Scopwick and Kirkby Green

Places of interest to visit nearby

13 14

02 B 12

A1133

0 B12

2

15

91

9

1 B119

10

8

B1429

A607

Kirkby Green

91 B11

B11

A6

07

4

12

3 A15

7

B1395

6

East Heckington A17

A153

North Kesteven District Council Heart of Lincolnshire

B6 4

03

16

A52

W1 Distance 2.3 miles/3.7km W2 Distance 1.9 miles/3km

A52

7 A60

Whilst great care has been taken in compiling this information into this leaflet, North Kesteven District Council cannot be held responsible for any errors, omissions or alterations contained within it. The inclusion of an establishment within this leaflet does not imply any official recommendations by North Kesteven District Council.

For more Stepping Out walks, further information on local attractions or accommodation, please call or visit: Sleaford Tourist Information Centre, Money’s Yard, Carre Street, Sleaford, Lincs NG34 7TW Telephone: 01529 414294 Email: tic@n-kesteven.gov.uk www.heartoflincs.com Download all the Stepping Out walks by visiting www.countrysidenk.co.uk www.countryaccess.gov.uk www.visitlincolnshire.com www.spiresandsteeples.com

15 Walk

ECS6495RT 2008

Church Lane, Timberland Lincoln LN4 3SB Telephone: 01526 378810

Many of the paths have been provided by the goodwill of local landowners. These are marked by Highways Act signs. No special permission is needed to use these paths, but walkers are asked to help to ensure a continued welcome by only using the waymarked paths and keeping dogs on a lead. Where paths cross pasture young stock may be present. If you have a dog with you please make sure it is under firm control in these sensitive areas.

B1178

11

2 19 B1

Clifton House

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Haddington

B1190

B1190

2

89 B11

The Mills, Kirkby Green Lincoln LN4 3PE Telephone: 01526 320329

178 B1

20

A15

Watermill Farm Cottages

B1

8 18 B1

29 Heath Road, Scopwick Lincoln LN4 3NU Telephone: 01526 321716

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34

A1

Daisy Cottage B & B

4 A1

5 A1

The Manor, Timberland Lincoln LN4 3RZ Telephone: 01526 378388

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Scopwick and

B1 19 0

8 18 B1

Manor Cottage

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58

A 15

Accommodation

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4 Station Road, Timberland Lincoln LN4 3SA Telephone: 01526 378359

A1

1

2

19 B1

The Penny Farthing Inn

00

B12 0

B1241

High Street, Scopwick Lincoln LN4 3QT Telephone: 01526 320285

A1 5

A46

Royal Oak

Introduction

Stepping Out

B1398

Refreshments

Go Stepping Out!

www.countrysidenk.co.uk

The 4000 acres of the parish of Scopwick and Kirkby Green lie on the eastern edge of the old Lincoln Heath, roughly half way between Sleaford and Lincoln. The villages, separated by just over a mile, lie beside an old drove road which now forms part of the B1191 running east from the A15 to the old ferry at Kirkstead Bridge. West of the A15, the road loses its designation, becoming Temple Road. It once connected the wool trading centre at Kirkstead Abbey directly to Welbourn on Lincoln Cliff, traversing the isolated heath and linking its Templar granges with medieval Boston, a thriving Hanseatic port, second only to London.

Scopwick means ‘sheep farm’ in Old English ('scæp-wic') and Kirkby Green (‘village with a church’) has the ‘by’ suffix denoting Viking origin (the Anglo-Saxon word ‘Dene’ refers to any Scandinavian invader, not just the Danes). These names show that just over 1000 years ago, ‘Dane’ and ‘Saxon’ lived closely under the Danelaw. Kesteven (and probably Rutland) formed the greater part of the Danelaw borough of Stamford bounded by the Welland, Witham and Car Dyke.

Walk Facts

Walk Location

Two circular routes around the villages of Scopwick and Kirkby Green.

Starting Points W1

W2

Scopwick Stepping Out Car Park (Grid Ref: TF 070 582) Kirkby Green Stepping Out Car Park (Grid Ref TF 0847 5796)

Parking As above

Public Transport

For information call the Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 or visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/busrailtravel

Walk Length W1

W2

2.3 miles (3.7km) 1.9 miles (3km) At a leisurely pace, both walks will each take about an hour

Type of Walk

The walks are generally on good farm tracks and pathways.

Some of the tracks can be very muddy in wet weather.

Ordnance Survey maps

Explorer 272 and Landranger 121

W1 1.1

4.3

4

6

With the hedge on your right, follow this through the gate and retrace your steps to your car.

