing over 1000 tons of coal per day. Being so close to the GNR Railway, it was originally called Lofthouse Station Colliery.

Restored in the late 1980s, this old pit site is maturing into a deciduous woodland of native species, mostly birch and oak, supporting woodpeckers, bullfinches and other woodland birds, including blackcaps, chiffchaffs and cuckoos in the summer.

The heather-rich area of lowland heathland by the railway line is unusual for the area. A heathy grassland on the highest part of the park also contains heather as well as a variety of wildflowers such as common centaury, yellow-wort and bird’s-foot trefoil. There is a colourful display of lupins in the early summer.