A bimble round Alford.

Hello. This post concludes the three day report of my trip to Woody's Top Youth Hostel in the Lincolnshire Wolds. After my very brief visit to Alford the day before, I decided to come back in the car and have a proper look around. I said goodbye to my room mates, which took ages because we couldn't stop nattering. I didn't get to Alford until nearly lunch time, parked in a side road and walked into town. How sad that this lovely thatched roof building is going to rack and ruin. The hotel is boarded up, let's hope that someone will come along and revive it with some TLC.

That's interesting, another church has found a new role in it's life, it is now a furniture showroom and warehouse. I took a peek inside but didn't go in as the furniture looked a bit top notch and pricey. It was obvious I wasn't a customer, just some nosey old biddy wanting to have a poke around. Unlike the other church at Horncastle, the interior had been completely redesigned with the addition of an upper floor. It was hard to imagine it as a church.  Good to see it has been given a new lease of life. 

A bit further up the road is Alford Manor House. There was a £2.50 charge to go in that I didn't mind paying, as it is run by volunteers, and all money goes towards it's upkeep. It was built in 1611, and is reported to be the largest thatched Manor House in the country. There is a very good web site if you want more information.

Alford Manor House. I see they have their annual Food and Drink Fair on Sunday 30th of June, and admission is free to the house, gardens, and museum. Open 10am to 4pm. Worth a look if you are in the area.

A little tour around the house. This is a beautiful German cabinet.

The school room.

There are not many artefacts on display, because it is the house itself. and particularly the construction of it, that is important. This section of wall has been left to show what is underneath the plaster.

The scullery is outside, across the courtyard.

In the corner is the copper, used for heating the water. A fire is lit underneath it.

St Wilfreds Church juts out into the road. I can remember years ago coming through Alford with a massive load on my trailer, struggling to get round the bends. A lot of heavy loads come this way en route to Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal.

There are several wall hangings in the church, this one I particularly liked because of the vibrant colours, and the novel way the little figures had been crafted out of wool.

Alford is famous for it's five sailed windmill. Alas it was not working on the day I was there. If you want to check opening times you can do, on their web site.

Alford Windmill.

A fruit shop with it's wares displayed outside on the pavement. Looks tempting but I would rather not buy my fruit when it has been left out all day on a busy road, getting smothered in traffic dust and fumes.

The council offices.

A hotel in the Market Square.

There is a plaque on the wall, to the right of the front door.

The weather had started to deteriorate, and the threat of rain made me hurry back to my car. My overall impression of Alford was that it was a bit shabby, and not much to do and see there. I think I should have chosen a Tuesday to visit because that is market day and there is a lot more going on. My mistake in not doing enough research.

The heavens opened on the way home, and it hammered it down, which rather pleased me as I was getting a free car wash. I called in to visit a friend as I was passing through Brigg, it was good to have a coffee and a catch up.

I will post pictures of Uncle Stan's party tomorrow, it was a fantastic 'do', everyone enjoyed it. I made a little video which has turned out quite well. Bye for now.
Toodle pip.

My new second hand boots

Hey, what do you think of these then, bobby dazzlers aren't they. I thought they were fab when I spotted them on the shelf at the hospice charity shop today. They looked comfy, broad fitting, and my size, so I tried them on. Perfect, my mind was made up in super quick time, at only £3.50 I had to have them. Will be nice to wear them in the summer, instead of my usual brown or black boots. Can't wait to show them off.    

Looking further along the shelf I found these. Hmmm, I wonder if they will fit, tried them on, yep, they will do nicely. I have a battered and leaking pair which are falling apart, I need to throw them out, these will be a good replacement, and at £5, I think they are a good price. They haven't had much wear, and will last a couple of years.  

I didn't go in the shop for boots, I was looking for a blue sweater for Barry, he has joined the bowls club and needs to wear the same colour as everyone else in the team. I didn't find one, as it's a bit out of season, plenty of shirts and tee shirts, but no sweaters.

I may not have time to do a post tomorrow as I'm going to be busy all day at the party. I'll be back on Monday with the third day of the Lincolnshire Wolds trip. Have a nice Sunday, and lets keep our fingers crossed for sunshine.

Toodle pip.

A Walk to Alford

Good morning, it's Saturday, here is the second day of my three day trip. Wednesday was a walking day, there are not many photo's as I try not to post lots of samey photo's, like, this is a hill, this is a lane, this is a clump of trees. There are always churches amongst them, as I love the tranquility of a church, and it's always a bonus if the door is unlocked and I can sit inside for a few minutes. Also, there are no two churches the same. I like to imagine what it was like hundreds of years ago when it was full of worshipers, what clothes they were wearing, how the service might have been. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the villagers got together and re enacted the scene, a bit like they do when they re enact the battles.

