Donington on Bain to Walesby

We had a good breakfast at The Black Horse Inn, and they explained that most of their guests are visiting the Cadwell Park motor racing circuit, and they tend to leave very early. We left at a more leisurely 9am, conscious that we had loads of time today. Parts of the day were perhaps less good, with a fairly long stretch of road walking in the middle and some rain, but the beginning of the walk was attractive and the final few miles were superb...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

We left Donington to the north and continued upstream by the River Bain, with the Belmont Transmitting Station closeby to the west. There's an artificial lake (or is it a reservoir?) beneath Biscathorpe House and it was beautiful, with swans, flocks of birds, and grazing cows nearby. The Church at Biscathorpe came into view; it appears to be quite a small place, but nevertheless it is quite ornate.

We crossed the river and walked towards the Church, with the newly renovated Church Cottage (now a holiday let) next door. We crossed the river again again and climbed through the site of the medieval village of Biscathorpe. We reached a minor road and continued to climb, with good views to Burgh on Bain to the west.

We reached the A631 at a crossroads which from memory is 6 miles from Market Rasen, 8 miles from Louth and 15 miles from Grimsby (along the minor road straight ahead). There was a rather overgrown seat in front of us and we decided to take advantage of this for an early lunch. It was not terribly comfortable and it was just starting to rain - but it was a seat! The rain increased in intensity, so we put on our waterproofs before setting off again, and the walk along the main road through Ludford was not pleasant, with rain, a dust cart progressing at about the same speed as us, and lorries coming in the opposite direction, sometimes too close to the pavement for comfort. However, Ludford was redeemed by a very ordinary cafe at a garden centre, where we stopped for a cup of tea. Appropriately it was called the Viking Way Coffee House.

The rain had just about stopped by the time we set off again, though the undergrowth was wet so we kept our over trousers on for the rest of the day. We turned off the main road past little industrial buildings (perhaps once associated with the airfield - now disused - on the other side of the road) and a poultry farm. Then we turned to the west and meandered in this direction.

The sun came out as we drank our coffee. It didn't last, and the weather became quite threatening as we walked to Walesby, but it didn't rain. I think this was the most challenging section of walking on the Viking Way, with a number of ascents and descents (though nothing too difficult), but it was glorious. Highlights included the deer grazing between Risby and Walesby, and the long distance views to Lincoln Cathedral.

Walesby is more hamlet than village, yet it has two churches, and we reached the original one, All Saints, up above the village. It was deemed to be too difficult for the congregation (or vicar?) to trek up the hill, so a new church was built in the village early in the 20th Century. All Saints then became associated with the Ramblers' Association (they hold an annual service there) so it became known as the 'Ramblers' Church' and has a delightful stained glass window showing two walkers.