Walk 15a/2007 – The Cliff – circular walk from Burton–upon–Stather

Sunday 15th July 2007

The walk provided us with a wealth of different experiences and great views. Our start passed though the quaint churchyard and progressed to a delightful ‘woodland walk’ through mature woods where there were many grand old trees with huge sweeping branches.

As we left the cover of the woods we reached the historical turf maze of Julians Bower and had the first of our great views. From Julians Bower there are views of the confluence of the majestic Rivers Trent, Ouse and Humber – quite something. Also from here York Minster can be viewed on a clear day, but the pelting rain made that impossible for us today.

Much of the walk then continued alongside the Humber River passing alongside vast stretches of reed beds, marshland and mud flaps, and a very good area for bird watchers. Several waders were viewed including the Curlew – who presented us with his distinct whooping call. We also saw the Red Shank. One of our group is studying birds in great depth (Ed &ndash me too) and it is a joy to receive tuition in her subject, but we were somewhat surprised at her naming the Red Shank as she has only reached up to ‘P’ in her learning of birds names! Today’s highlight in bird spotting was the Marsh Harrier.

As we progressed along this stretch of the walk the inclement weather was at its worst, with very heavy downpours. We later had a debate about the delights and difficulties of the weather. The heavy rain was exciting and threw a different light on some countryside with rain adding rich colour to the grass and the abundance of flowers. It was interesting to also witness how rain effects some behaviours of birds as they shook their very wet feathers, and the hoards of slugs reacted to the wet weather by climbing to higher ground up the blades of grass and sometimes in pairs swinging in love!(Ed – what I want to know is how you knew they were swinging? Was there a sign “This is a slug swingers’ party”! I bet it was a bit slow to get going.)

However, at times the rain did interfere with our enjoyment of the spectacular views of the Humber and the Humber Bridge (opened June 1981 by Queen Elizabeth II) and towards the end of the walk we were unable to pass across a very flooded bridle pathway. We were trudging through very black water and bog land, most of us with wet feet and so decided to take a redirection which added a little more distance to our walk making it a grand 16 miles.

The wet weather bought out an array of waterproofs and as result nicknames were plenty, we had a shepherd, an astronaut and a few woodland characters, which typically added much humour to our day. The lady in black even had to eat pizza for lunch, with her black gloves remaining in situ.

At times the weather was calm and we were able to have a resting lunch and later we were able to enjoy several beautiful gardens in the village of Wintringham. (Whilst Emma pulled a local)(Ed – she did what!). The walk was flat walking but “clarty” and wet weather made tramping through longish grass and muddy pathways more difficult than expected. The challenge was fun and recovery for the fit is always remarkably quick, as one remarked ‘great memories last longer than pain’(Ed – oh yeh?), and in fact our Geordie visitor was even “Gan Doon thg toon tonitg”. (Ed – these Geordies, not only can’t they speak proper, they can’t spell either!)

We all concluded our walk with a well–earned cup of tea and crisps at the Sheffield Arms where staff were most welcoming.

It was easy for us all to give the walk an unanimous ‘excellent’.

Cathy

Walk rating – Excellent

The church at Burton–upon–Stather	Girlie sort of picture – Rosebay Willowherb?
View over the River Trent.	The look–a–like shepherd leading his flock.
The maze at Julians Bower	Emma and Alan discuss coastal management as we overlook the Alkborough managed realignment site.
Another view of it.	A picture request by the author. This time a Teasel.
Alan came all the way from Sunderland to share a sandwich on a desolate river bank with the mysterious woman in black.	These plants seemed to like this particular estuary environment. Reflexed Stonecrop was the best name I could come up with.
A picture of some boats. We didn’t see much else that was photogenic.	Just to remind you of the tramp back up the hill as we retraced our steps after deciding not to cross the “bog of eternal stench”.