Our taxi drops us off close to Stone Creek House and we get a cheery welcome from a couple of people outside – the outer buildings seem to house both a boat club and a caravan site. The creek also has the remains of its own anti-aircraft battery in a field behind the house but this is closed to the public.

The path takes us over the drain – several small boats are beached on the muddy banks.

It is a beautiful day for this our last walk in the area – this afternoon we are driving to Scarborough where Damian will leave me to my own devices for the weekend. I have already identified three walks which don’t involve a lot of isolated stretches – it’s not that I believe there are that many really nasty people around but as I get older I am more conscious of what would happen if I injured myself in some way.

We walk on the edge of the marshes, huge skies…………………….my sister lives in Australia and on my first visit I remember feeling overawed by the enormity of the bright blue skies. I think it was Germaine Greer that said that living under British skies was like walking along with a grey cap on. But not today………………

Through a gap in the bushes I catch a roe deer leaping though the corn, too quick to catch on camera unfortunately.

Beside the path – someone has dutifully collected empty glass bottles and plastic waste but who will collect them?

At one point the path takes a sharp right turn to walk past a section of saltmarsh called The Outstray, which is apparently a local word used to denote land beyond the sea wall.

We are moving in to Paull Holme Strays Nature Reserve, which is the first major realignment scheme on the River Humber. Initially created as part of a flood risk management scheme, the site provides approximately 80 ha of inter-tidal habitat to compensate for the loss of saltmarsh and mudflats in the area. It is said to be a paradise for bird watchers, especially in the winter.

On a sandbank on its northern edge stand two battered lighthouses which are still functioning – I am delighted to see lights rotating inside…………..

Built in 1870 the lighthouses were designed to work in conjunction with each other. When both lights were aligned, they would guide ships into the deep water channel of the Humber estuary.

And shortly afterwards we are back in front of Paull lighthouse which was de-commissioned in 1947. There have been quite a few owners since that time. I love the idea of circular radiators!

http://paull-lighthouses.freeservers.com/owners.html

This time we go inside the Humber Tavern – the public bar is dark and full of discarded furniture and weary decorations, so we move outside with our tonics and ice to the decking at the back of the pub. Too many heads in the way for a good picture. Time to get in the car and drive north – we will come back to join some dots in September.

Distance: 7 miles

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