South Kesteven Round.co.uk - 5A The Market Deeping Alternative

West Deeping Mill

The Market Deeping Alternarive 11.6 miles

Three Mills by the Welland

The South Kesteven Round passes through the Market Towns of Grantham, Stamford and Bourne. This section of the walk provides the opportuinity to also visit Market Deeping. The walk takes you along the path of an ancient Roman Road where you re join the route of the Stamford Canal

Map of this section of the walk

Print a copy of the walk instructions

There are pubs to visit on this section of the walk

Camping Available at Tallington Lakes

Stamford Canal (Uffington) to West Deeping 3.8 miles

The railway influences this section of the walk as you cross over the East Coast mainline and follow the Stamford to Peterborough line for a short distance. Very unusually these days, the walk takes you past a manned signal box at Uffington where the signaller manually closes the gates when a train approaches. When the South Kesteven Round was first written you were able to cross the mainline on foot, although the path does still you lead you to the railway, sensibly the crossing has now been blocked off and you have to follow a small diversion to cross at the Tallington footbridge. On the plus side this means that you pass the Whistle Stop pub in Tallington in addition to the Red Lion in West Deeping - every cloud has a silver lining.

Camping is available at Tallington Lakes, a short diversion off the walk.

This section of the walk starts at the stone bridge at the eastern end of the Stamford Canal. Turn right and cross the bridge over the river Welland. Do not take the first signed footpath on the right but continue along the road around the left hand bend and beneath the pylon wires. After a short distance turn right at the second footpath sign. Veer to the left and follow a line to the left of the railway signal box at the end of the field.
The path rejoins the road a short distance from the railway line and at this point we enter Cambridgeshire. Turn right and cross over the railway line and then left after the stone house keeping the railway line on your left. This is a stretch of the Torpel Way that connects Peterborough with Stamford. Continue through two fields, at the end of the second field turn right. You will see a pig farm on your left and at the end of this field turn left. After about 150 metres, you pass a large animal food store raised off the ground on a large metal frame. At this point the Torpal Way turns right, ignore this right turn and continue straight ahead for a short distance and then follow the field around to your left and then to your right to cross the railway line.
After crossing the tracks turn right and at the corner of the field turn left. Continue on the field edge, past the end of the pig farm, with a dyke on your right. When the dyke goes right continue straight until you reach a footpath sign, cross through the hedge and turn immediately left with the hedge now on your left hand side. At the end of the field turn right with the old course of river Welland to your left and continue until you emerge onto the Tallington/ Bainton road. Turn left and walk along the road into Tallington (you are now back in Lincolnshire)
Cross over the Welland and pass Church Lane on the left hand side. A short distance after this turn right along a dark gravel footpath with a fence on the right and a low hedge on your left. You are once again on the route of the former Stamford canal until you reach the railway embankment. Follow this path until you reach a metal fence where the path turns left and with a stile on your right. Cross the stile (not dog friendly) and keep to the left of this field, close to the hedge, until you reach a gate and stile, cross over the stile and then continue in the same direction along a lane (do not turn left). After a short distance just as the lane bends to the right (towards Tallington Mill), at a public footpath sign, continue straight ahead through a gate at the side of the cattle grid. Keeping the fence on your right continue straight ahead through two fields until you reach the railway embankment then turn left (ignore the gate to your right this was the direction of the original walk).
After a short distance you go through a gate, you are now on a narrow path with fencing either side of you. Continue along this path until you reach a gate and the A1175 at the level crossing. Cross the road with care and go over the footbridge, After crossing the footbridge (over the East Coast main line), walk a short distance towards the filling station,. NB the Whistle Stop pub is opposite.
Almost opposite a left turn, sign posted Tallington Lakes (camping available here) Barholm and Greatford, you will see a public footpath sign on the opposite side of the road. Cross the road with care enter the field and follow the edge of the field to your right and then when you reach the corner turn left and follow the path with mobile homes on your right. At a three way public footpath sign continue straight forward in the same direction, cross over a small footbridge and stile
Continue in the same direction with the fence and embankment on your right, before you reach the river turn left and follow the line of low voltage pylons with the river on your right (you are now back on the original South Kesteven Round) until you reach a gate and stile. Cross the stile continue straight ahead with the river on your right until you reach another stile. After crossing the stile turn left and after a very short distance turn right and cross over a wooden bridge. Keep the hedge on your right and you soon cross another stile. Continue straight on until you reach a track. Turn right passing the mill on your right and the church on your left. Follow this now tarmac road until you reach a T junction with King Street running through West Deeping Village.
`To continue on the round turn right, or if you think you have earned yourself a drink turn left and you will soon reach the Red Lion pub on your left.

