A tramp in the hills.

Lincolnshire Wolds... Caister and Nettleton

15/04/2018.

The route for todays walk was taken from the April edition of Country walking magazine, a magazine that I like to dip into from time to time. Not been to the Lincolnshire wolds for quite a while, so I was looking forward to todays walk.We found the car park behind the Town hall, Caister is a cracking little market town with Roman roots, perched on the western escarpment of the wolds. The name Caister is derived from the latin 'Castra' meaning fortified camp. The Romans were probably drawn to the area by its abundant natural springs. We dropped down steeply on an attractive tunnelled footpath to cross the first stream, we instantly noticed how hilly it was around here,as the steep decent 'got' our legs. A beautifully clear stream that was lined with Marsh Marigolds known by some as Kingcup...My obsession with wildflowers kicked in having to take a photograph or two.

The start of this walk skirts around the Eastern side of Caister, pleasant enough but nothing too exciting. A bit of a misty start today, but I'm sure it will clear to leave another nice day. The weather of late has been dire, but with two nice days under our belts, spring is beginning to break out into a canter...Lovely views across the misty meadows toward the village of Nettleton. We were lucky enough to see a Roe deer sharing the pastures with the sheep, she took off before I had the chance to get a snap of her.

We passed through the village of Nettleton. The Salutation pub and The Dunn deal tearooms both being shut..too early for a drink anyway. Theres an old story/ tradition from Nettleton in which on Boxing day locals would bang on the doors and play practical jokes on water drinkers [teetotallers] the tradition comes from an 18th century story in which a Nettleton resident Thomas Stickler, who had declined alcohol for 20 years, became inebriated one Christmas day after drinking half a pint of ale...I'm not sure I believe such stories....I mean who gets pissed on half a pint of ale?..Enjoyed the walk through the village.The church of St John the Baptist being the highlight.

Leaving the village via the Viking way, a 147 mile route around Lincolnshire and Rutland. We entered the valley of Nettleton beck by Nettleton grange. a footpath rules sign along here made me smile, a lengthy list of do nots...from throwing dogs in the pond to fornicating in the crops...from parking your Zimmer frame to urinating in farm buildings, nice to see some people have a wicked sense of humour...or maybe they are serious.

We enjoyed the walk up the valley but two things spoilt it a bit for me 1.The mud and 2.Motorbikes, probably about 100 of them, making a noise, making more mud. I know the countryside is for all to enjoy, just gets my goat when they have to do it in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

A steady climb and we were out of the valley. The highest point in Lincolnshire lies nearby marked by a trig point at Normanby le wold...standing at 551 feet above sea level, its no Scafell pike but it goes to show that Lincolnshire is not as flat as most people imagine....Along the high lane now all the way back to Nettleton, when roads are this quiet they are a pleasure to walk. Some nice long range views from up there, still a bit misty though today. Never mind.