Lonful two

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Lonful here.

Walked from Fulbeck to Long Bennington. A walk of three parts. The eastern end as far as Gelston is very pleasant, largely following a ridge with fine views, with some pretty old villages. The middle part to Hougham is on quiet roads and gets the job done quickly. The rest is mostly on the Viking Way, a popular and well waymarked path, but does involve crossing some clay fields which are very sticky when wet. There are plenty of stiles, a little rough ground and steps at the Witham bridge south of Hougham.

From Fulbeck, an old unsurfaced lane takes us down the hill and we follow the minor road up to Sudthorpe, continuing on a well marked if sometimes muddy path to Caythorpe. I ignored a new concessionary path that avoids stiles but takes a slightly wider line round the edge of the large pasture north of the village, but this could become the right of way in future if they get their way.

Another field path takes us out of Caythorpe, round an arable field and across a sheep pasture to reach the well marked path that follows the edge of the hill to Hough on the Hill. The pub here is the last one we pass, but may well be closed during the day in midweek. Just as I thought I was in for some good views across the plain, the mist descended. The path across to Gelston seems less used but is clearly marked - there is one slightly awkward slippery section that descends into a wooded side valley.

From Gelston onwards we are on the road, which has verges and seemed fairly quiet. We cross the East Coast Main Line on a bridge, then turn left at a T junction onto a busier road (again with verges), which we leave right to head into the quiet village of Hougham, where the main street has a pavement on the north side. We turn left at the village green to follow Manor Lane. Our path leaves the lane through a rather narrow kissing gate to the right, and the way down to the bridge and across the field to the left is clear and well trodden. Note that the short cut that the designer of LonFul one may have hoped for does not work - there is a bridge over the drainage ditch by the Witham, but a fence prevents access to it from the main footbridge. Hence the need to head across the field then turn sharp right once across the ditch.

From here the route out to the Viking Way is obvious, as is the route along the way, which starts on a surfaced farm road, but further along becomes unsurfaced. We eventually reach a T junction and turn left, then cross the bridge right into a field, where the path was wet with very sticky clay. Beyond this first field the path is better, and we soon reach Fallow Lane, where we turn right.

Note that the Viking Way indicates that the footpath starts on an old green lane parallel to the surfaced farm road, but we are soon forced to join the farm road anyway, so this seems a little pointless. We follow the surfaced track most of the way across a large field, then turn right at a clearly signposted point where the well trodden path heads across the clay, crossing two further fields to reach a narrow fenced bridge across the Witham, that takes us into Westborough.

The shortcut path onwards is not marked as a right of way on the OS map, but it is signposted as part of the Viking Way, and now has a public footpath sign too. The route across the fields to the third and last Witham bridge is easy to follow. All that remains is the pavement walk through the village.

Note that if you are finishing in Long Bennington and intending to leave by bus, you may well be surprised by the total absence of any bus stop signs - this is because the minibuses that serve the village can be flagged down anywhere - if in doubt the Village Hall (or opposite it if heading for Grantham) is the timing point.

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