Horncastle, Fulletby & West Ashby

Home , Fulletby, Lincolnshire Wolds, River Waring, West Ashby

Lincolnshire Walks Be a responsible walker Walk Information Introduction

Please remember the countryside is a place where people live Horncastle, Fulletby Walk Location: Horncastle lies 35km (22 miles) Horncastle is an attractive market town lying at the south-west foot and work and where wildlife makes its home. To protect the of the Lincolnshire Wolds and noted for its antique shops. The east of Lincoln on the A158. Lincolnshire countryside for other visitors please respect it and & West Ashby town is located where the Rivers Bain and Waring meet, and on the on every visit follow the Countryside Code. Thank you. Starting point: The Market Place, Horncastle site of the Roman fort or Bannovallum. LN9 5JQ. Grid reference TF 258 696. • Be safe - plan ahead and follow any signs Horncastle means ‘the Roman town on a horn-shaped piece of land’, • Leave gates and property as you find them Parking: Pay and Display car parks are located at The the Old English ‘Horna’ is a projecting horn-shaped piece of land, • Protect plants and animals, and take litter home Bain (Tesco) and St Lawrence Street, Horncastle. especially one formed in a river bend. • Keep dogs under close control • Consider other people Public Transport: The Interconnect 6 bus service operates This walk follows part of the Viking Way, the long distance footpath between Lincoln and Skegness and stopping in Horncastle. For between the Humber and Rutland Water, to gently ascend into the Most of all enjoy your visit to the further information and times call the Traveline on 0871 2002233 Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Lincolnshire countryside or visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/busrailtravel or the village of Fulletby. The Wolds AONB covers 558 square www.lincsbus.info. kilometres (216 square miles) and forms the highest ground in This leaflet is one in a series of walk leaflets produced by eastern England between Kent and Yorkshire, and Fulletby is the 1 1 Lincolnshire County Council’s Countryside Access Team to help Walk length: 14 /2 or 9km (9 or 5 /2 miles). At a leisurely pace second highest village in the Wolds. 1 you explore and enjoy the County’s countryside. the longer walk will take approximately 4 /2 hours and the If you have enjoyed these walks and would like shorter walk 3 hours to complete. Between Farthorpe and West Ashby look out for the lumps and information on other walking routes in bumps in the fields, evidence of the existence of the medieval th th Lincolnshire then please visit our website. Type of walk: This walk uses field paths, tracks and quiet villages of Farthorpe and Norcotes. Back in the 12 and 13 lanes which may be uneven and muddy in places. The shorter centuries Lincolnshire was one of the most densely populated areas If you encounter any problems whilst on these walks, walk is stile free but you may encounter stiles on the longer of England, unlike today. Many villages that existed then have such as an overgrown path or a broken sign post, please walk. disappeared altogether or have been reduced in size to just a farm let us know so they can be corrected. or hamlet. This was perhaps partly due to The Black Death (1349- Ordnance Survey maps for the area: Explorer 273 51) but more to do with changes in land use from the 14th century We would also welcome your comments and suggestions on Lincolnshire Wolds South. Landranger 122 Skegness & onwards. Looking for more profit, landowners enclosed their land the walk and leaflet to help improve future editions. Horncastle. to graze sheep at the cost of their tenants who relied on the land for their living. Unable to survive they Refreshments: There is a wide range of shops, cafes and pubs were forced to move away and look for work in the If you would like to request a copy of in Horncastle, and the Green Dragon Pub in West Ashby. towns, leaving villages deserted. this leaflet in an alternative format or Public Toilets: St Lawrence Street, Horncastle. This is one in a series of walks from different language please contact us These walks and leaflet have been put together with the assistance of the Horncastle. Horncastle Ramblers Group. The others are: • Round Horncastle 1 miles) Lincolnshire County Council, Countryside Access Team (9 o r5 /2 • Horncastle Canal Awalk of 141/ kmor9km Tel: 01522 782070 Minicom: 01522 552055 2 • Horncastle Town Walk Email: [email protected] Published February 2006 Website: www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/countryside Revised and reprinted November 2009 We hope you enjoy them. Reference Number: D023 Lincolnshire Walks Be a responsible walker Walk Information Introduction

