Le Tour de Rodney, Day 3.

 "When I nod my head, you hit it!". Dick Cullen who I worked for on his smallholding as a student laughed uproariously at his joke as he always did. The farm is situated on the bank of the River Witham tucked in next to Metheringham Delph on Blankney Fen. When I was working in the fields on my own I used to be able to tell the time from the trains passing through Stixwould Station on the other side of the river. By my student days they were diesel powered DMUs but I remeber as a child travelling to Lincoln from Woodhall Junction steam hauled. I was reflecting on these memories as I waited with The Historian at Stixwould Station for the ladies to catch us up. The old railway line is now part of The Water Rail Way and it is possible to cycle off road all the way to Lincoln from Woodhall Junction at Kirkstead.

We had loaded up our bikes at The Rodney and driven the short distance to Southrey Station from where we biked along the trail to Kirkstead where we enjoyed tea and stickies in the Ragged Apron Cafe once the Railway Inn. Following the return ride it was time to load up the bikes again our short, but excellent break over for this year; some old rides revisited and a new one explored.

Le Tour de Rodney, Day 2.

 The Historian stood on the castle ramparts musing reflectively over the ruins. There is enough of Bolingbroke Castle left, with the help of the information boards to paint a mental picture of what it would have been like at the time HenryIV was born here. 

Brian and I had set off that morning from The Admiral Rodney on a perfect early September morning; warmth in the sun yet a hint of Autumn in the air. Our route climbed steadily to Mareham-on-the-Hill before undulating across the top of the Wolds to Hameringham giving splendid views as we went. From Hammeringham it was a steady climb up to Winceby, the site of the Civil War battle in 1643, before the long swooping descent with fabulous views over the fen to Boston and down into Old Bolingbroke.

Sadly the Black Horse has long since closed but we enjoyed exploring the castle and the church. The castle passed through marriage into the ownership of John of Gaunt whose son, Henry, was born in the castle in 1367 becoming king in 1399. His baptismal font can still be found in the church.

Continuing to East Kirkby we called in at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre hoping for a coffee but unfortunately it was £11 entrance and we decided that was an expensive coffee. The side benefit though was that the lancaster aircraft was outstide and we had excellent views.

Coffeeless we carried on along a quiet lane along side the first of the drainage canals that drain the fens. We soon arrived at The Red Lion at Revesby where we availed ourselves of an excellent roast beef sandwich and even more excellent pint of Bateman's Gold. Good as it was though, this may have been a mistake as my legs were not so keen to push the pedals round after lunch.

Mareham-le-Fen, was our next destination where we turned along the quiet lane to Wood Enderby and on to the main Boston-Horncastle road. Crossing here we discovered another quiet lane that took us through the Scrivelsby Estate after which we took anoth back lane to reach the Spa Trail at Thornton Halt. From here it was a gentle mile along the train to take us back into Horncastle.

Le Tour Du Rodney. Warm up to Woodhall.

As we pulled into the car park at The Rodney in Horncastle (our home for the next couple of nights) the sun was out and the weather looking promising.  After at least a week of cold easterly winds and rain, conditions had improved and it was at last pleasant and warm.  Friends Brian and Heather arrived shortly afterwards and we soon had the bikes off the racks and we were good to go.

We were soon riding across the Wong and then alongside the River Waring looking idyllic in the summery weather.  I was reminded of Norman Clark an old family friend who in his 1950s book Country Gleanings describes taking his lunch breaks here in the 1930s and watching kingfishers.  A little further along we joined the River Bain by the municipal swimming pool.  Now a modern facility, I remember it in my Horncastle Grammar School days in the 1960s when swimming lessons were held here.  In those days it was outdoor, unheated, diverted, brown river water and those lessons began regardless at Easter.  The memory of having to jump into the freezing water are still vivid. Continuing we joined the old Kirkstead - Horncastle branch line, now the Spa Trail, a delightful off road walking and cycling route.  Butterflies were plentiful in the warm sunny weather: brimstones, common blue, spwckled wood, small tortoiseshell and speckled wood.  We followed the trail until we could turn off onto the quiet back road route down Kirkby Lane into Woodhall Spa, my childhood home.  We chose the Teahouse in the Woods for lunch hoping we wouldn't experience the same weather conditions Brian and I did a few years ago when the heavens opened for our final stretch into Horncastle.  After lunch we parted company, the ladies heading for the shopping hotspot of Woodhall while Brian and I pottered along a longer route back to the Spa Trail and Horncastle, calling in at the Bridge cafe for a welcome cup of tea and to feed cake crumbs to the large chub cruising under the bridge.

We are now ensconsced into the Rodney looking forward to a beer and dinner before a nightcap and bed.

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The River Bain as we leave Horncastle

Dog Rose

Dog Rose

On the Spa Trail

Returning to Horncastle along the River Bain.

Returning to Horncastle along the River Bain.