On the ground, little is left of the original Great Cowden, one of the lost villages of the Holderness Coast. The lane that would have taken to the centre of the village, Garthends Lane now ending sharply at the edge of the boulder clay cliff (top shot). The name, Cowden, though, brings great memories of one of my favourite walks along the Holderness coast, so I had included it in the list of places to visit. On the OS map there is Cowden Sands, a few farms like Cowden Magna, Cowden Parva and Little Cowden; Cowden Road from Withernwick, and of course Cowden Firing Range. Two roads leading to Cowden also survive: Eelmere Road and Garthends Lane. The public right of way parallel to Garthends, and now part of the coastal path was also a footpath from the lost village. The old 1889 OS maps show the village then and the presence of a methodist church. The locals responded dynamically to the loss of the village. Several farms were set up inland to common land, and bungalows were built along Eelmere. A caravan park was set up in the 1950s also carrying the name.
Today, I get the 24 to Hornsea and walk around Stream Dike. A Sedge Warbler sings from a patch of reedy scrub. I then take Hornsea Burton road towards Rolston Road, and take bus 129, which was running late, the few stops to Mappleton. It is a showery day, but it promises to clear later. I plan to walk back to Hornsea later from Mappleton on the beach, on the falling tide. But for now, I walk on the footpath at the base of the cliff between the granite groynes in Mappleton doing some recording. A high school Geography class is on a field trip from Barnsley, and one of the teachers apologises if I was expecting a quiet walk. No matter, I'm walking to Cowden, so it should be fine.
I take the coastal path to Cowden. The rain has left the wheat soaking wet and there is not much of a footpath, the field ending perilously on the cracked clifftop. I move inland to a tractor track parallel to the cliff edge, and marvel again how the farmers really cut it very think when ploughing and planting these field edges, as often large chunks of land with crops ends at the bottom of the cliff. The coastal path takes a detour through the caravan park and some farms and is on the road for a while. At last there is now a footpath by the road between the caravan park and Garthends Lane. At Garthends Lane I watch a Yellowhammer singing and then I delight at hearing a distant Cuckoo, only the second I hear this year. After a few minutes it is closer and louder, the sound coming from Cowden Range. Today, I don't walk to Aldbrough, but to the end of Garthends Lane.
The name Eelmere may derive from a lost mere. In the 13th century there is evidence of an Eelmere, or 'eel pool', and a Broadmere. There is no trace of these or of basins in the area in old OS maps, so,they are likely to have been lost to erosion, as other meres in Holderness. There is Eelmere Bottom and Eelmere Hill nearby.
There are very short showers, but later in the morning the weather steadies and at midday, from the edge of Garthends, I turn back towards Aldbrough on the main road. Since my last walk there has been the welcome improvement of the pedestrian pavement along the road. Although narrow, it is a relief not to constantly have to check for the traffic. This facilitates the connection between Cowden and Mappleton beach, as there is no access from the caravan park to the beach. As I get to Mappleton beach, the students are on a break, but they are back at the beach as I eat my packed lunch. I hurry and start the beach walk back to Hornsea on the falling tide. Other than a couple of dog walkers, it is quiet. I stop to take some photos of the young Sand Martins in their nests, close to fledging.
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