With our eldest daughter living near the Humber Bridge, we always make a weekend of it as it’s just too far for a day visit. But for ages we have always said that we would like to spend some time in the Lincolnshire Wolds which are not too far from Daughter’s house, so we arranged to stay at a campsite in the Van with Daughter joining us for the day.
So mid afternoon on Friday, we stuffed The Dog in the campervan and set off eastwards. There’s no easy or quick route from west to east – okay, it is all A roads, but they’re typically twisty and turny, making overtaking difficult. Inevitably, you get stuck behind a tractor or some other slow moving vehicle until finally you reach the A1 and the it’s all motorway for the rest of the way.
We had booked a Caravan and Camping certified site just outside the village of Tealby, which in turn is about 3 miles east of Market Rasen. We arrived just after 7pm and it doesn’t take us long to set up. The certified site this time was just a farmer’s field with very basic facilities. This one had drinking water, a chemical waste area and a small brick building housing a loo, handbasin and shower, tastefully tiled and reasonably large (I even showered in it – I’m not one for campsite ablutions normally). There was also electric hook ups too. With just two other caravans, it was just perfect. Quiet and with a lovely view across the sheep field to the Wolds.
The Dog was itching for a walk, so we wandered down in the evening sunshine to the village to find the pub. We took the long route to have a good nosey and found two fords across the road – the first one was relatively easy to cross in an ordinary car, but the second one was deep and quite long in length. Firm signs informed motorists not even to think about traversing it – even a Land Rover would find it difficult. We strolled along a country lane and turned right into a road full of 1970’s executive homes – big brick houses surrounded by large gardens. They were all different. Here and there were bungalows and older cottages dotted in between. We were expecting quaint 17th century houses and cottages – obviously there had been a bit of a housing boom some 40/50 years ago and it had extended the village along this road. We abruptly turned right again by a sign saying “Pub this way”. Some new housing was still being built down this lane, a small development of terraces, tastefully designed to fit in with the local area and in the typical style of stone with brick edging doors and windows. It was in the middle of the village and not taking more of our precious green belt either. See, we can build properly when we think about it and try!
We found the pub – a beautiful thatched building dating from the 1300’s and declaring itself the oldest thatched pub in Lincolnshire (as our daughter noted, it’s probably the only one as there’s not many thatched places which are pubs!). We sat inside as it was decidedly cool out and ordered a couple of pints, a bag of Cheddars (shared with The Dog) and a bag of peanuts. Happy, we wandered back down another route for more staring at houses and came across a delightful old mill stream running through a garden, next door to a lovely cottage. It was very pretty. We carried on down the lane to the campsite and the sun setting, we sorted out the bed in the Van and settled down for a good night’s sleep.
The next morning was bright and sunny and we sunned ourselves as we ate breakfast. The Daughter appeared with her Labrador who just loves everyone and gave us a boisterous welcome. After a cuppa, we decided to walk to Ludford, a nearby village following the Viking Way which runs for 147 miles from the River Humber, through Lincoln and finishing in Rutland. (A possible long distance walk to tackle in the future!) So we set off back towards Tealby village and walked through the Sutton Estate, along tracks and footpaths in between undulating fields of cows and ploughed fields. It was very pretty and at one point, a long distance vista opened up looking west, the spire of Lincoln Cathedral could be seen and the Drax power station on the horizon.
We had a brief but exciting walk along the B1225 road (bit of a race track) before returning to the peaceful fields via a gap in the hedges. We dropped onto A631 and walked along the pavement to the edge of the village. We were aiming for the pub, (we discovered later that it was another half mile or more up the road) but a small garden centre cafe beckoned and we ended up having paninis and coffee there. The Dogs sucked up all the water out of the nearby doggy bowl before enjoying a sausage each and a quick siesta, recharging in the shade under the table. Suitably refreshed, we followed the same route back, the sun high in the sky, but with a cooling breeze. We passed a cordoned off field with the odd motorbiker racing across the brown earth – there seemed to be some sort of motocross being organised. Further down the hill, we came across a herd of cows by a gate with a huge lumbering bull in the middle of them. He seemed a gentle giant, pushing his way forward to enjoy a scratch on the nose while his harem warily watched, though they were happy to follow us as we walked along the adjacent footpath, the bull bringing up the rear.
We were soon back in the village, coming across yet another little ford which The Dogs happily stood in and drank copiously. It was a warm day for them. We seemed to be in the older part of the village, pretty cottages draped in wisteria and surrounded by cottage gardens. It was such a typical English village scene and really lovely. We came across the village shop where we bought icecreams and sat in the park next door, under a shady tree. We had booked a dinner table at the pub f0r 5.30, but we had a bit of a dilemma (it was only about 4 o’clock) as the campsite was way out on the opposite side of the village and it seemed pointless to walk all the way there to spend a little time by the Van and then having to come back for the pub. So we made an executive decision and waddled straight to the pub, sitting in the garden, basking in the sunshine and nursing pints. It was so warm that we ended up eating our booked meal out there while The Dogs snoozed under the table. They were so tired that they didn’t even bother scrounging for titbits. Finally we wandered back to the campsite and had a cup of tea and relaxed, apart from The Labrador who discovered the farm cats mousing between the farm buildings and a nearby caravan. He was itching to chase them. Our elderly hound had crashed on her bed in the passenger footwell and was sound asleep.
Later we discovered that there were 17 feral cats lurking, from just one cat last year. The farmer admitted he had a bit of feline issue, but probably no rodent problem!
The Daughter reluctantly said her goodbyes and headed home as the sun set on the horizon. We tidied up and got ready for a well earned sleep, though The Dog beat us to the bed and refused to move. We squeezed ourselves around her and gradually fell asleep. It had been a lovely day!
apathtosomewhere 