We have a special story trail set up along the Kilnsey Trail.  You can follow the story of Rufus the red squirrel exploring the Kilnsey Trail and seeing all of his friends on the way.  Make sure you collect your form when you buy your Kilnsey Taril admission ticket and see how many animals you can find. And don't forget to collect your prize at the end!

 We are delighted to welcome our latest new additions to the Kilnsey Park family!

We have 3 rabbits who arrved at Easter and are living right beside red squirrels on the Kilnsey Trail!  They are Buddy, Tango and Simba.  There are certain times each day when they can be petted.  Details will be in the shop each day.  Surprisingly we have already had 5 baby rabbits arrive as well so there are lots to see!

Over the Easter holidays we also had two lambs, Snowy and Sooty.  They stayed with us for about a month and they have now gone back to their field on the Kilnsey Estate farm.  They had a lovely time with us being petted, bottle fed and enjoying lots of shee treats but they got so big that they needed to have the space to run and play and  to be able to eat lots of grass.

Fishing at Kilnsey Park

£14.50 full day catch and release

£18.00 full day fishing includes 2 fish

£12.50 full day for a junior (under 14)  inc 1 fish

£8.50 rod hire (plus a £20 deposit)

NB the full ticket runs from 8:30am to 5:10pm OR 1pm to 8:30pm - see note below about evening sessions.

Evening sessions

From 5th May 2009 we will be open for evening sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  These will run until 27 August 2009

Evening sessions start at 5:20pm and finish at 8:30pm. 

The evening ticket including one fish is £10.50 

The junior evening ticket is £9.00 including 1 ifsh.

Please note that you will also need a rod licence which we are unable to issue at Kilnsey Park.  This can be obtained from a Post Office.

Contacts for fishing tuition 

There are several fishing coaches who regularly teach at Kilnsey Park.

Stuart Minnikin  01535 635464
www.yorkshire-dales-flyfishing.com

Stephen Cheetham - 0113 2507 244
www.fishingwithstyle.co.uk

Jeff Metcalfe 07791 700553  www.tek2flyfishing.co.uk

See also the Fun Fishing for kids is £5:00 per person including one person to supervise, plus the cost of any fish caught.   Spectators are £1 per person.

 Spring 2009

This is the time of year when we normally “spring clean” the red squirrels houses before the breeding season starts.  But this year we have also decided to make new boxes for them.  It is quite a tricky operation to go up the ladders and bring down the old boxes!  We have put some coconut fibre bedding (which they love!) into their new homes and we leave “extra” bedding on the ground which they then take up themselves.

We have also been reviewing which red squirrels live in which enclosures.   We have to make sure the mums are separate from their offspring, but we also have to be careful not to break up any couples.  Red squirrels become very attached to their mates and build a strong relationship.  If that bond is broken the squirrel may not mate again.   

We have completed a swop with another sanctuary and received a new male red squirrel.  He will go into our isolation unit to begin with and hopefully will go into one of the main enclosures later in the year.  We have moved “Pegleg” into one of the main enclosures.  She came to us 2 years ago and already had a badly damaged leg.  She lived in the isolation unit (which you don’t normally see) where she wouldn’t be bullied by the other red squirrels.  She is now very strong and has grown new claws in her damaged leg so we are confident that she can look after herself!  “Pegleg” had babies last year so she and her mate have just been moved into one of the main enclosures. 

During the springtime red squirrels moult which is when their coats will change colour to take on their beautiful deep red shade.  Our red squirrels still have their distinctive tufts around their ears – one of the features that distinguishes them from the grey squirrels.  The tufts will disappear soon when the moult will be complete.

Having gone through a winter of semi-hibernation, our red squirrels are much more active.  Also their appetites are absolutely huge!  They are enjoying a lot of fresh twigs (they strip off the bark), nuts, sweetcorn, carrots, apples and coconut. 

In readiness for our females becoming pregnant we are putting lots of antlers horn into their enclosures. This is a great source of calcium which is essential for red squirrels.  We keep you posted about any developments!

 Winter 2008

We enjoyed a very pleasant autumn at Kilnsey Park.  The weather was extremely mild and we all enjoyed watching our red squirrels making their preparations for winter- and it was a total joy to watch!

 Despite all having been bred in captivity, natural instinct kicks in and our red squirrels were very busy, burying food ready for the winter.  First of all they put their scent onto it so that they will be able to find it again.  Then, keeping tight hold of the nut between their teeth they prepare a hole, quickly drop it in and then cover it all up.   We continue to feed the red squirrels every day at Kilnsey Park, but their bodies are telling them that food will soon be in short supply. They are also eating a lot more than usual as they increase their weight ready for the winter.   This will help to keep them warm in the winter months.

The red squirrels moult twice a year and in the autumn they grow a new coat that is thicker and a much darker colour.  Their winter coats cover a bigger area of their feet and their tails become a lot more bushy.  Also watch out for the ear tufts as these distinctive tufts are one of the most noticeable differences between red and grey squirrels.

Now we are into winter and we are enjoying some very cold but bright days at Kilnsey Park which the red squirrels love!  During the winter they are particularly active on sunny days.    Red squirrels do not hibernate and they remain active virtually every day.  They cannot survive more than a few days without food and so even when the weather is very bad they will always be out.  We continue to feed them every day and they can also be seen digging up their hidden food supplies! 

You will recall that nine baby squirrels were born at Kilnsey Park during 2008.  They are all very happy and healthy.  We are currently in discussion with a wildlife park in the south of the UK to see if we can swop two of our female babies for two males.  This would significantly expand our gene pool.

We have been watching with interest the developments in London where scientists have been progressing the search for a vaccine to cure parapox, the disease that is carried by grey squirrels but kills red squirrels.  Hopefully we are moving closer to a solution.

We would like to thank the hundreds of people who have supported the Kilnsey Park red squirrels by sponsoring one since we started this scheme just over in 2004

The Kilnsey Park squirrels live in protected areas within the Park to ensure that they are safe from the disease carried by grey squirrels.   We have to make sure that they receive the correct balance of food and this can be expensive - over £80 per week!   So, your support has been invaluable.    We are also thrilled to have been able to make a significant contribution towards research into a vaccine to counter act the dreadful parapox disease which kills red squirrels.

We have been delighted to help you celebrate birthdays, anniversaries,  starting school, exam results and Christmas - and just help you enjoy our red squirrels!  Thank you very much!