I set off from the hostel at 9.30am, and just down the road at Ruckland is this little church, tucked away down a track, the only indication of it being there was a notice board on the side of the road at the end of the track. St Olave's sits on high up with beautiful views all around. The information in Wikipedia says it was built in 1885 and holds a congregation of forty people. Ruckland is a very small village of only nine houses.   

I took a track to the left and headed towards Worlaby. This scene was pure magic. It was a sunny morning, I had my shorts on, there was a slight breeze, and I was in heaven. I love the sight and smell of the oil seed rape fields. This is my idea of a fabulous walk. 

Passing between the two ponds, there was hundreds of ducks, some basking in the sun, and other chattering away paddling about on the water.

Then I was back on the road again heading towards South Ormsby. A car pulled up alongside me, travelling in the same direction, it was the two ladies I was sharing a room with. They said, I don't suppose you want a lift. I said, no thanks, I'm just loving being out here.

I turned right at the cross roads and went to have a look at St Leonards church at South Ormsby. There was a short climb up to it via a path next to the old school house.

At this point I wanted to pick up a path across a field, but seeing a herd of brown cows with their calves, grazing right where I wanted to be, I decided to give it a miss and keep to the road. I am not normally bothered by cows, but they can be very inquisitive, and protective of their young, and can surround you within a couple of minutes. It seems sensible to take the safer option.

As I approached Calceby there was the ruins of a church on the hillside to my left. There was no good place to take a photo, and there wasn't much left of it anyway, just a single archway, so I didn't didn't bother to go exploring in the hedges to find a way through into the field. If you want to take a look at the ruins of St Andrew's you can click on the link, which will take you to Rod Collins web site. There is an information board in a lay by. Calceby is one of many desserted villages in Lincolnshire.    

From Calceby it was paths across fields all the way to Alford. Just as I was coming into the town, I came across four ramblers sitting on a bench having their lunch. That's nice, I thought, I'll stop and have a natter. We spent about 20 minutes or so, having a jolly good laugh, I do seem to meet a lot of friendly folk.

What did I do in Alford? Not a lot really. I was mindfull that the time was getting on, and if I wanted to stop and look around I would be struggling to walk all the way back, and arrive back at a reasonable time for dinner. I went to the Tourist Information to ask about getting a bus, if not all the way, perhaps part the way back. No such luck, there were no buses. It was 3.30pm, only one thing for it but to set off back pretty sharpish. I chose a different way back, which was along mainly minor roads, I didn't have time to bimble about now, I needed to get a move on.

Out of Alford, I took the twisty road to Ailby, then round Swinn Wood to Aby, on to Belleau, and across Meagram Top, to Burwell. The sky started to darken as the clouds came over, there was a sudden downpour so on went the pacamac, and up went the brolly. I walked the last three miles in the rain. Up and down the hills, the roads became rivers, ha ha.   

It was 7pm when I reached the hostel, the only thing that was wet was my feet, as I was wearing my old boots and they leak. As luck would have it, my dinner was ready and waiting for me, courtesey of my German hostelling friends. Almost 20 miles covered, and a perfect end to a perfect day.

Toodle pip. 

A visit to Horncastle

Hiya. After popping in at the hostel on Tuesday, I went to Horncastle to take a look at this small market town. There wasn't time to walk there and back, so driving was the easy option. I parked my car in a quiet road on the outskirts and walked the half mile into town. This building is not in use and is for sale. I think it would make a great up market hotel and eatery. Love the architecture.

While I was standing outside this building reading the plaques each side of the entrance and taking the photo, a lady stopped to chat to tell me a bit about Horncastle. When I said I was into recycling and buying second hand rather than new, she said I was in the right place for antiques, Horncastle being full of antique and collectors item shops. She told me where to look.

Just up the street was this double fronted shop, full of bricabrac.

And up an alley way to the side of it is this open air yard. I was gobsmacked, the place was stacked high with pots, glassware, brass, and all kinds of bricabrac of every description. I spoke to the man working there, he said it is owned by Clare Boam, and I was later to find out that she has the monopoly on house clearance, auctions, and antiques in the town, owning several business premises.

Some of this stuff must have been here years, it is never covered up and left out all day and night, it was in a filthy state. I had a sudden urge to get a bowl of hot soapy water and start washing up. If anyone was to undertake that mamoth task it would take weeks to sort it all out.

