BRADFORD URBAN WILDLIFE GROUP
Recording, observing & protecting Bradford's wildlife & habitats
Willow Warbler on Gorse Paul Marfell
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Boar's Well
About the site
The site was purchased by the City Council in 1989/1990 after a long history of tipping and dereliction had made it an eyesore for many years. It get's its name from the location of one of the two springs which occur on the site. Legend has it that local inhabitants of the area were terrorised by a fierce wild boar, and the City's Coat of Arms depicts a wild boar.
To upgrade the quality of Bradford's northern gateway, Bradford Urban Wildlife Group suggested the site as a nature reserve. At an overall cost of around £250,000, funded by the Department of Environment, a joint project was set up with the BUWG and led by the planning division of Bradford District Council.
The first phase of improvement work began in 1990 with nearly half a mile of footpath construction which forms the basis of the Nature Trail. Phase 2 included the planting of 10,000 trees and shrubs and the Bradford Environmental Education Services (BEEs) group created a small pond and wetland habitat. Phase 3 aimed to improve the top of the site into a more formal linear park incorporating a history trail.
Now classed as an Urban Nature Reserve, it is now includes variety of wildlife habitats for species such as Long-tailed Tits, Greenfinch, Orange-tip Greenfinch and Orange-tip Butterflies.
Bradford Urban Wildlife Group assisted with an organised litter pick at Boar's Well in April 2025 - Read about that here