Holderness: Lambwath Meadows with Hull Nats

The day after the record hottest May day, we head to the heart of Holderness in the Lambwath Valley to reach the SSSI Lambwath Meadows. This site consists of a series of fields separated by ditches on the basin of the old Lambwath Mere, now drained. Several of the meadows had been cut for hay for centuries in the traditional way, and hence they have retained a treasure trove of flora rare in the area. With the permission of the owners Carstairs Countryside Trust and led by a farmer that lives on the edge of the meadows, we start exploring the place. It is warm, but there is a light cool breeze from the north west that is very welcome. Butterflies and other insects are a plenty, and soon Matt Fox points out a Dingy Skipper and later finds a Brown Argus. There are many Chimney Sweeper moths, which reflect the abundance of Pignut. Pepper Saxifrage, Yellow Rattle, and Meadow Rue are also widely spread, the latter in the lower levels. We get a view of the wide valley, in places showing a steep slope. Two fields over, there is a carpet of orchids, many of them past their best. They are Green-veined Orchids, we find some that are still at peak condition. The farmer tells us that during winter the area is flooded, and that flooding used to last more.  

Swallow.

House Martin.

Swift.

Painted Lady licking salts from dog mess.

Chimney Sweeper.

Latticed Heath.

A view of the site.

Common Blue Butterfly.

Dingy Skipper. A species that appears to be expanding.

Possibly Common Spotted Orchid.

Marsh Harrier.

Green-veined Orchid.

Green-veined White.

Running Hare.

Small Copper.

Roe Deer buck.

Brown Argus.

Flower-rich meadow.

 

Holderness: around the Lambwath valley

A breezy, but mild day with sunny spells. I take bus 24 to Skirlaugh. After leaving the bus, I cross the road and take Church lane.  The walk today takes me around the middle section of the Lambwath valley, at the site of the medieval Lambwath Mere. We have met the Lambwath Stream in this Holderness series before, in the Skirlaugh to Wawne and the Skirlaugh to Hornsea walks. The Jackdaws and Rooks calls put the background sound around the pretty St Augustine's Church. I walk around the church. There are signs for a woodland walk and also educating the public about the efforts to grow a meadow amongst the old headstones. The Lambwath Stream runs just by the church, although it is barely running. Its banks are lined with mature trees and bushes. After leaving the church, I follow the lane and then take a public right of way on the edge of the village. Soon, I rejoin the stream, although it is hidden in its deep banks. There are some large ashes lining its course. 

Skirlaugh's St Augustine's church.

Woodpigeon at Skirlaugh Church.

A Grey Squirrel looks down from its tree. They don't appear to be common in Holderness.

A pair of Rooks was checking the nest.

The Lamwath Stream by the Church.

Red Admiral.

The public footpath goes up the side of the gentle valley along a copse and then on the southern flank of the Rise estate. The path follows Wood End Farm track and then I continue on the road towards Withernwick. There is steady traffic every few minutes. At Whitedale, I cross the Trans Pennine Way.

There was no bull to be seen.

A large Ash stump with Dryad's saddle.

The footpath follows the Lambwath for a while.

The restored Whitedale Station building.

Several Rooks were feeding in the garden of the station house.

The Yew lined walk theough Whithernwick Churchyard.

St Alban's Church at Withernwick.

After a quick stroll around the village and the church, I take a right of way from Straits Farm that takes me towards the Lambwath meadows. A tractor is tilling a field, followed by a cloud of rooks and gulls. I spot a Wheatear on the field, they are migrating now. I cross a hedge and get a sweeping view across the valley giving broad views of the meadows. Perfect spot for lunch!

The approximate extent of the Lambwath Mere. Note that it was longer, and of a similar width to Hornsea Mere, the last surviving mere of Holderness.

The old Lambwath Mere

The source of the Lambwath Stream is east of the village of Aldbrough, a few meters from the beach, on the soft boulder clay cliffs 20 m in height. The incline of the Holderness landscape means that the stream flows west, skirting the village. The stream forms a narrow and sinuous valley 10 m deep over the sea level, which soon widens in a long basin, what used to be Lambwath Mere (see image above). As other meres in Holderness, this mere formed after the ice melted, as a proglacial lake. A layer of peat lies under its sediments as in other meres. In historical times it provided fish and reeds for neighbouring villages.  It is likely that drainage patterns downstream contributed to the draining of the mere in medieval times, although changes in sea level might have also contributed. The mere became silted and simply, disappeared. However, and despite the many parallel drains now in existance, the fields still are seasonally flooded, and several of them are managed traditionally as flower rich hay meadows, with some formerly arable fields in the basin being restored as neutral, species rich wet meadows. Part of the old mere basin, is now a SSSI, just south east of Withernwick. This area seems to call for stream restoration measures to elevate the course of the stream and connect it with its floodplain and slow the flow, blocking drainage ditches. We might be a long way to reintroducing Beavers in East Yorkshire, but these ecosystems engineers would be ideal to bring new life to these ancient meadows.

A Wheatear on a just tilled field.

A footpath sandwiched between ditches and hedgerows crosses the valley. It has flagstones at some point.

The Lamwath stream with the meadows on its floodplain.

Small White.

I climb to the rim of the valley again and walk on the road along Marton and New Ellerby, then I take the Hornsea rail trail and make it to Skirlaugh with some time for a coffee at the Lazy Bean before my bus back home. 

More information

Sheppard, J. A. (1957). The medieval meres of Holderness. Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers), (23), 75-86.

Cawkeld with Hull Nats

I visited this area in March 2024 and it was interesting to revisit with Hull Nats during a spell of warm sunny weather. The area revisit was worth it for its botanical and insect interest. The name Cawkeld includes the word 'keld' from the Old Norse word "kelda," meaning 'spring', and caw could refer to cattle. The area includes low lying pastures with scattered boggy areas, surrounding a lake with an island, the 'Cawkeld Sinks' in the OS map, at around 10-15 m altitude. The springs converge into a drain and Kilnwick bech, which continue to  Watton Beck and eventually reach the River Hull just South of Tophill Low. We start the walk at the outskirts of Kilnwick village, along a manicured broad verge and then an area of seeded meadow. The first highlight of the day was my first Painted Lady of the year. Three Swifts fly over the village.

Painted Lady.

Large Red Damselfly.

Rook.

Leaving Kilnwick we cross a couple of ditches and fields and soon we are in a low-lying pasture field, one side of it has so much Pignut. My photo below doesn't really convey it.

A bank of Pignut.

An Androchrome Azure Damselfly. There were many Azures and quite a few Large Red Damselflies.

As we stood in the pasture, a queen Horned did a few fly-passes, we were awed at the sheer size of the insect. She landed on a dead birch covered on woodpecker holes and proceeded to chew the wood. The she flew to the ground under a tussock of grass.

Queen Hornet in flight.

Green-veined White on Cuckoo Flower.

Naturalists in Cawkeld.

Chaffinch.

Poplar with Mistletoe.

Identifying sedges.

A very fresh Red Admiral on its perch in a sunny patch in the woods. It got into a spat with a Speckled Wood who coveted the same spot!

Cercopis vulnerata.

Long-tailed Tit fledgling.

A Honeybee hive on a fence...

and a close-up.

We walk along a quiet road to get back to the cars, where we have the chance to see a honeybee swarm at close range, and the scouts flying back and forth. A large ash nearby with large holes seemed a good prospect for the honeybees.