Bardney's Saintly Paths

About trip

The gentle valley of the River Witham, east of Lincoln, has long been a fertile place, and for more than just potatoes and sugar beet. Once upon a time it housed as many as nine separate monasteries or religious houses, virtually in sight of one another, attracted by the accessibility that the river afforded as well as the ecclesiastical standing of nearby Lincoln. The first to be built was Bardney, endowed by Ethelred, King of Mercia, and its fame and popularity was sealed when it became the shrine to St Oswald. King Oswald was killed in battle in ad 642 and his body was brought to Bardney – even though his head went separately to Lindisfarne and his arms to Bamburgh. According to the story, Oswald’s remains arrived at night, and the monks at Bardney initially refused to allow the cart to enter. Suddenly a ‘pillar of light’ shone skywards from the coffin, convincing them that this was indeed a saintly person, and after that they never shut their gates. The local Lincolnshire saying for when someone leaves a door open is: ‘Do you come from Bardney?’ Whereas the Benedictine monks of Bardney wore black habits, the Premonstratensian monks (from Premontre, in France) at Tupholme Abbey, which is also visited on this walk, wore a white habit and cap and were known as the ‘White Canons’. From Matins at 2am through to Compline at dusk, they spent their days in prayer and recitation, although they also found time to rear sheep and sell wool as well as importing building stone via a canal-link to the nearby River Witham. Beyond the solitary remaining wall of Tupholme Abbey is a field where the canons dug their fish ponds. But like all the other local religious houses, its decline and ruin was swift once the 16th-century Dissolution Act came into force. Before long it was raided for building material and had farm cottages built against it. In 1998, the Lincolnshire Heritage Trust managed to step in and save what was left. To learn more about Bardney’s history, visit the Bardney Heritage Centre (open Thurs to Sun), which opened in the former railway goods shed. There is a tea room in a replica of the old station, exhibitions on Bardney Abbey and RAF IX Squadron, and you can hire bikes to explore the Water Rail Way, a pleasant 31-mile (50km) route beside the River Witham. What to look for: On a neat green in the centre of Bardney, opposite the post office, is an aviation memorial featuring a gleaming black propeller. There were airfields dotted across Lincolnshire, of course, but this one commemorates the men of IX Squadron who flew Lancaster bombers out of RAF Bardney between 1943 and 1945. Probably their greatest moment was when they sank the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway. Where to eat and drink: There are three pubs in Bardney, all serving food. The Black Horse serves lunch from Wednesday to Sunday, while the Nags Head has daily lunchtime specials and The Bards is aimed at families. Food is also available at Bardney Heritage Centre and The Riverside Inn in Southrey. Directions: From the RAF memorial opposite Bardney post office, walk along the adjacent Church Lane. Just beyond St Lawrence Church take the public footpath indicated on the left, which squeezes between two fences and turns right along the end of some gardens. (This path can get a little overgrown in the height of summer, in which case follow the road around to the right, past the Methodist chapel, then left on to the main road, turning off left at the sign for the Viking Way.) At the end of the path turn left on to a wide track through the fields, with the huge British Sugar factory away to your right. Ignore the inviting permissive bridleways into Southrey Wood (left). When the wood finishes continue along the main track, which despite a kink maintains its south-easterly direction. When it reaches the buildings of Southrey it swings left past Poplars Farm. Take the first road on the right (compare the sight of the old thatched cottage with the modern brick-built village hall next door). At the end of the road go right again to reach The Riverside Inn at the far end of Ferry Road. Turn left on to the raised bank of the River Witham, now part of the Water Rail Way. The overgrown platforms and signs of the former waterside railway station make a strange spectacle, and now you follow the old trackbed beside the river for 650yds (594m). Go left at a public footpath sign and across a footbridge over a drainage dyke for a track across a field. Continue straight on as it turns into a firmer track, then the surfaced Campney Lane. At the road junction turn left and, after a sharp left bend, turn right on to a signposted public bridleway. Follow this wide grassy ride between hedges. Go through a gate and past a farm to reach the remains of Tupholme Abbey. Beyond the abbey turn right on to the road, then almost immediately left on to a quiet lane. About 750yds (686m) after Low Road Farm take the public footpath indicated between two fields on the left. The fence is first of all on your right, but when the small dividing dyke appears keep both it and the fence on your left. Go across a small wooden bridge and through another field to turn right on to a cross track all the way to the road. Turn left for the verge, then pavement back into Bardney.