West Deeping to Market Deeping (via Maxey Mill) 3.0 miles

You will find a wide selection of pubs and eateries in Market Deeping including two award winning Fish & Chip shops. The Bull Inn, Deeping Stage and Old Coach House (currently closed) are all old coaching inns, with the town siting on both of the former London to Lincoln and Boston to Leicester coaching routes. The towns stone buildings date back to the 17th century and the wealth generated from trade routes on the river Welland and Stamford Canal.

Market Deeping is the largest of the lovely and historical Deeping villages, the town formed when Richard de Rulas, Chamberlain to William the Conqueror, fed up with his land being consistently flooded built a high bank to confine the waters of the Welland. On this bank he built cottages and tenements which grew to become the town of Market Deeping.

After turning right onto King Street cross over the bridge and look for the public footpath sign on your left, cross over the stile and walk through the long field. At the far end of this field cross another stile, with a footbridge, and continue along the edge of this second field beside the stream. In the corner of this field pass between bushes to join the bank of the River Welland. Turn left and continue straight ahead crossing over a weir and past the millpond of Maxey Mill, you have again crossed over into Cambridgeshire. Follow the path around the millpond to the right emerging onto public road.
Turn left and walk about 150 metres down the road and turn left at a public footpath sign. Follow the path with tress and a stream on your left and then the river Welland. After about a mile the path passes Market Deeping Mill on the opposite bank. Continue along the banks of the Welland, (do not veer right at a way marker sign), until you see some galvanised metal barriers and the footpath veers half right, following a subsidiary channel. Pass beneath the A15 road.
Continue following this channel on your left until it rejoins the Welland, turn right and follow the path with the Welland on your left, as the Welland flows under the bridge continue straight on past a brick wall on your left and follow the path up towards the bridge onto Lincoln Road, turn left and cross over the bridge (back into Lincolnshire) and you will see Market Square in Market Deeping on your right.

Market Deeping to Greatford 4.8 miles

King Street enters South Kesteven in West Deeping, it is a straight Roman Road that originally ran from Peterborough and joined Ermine Street just south of Ancaster. Parts of the road are still in use today and in this section you will walk along a short section of this ancient road. There is a small drawback in that the road is so straight that cars travel at speed so please enjoy walking along this piece of history but be careful - Roman attire is not essential.

On the previous section you walked past the back of Market Deeping Mill, if you would like to see the front elevation of the mill, continue just beyond the point where the round turns right off the A1175. The Mill known as Molecy's Mill after the family that owned it in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Stamford Canal would have run in front of the mill and the river Welland behind. The water wheel is still in working order to this day. You can read more about the mill at the downloads page and follow the link to Stamford Canal.

The walk takes you along the Greatford Cut built in the 1950's which joins together the rivers Glen and Welland preventing the river Glen from flooding. After reaching Greatford the walk re-joins the main SK Round close to the Hare and Hounds pub.

At Market Square turn left at the roundabout onto Stamford road and continue walking along this road until you reach the Welland Gate roundabout and Market Deeping bypass road. This is a busy road so please take care as you cross the dual carriageway and continue straight on along the A1175 towards Stamford. Ignore the footpath sign on your right at the side of the low voltage pylon, you are heading to the bridge just a slight distance ahead. At the bridge turn right keeping the Greatford Cut on your left. Continue along the bank of the Cut for approx 1.5 miles with a right-angle bend to the left near the halfway point.
At the end of the path cross through a gate and emerge onto King Street. Please take care here as King Street is an old Roman Road hence is very straight and cars travel at speed. There are wide grass verges on either side of the road and although these are not the easiest to walk along they do offer space to move away from the road when cars are approaching. I recommend that you walk facing the oncoming traffic. Turn right onto King Street and walk for about a mile (approx 20 minutes) past a crossroads until you reach a public footpath sign at the end of a spinney. Taking the path to your left cross King Street, over a footbridge, past the end of the spinney on your left to a waymark sign at the edge of a field.
The footpath direction takes you between the low farm building and electricity pylon, when you reach the farm building keep to the left and after approx 200 metres you will see another waymark sign. Turn left along the edge of a field with a dyke to your left. At the field corner pass a belt of trees and continue half right across the field towards houses in the far corner. At the public road turn right and at the T junction turn left into Greatford Village. You will see the Hare and Hounds pub straight in front - go on you deserve a drink after that walk!
Before the Hare and Hounds there is a right turn onto Carlby Road, signposted Braceborough and Carlby. Here you re join the main South Kesteven round.

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