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For more Stepping Out walks, further information on local attractions oraccommodation, please call the Tourism Department on 01529 414155, [email protected] or log onto www.heartoflincs.comDownload all the Stepping Out walks or for information on safety in thecountryside visit www.countrysidenk.co.ukwww.countrysideaccess.gov.ukwww.visitlincolnshire.com
Walk FactsIntroductionWalk LocationSkellingthorpe lies to the Westof Lincoln and is easilyaccessed from the A46 Lincolnby-pass.
Starting PointStart at the Stepping Out car park at the Community Centre, LN6 5UU(Grid Reference: SK 925718)
ParkingCommunity Centre car park in Skellingthorpe village
Public TransportFor information call the Traveline on0871 200 22 33 or visitwww.lincolnshire.gov.uk/busrailtravel
Walk Length4.5miles/7.6km in length andshould take 2 to 2 1/2 hours ata leisurely pace.
Type of WalkThe walk uses woodland trailswhich can be very muddy attimes. There are no stiles onthis walk.
Ordnance Survey mapsExplorer 272 and Landranger 130
Daisy Made Ice CreamLincoln Road Farm, Lincoln RoadSkellingthorpe, Lincoln LN6 5SATelephone: 01522 693757
Natural World Centre and LittleDarters Wildlife Adventure AreaWhisby Nature Park, Moor Lane Thorpe on the Hill, Lincoln LN6 9BWWhisby@leisureconnection.co.ukwww.naturalworldcentre.co.ukTelephone: 01522 688868
Doddington Hall & GardensTelephone: 01522 694308Doddington Farm Shop & CaféDoddington, Lincs LN6 [email protected]: 01522 688581
For Further Information
Sustrans National cycle network www.sustrans.org.ukThe Woodland Trust www.woodland-trust.org.ukLincolnshire Wildlife Trust www.lincstrust.co.uk
Refreshments
The Stone ArmsHigh Street, SkellingthorpeLincoln LN6 5TS Telephone: 01522 682589 The PloughHigh Street. Skellingthorpe Lincoln LN6 5TR Telephone: 01522 682564
Lincoln Cooperative Shop and Post Office Jerusalem Road, SkellingthorpeLincoln LN6 4RH Telephone: 01522 682695
Accommodation
Best WesternBentley Hotel & Leisure ClubNewark Road, South HykehamLincoln LN6 9NHTelephone: 01522 878000 [email protected]
Skellingthorpe Old Wood is an ancientwoodland. Originally it would havebeen populated by native deciduoustrees such as oak, ash, lime andhazel. The wood is referred to inDoomsday as the ‘Lound’. Lound is aViking name for a wood with someform of important ritual use and anarea of woodland to the south is stillknown as Ash Lound. The ash treewas worshipped by the Vikings as thelink between Heaven and Earth.
In the middle ages the wood was usedas a deer park, but by the 17th Centurythe park had fallen out of use and aforester would have been responsiblefor its maintenance. His house stillstands and is known as ‘Wood House’.
In the 1940s, the wood was takenover by the Forestry Commissionwho began planting pines. Intensiveconifer planting shaded out plantsgrowing beneath the tree canopy andwoodland wildlife was devastated.
Today the wood is owned andmanaged by the Woodland Trust.The trust is removing exotic pinesallowing the woodland to return to itsnatural state. The trust has alsocreated a number of paths andwalkers are welcome to enjoy allareas of the wood.
Places of interest to visit nearby
EC
S56
28R
T 2
007
Go Stepping Out!
Whilst great care has been taken in compilingthis information into this leaflet, NorthKesteven District Council cannot be heldresponsible for any errors, omissions oralterations contained within it. The inclusion ofan establishment within this leaflet does notimply any official recommendations by NorthKesteven District Council.
Skellingthorpe Old WoodStepping Out
Walk
1
North Kesteven District Council Heart of Lincolnshire
Distance 4.5 miles/7.6km
www.countrysidenk.co.uk
Some of the paths are provided by kindpermission of Doddington Hall. Walkersare asked to help to ensure a continuedwelcome by only using the waymarkedpaths and keeping dogs on a lead.Where paths cross pasture young stockmay be present. If you have a dog withyou please make sure it is under firmcontrol in these sensitive areas.