All fields have names, though many are in danger of being forgotten or replaced by the numbers demanded by agricultural census returns. They can be many hundreds of years old and describe topography, the soil, wildlife, vegetation or the name of a previous owner. Field names unique to each location are recorded on title deeds, tithe maps and farm maps. Thankfully, many in Scopwick and Kirby Green have been recorded as part of the Village Trail.

They include: Barley Furze, Cow Close, Bonnet’s Close and Ten Acres. The term ‘acre’ used locally expressed the amount of land a team of oxen could plough in a day, rather than any formal unit of measure.

1.1

Anglo-Canadian pilot John Magee is buried in Scopwick Commonwealth War Graves cemetery. His poem High Flight is regularly quoted and was famously quoted by US President Regan in his tribute to the crew of the Challenger space shuttle.

Magee was educated at Rugby School where he won the coveted poetry prize and was killed in a flying accident while stationed at RAF Wellingore in December 1941, aged just 19.

Stepping Out leaflet number14

5

Scopwick

6 1

2

e le Lan Trund

2.2

4

Water Tower

A

Scopwick

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4.4

1

B1191

M To

art

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Kirkby Green

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ord

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af Sle To

A large water tower is present on Trundle Lane on the Scopwick Walk. The tank was converted from a ship’s boiler to supply water to nearby Lowfield Farm.

W2

B11

5

From the Stepping Out car park in Vicarage Lane, continue along the lane keeping the hedgerow bordering the Recreation Ground on your left. Follow this hedge as it turns left until you reach a small wooden gate leading to pasture beyond.

Turn right just before the gate and follow the green lane known as Trundle Lane. Continue on, between ancient hedgerows and look out for the carved wooden sculpture known as The Seated Lady to your right.

Follow Trundle Lane until you reach a T junction with the farm road known as Acre Lane.

Turn left onto Acre Lane and follow it for just under a mile until a way marker leads you left onto a farm track.

Turn left onto the farm track and follow this as it winds its way through the farmland to reach a T junction of footpaths with a metal gate on your right.

Turn left and follow this path until you see a sharp right bend. At this point carry straight on along a grassy path leading towards the small wooden gate seen earlier.

L North

To Lincoln

2

Scopwick Walk

Reproduced from OS Mapping with the permission of the controller of HMSO c Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes crown copyright and may lead to civil proceedings. OS Licence 100017926.2008

Car Park Scopwick Walk Kirkby Green Walk Alternative Stepping Out Route Scopwick War Memorial

A: The Seated Lady at Scopwick was created as part of North Kestven District Council’s New Milestones Scheme. It was carved by Rosie Bradshaw and represents a tree spirit or Dryad.

This scheme has been adopted by artsNK, as part of its public art development programme, adding interest to visitors experience and reflecting some of the stories that make the area special.

5.5

Kirkby Green Walk

From the Stepping Out car park look for the way marker and follow it right, along the grassy path with the hedgerow to your right. This path skirts around the field edge to a wooden bridge.

Cross over the bridge and turn immediately left and continue around a small copse of trees.

The path bends right and then quickly left through a gap in the hedge. After a short distance the path emerges onto Acre lane.

Turn right onto Acre Lane and follow this for a short distance until you see a track leading off to your left.

Turn left onto this field edge path keeping the large hedgerow to your left. Off to your right you can see the large water tower on Trundle Lane. Ahead you will see the village of Scopwick. Follow this path until you emerge onto the B1191.

Turn left and follow this road back towards Kirkby Green. Take great care rounding the bend and follow the road back to your car.

The Royal Oak (c 1700) is an old post inn on the drove road to Sleaford and London. Its name is first recorded 150 years ago but may date back even further, perhaps celebrating The Restoration of 1660 and the legendary escape of the future Charles II after defeat at the battle of Worcester in 1651.

The Sleaford to Lincoln railway runs in a loop east of Kirkby Green because the then Squire of Blankney and last of the Chaplins, the dissolute and debt-ridden Henry, insisted that the line run sufficiently far from Blankney Hall so as not to disturb his brood mares. In the original joint GNR/GER proposal of 1882, the line ran across fields to the west of Acre Lane.

The Danelaw existed as a political force from the middle of the 9th Century, though Viking raiders had probably been settling in Lincolnshire for far longer. The ‘five boroughs’ which comprised the Danelaw south of the Humber were: Stamford, Lincoln, Leicester, Nottingham and Derby.