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