Great Bustard Old Country. Walk 3: Cranswick and Bustard Nest Farm

A pleasant morning with blue skies and a light northerly wind, I take the train to Hutton Cranswick for a circular walk around Bustard Nest Farm. I walk through the village, stopping in the lovely village pond, and after crossing Beverley Road, I take Burnbutts Lane, a single track road across arable land. It is a very gentle uphill to the Wolds, from the 10 m of the railway station to 44 m at Old Field. At first, thick, tall hedges block the views, but soon these become broad flat verges with no ditches and there are expansive vistas across large fields towards the upper reaches of the Hull Valley. These uninterrupted views, allowing a look out, is the ideal Great Bustard landscape. A large Common Gull flock loaf in the middle of one of the fields. Rooks and Jackdaws feed and wheel noisily, and Skylarks chase, one bursting into a short spell of song. I see the occasional Yellowhammer, on hedges and trees.

Rook.

The pond on Cranswick village green.

Mallard.

A large patch of Bogbean.

Starling singing.

Rook calling.

Pied Wagtail.

I get to the pretty Little Bustard farm. Its name alludes not to the Little Bustard species, but to the fact that it is a smaller farm than Bustard Nest farm. A Kestrel hunts from the trees at the bottom of the garden and sparrows, both House and Tree sparrows, call from the hedges. The fields between both farms have a great diversity of birds, Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Yellowhammers, a Reed Bunting and I'm delighted to spot a small flock of Corn Buntings on the wires.

Little Bustard Farm.

The sign at Little Bustard farm.

Kestrel.

Common Gulls loafing.

Corn Buntings.

Corn Buntings.

Yellowhammer.

The broad verges and lack of ditches of the wolds.

Bustard Nest farm in the distance.

What’s in a name?

Toponyms (place names), can give an indication of the lost animals in an area. I have spoken on this blog about the link between the name of Beverley and Beavers, and we have sub-fossil evidence of beavers near the town. The name Cranswick has a link to Cranes, which likely abounded on the river Hull Valley long ago. The name Bustard Nest farm has long intrigued me. The mixed farm is less than 1.5 miles west of Cranswick, in the gentle eastern foothills of the Wolds. I haven't found any documents related to when and why the farm got its name. It appears with that name in the 1st edition of OS maps, in 1852, and it's mentioned in local newspapers as early as 1831, but not in Jeffrey's 1771 (which includes the nearby Burn Butts, after which the lane I'm walking is named). The farm building doesn't look too old, so perhaps it was built just after the enclosure of the land, possibly when the Great Bustard was already extinct, but close to that time to be in the memory of those involved. I'd like to think that a Bustard nest was found locally before the farm was built and the farmer honoured the presence of the species. The name bustard also appears in Little Bustard Farm nearby, and Bustard nest Fox Covert, the only bustard toponyms in East Yorkshire. In a future walk we'll visit North Dalton, in which parish the only existing Great Bustard egg was found. It's highly likely that the Great Bustard also roamed the parish of Hutton Cranswick. Great to think that the area has place names for both of these locally lost names. The Cranes are slowly making inroads into the Hull Valley. Is there a future for the Great Bustard here too?

Red Kite by Burnsbutt Farm.

Buzzard soaring above.

Common and Black-headed Hulls follow a tractor.

This section is a short stretch of the Minster Way. I get here at midday and stop for a quick lunch. I've planned all the walks of the series on the OS map app. I initially was going to carry on to Bainton, but I have a change of heart and decide to turn back via another right of way that passes by Bustard Nest fox covert. The appeal of the Bustard toponyms is too much to resist.

The area is crossed by now dismantled Driffield to Selby railway line. The section between Driffield and Market Weigthon opened in 1890, closed in 1954. Unlike the Hudson Way, there is no public right of way on the line. Some embankments and cuttings remain, but the level areas are now completely erased and now are continuous fields. This bridge of the road over the railway near Neswick Farm reminds us of the lost railway line.

Bustard Nest Fox Covert in the background.

Some apples on the hedges.

The footpath skirts Bustard Nest Fox Covert, after a footbridge.

A field by Bustard Nest Farm has been planted with chicory as cover crop, and there is a large covey of partridges near it.

