Starting from the quiet hamlet of Bag Enderby, this 5.5 miles walk explores the different aspects of the Wolds landscape, passing through Somersby, Tennyson's birthplace and home for the first twenty eight years of his life.
(S/E) Leave the churchyard through the yew tree tunnel and turn left onto Church Lane to Bridge Road, passing the old blacksmiths and White Cottage as you go.
(1) Cross the road and follow Brinkhill Lane for approx. 1 mile then take the bridleway on the left and continue along the field edge with the hedge on your right.
(2) Follow the path through the gap, with Snake Holt on your left, then continue uphill. Take the bridleway to the left, following the track to the left at Fox Covert, an example of ancient woodland.
(3) Follow the sign to the right and walk through the yard of Wardenhill Farm, along the track and descend to join Tetford Road at Somersby House Farm.
(4) Turn left and walk carefully along the lane, then turn right onto Bridge Road (alternatively, to return to Bag Enderby, turn left and continue to the village, turning right at the Poet's Tree, back to the church). On your right is St Margaret's church and on the left the castellated Somersby Grange and the cream-coloured Somersby House.
(5) Leave the village along Bridge Road, dropping downhill to cross the brook. Take the next road left, continue along and take the next left to Stainsby.
The bridge over the brook, the River Lymn, was built in 1827, the year Alfred started at Cambridge. The river runs through the meadow beyond Somersby House Garden before flowing through Bag Enderby to Wainfleet and out to sea at Gibraltar Point. It is widely believed that the poem, The Brook was inspired by the River Lymn, the river that ran through Tennyson's childhood......
''I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.''
(6) Pass through Stainsby House farmyard, following the waymarkers downhill, with woodland on your right, over farmland and cross the bridge over the brook once again.
(7) Pass through Paradise Holt and continue uphill, passing the thatched Ivy House Farm on your left, and following the road back to the church. (S/E)
Waypoints
S/E : km 0 - alt. 58 m - Churchyard
1 : km 0.2 - alt. 57 m - Brinkhill Lane
2 : km 2.37 - alt. 58 m - Snake Holt
3 : km 3.44 - alt. 88 m - Wardenhill Farm
4 : km 4.52 - alt. 57 m - Bridge Road
5 : km 4.79 - alt. 56 m - The Brook
6 : km 6.74 - alt. 67 m - Stainsby House farmyard
7 : km 7.75 - alt. 42 m - Paradise Holt
S/E : km 8.18 - alt. 57 m - Church
Useful Information
Maps: OS Explorer Map 273
Parking: Parking on the grass in front of Bag Enderby church.
Terrain: A mixture of footpaths, bridleways and quiet lanes - may be muddy in places.
Stiles: None
Refreshments & Toilets: White Hart Inn, Tetford (2.5 miles) with its Tennyson settle, or the George & Dragon and the two tearooms at Hagworthingham (3 miles).
The Lincolnshire Wolds is a National Landscape, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1973. Covering an area of 558 square kilometres or 216 square miles, the AONB contains the highest ground in eastern England between Yorkshire and Kent, rising to over 150m along its western edge. Rolling chalk hills and areas of sandstone and clay underlie this attractive landscape.
The Lincolnshire Wolds has been inhabited since prehistoric times and the appearance of the countryside today has been greatly influenced by past and present agricultural practices.
A Countryside Service helps to protect and enhance the landscape through partnership projects with local landowners, farmers, parish councils, businesses and residents of the Wolds.
Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.
Date of walk : 04/06/21 Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Some nice scenery and very quiet in places. Quite an easy walk.
Villagechick
• Last modified:
Overall rating :
5 / 5
Date of walk : 29/08/20 Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Our first walk from this site. I needed something gentle having recovered from big surgery. We don't have OS maps, so found the village a little difficult to find. Would have been helpful to give postcode in info. The walk was lovely with a range of vistas and buildings to see, not in the least difficult and directions very easy to follow on the map. We really enjoyed it and shall be planning our next walk. The info was easy to download and print too. Thank you for offering the info. Already planning another walk.
