We walked the 7 mile route on a sunny but showery March weekend day.  The walk was generally pleasant with some field walking, road and lanes.  The first part was along a busy road and a pavement was only available at the start so we had to walk on the road verges which would have been treacherous if there was more traffic.  The path then diverted onto field walking where footpath signs were few and far between and if we didn't have a map with us, we would easily have got lost. All in all, it was an enjoyable walk but there was a lot of road and lane walking which at this time of year with the fields muddy it wasn't a problem.  Heckington is a lovely village and the windmill has a great cafe just across the road from the station.  The cake was amazing!...

SpringChickens

The route into Heckington continued along more quiet roads but one small section of footpath was again unmarked and took some guesswork to find the correct route. On the whole a very good walk, let down slightly by the section of busy road and a couple of unmarked footpaths....

JurassicWayfarers

We continue past the bus station and turn south onto Bond Street and George Street. We continue to the A52 bridge on Swineshead Road, where we cross the road and move to the south bank of the Drain. We follow the road back to the north side of the bridge, then there is no alternative to continuing along the verge for most of the next two miles - there are short pavement sections and there are two places where it is possible to escape onto the old road, but this is by far the least enjoyable part of the walk. We then follow a drainage ditch to the A17 Heckington bypass, where we follow the road right towards Littleworth Drove, where a fenced off wood prevents direct access to the bridge, and we turn right to reach the road about 100 metres further north....

Hugh Hudson

Beyond Southview Farm a well cut field path offers a shortcut, after which we continue along the road into Burton Pedwardine, where we turn right twice then left onto Whitecross Lane, which is also quiet. We turn right to follow the edge of another field - this section looks as if it would be quite muddy when wet, then follow another farm lane out to Mareham Lane, a fairly busy road which has verges but no pavement until the edge of Sleaford is reached....

Hugh Hudson

This route should be quite a good one, considering how few direct options are available, but it is let down by careless plotting and needs redrawing - in particular it crosses the South Forty Foot Drain between bridges, and there is no direct route from the path parallel to the A17 bypass outside Heckington to the top of the bridge on Kyme Road. I have created HECBOS 2, which is 90% the same route, but drawn more carefully, and reflecting my experience of walking it from Boston to Heckington. For a more detailed review see the new route....

Hugh Hudson