Holderness: Garton and Grimston

A pleasant day with light cloud and a cool breeze, I take a couple of buses to Garton. There is some waiting time at Hornsea in between them, and I walk north to the edge of the defences doing some recording. Linnets and Goldfinches are feeding on dandelion seeds on the lawn of the Floral Hall. Its amusing to see how linnets jump on the stem to make the seeds more accessible. A group of about a dozen Swifts chase around the cliff, their vibrant squeals a wondeful soundscape. As I walk back to catch the bus, a find a male Stonechat on the bank of the sea wall, a bird I don't expect this time of the year. 

Linnet eating sunflower seeds.

Goldfinch eating sunflower seeds.

Male Stonechat.

Chasing Swifts.

A bit late, bus 129 turns up. It's the same driver than the Spurn Explorer, a true gentleman, he even stops the traffic to let some old ladies with zimmer frames cross the road after they alight. He remembers I'm walking the Holderness villages. The dearth of bus service between Hornsea and Withernsea means that I get to Garton at 10:30, and I must be back for the last bus of the day at 14:26. I had planned a third village for the day, Fitling, but given the interest of the walk I am slower than usual and I leave Fitling for another day. I start by visiting the churchyard at Garton, more properly Garton-in-Holderness (or East Garton), to distinguish it from Garton in the Wolds. The fact that many medieval churches in Holderness are made with local cobbles, collected from fields or the beach is something I take for granted, but they have a special character grounding them in the landscape. In addition, the cobbles, dragged by glaciers from distant rock formations have different chemical features that mean they offer a diverse substrate for lichens. Over 40 lichen species were found in a lichen survey carried out in 2017. I am keen to move onto the neighbouring community young woodland. A Green Woodpecker calls, and I see it flying across the road moments later. I take the public right of way through the old Poplar farm, where I'm greeted by a friendly donkey and a turkey displaying to chickens, while Swallows come in an out of the derelict outbuildings. Soon, I'm at St Michael's community woodland. I first walk the perimeter of the growing wood, a Willow Warbler singing. then I get to the pond, where I spend some time watching and recording dragonflies.

St Michael's church.

Turkey.

The friendly donkey.

Painted Lady.

Reed Bunting singing at the pond.

Four-spotted Chaser.

Small Skipper.

The pond of St Michael's wood.

Black-tailed Skimmer.

I continue to the gate of the woodland using a broad mowed path. A Roe Deer buck along the path stands and stares at me for a moment before bounding away. I then take the road to Grimston, and the sea. The land rises and, by a wheat field flanked by a grassy shallow bank by a ditch, I surprise a Corn Bunting carrying food. A male is singing from the wires, but it flies closer and then away along the road, appearing to entice me away from his presumed partner and the nest. I get great views, the sea in the horizon, as the male Corn Bunting lands on the fence at Moat Farm, which is on the site of the original Grimston Hall. The farm now sits very close to the edge of the cliff. I take a quick look at the sea view (top shot), where the path turns inland around Corn Bunting field. This large field has a broad margin with wildflowers, which bodes well for the continued success of the Corn Buntings.

Roe Deer buck.

Female Corn Bunting with food on the wheat field.

Male Corn Bunting at Moat Farm.

I have a quick look at the coast (top shot). A Curlew calls repeatedly from the beach. I continue towards the wooded hall grounds. This parish has more woodland than usual at Holderness, with the young community woodland, another woodland at Garton and the perimeter belt and parkland of Grimston Hall. A comparison between the 1908 OS map and the current satellite map shows that the woodland cover is more extensive. It is nice to be in the shade in the middle of the day. The path is being guarded by a Red Admiral. I weave across the grounds of the hall, and find a bench overlooking a sheep field, where young Jackdaws are pestering their parents for food. There is also a Rookery, but it's hard to see the nests through the foliage. Another Green Woodpecker flies over.

Common Blue.

Corn Bunting Field.

A ha-ha at Grimston Park.

The stables of Grimston Hall with their castellated tower.

Young Jackdaw, in the centre, with its parents.

Rook.

The quaint village of Grimston with a red telephone box.

This bench is much posher than the one I took my lunch on.

I leave the village or hamlet as there is no church or pub, and take the road back to Garton. An Oystercatcher is feeding on top of a manure pile by the road, but it flies off before I can take a photo. I check the bus timetable again. No time for Fitling, but I walk around Garton before sitting down by the bus stop for the long trip back home.

Oystercatcher.

Blue mill, at Garton.

Speckled Wood.

Pied Wagtail.

Holderness: Hedon, Preston, Lelley, Sproatley

A mild, still day with light cloud and sunny spells, very pleasant for walking. I take the 75 to Hedon. Swifts and House Martins fly over the church. Then I walk north along Church Lane and then along Preston Road, where a dual bike/pedestrian lane is parallel to the road until Preston. I record aquatic plants from bridges and popped to the edge of a hay meadow, where I find my first Ringlet and Meadow Brown of the year.

Ringlet.

Meadow Brown.

House Sparrow.

Mating Goldfinches.

Mating Goldfinches.

Small Tortoiseshells. I see a few along today's route.

A Roesel's nymph on a grassy field margin.

This Blackbird was singing while holding food in its mouth.

I'm so pleased each time I find a Yellow Wagtail on these walks. This one was on the roof of Woodhouse Farm.

I walk along East End road and then cut across Woodhouse Farm track to Nuttles Road, to Lelley. It is a busy road, and although the verges have been cut, it is not a pleasant stretch of road. I have my lunch at Lelley war memorial bench, and then I go to the Stag's Head for a coffee and toilet break. After, it's a bridleway to Sproatley, what a joy to be away from the traffic. There are some 

New York Farm sign.

A street in Lelley.

Rabbits.

Lelley Balk, a bridleway.

Linnet.

A Lesser Black-backed Gull mobs a passing Buzzard.

Buzzard.

I get to the edge of Sproatley and meander around the minor streets aiming for the Church. There are wooded footpaths and a lovely meadow, where I disturb a Roe Deer buck, which barks as it bounds away. I'm in luck that the direct bus to Hull, 277, is in 10 minutes. I will have to start two more walks at Sproatley, so I'm happy to leave exploring more of the village for then.

Cottage at Boggle's Lane.

Large Skipper.

St Swithun's Church at Sproatley.

Holderness: Hornsea, Mappleton, Cowden

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. 

Sedge Warbler.

Horses at Mappleton.

Bee Orchids.

Mappleton defences.

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.

Looking back towards Mappleton.

Yellowhammer at Garthends road

The Cross Keys. An old pub had just been demolished in the OS map of the village from at the edge of the cliff, and was rebuilt inland in 1943, at the crossroads of Eelmere Lane and the Aldbrough road.

A few Swifts fly over Garthends Lane.

Cowden Firing range in the distance.

Singing linnet.

A Woodpigeon on the fence at Eastfield Farm, using the Cowden name.

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.

A Reed Bunting singing from a rapeseed field.

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.

Sand Martins.

Another Sand Martin colony on a sandy area of the cliff.

These caves on the cliff front might be due to ice blocks formerly enclosed by the clay

The sea by Hornsea south cliff.

A Painted Lady on the beach.

Stream Dike.

A Reed Warbler at Stream Dike.

Herring Gulls at Hornsea.