Another early start and, after breakfast, we get supplies from the village shop which is owned by the mum of our bed and breakfast host and then we rejoin the Viking Way.
We spy yet another hare as we make our way up onto the scarp. A little further on, there is an abandoned church on the left and, ahead, is a field of cows and calves. The unusual mounds they are grazing on are in fact the remains of a long forgotten mediaeval village, Biscathorpe. The chalk hills of wolds have a distinctive, jumbled topography and remind me of the downs in Surrey, where I was born and grew up.
We stop for a break as we walk along the scarp and, as Rich is resting, I hear scuffling in the hedgerow next to us. I spot a small mammal, but can’t identify it so I go back to my phone. I glance up again and a brown head appears and stares at me raising on its hind legs to reveal its white underbelly. Without seeing its tail, I’m not sure if it’s a weasel or a stoat, but it’s very handsome either way. After a quick peek, it scampers back into the undergrowth. I can’t help but think it will return to investigate once we’ve gone.
We cross a field into the village of Ludford crossing a stream that comprises the headwaters of the river Bain. As we leave, we pass a derelict poultry farm. It’s not only medieval buildings that are abandoned. We walk along the scarp a bit further and then descend via wide zigzags that go down by way of up, just like the down lands of my childhood.
Barbara, our host tonight has emailed me to say that there are no restaurants close to her B&B, so we detour to The King’s Head pub in Tealby for a lunch of delicious, cheesy, crispy-topped fish pie. It is evidently the oldest thatched pub in Lincolnshire, opening in 1647.
After lunch, we decide to leave the Viking Way for a while, rejoining it after passing a deer farm, to reach the highest point in Lincolnshire at 168m. We are now farther north than Manchester, at about the same latitude as Wigan (it’s worth remembering, though, that Norwich is more northerly than Birmingham). We can also see the Pennines as well as Lincoln cathedral. We are also close to a radar, early warning station that looked like a golf ball on a tee from a distance but now looks more like a giant fairy house.
We disturb a green woodpecker as we climb yet another hill - in total, we will have accrued nearly 460m ascent by the end of the day.
On our final descent, we stop for one last break and three ravens appear from nowhere. This must be just about their most eastern territory. As we pass through the valley, we amazingly come across a peregrine falcon! It seems ravens and peregrines live here in the Lincolnshire wolds, despite their gentle appearance.
Finally, we arrive in Nettleton and head out for a tired 2 miles to our stop for the night: Nettleton Country House B&B. What was Rich saying about our days being too short?
Total distance so far: 138 miles
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