Ms Boam buys and sells at auctions, and clears whole houses of all their contents. I don't know how she decides how much to sell things for.

As well as all the stuff outside there are several large warehouse type buildings stuffed full of old furniture stacked to the ceiling. Linens and old books, too much to list here, you name it, they have it.

I quite liked the look of this little thatched roof pub. Batemans is the dominant brewery in these parts.

A flower and fresh fruit shop with it's wares spread out all over the pavement. When I went by later on, they were getting it all in again ready for closing. What a lot of work for a small shop.

The monument in the market place.

These cottages are in St Mary's Square, there is one for sale if you fancy it, but they are close to a busy road.

St Mary's Church is at the end of the row.

This little tea shop next to the river looks cosy.

Another interesting building.

More antiques, the town is dominated by them.

Aha, what do I spy here, Trinity Church has been transformed into Trinity Centre Antiques. Must have a look inside here. There was a young man working inside, and he filled me in on some of the history. Clare Boam bought the church and land from the council, it used to be a visitor and Tourist Information centre, but they decided to sell it because it was too cold to work in during the winter, and too expensive to heat. She was given permission for change of use because she promised not to make any alterations to the inside and the outside of the building, only to restore it and to maintain the grounds.

All the grave stones were removed and are stored around the edges at the back. Somewhere is the grave of William Marwood, who had a cobblers shop in Church Lane. His interest in capital punishment and the technical aspects of hanging led him to devise a more humane method of execution, namely The Long Drop. He performed his first execution in 1872, and went on to execute 176 people in total, up until four months before his death in 1883, when he died of a lung disease. There is a hand written and framed letter from him on display inside the entrance. Click the link to read more.

                          

An amazing sight, a church stuffed full of antiques. I noticed that most of the items were not cheap. Clare is a canny business woman and obviously knows how to build her empire. Here is a statement from her which appeared in the Horncastle News, when she aquired the church. 

Amazing isn't it. At least the church is being put to good use, and not left to rot.

I think I could live, here, maybe not in the cold winter though.

There is a little bit of modernisation in Horncastle. This is the the bridge across the river to the Tesco car park. Along the bank is a picnic area which is swarming in ducks, which are very entertaining while you sit and eat your sandwiches.

I had time for a little walk after all this so I found a sign for the Viking Way, a long distance path that I have written about before. It follows the river Bain for a while. It was a very pleasant walk alongside the playing fields, but eventually disappeared into nothing, and I found myself wading through a weed meadow with nettles up to my knees, good job I had trousers on. I lost the path altogether, so went round the edge of a field towards a road which came out at a factory. I then headed back towards town. That was enough to fill the time, back to the hostel for dinner. I have a longer walk planned for tomorrow.

Toodle pip. 

Reporting back in.

Just a quickie to let you know what I've been up to for the last three days. Here's a clue.....

and here's another......

On Monday I booked myself a bed at Woody's Top Youth Hostel for two nights, Tuesday morning I set off and went straight to the hostel to check it out so I knew exactly where it was. It's in an isolated rural location on top of a hill, with wonderful views of the Wolds. It's a few miles south of Louth in Lincolnshire, the nearest place being a small village called Ruckland. The hostel was opened in 1948 and was formerly a barn, the name being derived from 'Mr Wood's Top Barn'. For many years it was very basic, the water being carried up the steep hill in a wheeled cart, and the toilets were of the compost variety. It has recently undergone a complete refit, and now boasts very modern facilities.

The cost of my two night stay was £31. I shared a room with three other women on the first night, then one of them checked out so there was three of us in the room on the second night. We were all of a similar age, and had a lot to chat about. Indeed they even shared their bottle of wine with me which was a lovely gesture. There was a younger German couple staying who spoke excellent English so the conversations were very varied and interesting. The wardens were a middle age couple who volunteer for these duties several times a year. The YHA is a charity, so they rely on volunteers to man some of the smaller and quieter hostels. No meals are provided at Woody's Top, which suits me, because I always self cater, I even took my box of growing salad with me, ha ha. I had a nice surprise on the second night when I returned from a long walk, the German couple had cooked too much food for dinner, so they kindly shared their very tasty vegetable stew with me. This is why I like staying at hostels, everyone is so friendly.

After arriving at the hostel on Tuesday, I drove a few more miles to the town of Horncastle, and spent the afternoon exploring there. Wednesday was a walking day, I was determined to walk to Alford and easily achieved this. This morning I checked out of the hostel and drove back to Alford to look around because I didn't have time to see much yesterday. I'll be posting the first lot of photo's tomorrow, so maybe you will come back and have a look.
Toodle pip