Belchford and Village Life

About trip

Distance: 7.5 miles, Minnimum Time: 3hrs 30mins, Difficulty: Hard, Description: This walk is partly based on one of several routes devised by Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service and described in a series of attractive colour booklets. Apart from the standard waymarks (yellow for public footpaths and blue for public bridleways), this route is also denoted by occasional green alder-leaf motifs – so there’s no excuse for getting lost! Contrasting Wolds Villages. Belchford is associated with the South Wold Hunt, whose opening meet traditionally starts outside the Blue Bell Inn. Near the parish church is Chapel Lane, evidence that Belchford’s small population also supported two other seats of worship – the Primitive Methodist chapel (built in 1834) and Wesleyan Methodist (1871). The second village on the route is Fulletby, which used to have an inn, post office, school and bakeries, but is now a quiet little backwater. It’s one of the highest villages in the Wolds, and its most famous resident was Henry Winn (1816–1914). Over the course of his long life he was variously the local draper, grocer, churchwarden, schoolmaster and constable. He ran the local post office and established the village library – despite being self-educated, having left school at the age of ten – and earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for holding the position of parish clerk for an incredible 76 years! In addition, he fathered a total of 21 children, all of them born in Winn Cottage which can still be seen opposite St Andrew’s Church off Church Street. Sadly only four of the children (all daughters) survived to adulthood. Tetford’s Historic Connections. The White Hart Inn in Tetford used to be the meeting place of a gentlemen’s literary club, which was once addressed by Dr Samuel Johnson, who is recorded as playing skittles at the inn. Among the club’s members was Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who was born in nearby Somersby. Along the street is St Mary’s Church, which has the distinction of having the Greenwich Meridian running through its churchyard. As you head back to Belchford, you will be following a Roman ‘salt road’, along which salt (that preserved perishables foods) was transferred from the Wash coast at Burgh-le-Marsh to the Roman garrison at Lincoln. The high, chalk ridge to the north has an even more ancient trackway, the Bluestone Heath Road, probably used in prehistoric times by tribesmen to move animals and perhaps other trading commodities. There are several round barrows dotted along the route. While you're there: Five miles (8km) south of Belchford is Snipe Dales Nature Reserve and Country Park (off the A158/B1195), a wonderful semi-wooded valley rich in wildlife, partly managed by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. Short waymarked trails explore the woods, ponds and hillsides – well worth a visit. What to look for: The Church of St Peter and St Paul in Belchford is built from Spilsby sandstone, probably quarried locally, perhaps from a bumpy area to the south of the village known as Hills and Holes (you pass it a few minutes after leaving Belchford). It’s often called greenstone since it contains the green mineral glauconite, the colour of which gradually becomes apparent through weathering. Where to eat and drink: The White Hart Inn at Tetford (closed Monday) is one of the oldest in England and serves filling home-cooked meals, as does the Cross Keys Inn, on the edge of the village towards Salmonby. The Blue Bell Inn at Belchford (closed Monday) also serves food. Directions: From the Church of St Peter and St Paul at Belchford, walk west along Main Road and turn left into Dams Lane. At the end continue through a kissing gate to head left along a fenced path, then uphill beside fields. At the top go right then, after 100yds (91m), go left through a wide gap in the hedge for a path directly uphill. Continue on this waymarked field-edge route across the hilltop before heading directly south towards the village of Fulletby via undulating pasture. Turn left into the lane then, at the very top, left again to reach the main road. Turn left at the T-junction towards Belchford and, after a few paces, cross the road and go over the stile beside the private drive to Gorse Farm for a wonderful view over the southern Wolds. The route now continues almost due east for 1.5 miles (2.4km) down across pasture, then along the bottom of ploughed fields by a strip of woodland. Approaching the far end go through a gate on the right and, skirting the righthand edge of the small fishing lake at Salmonby, walk along the drive of Beck House to reach the road. Turn left and follow the road uphill, going left at the junction. After 0.25 mile (400m) turn right for a field-edge route across to another lane. Turn right, then left on to a path which runs beside a hedge and between a pair of fishing ponds before turning right between woodland and fields to arrive on the road at Tetford. Turn left and walk along West Road for 100yds (91m), then go right, before the holly hedge, on a well-walked path across the wide ploughed field. Walk past the houses on the far side and turn left along East Road past the pub and church. Follow the road around into North Road and along to the triangular junction with West Road at the far end. Go right by Wood Farm for the road out of the village. Where this bends sharply right, beyond the last houses, go straight on along Platts Lane, a wide farm track across fields. Where the main track swings up to the ruined Glebe Farm, go straight on along the field-edge all the way down to a small bridge. On the far side turn right and follow the obvious track up alongside the ditch across open fields. The route then swings left and, after zig-zagging to the north of Glebe Farm Low Yard, it turns right on to the surfaced farm drive to reach the road. Turn left and follow this road back to the centre of Belchford.