The Water Rail Way

The Water Rail Way is part of Route 1 of the National Cycle Network running mostly alongside the River Witham from Lincoln to Boston.  It is well named since on it you are never far from water, a railway once ran along the route, and the water rail is a rather shy bird which inhabits the area.
Mid way along it's 37 mile length stands the small and rather old fashioned (but charming) town of Woodhall Spa, which has camping and caravanning sites and also a traditional cinema known as the "Kinema in the Woods" which is so old fashioned that it has a Compton Cinema Organ. A reminder of the days before television when most people went to the cinema twice a week.
Woodhall Spa therefore makes  the perfect  place to commence the ride as you can cycle South Eastwards to Boston or North Westwards to Lincoln.  Either way returning to Woodhall Spa makes a nice gentle day ride and both destinations have impressive buildings to see and good places to eat before returning.
The riverside lanes and paths are accessed alongside the  Kirkstead Bridge, and there follows an account of the ride to Boston, which is mostly on quiet roads alongside the riverbank.

Click on pictures to enlarge them.

Sadly you are unlikely to see an actual water rail (bird), but just in case here is a photograph of one.

                                                 Here the main street of Woodhall Spa.

                                     And the Kinema in the Woods. Nostalgia by the bucketful.

                  The Kirkstead Bridge. Cross over for Boston. Stay on the North side for Lincoln.

Decision time here at the bridge.  The route to Boston is mostly on road, but these are quiet, mostly flat, and sometimes boringly straight, but lightly trafficked and well surfaced roads.

See posting of July 2015 for the account of the ride from here to Lincoln.

Alongside the Kirkstead Bridge stands the old Woodhall Spa station. It's unusual tower must have been a great asset for the railway staff who would have been able to see the plume of smoke from approaching steam trains many miles away.

The view from the Kirkstead Bridge looking downriver towards Boston, showing the road on top of the floodbank

This is a typical view along the route for the first part of the ride.

  

The River Witham meanders through the flat landscape and here we are looking back from one of the bends 

A sad sight beside the road. 

This is the approach to the Tattersall road bridge and behind it ............ 

............... lies the old bridge (much nicer) which is closed to motor traffic.  Such is "progress"

dd

                         And here a better view of the old Tattersall Bridge and it's riverside cottage..


In this area you are beneath the flight path for military aircraft based at Conningsby.
Click HERE  for video of RAF Typhoon coming in to land. You may wish to turn down the volume on your speakers and if you have ear plugs take them with you on this ride.

 The River Witham is wide enough to take quite large boats and no doubt would have done before the railways came along to carry goods much faster than could be done on rivers and canals.  Neverthe less quite a few leisure craft to be seen on the water.

Away from the riverside the roads are somewhat lacking in features apart from a few small villages and farms amongst the gigantic fields.

You might expect that the village of Chapel Hill would at least have a hill, but this approach to the bridge over one of the drainage dykes is as steep as it gets.

                                               But yet more boats below the bridge.

After a few more miles of this (groan!) we return to the riverside at Langrick Bridge ................

................... which is traffic light controlled and single carriageway, and appears to be a

Bailey bridge.

The rest of the ride into Boston is on the NE side of the river  that is left side in this picture. 

 So a nicely surfaced meandering path takes us all the way to Boston.

  

 Passing Anton's Gowt where a canal enters the river from the left and ahead is the lock keepers cottage.

  

                                 Here is "The Pendulum", a cantilevered viewing platform.

                         And this is the view looking towards Boston just a few miles away.

 And at last St, Botolph's Church better known as Boston Stump comes into view.

 Since the building of the sea lock in Boston, the upstream water level remains constant whereas previously the outgoing tidal waters left banks of mud here.

 Boston Stump surrounded by medieval buildings

little changed since the Pilgrim Fathers left here for

Plymouth on their way to America.

  

 And finally the best place to eat in Boston, Churchill's Restaurant, Superb food at sensible prices.

They also have a similar outlet in Lincoln, which we will be visiting shortly in Part 2 of the Water Rail Way Ride from Lincoln to Woodhall Spa.