WI Walk - Paull

Saturday, 28th April 2018

It was our monthly walking group walk today. 

The weather was a bit meh today and the Bluebells aren't really at their best yet so we opted for a walk at Paull.  I do this (or a variation of this) walk fairly regularly but don't often go round the back of the Church as it can get really muddy in bad weather.  We went that way today though and the mud was alright - quite compacted and not slippy.

Again, it's nice to have company on a walk I usually do solo.

At least it didn't rain!

Brand spanking-new signpost
We're choosing where we're walking!

Wood carving - Peregrine Falcon

Wood Carving - Curlew

Wood Carving - Grey Seal

A little cluster of Bluebells

A rather blurry photograph of Honesty

Paull Holmes Tower
 - finally without its scaffolding

Lone figure on the tidal embankment
with the Humber Bridge beyond

Fort Paull Battery

As always, after the walk we headed for a cuppa and a bun, this time at The Chatty Couch in Hedon - Mo had reserved a table and a scone for us all!

3.85 miles - not bad going for our first "real" walk of the year - we need to get those legs in training for our walking weekend in September.

I have to confess, I've probably not walked here for a month and the reinforcements for the coastal erosion and flood embankment is coming on in leaps and bounds.  There's a new walkway which has been opened up, and, what looks like the beginnings of some sort of nature trail being marked out.  I hope it doesn't end up too commercialised though.  What it needs is a cafe - I think the trail should pass the Battery and there should be a simple cafe in there.

The rain held off too until we'd finished our cuppa and bun.

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East Yorkshire: Raywell and Nut Wood (4 miles)

Friday, 20th April 2018

Yes, that's right.  My second walk today.  

I seem to be feeling the need to revisit some previously regular walks that I've not done for a while.  First, there was the Drewton Wold circuit, which I avoided for a while until the tree thinning process had re-naturalised.  Now there's this lovely little walk which, if my memory serves me correctly, also got left for a while due to tree thinning.  The other walk I've not done for a while is the Brantingham/Elloughton/Welton walk.  I seem to think that's because "they" got rid of the friendly Highland cattle in Welton Dale and replaced them with frisky young bullocks. 

Anyway, back to today's second walk...

Start of the walk
- I follow the path to the right of the woodland

Violets

Quirky Curiosity

Signpost OCD

A geocache

Brew With a View

I love this old tree
- it really stands out on the horizon

Wauldby Dam

Views over all of Hull in the distance
(clearer in real life than in this pic)

Heading back into the woodland

Wauldby Scrogs - brilliant name!

Bluebells just starting to emerge

Wood Anemone

A whole carpet of them!

Primroses

More Bluebells

Wild Garlic

I really enjoyed this walk.  It needs a couple more weeks for the bluebells and garlic to be out in full bloom I think.  I'll be keeping my eye on it as the woodland is like an enchanted forest when the floor's carpeted with bluebells and garlic and bathed in sunshine.

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East Yorkshire: Wyton (2.3 miles)

Friday, 20th April 2018

This is a new walk for me and I was only able to do it due to the kind permission from the farmer (or rather, his wife who I know) as a chunk of the walk is on private land.

I met up with Mo who wanted to come along as it could be a potential walking group walk and we drove to the farmhouse to meet Kath for a lovely stroll around the field edges in the glorious sunshine.

Heading along the track from the farmhouse

Taking a left turn along the field drain
(and the Blackthorn is in bloom)

Celandines on the drain bank

I need to find out what these peculiar things are

Looking towards Saltend's cooling towers

Looking towards Sproatley

On a proper Right of Way now,
heading to the main road at Wyton

... and finally returning back to the farmhouse

A really nice, simple and easy local walk with a big thank you to Kath who's kind permission allowed us to walk where we shouldn't.  Her local knowledge and history of the area was really fascinating too, so yes, thank you Kath.

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East Yorkshire: Drewton Wold (4.8 miles)

Wednesday, 18th April 2018

I'm having a lovely week off work so far.  Can't fault the weather - glorious sunshine and warm - a far cry from the last 3 months of mud and rain.  So, after a couple of days spring-cleaning the house and massacring the grass for it's first cut of the year, I decided to make the most of the weather and re-visit a walk I've not done for a looooooong time.

I think the last time I did this walk, the Drewton Estate were in the middle of thinning and felling the trees and the area looked awful - the landscape looked scarred, raw, damaged (though all those cut pine trees smelled lovely!).  I decided it was bad enough at the time that that I wouldn't do the walk again for a year or two to allow the landscape to heal and re-naturalise.

Today was the day to re-visit.  And I'm glad I did.  I headed down, down, down Swinescaife track:

Heading down Swinescaif track from Beverley Clump

 And then headed down some more at my four stops hill:

Looking down Comberdale
my four stops hill

A brand-spanking-new signpost

The thinning out has re-naturalised now
- much more light and airy

 I sat here a while in this sheltered dale on a convenient tree stump and listened to the rustle of the wind in the treetops and the birdsong amongst the branches.  Then I heard the distinctive mewl of a Buzzard.... and the birdsong stopped.  I never heard any squawking and scuffling so I guess the Buzzard went hungry this time.

Glad to see the two big old trees are still there

 After a lovely, gentle wander along the valley bottom, it was time to start climbing up, up, up again.  It starts off gradually with a steep sting in the tail!

You can't tell from this picture but the path rises steeply
up East Dale

 The breeze up at the top and out of the trees is most welcome after the climb!  Pity there isn't a tree stump up here too to rest a while and, errr, take in your surroundings 

... then you pop out of the woodland at the top at High Hunsley

Mid-field trig point

My car in the middle of the pic
- oh so far away!

I sat a while on Ronald Bradley's bench.  It's looking a bit worse for wear now and needs a bit of TLC.  The distant views were a bit hazy - but that's not a bad thing as, today, I couldn't see Eggborough!

From the bench at the top of all the up,up, up, I headed down, down, down again through the wonderful, leafy sunken lane towards the field above Diamond Cottage.  On reaching the field, I was pleased to see it was full of sheep rather than cattle and there was a chap in it with some professional camera gear taking photographs of the sky.  I looked up and saw a Red Kite lazily circling overhead.  I'm sure the pictures he took are far better than the blurry blob image I managed to get!  What a treat to see though 

I continued down Diamond Cottage's driveway and over the old railway bridge to Weedley Springs.

Beautiful carpet of Celandines at Weedley Springs

The weir at Weedley Springs

This is the first time I've seen this little chalk stream flowing

Lambsies on The Warrens

 All that remained now was the final up, up, uphill finish back up my four stops hill and back along Swinescaife track again.

A final look down my Four Stops Hill
(I stopped twice this time)

I'd forgotten just how peaceful and quiet this walk is.  No roar of traffic.  Lots of birdsong.  The breeze rustling the treetops 

Yes, I really enjoyed the walk and I'm glad I left it a good, long while before I revisited after the tree thinning.  It's lovely around there again now.

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