The alarm goes at 6:15, as we need to make another early start to avoid the heat. Rich says ‘Happy birthday’. I’d forgotten it is my birthday today. I am 56, if you’re interested.
We have arranged for a 7am breakfast with the hotel. The staff greet us with a bowl of fruit, granola, tea and toast and it is delicious. The fruit contains strawberries, raspberries and banana as well as apple pieces and Rich comments that this is the first time he has had fruit other than apple on the trip (I had some plums with my breakfast in Holbeach). We run our sun hats under the tap and off we go.
We set off on the road initially and pass our first contour line for several days. It’s Monday morning rush hour and quite busy even on the B and unclassified roads. After a time, we turn off down a track by a quarry. As we go on, this becomes a footpath and the quarries here are disused and have been turned into lakes for fishing and wildlife. On the map, the path appears to go straight into one of the lakes, but a quick peek on Google Earth suggests there is a causeway across. It looks very inviting.
We walk over it and see mute swans, coots, Canada and greylag geese as well as the ubiquitous mallards. I am watching a pair of cormorants as we walk when an iridescent turquoise flash flies in front of us: we have disturbed a kingfisher. As we go along further, we see a great crested grebe. There are almost certainly more waterfowl to be seen but we daren’t tarry as the temperature is rising and in any case, we don’t have the binoculars. We go a bit further then find a cool, slightly damp, shady patch on the footpath for a brief water break. It continues to get greener every day despite the sunshine as we travel northwards. There are lovely birthday messages on my phone from my family and also a query from Thomas asking how to clear up dog wee. At least, the elderly pooch is not dehydrated.
Back onto a road again, though this time it is deserted. We cross a bridge over the canalised river Bain. It is running surprisingly easily and is teeming with brown trout. We are not the only creatures to have noticed this and, as I’m watching some rooks in a field, a little egret, one of Britain’s five heron species, flies to a treetop perch. We cross back and onto a road through the sleepy village of Roughton. The landscape now is quite different from the fenland of the last few days. We are at the start of the undulating Lincolnshire wolds and the countryside is more what is deemed typically English with gentle rolling hills, hedged fields and chocolate box villages. We have seen no hares today, but lots of rabbits and I wonder if this is in part due to the change of scenery. We reach a T-junction and cross a road to join the Viking Way.
This section of the Viking Way runs along a disused railway track. There are information boards along the way and one of them describes the work of the navvies who moved 20 tons of earth and rock each day using a pick axe and shovel. It certainly puts our efforts into perspective. We find ourselves truly grateful for their hard work all those years ago, as railway tracks are low gradient and smooth; a perfect walking surface. The shady trees are an added bonus. We are approaching Horncastle now, so we stop for a drink and risk our water reserves dousing our heads, hats and bodies to cool off.
The last half mile or so of the Viking Way is very exposed and the sun is beating down as it is nearly midday. Thank goodness for the wet hats (again). We reach Horncastle, passing the remnants of a Roman wall and arrive at our destination, the Admiral Rodney hotel.
As it is early, our room is not ready so we stop in the restaurant for food. It has light air conditioning and we find ourselves still lazily lunching two and a half hours later. While we’re there, Robert messages us both that Thomas is treating the dog to ice cubes and wet towels and I read an article about the reintroduction of wild bison to Blean Woods in Kent. It seems that their coat is ideal for attracting and spreading grass seeds. It must have the same consistency as walking socks.
We finish our meal with the ice cream sundae we have been dreaming about all morning and then it’s off to wash the socks and settle in for our weather mandated rest day and to celebrate passing 100 miles.
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