Old Hag Wood
Lincoln Road
Playing Field
Skellingthorpe Old Wood
Skellingthorpe Big Wood
▲▲Skellingthorpe Old Wood Walk
1 From the Community Centre carpark, turn left into Skellingthorpevillage. In the Doomsday Book(1086) the village is referred to as Schelinchope, suggestingScandinavian origin.
2 Follow the road left onto ChurchRoad until you see the Co-op on your right.
3 Turn right, keeping the Co-op onyour left to a further junction.
4 Turn left onto Wood Bank. Followthis road which soon becomes atrack until the track forks. In themiddle ages the wood wasprivately owned and used as adeer park. The deer would havebeen kept inside by ‘wood banks’formed by large banks of earthsome of which can still be seen.
5 Take the right fork, passing anumber of dwellings until youreach a junction of paths at theedge of the wood.
6 There are a number of metalfingerboards at this junctionincluding three Stepping Outmarkers. Take the right handwaymarked track which takes youalong the bridleway. Follow this(approximately 300 metres) until a
permissive pathway turns left,through a gate.
7 Turn left through this gate andfollow the woodland path, passingwooden carved sculptures and amemorial bench. The carvingshave been commissioned anderected by the Woodland Trustand depict The Old Man of theWoods and woodland creatures.The path bends to the left shortlybefore reaching a junction ofpaths with a narrow grassy trailturning right, indicated by aStepping Out way marker.
Reproduced from OS Mapping with the permission of the controller ofHMSO c Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes crowncopyright and may lead to civil proceedings. OS Licence 100017926.2011
Many species ofwild flower can befound in the woodsincluding the greaterbutterfly, commonspotted orchids,anemone, forget menot, violet, bluebelland snowdrop.
KeyMain Walk
Bench
Sculptures (see above)
Car Park
Alternative Walks
Waymarked
You can see manybirds at Skellingthorpeincluding raptors likebuzzards, goshawksand if you’re lucky,summer migrant thehobby. Hobbies aremasters of the air,hunting dragonfliesand even taking smallbirds like swallows onthe wing.
RAF Skellingthorpeoperated from 1941-45and was home to 50 and61 Squadrons of BomberCommand. A photographicexhibition relating to thewartime airfield can beseen in the small heritageroom at the entrance toSkellingthorpe CommunityCentre car park.
8 Turn right at this junction onto the narrow grass footpath andcontinue for a short distance until you reach a T junction.
9 Turn left at the T junction andfollow the path towards the edgeof the wood where it bends leftand travels along the edge of thewood. Follow this until you reacha further T junction with thebridleway leading left.
10 Turn left, heading back into thewood along a bridleway. To the right of the bridleway is an areathought to have been used as a hunting bank.
A hunting bank would have beenan area of cleared ground, fenced in with willow into whichthe deer would be driven. Archers waited just outside thearea to pick off the deer as they were herded into the bank.
As you walk along this path thewoodland to your right is knownas Hag Wood. Hag is an old wordused to describe a method ofcoppicing trees from which themodern word ‘hack’ is derived.
Keep an eye out for the Old Man ofthe woods on your left and after300 metres watch for a waymarked route heading off to yourright.
For an alternative finish to thewalk follow this footpath forapproximately 300 metres untilyou meet the sustrans cycle route,turn left and follow this back to thecar park.
11 To follow the circular route,continue straight along thebridleway until you have openfields to your right. Then look for a way marked permissive pathleading off to your left.
12 Turn left here and walk throughthe wood, around woodhousecorner farm until you rejoin the public footpath.
13 Turn right onto this track, bringingyou back to the point at which youentered the wood. Retrace yoursteps back along Wood Bank, intothe village and back to your car.
Until 1987 Skellingthorpe wasdesignated a Site of SpecialScientific Interest as it was home to rare butterfliesincluding the chequered skipper(now extinct in England), the silver studded blue and marsh fritillary. Thankfully manyspecies of butterfly are nowreturning to the woods, includingthe white admiral pictured left and purple and black hairstreaks.
These sculptures are marked on the map according to their colour frame.
A46Sustrans NCN Route 64
Much of this area lies within Witham Valley Country Park - a connectednetwork of managed outdoor space spanning 26,000 acres. The park aimsto give people greater access to green space and its many health benefits,via improved cycling and walking links to other recreational areas, inaddition to conserving and improving biodiversity in the area.
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