5 minute read
WALKING A walk around Waltham
A WALK WITH PRIDE
A WALK BY THE WINDMILL
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This month we’re enjoying a walk in rural North East Lincolnshire as we explore the village of Waltham with the Lincolnshire Ramblers...
Words: Lincolnshire Ramblers. Image: www.greyarro.ws drone club.
Distance: 6.25 miles / 10 km. Route: See map overleaf. How to Get There: DN37 0JG (approx); OS grid reference TA265037. More Information: www.lincolnshireramblers.org.uk.
THIS WALK starts from Ings Lane, Waltham, outside the Cemetery. Do not park on the grass verge as penalties could occur.
Walking away from the village in a southerly direction, pass Grove Lane on the right and after 200 metres come to Grove Park on the right. Go through the gate and follow the paved footpath, the park opening up into a natural arena surrounded by ancient trees.
On the left there is a stream and beyond that there are some new modern-design houses. On the right, in the distant corner, is Grove House (A) in which the owner of the park lived, but it is now a residential care home. Follow the path and cross over the bridge into Elm Road, which you follow to its end.
Turn right at the main road (Cheapside), and walk approximately 250 metres to reach a fingerpost on the left and a footpath.
Go through the pedestrian gate and follow the field-edge path towards the windmill. The path takes you into an area where there is an array of small shops including, a café (housed in the body of an old Great Northern Railway six-wheel carriage), restaurant, artisan workshops and the RAF Grimsby Museum. To the right, a small railway can be seen where children can have rides during the summer months.
The first mill on this site was built in 1666 and was a trestle post mill. This mill was blown down in 1744, but soon replaced with another post mill, but this suffered a similar fate, being blown down in 1873.
Construction of the one that stands today began in 1878 and was completed in 1880, constructed of local brick and coated with a layer of tar as a seal against the elements
By 1962, the mill was one of the last windmills in England to be fully operational by wind, but from this point until 1967, it was powered by electricity, latterly producing animal feed. Following restoration, it continues to grind flour from time to time.
The RAF Grimsby exhibition is part of the Waltham Windmill Museum of Rural Life. The Museum is based in a second world war Nissen hut which was the WAAF’s canteen during the war. It tells the story of the squadrons of Wellington and Lancaster bombers and their crews, which were based at Waltham during the war. Leave through the car park and on reaching the main road, turn left. The pavement running alongside the road takes you to the village of Brigsley. On passing the ‘Brigsley’ sign (B), a fingerpost points left, directing you through a kissing gate to a footpath that runs behind the houses, eventually re-joining the pavement, which you follow to a fork in the road. The main road veers right, but you continue straight on into Church Lane, to reach St. Helens Church on the left.
This Grade II listed church has 11th century origins, with the fascinating tower showing many stages of the building’s history. The ironstone base is topped with bands of cobbles, limestone and chalk to the upper section of first stage, then limestone ashlar dressings to second stage and parapet.
Continue along the lane to a T-junction and here, go right to reach the main road (C). Cross with care and walk down the side of the house following a driveway that forms part of the Wanderlust Way and the Johnson Silver Lincs Way, leading to Barnoldby Le Beck.
The Wanderlust Way, is a 20-mile circuit through some of North East Lincolnshire's most picturesque countryside.
Originally called ‘The Bradley 20,’ it was renamed in 1990 to commemorate the life and work of James Neville Cole. >>
Cole lived from 1916-1989 and co-founded the Wanderlust Rambling Club. ‘Nev’ devoted his life and energy to walking and ensured the footpaths and bridleways in the area were well maintained, a legacy for future generations to enjoy and appreciate. The Johnson Silver Lincs Way runs between Grimsby and Louth, and was devised to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the Grimsby & Louth Ramblers. The walk was renamed the Johnson Silver Lincs Way in 2018 to celebrate the many years of volunteering by Joan and Ted Johnson and who originally devised the route.
The route is clearly signed and you have a pleasant 21⁄2 km. country walk passing through fields and woods with several gates, before emerging onto the main road running through Barnoldby Le Beck. Cross the road and turn right, passing Church Lane, then turning left into Chapel Lane and first right into the Old Main Road, passing the rear of the Ship Inn (D). Admire the new houses that line ‘the most expensive road in North East Lincolnshire,’ then at the end of the road, re-join the main road, going left and heading back towards Waltham. Continue on the pavement to reach a roundabout (E), cross to the right via the refuge and walk between houses onto the celebrated ‘Footpath 72’, reopened in December 2020 after 30+ years of campaigning led by The Ramblers. You walk between a large corrugated fence and some new houses before you come to a footbridge and open fields. Continue ahead crossing two more bridges before you emerge again onto the Brigsley Road, a short distance beyond the point you reached earlier (B). This time turn left heading back to Waltham, to reach a roundabout and the well laid out Cenotaph area. Passing the Cenotaph on your right, continue a few yards to the next roundabout and bear right, passing a coffee shop on the right, then continue through the village with the and library to your right (F). Walk past All Saints Church to the allotments. Between the allotments and the last house preceding, go right, along a signed footpath, allotments left, ignoring a path left and continuing to a residential road (Home Paddock). Turn left and walk for a few yards, going right through a gate onto an enclosed path to reach Skinners Lane. Here, go left to Ings Lane and your transport. n
Self-guided walks from the Lincolnshire Ramblers can be found at www.lincolnshireramblers.org.uk.