1 With your back to the Post 4 Turn right and walk along the To visit Fulletby turn right. 10 At the junction with a footpath, Turn right and follow the 14 Cross the bridge, turn left then Lincolnshire County Council reproduced from OS mapping with permission of the controller of Her Office walk across the Market road, taking the left fork to Majesty’s Stationery Office (C) Crown Copyright and Unauthorised reproduction infringes cross the bridge and bear right hedge to the road. right through a garden past Place towards the Bank and turn Fulletby. Crown Copyright and may lead to civil proceedings. OS Licence I00025370 7 To continue the walk, turn left at a slight angle towards a Thimbleby Mill and onto a lane. left along High Street to its and leave the Viking Way and bungalow where there is a gate junction with North Street and 5 At the next road junction turn walk along the road as it in the fence. Turn left to follow 15 Follow this lane through the Bull Ring. descends to cross the River the driveway to the lane. You will walk alongside a outskirts of Horncastle to a left onto the public bridleway. planted hedge which Follow the waymarkers and Waring and then climbs to its T-junction. 2 Take Banks Street, the narrow 9 8 includes hawthorn, Viking Way signs as the junction with the A153. Turn right, and at the end of the street directly in front of you. blackthorn and dogrose. As it bridleway turns right, left lane turn left and follow the grows the hedge will become an important Turn left to return to the At the end of Banks Street is the and then right again Fulletby footpath diagonally across the wildlife habitat, particularly for birds. The Market Place. River Waring. Follow the river before meeting another The wide verges each side of this road are part field towards a gate in a dog orange-red fruits of the dogrose are known to a T-junction. N bridleway. 7 of the Roadside Nature Reserve Scheme leg in the hedge. as hips and are a rich source of vitamin C. To 10 managed by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. supplement war-time diets the Ministry of 3 Turn left and then take the next (400m) Verges are often unimproved flower rich Health in 1941 encouraged volunteers and right, Bowl Alley Lane. Walk grassland and these verges in particular The lump and bumps in this field are school children to collect and use rosehips. The masts visible on the skyline past the schools and where the 1 contain orchids and cowslips. earthworks, and include the remains of a ahead and to the right are situated Scale /4 mile road bends to the left, follow moat, which form part of Norcotes deserted near Fulletby. The village of West Ashby 11 medieval village. the waymarked lane that goes and the church tower can be seen on the left. 13 Turn left and at the crossroads straight ahead behind the 12 8 Cross the road with care and turn right. After approximately houses. Continue along this carry straight on to Farthorpe. 150m turn left onto a public path as it turns left to reach a 13 Cross the next field by bearing footpath which crosses two road. 6 For the SHORTER walk turn left diagonally left to the corner of at this junction towards West 9 At the bottom of the hill cross fields. Aim for a gap in the the stream and turn left. After the field and end of the wall. hedge to the right of the single Ashby village. At the A153 road 6 turn right. Just before the crossing the stream again, turn tree. Continue at a slight angle This path is edged with a variety of trees Turn right through the gate and church turn left along Birch right along the bridleway beside to the right, to a group of trees and shrubs, some of which have been 14 the stream and ponds, and then follow the path across the field, and shrubs and a bridge over planted. Many of the species bear berries Lane, and turn left again at the by keeping the hedge on your end. Rejoin the longer walk 5 on in the same direction along a the River Bain. in the autumn, including hawthorn, elder, field edge. right, to the field corner and blackthorn and spindle, and attract a directions at 12. lane. variety of birds. If you are quiet you may be lucky and see a few. For the LONGER walk turn right 11 This area is the site of Farthorpe medieval Turn left along the lane. Leave and continue along the Viking the lane as it turns left, to Way as it turns left, and then village and there is still evidence on the ground of field banks and a moated site. The continue straight on along a right alongside a hedge before impressive Grange on the left is a listed track. joining a stone track past a 4 building. farmyard to a road. 12 At the end of the track take the 2 footpath on the right. Go 15 through the gate, turn left and There are some significant views as you climb 3 follow the field edge to where over the Lincolnshire countryside if you pause 1 the path goes left through the and look back. To your left you should also be hedge. able to spot the Belmont TV mast, at 385m the highest in the country, and on a clear day the outline of Lincoln cathedral, some 20 miles to the west. The walk The map The walk The walk