We leave the lovely little town of Holbeach and again cross the A17. Rich is excited because we are also about to go into the Western Hemisphere by traversing the Greenwich meridian near Cackle Hill. When we get there, he is disappointed to discover that there is no sign marking the meridian but, as he said, this line is an arbitrary human construct rather than a true geographical feature like the equator.
We can’t help but notice that our speed is much faster today with the cooler air temperature and the miles pass quite easily.
We then enter a farm track into a field, at the same time turning the corner round The Wash to start heading north instead of west. Rich takes a photo to mark the moment.
We head up the track and pick up a footpath. As we progress, the path disappears and we opt to follow a nearby track. If the landowner doesn’t maintain the right of way, what else can we do? We meet a road and, as we go along it, we pass the exit to the path which is overgrown with waist-high nettles, so we definitely did not miss a turning.
We take another farm track, littered with recently harvested broccoli florets, and soon stop for a break. We are greeted by another little Jack Russell who comes for a sniff and a stroke. When we stop fussing him, he lollops off back to the farmhouse behind us. We next have to decide whether to take a long way round on a footpath or follow a farm track which is not necessarily a right of way. Google Maps calls it Carrington Road and we decide, after much deliberation, to give it a go. As we progress, a stiff breeze whips up and the sky darkens. There is a short shower. Yesterday, I thought rain might be refreshing; today my hands turn an odd shade of purple with the cold.
The rain soon clears and, as we reach South Bank alongside the River Welland, oyster catchers fly overhead with their unmistakable calls. We follow the road below the bank until again we meet the A17 at Fosdyke Bridge. We cross the river and the road and say goodbye to the A17, our constant if usually distant companion over the last three days, for the final time.
We start along the River Welland on a path waymarked as both the MacMillan Way and the rather unappealingly named Brown Fen Waterway Trail. We have a decision to make between following the river and taking another path further inland.
We opt to follow the inland route as it begins with an enticing hawthorn flanked path. The path runs on top of an ancient sea bank, reminiscent of Offa’s Dyke or the Ridgeway. As we walk, it is easy to imagine the sea lapping up against the bank before the river was tamed and the land was drained. We come across an elevated nest box, one of many we have seen along the route. This one, however, is home to a pair of kestrels and their young. One adult catches a small mammal in the field whilst the other guards the nest. A hare canters off into the distance. Further on we disturb a buzzard also nesting in the trees. We elect to have lunch on the path. Judging by the consternation from the wildlife, there is unlikely to be anyone coming down the path.
We cross a road and continue along the bank for a couple of miles, past stud farms and endless fields of grain and vegetables. As we leave the sea defence to join a track, there is a collection of domestic rubbish bags and after the gate, a further rubbish bag and a guitar. It is difficult to comprehend why someone would drive up a track and dump rubbish on a footpath apart from as an act of misanthropy and, in any case, an acoustic guitar makes great kindling once it is broken up.
We continue along a road marking both cycle route 1 and the cross Britain trail and eventually follow a path into Boston itself. We cross the River Witham, the last of the rivers that flow into The Wash, and make our way through the town centre, past the Boston Stump to our accommodation.
We have two days’ rest starting tomorrow which will no doubt include climbing the Boston Stump as no Meyer-Funnell holiday is complete without a boat trip (already done in King’s Lynn) and scaling a tower, especially one the contains a primary trig point. The blog will also be on hold for the next two days, so see you then for week two!
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