A highland cow at Bustard Nest Farm.

Pond at Bustard Nest Farm.

This Brown Hare let me approach quite close, and then sprinted through the field.

Travel. Train to Hutton-Cranswick. East Yorkshire bus 41 between Hull and Bridlington stops at Hutton Cranswick.

Route. Circular route from Cranswick, Bustard Nest Farm. 12 km. OS Map. Farm Shop and Cafe at Cranswick.

Great Bustard Old Country. Walk 2: Miss Rickaby's ride

The second walk in the series is between Bridlington and Flamborough. I take the 9:00am train to Bridlington and from the station to the harbour. It might appear odd to do a walk between Bridlington and Flamborough as one of the places where Great Bustards used to be found, but the area has changed beyond recognition in the last couple of centuries. The arrival of the railway in 1845 and the subsequent boom in coastal tourism meant that Bridlington Quay and the Old Town, previously separate, grew and merged into a larger conurbation. The railway itself, the urbanisation, and network of roads and traffic means there are few fields today, even the ones present are lined by hedges and belt plantations. Compare with the sparsely populated area towards the end of the 18th century Jefferys map (top image).

A rare open field between Danes Dyke and Flamborough.

A sighting of a drove

There are at least three documented links between Bridlington and the Great Bustard, but the one that inspired this walk is a letter by Mr Thomas Boynton (b. 1832, d. 1919), the famous local archaeologist and antiquarian, to the ornithologist Mr William Eagle Clark, as the latter was compiling his book on Yorkshire vertebrates, published in 1881. Mr Boynton recounted how 'the late Miss Charlotte Rickaby, of Bridlington Quay, when a girl, counted fifteen Great Bustards in a field while riding with her father from Bridlington Quay to Flamborough, early in the present century.' This is one of my favourite Great Bustard records, one of the few giving voice to a woman, and also of an observer, not involving the Great Bustards being shot, just taking the time to count the drove, as they went about their business, as father and daughter rode on their horses. Doing that walk today has its challenges. Early in the 1800s, where horses were the main way of transport, they probably took Flamborough Road from the north beach, then Sewerby road, Marton and Bridlington (visible in the map above, published in 1771), which is the route of bus 14. The B1255 is now a narrow busy road dangerous for a pedestrian. Instead, I decided to walk along the north beach promenade, visited the Clock Tower Cafe at Sewerby, and from there onwards I made my way inland towards Danes Dyke. It is a mild day, with high light clouds and brief sunny spells, and I have to take my raincoat off at some point. The tide is ebbing and quite low. The coastguard helicopter is doing some drills, first over Flamborough Head, then close to the beach by Sewerby. The loud engine noise would have drown the quiet, clip-clop, of Miss Rickaby's horses. This sighting happened when the Great Bustard has sizeable numbers in the area, although likely after a peak in numbers. There are still a few large fields in my walk. 

Miss Rickaby would have seen a group of Bustards, a drove, outside the breeding season. Photo © Graham Clarkson CC-BY-NC, via iNaturalist.

I manage to take a photo of Roe Deer near Bessingby from the train.

Coastguard helicopter drill.

An open view, looking towards Sewerby.

Someone threw bread and Carrion Crows and Herring Gulls didn't miss the chance for breakfast.

Low tide, with Flamborough in the distance.

One of the Fallow Deer in the Sewerby collection.

One of two Stonechats by the golf course, the male went down and got a large spider.

Meadow Pipit by the Golf Course.

The atmospheric dale at Danes Dyke.

There are a few paddocks with a dozen horses SW of Flamborough.

Rook in paddock.

Two Brent Geese fly over.

A mixed flock of Jackdaws and Rooks near Flamborough.

Travel. Train to Bridlington. East Yorkshire Bus 14 back from Flamborough Church.

Route. Bridlington railway station to Sewerby, Danes Dyke and Flamborough. 7.3 km. OS map. Flat along promenade, steps and uneven steep terrain around Danes Dyke. Field margin footpaths near Sewerby and Flamborough. All facilities in Bridlington, cafe and toilets in Sewerby Hall and Gardens (free entrance off season), toilets and cafe in summer months at Danes Dyke, more facilities at Flamborough.

