Round and about

Tony stopped to admire poppies on the edge of a field of grain as he drove home down the track. Tony stopped and took this picture in the summer as he drove towards the cottage.
If, like us, you value peace and quiet, you will be pleased to hear that we are 1.1 miles from the road.

The farm track leading to the cottage is bounded by the fence/pergola, which is covered in Montana clematis. This farm track is our right of way from the Tattershall Road - B1192 - to the cottage, seen looking away from the cottage. On your left is the long pergola, which is clad in Montana clematis, honeysuckle and the thornless rose, Zephyrine Drouhin. To the right, behind the brick wall, is the beck, which you will have followed all the way from the road. A lavender hedge, in the sun with its back to the wall, sends wafts of perfume on the summer breezes.

There is room to park five cars on gravel in front of the house. There is room for five cars to park on gravel in front of the cottage. The cream picket fence is on either side of the paved steps that lead down to the front door.

From the old railway bridge you can look up the stream that runs along beside the track. This photo was taken, looking upstream, from a vantage point on the bridge of the dismantled Lincoln to Boston railway, through a veil of rosehips, just as the stream joins the main river. The wall on the left is hidden behind the lavender hedge, and on the right is the grassy bank that marks the start of our wild garden.

A small rowing boat is available for guests to use at their own risk. You can reach the track in front of the cottage via these steps.
Guests are welcome to use our small rowing boat at their own risk. Just ask for the oars and a cushion or two. If you row under the old railway bridge, you will emerge on the river Witham. You can fish from this bank if you have a licence, which is available at Post Offices. You can reach the track in front of the cottage via these steps. Crested grebes often build a nest on the exposed roots of the weeping willows you can just see.

The river Witham is wide and calm. With a licence you are welcome to fish from our stretch of bank. We rent about ½ mile of riverbank from Railway Paths, so that we can keep the grass cut near the cottage. Here is Reg, our treasured “left-handed right-hand man” doing just that. We keep a bench up here too, so you can savour the tranquillity, or watch the occasional river traffic.

Reg is keeping the grass on the riverbank short to allow easy access to the seat we have placed there. We have a licence with Railway Paths that will allow you to walk along this disused track, most of it beside the river, for three and a half miles to our friends at Stixwould. You will cross the Viking Way and Sustrans Cycle Route 1, Hull to Fakenham, on your way there. If you follow the river downstream, you will come to where we are creating a woodland garden – but more of that later in our News Section. We find that guests bringing dogs really appreciate being so close to several walking areas.

Lovely Home, Great & Quiet Surroundings…..Thanks
Sarah & Chris Dudley 18th September 2002