Chevin Forest Park Local Nature Reserve
The Chevin Forest Park is a wooded escarpment overlooking the market town of Otley with magnificent views of the Wharfe Valley. Massive rock outcrops dominate the park which rises steeply to a height of 280m above sea level at its highest point. The whole park was designated as a local nature reserve in 1989 in recognition of its fantastic wealth of wildlife. Parts of the Chevin have been classified as access land.
White House Cafe and Visitor Information Centre
Opening hours:
Weekdays (except Tuesdays) 10am to 2pm
Weekends 11am to 3pm
Access on foot from East Chevin Quarry and Surprise View car parks or from Otley via Station Road. Toilets, leaflets and other information available during opening hours. Limited parking available for those with mobility problems by prior arrangement on 01943 465 023.
Accessibility
The park is well served by footpaths and bridleways some of which form parts of the Dales Way Link and the Ebor Way. All the routes are steep in places and can be muddy in wet conditions. If you have mobility problems mobility scooters are available (including one that can accommodate a wheelchair) from April to October for use on a route from The White House, and can be booked in advance by calling 01943 465 023 weekdays between 8am and 4pm.
Award winner
The Chevin Forest Park successfully achieved the Green Flag Award in 2010/11 and 2011/12. If you would like more information on the Green Flag Award please follow the link on the right hand site of this page.
Things to do on the Chevin
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Orienteering Course - there are two orienteering courses available (a starter course and a larger course) that have been mapped by
The Airienteers. Maps of these routes along with a guide explaining how to use them can be downloaded from this page.
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Geocaching - is a fun way to learn how to find your way around, using maps and following clues. There are six geocache sites for you to discover, each has a surprise gift awaiting those that find them so it is a fun activity to do with children – go to
www.geocaching.com to find out more.
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Walking - in 2008 Otley became a Walkers Are Welcome town in recognition of it being a great area to walk. There are two walks from Otley to the Chevin and you can download these on the pdf
walking map. You can also download a pdf guide to
four walks in Otley. There are many other routes to explore such as the downloadable walk route featured on this page that includes Surprise View.
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Friends of Chevin Forest Park - volunteers are always needed to get involved with the Friends of Chevin Forest Park who carry out a practical task once per month and also help research the history of the park. If you would like to get involved please contact the parks and countryside rangers on (0113) 237 5268 or email
countrysiderangers@leeds.gov.uk.
Finding out more
If you’re interested in finding out about the ongoing management of the site you can download the Chevin Forest Park management plan – a full version of this is available at Otley library.
Please note the parks and countryside's head office main reception telephone number 0113 395 7400 is staffed from 8am - 4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 8am - 4pm on a Friday. Outside of these hours you can leave a message on the answerphone .