Bradshaw has focused on the plants of Upper Teesdale since the 1950s, recording locations of the unusual species that are found there and on their conservation.
She carried out research into the morphology and cytology of Lady’s-mantles as a student at Durham University and was awarded a PhD in 1959.
[2][3] In the late 1960s, as part of the protest against construction of Cow Green Reservoir, the national importance of the flora of the Upper Teesdale became better known.
[2] In 1983 she moved to a farm in Devonshire and was employed to study the local rare plants by the Nature Conservancy Council.
[3] Bradshaw was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in Queen Elizabeth II's 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours, "for services to conservation in Durham".
[6] In 2013, she was the recipient of the inaugural Pendlebury Award for her significant contribution to looking after the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).