A Frosty Walk in the Lincolnshire Wolds

 A cold and cloudless day greeted us this morning. After breakfast, later in the morning, we headed out into the Wolds to Tealby. Parked up by the village hall, we were soon walking along the Viking Way towards the settlement of Risby, passing first the now derelict Castle Farm. Immediatley after walking through the edge of Bedlam Plantation we stopped at our regular place: a bench looking out over the valley towards the Lincoln Cathedral. Here we had our lunch of Christmas cake and, for me, tomato soup. Annoyingly we forgot the cheese and hula hoops. While we were sitting up here enjoying our picnic a raven flew out of the wood kronking loudly and a tawny owl hooted sleeply form inside the wood. As we moved on the crisp cold air up here tingled the nostrils. At Risby we turned uphill to the east and walked out to the narrow lane that leads up from Tealby. We walked along the road for a while before crossing fields and then down to Tealby.

A short but excellent walk topped off by a drink in the warm, cosy bar of the King's Head.

Along the Viking Way from Walesby to Risby

 A cloudless day greeted us at Walesby for our bank holiday walk along the Viking Way to Risby and back.  We climbed steeply up to the Rambers' Chrurch set high on the wold above the village.  We continued along the Viking Way Path, dry at first then very muddy and slippery in the dip before climbing back up to Risby where it was drier again.  We enjoyed photographing the impressive rams from the Risby flock of Lincolnshire Longwools before sitting on the bench at our high point for lunch.  Enjoying my turket sandwich, I reluctantly exchanged it for binoculars to check that the raptor lazily drifting over the valley was, actually a buzzard, so I was delighted to pick out the forked tail of a red kite.  A red kit in Lincolnshire is always a red letter day for me; and we came across a buzzard in the same air space a short while later.  A good first birdwatch of the year even if the birding was secondary to a family walk.

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The Ramblers' Church.

The Walkers' Window.

The Rambles' Church

Arriving at Risby.

Risby Lincolnshire Longwool Rams.

Risby Lincolnshire Longwool Ram.

Risby Pond

The Viking Way

The Viking Way

Refections

The last Leaf

The Weekly Escape

 The weather was somewhat more clement today as we pulled up behind two other cars at Normanby-Le-Wold Church.  It was our weekly escape to make sure that the battery on the Kia was kept well charged.  Our plan was to walk along the Viking Way to the Rambler's Church at Walesby for lunch and return via the low path to Claxby and back up the hill to Normanby.  The Four Churches Walk.  We hadn't been going for more than a minute or two before we met the occupants of the other two cars: long-time running friends Steve and Susan Green and their daughter and husband.  It was good to catck up.  The views from this section of the Viking Way are spectacular, it being the highest part of the Lincolnshire Wolds. To the west, across the Witham and Ancholme Valley we could see Lincoln Cathedral perched high on the Lincoln Edge with the Trent Valley power stations beyond.  To the east we could look down on the attractive Otby Valley, whist to the south the Rambler's Church was visible beyond Walesby.  It was a very peasant wander down to Walesby and as we pulled up to the church the sun put in a brief appearance.  After lunch it was back down into the village to visit the current church and then we followed the old byway to Claxby where we enjoyed the view of our fourth church with a foreground of primroses.  Pulling up the steep woldside to reach the car we were amazed to come across a huge badger sett with a great deal of fresh excavation.  The badgers had obviously been dragging fresh bedding into the set from the plentiful dry, dead grasses in the meadow, leaving several grassy trails into the wood.

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A Return to the Viking Way

 Now I had declared my back recovered it was time to test out the pacemaker on the hills along the Viking Way from Walesby.  We had walked here just before the operation so that I could use this hilly walk as a benchmark for any improvement once fully turbocharged.  I'm delighted to be able to report that all went well and, unlike the previous occasion I cruised round with hardly any breathless or aching legs.  Fingers crossed.  As usual we parked in Walesby and walked up to the church.  From here along the undulating path to Risbly and its flock of Lincolnshire longwool sheep (featured on BBC's Countryfile on 22nd November) as far as the dramatic Castle Farm before returning to the seat just above the sheep where we enjoyed a comforting flask of hot chocolate with expansive views across to the Lincoln Edge and the magnificent cathedral set high above the city itself.  Amazing to think that we were looking across to the Viking way  20 miles to the west from the Viking Way.  We dropped down to the lane to return to Walesby in order to make it a round walk.

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Walesby Ramblers Church

Trees above Risby

Castle Farm

Field Pond Risby

Ruby Anniversary Walk Along the Viking Way

 It being our ruby wedding anniversary we decided to have a latish afternoon walk as we had no meal to cook; we were having a celebratory Ruby Murry.  We picked Jet up and were soon parking up at Walesby village hall.  We were surprised that the car park was full and we only just squeezed in and later that there were so many people out walking.  We saw more people in 3 miles of walking today that we did on the whole of the viking way.  It was pleasant weather , a Sunday and the beginning of half term, but, even so, it was amazingly busy.  We could only assume that as we are slipping into lockdown once more, people are walking locally rather than travelling out of the area.

We had a lovely walk and the views from the top of the scarp slope at Risby were excellent.  We continued as far as Castle Farm where I took some photos.  It doesn't seem long since this unusual house was occupied, but it now lies derelict.  A few years ago it was for sale but presumably there were no buyers.

We turned around at this juncture and stopped for lunch and hot chocolate when we reached the bench above Risby.  We had excellent views of a red kite being harassed by a crow from here.  A friend saw another two today in a different part of the wolds.  It would be good to see them breeding in Lincolnshire.  From Risby we made our walk into a round route by dropping down off the ridge and returning to Walesby via the lane.

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Lincolnshire sunken lane up to The Ramblers Church

Walesby Ramblers Church

Walesby Ramblers Church

Castle Farm