Viking Way: Bardney/Stainfield to Fiskerton

 We've been making progress with our Viking Way walk in legs of 5-8 miles at a time with transport at each end so that we can walk more of the trail each time. 

I haven't been blogging every walk because I post the information and pictures on UK-Walks. 

But this time I have quite a few extra pictures of a very pleasant and surprising day. 

The surprise was Barlings Abbey. We'd noticed quite a few ruined abbeys in this small area but there's usually not very much to see; some mounds and an information board. As you approach Barlings Abbey, though, you can see quite a chunk of the old wall, possibly dating back to 1154.

Our walk was on 30 August. That wonderful time when apples and blackberries are ripe for the picking. Things are still very green and the weather is warm but not too hot.

Shadow of Juicetrump

 On a recent Viking Way walk we spotted this information board which shows a circular walk close to the delightfully-named Juicetrump Hill. 

This map shows the route and may be enough to navigate the walk, particularly on the Viking Way section. I've made a GPX file anyway, which will load into any mapping / navigation app on your device. The starting point is given here as postcode LN9 6LJ / grid ref TF291 756.  I've used the Blue Bell pub as the start / end point in the GPX.

The walk is circular, ie starting and finishing at the same spot. Part of it is the Viking Way, a walk that passes through some of Lincolnshire's most spectacular countryside. The return leg has a couple of reasonably steep climbs, but some beautiful views are the reward.

It's currently mid-winter and it has been wet and so much of the walk was very muddy. This made the walking difficult, particularly on the slopes.  

Viking Way part 2: Ludford to Donington

A previous circular walk had included some miles of the Lindsey Trail and also some Viking Way. I have to be honest, the Viking Way is the more spectacular of the two. The council have taken care to ensure that the LT is accessible but this means that it sticks to surfaced paths and roads. This doesn't make for the most interesting walking or spectacular views. 

On 2 September we opted to continue following the Viking Way for these reasons. Previously we'd walked a section from Tealby to Walesby. In order to continue South, we drew a seven-mile route from Ludford Magna to Donington on Bain. 

In the interests of covering more miles of the Viking Way itself, we opted for a linear walk. this is more difficult if you're by yourself (unless you want to do twice the distance - one way and then back) but with two people and two cars it's not too difficult to arrange.

The details of the route are on this page. Below are more photographs of some of the best countryside that Lincolnshire has to offer. Even on a dull day, the views don't disappoint. 

Lindsey Trail part 2 - Market Rasen, Willingham Woods

On Weds 14 July I continued my walk of the Lindsey Trail, picking up where I'd left the path last time.

The big surprise of the day was the amazing facilities on Willingham Road for Willingham Woods. There's a proper brick cafe there, picnic benches, WC, loads of parking and information boards. 

I wish it were possible to find these things at the start/finish of every walk!

This part of the Lindsey Trail does go through some woodland and once again is accessible. 

Then a chunk of it is on road. Not my favourite kind of walking. Sadly we're a long way from the Viking Trail this time, so in order to form a circular walk it was necessary to find some suitable footpaths to complete the circle back to the car park. Willingham Lane fits the bill, it's a nice farm track, picturesque and (mostly) easy walking.

The route I devised is published here on UK-Walks.info. There you'll find an interactive map and GPX file which works in various mapping and navigation apps.

Lindsey Trail, part one. Circular walk including part of Viking Way

The time feels right to revive this blog. I've moved to a new area and have been doing a lot of walking; exploring my new area and revisiting some older routes.

I now live close to the Lincolnshire Wolds whose beauty is a well-kept secret. South Lincolnshire is flat and fairly featureless but the Wolds are an area of outstanding natural beauty. I happened to see some information about the Lindsey Trail and decided to investigate. It's a long-distance trail, 69 miles altogether. Quite a challenge to do in one go, but perhaps good for breaking down into weekly walks and devising some circular routes.

The council decided to make the Lindsey Trail accessible, which is good news for those with mobility issues but it does mean that a great deal of it is on road. Off-road, the forest tracks are surfaced and well-maintained which makes for very pleasant walking and easy navigation.  I decided to start with the northernmost part of the trail, starting at Walesby, heading for Market Rasen and then circling back.

The details of the actual route are here on the uk-walks website.  After walking 4 or 5 miles of the Lindsey Trail, this circular route heads back towards Tealby, picking up the Viking Way. I have seen another part of the Viking Way before while walking at Rutland Water. 

This part of this circular walk is not accessible in the same way as the Lindsey Trail. It uses regular public rights of way, fields and stiles etc. 

I was not expecting the stunning views. I felt that I could have been in the Peak District. 

This being Lincolnshire, though, it wasn't a surprise to meet some Lincolnshire Longwool sheep. 

And a field of deer. 

The 8.5m route I devised this week is published here. You can see the route against an interactive OSM map and download the GPX file which will open in any mapping / navigation app including OsmAnd and OSMaps. The map used is Explorer 282 which, if you buy the paper version, now includes the offline mobile download too for use in the OSMaps app.

A sad day

As I watched this JCB digging up this field with a very heavy heart, a lady at the bus stop asked me "have they started building the new shop?"

I told her that an application was in for hundreds of houses, a school, a shop and a health centre. But so far the health centre was the only thing that had permission, so I assumed that's what they had started to build.

"Ah. I'd heard they were building a shop", she said hopefully.

She wasn't an elderly lady. We were less than 100 yards from a corner shop and not terribly far from the town centre. But the fact that her view is about to be ruined, what used to be a small friendly town is to have hundreds more households-worth of people parachuted in (this is one of many developments being built onto the edge of the town), more green fields are being concreted over and more hedges dug up, all seemed to matter not a jot compared to the convenience of a shorter walk to get her fags.

I despair. And I don't want to live any longer in the rapidly-growing Ashby de la Zouch.

Ivanhoe Way blocked south of Ashby

I live in Ashby and it's been very difficult watching North West Leics council grant permission for one major development after another to be built on the green land around the town.

I could have a real rant, but local democracy [or rather, lack of] aside, there are implications for our paths. Today was the first time that I tried to use the Ivanhoe Way path leaving Ashby to the south-west since work started there. From the Moira Road you used to head across fields at around SK346166. Here's what that field looks like now:

There are new houses standing on the spot that you used to enter the field. It would be fab to discover that you have the right to walk through one or more of those houses in muddy boots but I expect Leicestershire County have done the necessary legal stuff with the path.

I don't know whether it'll eventually be possible to get through this development and join the Ivanhoe Way just beyond - as I write this on 1 Jan 2015, half of this site is still a building site and therefore fenced off with no signs giving information or a detour. So the IW is blocked.

There's nothing on LCC's Ivanhoe Way page, I've written to them asking about this and will post the reply here.

[edit 2 Jan] Leics council are visiting the site, I'm very pleased, having been expecting just a quick answer.

In the mean time, I suggest continuing out of town on the Moira road and picking up the footpath that heads off at Shellbrook and joins the Ivanhoe Way.

It's gutting to see so much green land being built on, especially when the local people are strongly opposed to it. It's also a shame that it further spoils this long distance walk. There are already too many housing estates to walk through on this route and there will be more; there's another one imminent on the other side of Ashby (the 'Money Hill' site).