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.
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.
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.
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