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

A look at Sleaford

I picked up a leaflet ages ago from our Arts Centre here in town. I'm always on the look out for leaflets for ideas of places to visit, and Sleaford isn't too far away, just past Lincoln, so easy to get to. I put on my walking boots thinking it would be a good idea to park my car at Ruskington about five miles away, and walk along the River Slea into town. I found the Co op store with plenty of free parking and thought ideal. The car park closes when the store closes, at 9pm, so my car wouldn't get locked in, as I would be back easily within the deadline.

I checked my watch, and checked the map for footpaths, and then it dawned on me, that by the time I had walked to Sleaford and back, it wouldn't give me much time to look around. Had I set off earlier, I would have had plenty of time to do what I wanted to do. My main reason for being there was to visit The National Centre for Craft and Design, I noticed that this closes at 5pm. What if I became so engrossed and spent a lot of time in there, I would have to rush around the rest of the town. So the decision was made to drive to Sleaford, and come back another day to look around Ruskington and the surrounding area. 

I parked on an industrial estate half a mile before I got there, and walked in. On the roadside pointing left was a sign for Cogglesford Mill. Worth a look as I was passing. Unfortunately it wasn't a working day so the water wheel was still, but it was still interesting to look around. This is a grade 2 listed building the present red brick structure dates back to the late 18th century, with alterations made in the 19th century.  

The next place I found was Navigation House, an original canal company office built in 1838, which has been restored and is now a visitor centre.  

The old clerks office has been restored.

Good to see the cat doing it's job. Not looking too bad for it's age, just a bit flea bitten, ha ha.

With the lovely blue skies as a backdrop, the the parish church of St Denys looks pretty impressive. This is the view from the market place.

And the side view from a side street.

A row of modern flats overlooking the River Slea.

The United Reform Church next to the river in Southgate, has had it's frontage redeveloped in 2007 to provide a community meeting place.

But what a carbuncle it looks. Pity they didn't use matching stone in a similar style to the church.

This is the Handley Monument, erected to commemorate Henry Handley who was born in Sleaford, and was a member of Parliament.

In the town centre stands  Money's Mill, a 1796 windmill with no sails. For several years it was the Tourist Information Centre, now it is a tea room.

I was enjoying my bimble around Sleaford. It has a bypass so there wasn't a lot of traffic passing through, that's until the schools turned out, then all hell broke loose. The main street very quickly got snarled up and cars were either at a standstill or crawling through at a snails pace. The hundreds of youngsters jostling for space meant that stepping out into the road to avoid the crush was inevitable. It was pandemonium. It seemed like everyone who wanted to travel north to south or vice versa, had to go down the main shopping street. I dived in a charity shop for some cover and asked the assistant about it. She said the schools stagger their finishing times, so as soon as one lot have gone through, a lot more follow them. 

At 5pm I decided to head for home. I haven't mentioned the Centre for Craft and Design in this report, I did go in and see the exhibitions, but there are far too many photo's to add it to this post, so I shall do another post at a later date. 

I'm away for a short break tomorrow, booked in at the Youth Hostel at Woody's Top, a few miles south of Louth in Lincolnshire. I shall be getting some walking done, and having a bimble round Alford, and Horncastle, hopefully. I'll tell you all about it when I get back. In the meantime, look after the place, and don't burn it down, ha ha.  

Ooops, nearly forgot, I got bored with blonde, ha ha.

Bargains to be had at the car boot sale

Have a guess at how cheaply we can buy clothes in North Lincolnshire. There are two carrier bags here, six items in each bag, bought from two different places. Go on, have a guess, how much do you think they were.......The bag on the left cost £1, the bag on the right was 60p. Amazing isn't it, so why were people shopping across the road in Tesco and Next, and up the road in Matalan? I'll tell you why, because they wouldn't be seen dead rummaging through piles of clothes at a car boot sale. Pride, that's all it is, yet if you washed and ironed these clothes, they have years of wear left in them. Most of them are nearly new, a couple of items look brand new. Most of them are better than the rags I walk around in now.

I will be washing them, but I didn't buy them to wear, most will be used in sewing projects. Kath over at Hillside House has sent me a template to make a quilt, I may just start one in the near future. I also fancy making another rag rug. I picked these for their vibrant colours.

This is a lovely top with a Berketex label, it's polyester so no creases. It is slightly too big for me, but I can take it in at the sides for a better fit. This was in the six for £1 bag,  

This shirt is nearly new, it's a nice thick cotton, and it probably will be butchered and made into something else.  

After the car boot sale, I popped into Tesco as I had some money off vouchers for some things I normally buy. A box of 44 Felix pouches is on offer at £9 and I had a further 85p off. I also found some reduced fruit, grapes, strawberries, and peaches. While I was browsing the continental section I saw that these were  half price at 24p. I have been getting a bit bored with my usual dilute cordial drinks, and wanted to try something different, so I bought one of each. They are the 250 mil size, a single portion with a straw.  

Pour it in a glass....

and top up with water for a bigger drink. The Passion Fruit is lovely.

My lunch today was a Quorn quarter pounder, on offer at £1.50 for two, with a 45p voucher off. Served on a bed of spinach, with grated carrot and grated cheese, and a few dollops of plain Value yogurt (45p). It was very filling.

This afternoon I got my party tent out of storage in the downstairs lavvy, checked it over and made sure all the parts are there. I didn't bother to put the four sidewalls on, as I know they are alright. The last time I used it was about six years ago, I got it for my business when I set up a stall at agricultural shows and suchlike. I have slept in it a few times when it was a two or three day event. I shall be taking it to a birthday party next weekend, Uncle Stan will be 90, and he is having a bit of a bash. They want some cover in the garden in case a lot of people come and they don't all fit in the house. If it is sunny I will put two sides on, then if it rains I can put a third side on and there will be some shelter.

I'll be back tomorrow with the Sleaford photo's, haven't forgotten. I'm taking three days off next week, I'll be off out somewhere, haven't decided where yet. I'll decide tomorrow,

Toodle pip.