Post Hill

Post Hill is a designated Leeds Nature Area on the western end of Farnley, and partly in Pudsey. It is situated mostly east of Pudsey Beck and Farnley Beck, between Wood Lane in the north and Troydale Lane in the south, and forms part of the West Leeds Country Park.

The area of 28.04 hectares consists largely of a hillside covered in woodland and some grassland. Openings offer views across West Leeds, in particular from the top of the hill which at an altitude of about 125 m a.s.l. is one of the highest points in the local area. The site is protected by Fields in Trust through a legal "Deed of Dedication" safeguarding the future of the space as public recreation land for future generations to enjoy.

The name of the area originates from the newspaper Yorkshire Evening Post who acquired the area and sponsored motorcycle speed and climbing events on the site from 1926. The western aspect of Post Hill, laid with a cobbled track up the hillside, was said to be the steepest hill climb in the world. Before the acquisition, the northern part of the area was known as Park Spring, and the southern part as Jonas Wood.

During World War II Post Hill was the location of POW camp No. 91, where Italian and German prisoners were held to work on farms in the surroundings. After the war the camp was used for displaced persons from Europe. In 2002 Post Hill passed into the ownership of Leeds City Council and is being returned to its natural state.

Most of Post Hill is covered in oak-birch woodland, in the southern part there are stretches of semi-natural ancient woodland that has contained trees since before the year 1600. Tree species include oak, birch, ash, hawthorn, hazel, yew, and field maple. In the undergrowth, bluebells, brambles, bracken, hart's tongue fern, and woodrush are found, as well as ramson (wild garlic), lesser celandine, wood anemone, yellow archangel, and sweet cicely. Two large areas of acid grasslands and meadows remain on the eastern side of the beck, and one west of it, adjacent to Pudsey Road. Wildflowers in these meadows include bird's foot trefoil, oxeye daisies, autumn hawkbit, tansy, and red clover. Fungi such as sulphur tuft and stinkhorn are also found.

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