We met up with our friends Brian and Heather in the car park of the Admiral Rodney in Horncastle for our annual stay for a few days cycling and get together. We quickly had the bikes off the cars and were soon biking through Horncastle to ride along the River Waring to its junction with the Bain at the town swimming pool. I was at school in Horncastle and we had weekly swimming lessons in the pool which, in those days, was more of a lido with the river water diverted through the pool. No beautiful blue pool then - just brown river water. And no heating either!! I can only assume that it was, at least chlorinated - at least none of us caught anything. I first swam a mile in this pool.
From the confluence of the two rivers we followed the Spa Trail along the old railway line to Woodhall Spa, my childhood stamping ground. Although I travelled to school by bus, my immediate predecessors travelled by train, steam hauled in those days. We used to become very excited in our day when the bus crossed Martin Bridge at the same time as the train went under, revelling in the smell of steam engine and billowing clouds of steam and smoke.
We entered Woodhall along Welsyke Lane and Kirkby Lane bring back childhood memories of playing in the woods down here and on our friends' farm. The heather on Kirkby Moor was looking glorious and in peak flowering. Arriving in Woodhall we headed for the Teahouse in the Woods for an excellent sandwich lunch. The Heathers then rode back to Horncastly by a more direct route while Brian and I continued down to Kirkstead and the River Withan where we rode along the Water Rail Way, the old track bed of the Lincolnshire Loop Line as far as Stixwould. Here we left the old railway line and rode along back roads to the Spa Trail passing the Wellington Memorial on the way. This bust of the Duke of Wellington sits on top of a tall column and he looks towards Waterloo. The oakwood behind the statue was handplanted with acorns soon after the battle as a commemoration.
Once back at the Spa Trail Brian and I retraced our steps reflecting on a perfect first day.
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