More Information

Clarke, W. E., & Roebuck, W. D. (1881). A Handbook of the Vertebrate Fauna of Yorkshire. Lovell Reeve.

Credit for the top map: Jefferys, Thomas, The County of York, surveyed in 1767-1770. engraved by Thomas Jeffreys, 1771. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence.

Great Bustard Old Country. Walk 1: Leconfield

I chose a mild, sunny day in late September for the first walk in the Great Bustard series. It is not a long walk, the main aim is to visit the remains of Leconfield Castle, now a Scheduled Monument. The bus drops me at Leconfield Main Street, right at the start of the public right of way that leads to the site, just by the village. The grounds just outside the castle are now a few horse paddocks - but no horses today. There is also no castle, just an impressive moat remains, now overgrown and surrounded by mature oaks and ashes, appearing like a copse in the distance. I descend the slope to the bottom of the moat, the soil is dry, spongy and crunchy underfoot, with thick leaf litter and fallen branches (top shot). And yet, this moat defended Leconfield Castle, the seat of the Percy family, dukes of Northumberland, since their licence to crenellate in 1308. The castle mainly made of wood, with some brick and stones, stood on the island and the outhouses were around a courtyard, with a brick entrance gatehouse on the north side. There was a ridge and furrow field nearby and also a fish pond. The house was eventually abandoned and became derelict. It was demolished around 1608 to provide stone and brick for Wressle Castle. The castle site sits on the gentle slope on the eastern side of the Wolds, big arable fields just tilled. The flat open landscape must have suited the Bustard back then, and it is likely that bustards were sourced from the nearby Wolds. The following photos give an idea of the landscape use today.

A view of the flat arable landscape near Leconfield.

A tractor tilling a field near Leconfield.

A simple footbridge over North Drain: three boards and a hand-rail. Note the new public right of way marking signs, courtesy of The Ramblers.

The site of the lost village of Raventhorpe, now pasture for a few cows.

Historical early sources
The 5th Earl of Northumberland, Henry Algeron Percy, penned down the rules of the household for his castles in Leconfield and Wressle in 1512. The Great Bustard appears in these household regulations, one of the earliest references to the species in the UK. Bustards were requested to be served at the Earl's table for main feasts, indicating the high esteem that the elite had for the species at the time. Assizes and other notable events would require bustards. Presumably, they could be obtained locally as game. An entry in Fitzherbert’s The Book of Husbandry, 1534, under ‘general duties of a wife’ describes how long game birds meat should be hung: 'And thou muste knowe, that all hole-footed fowles wyll sytte a moneth, and all clouen-footed fowles wyll sytte but three wekes, excepte a peyhenne, and greatte fowles, as cranes, bustardes, and suche other'. Henry VIII and his 5th wife Catherine Howard lodged at the castle in September 1541 when they visited Yorkshire after the Pilgrimage of Grace, and it is likely they dined there on locally obtained Bustard. In fact, Henry VIII would issue several acts to forbid the collection of bustard eggs under penalty or prison to preserve the species for his own consumption.

Skylarks chirp over the fields. As I get to the Hudson Way, a Kestrel flies over and lands on a telegraph pole. I've been hearing a meowing Buzzard, and as I'm sat on a bench having a snack, it takes advantage of the thermals and flies up in circles above me. This raptor was lost to East Yorkshire, but has recolonised much lost ground in the last decades and is now a fixture of any walk in the Wolds.

A Kestrel watches from a telegraph post.

Buzzard overhead.

Brown Hare.

A flock of returned Common Gulls on a greening field.

A large flock of Common Gulls flies from one field to the next.

I finish the day's walk with a stroll around Beverley Minster. Jackdaws like to sit on the sculpture's heads.

Travel. Bus 41 to Leconfield (Hull to Bridlington line).

Route. Leconfield to Beverley. 7.26 km, even paths or grass, some fields are ploughed with little regard for the right of way. Flat terrain. A short stretch is on the very busy and narrow Miles Lane, then steps to the Hudson Way, the railway trail to Beverley. Route link on OS Maps. All facilities in Beverley.