The Viking WayWalks 5, 6 and 7 by Roger TurtonIt’s your lucky day, you have the pleasure (?) of my writing this month. My walking colleague YOUNG Graham said "my creative talent has dried up, it’s work that’s doing it so over to you Mr T." There’s also the added bonus of three walks in one article which saves the frustration of having to wait another month for the next gripping instalment to drop through the letter box or wing its way over the internet.Now me, I don’t profess to have any creative talent in the first place, but I do have a theory about articles in newsletters no matter what sort of article or club is involved. I reckon that the only people interested in what’s been written about are those people who took part in the event. So in this case there was only Graham and me and being as I’m writing it then only Graham (and perhaps the editor who has to make sense of it {sorry in advance Fiona}) will ever read it.I also believe that to make an article about a walk interesting is impossible because they always degenerate into – we started here, went up there, down here, round the corner, saw this, saw that and finished here. Anyway enough of this rubbish and onto the walks: -Walk 515 March 2008, Goulceby to Woodall Spa, 16 milesThis was to be our last day in the Lincolnshire Wolds and the guidebook promised us some excellent views. However, the book hadn’t reckoned on it being misty so, until we reached Horncastle and lunch, we didn’t really see much apart from the first 20ft (6m for the younger ones) in front of us, although we did pass through the pretty and historic villages of Belchford and Fulletby. At Horncastle the River Waring, which we had crossed a couple of times earlier today, joined the River Bain, which we had met on previous walks. The river which we now followed for about 3 miles was canalised at the turn of the 19 Century operating for about 70 years until the coming of the railway which caused financial decline. The railway itself was forced to close in the 1970s and the track bed has been turned into the Spa Trail taking us all the way into Woodall Spa and the end of the walk at the Dambusters Memorial. All in all a pretty dull days walking which neither of us enjoyed too much.Walk 612 April 2008, Woodall Spa to Fiskerton, 18 milesOn the face of it today’s walk should have been quite boring being essentially flat and mainly farmland but, against the odds, we both enjoyed it and found lots of interest to look at. Our “religious walk” we call this one, as it passes close to six medieval religious sites and actually goes through a further three Bardney Abbey, Barings Abbey and Stainfield Priory. The weather was very changeable, one minute not a cloud in sight and warm sunshine then the next a great black cloud, the temperature drops 5 or 10 degrees and we got a short sharp sleet and hail shower. Foxhall Wood was carpeted with masses of Wood Sorrel, as were most of the other woods we passed to various degrees and the Daffodil fields near Bardney still had plenty of blooms (if we had been there a week before they would have been really impressive). Near the end of the walk we encountered a couple of "Nodding Donkey" oil pumps, part of the Reepham Oil field a fairly recent discovery, although this part of the country was an important oil producer during WWII. We finally managed to stagger to the car parked at Five-Mile Bridge on the River Witham near Fiskerton, where we finished off our pork pies and flasks of tea. See, we carry real proper walking food none of you’re Mamby Pamby stuff for us mate. Walk 710 May 2008, Fiskerton to Boothby Graffoe, 16 milesWhat a cracking day, wall to wall sunshine both of us sunburnt and de-hydrated at the end. The bad part of today’s walk – going through Lincoln, 5 miles of tarmac and millions of people. One of the good points of the walk – going through Lincoln, the Arboretum an Oasis of peace in the city centre, the architecture, the ambience of the place and finally South Common. What a brilliant place, green fields in a city and fantastic views. The people who live here don’t know what they are missing. We start today’s walk at Five-Mile Bridge on the River Witham, which we follow for a couple of miles before heading into Greetwell, where the big Iron Stones mines were, and then into Lincoln. The Cathedral and Castle are magnificent and so was the flood drain down Sincil Bank, thousands and thousands of fish just lazing about in the sun and shallow water. A quick diversion to see my daughter, who lives in Lincoln 50 yards from the route, and onto South Common and then Lincoln Cliff. Through the Cliff villages of Bracebridge Heath, Waddington, Harmston, Coleby and finally Boothby Graffoe. Fabulous views over the Trent Valley to the West.
