Tuesday 22rd – Thursday 24th August 2023
Woodhall Spa was the next stop on our multi stop trip and the place which we met up with our motor-homing friends, Jeeves and Michele, with their dog Layla, who would accompany us on to the next stop.
It is a small town which played a significant role in the last war. The nearby RAF airfield was home to 617 Squadron, also known as the Dambusters.
The locals appeared friendly enough, if a little wooden:
The Cottage Museum, is an example of an early flat-pack building. It was built in 1887 and was chosen from a catalogue. It is constructed of galvanised corrugated iron. It became the local museum in 1987, exactly 100 years after construction.
Old and characterful things are a feature. There are also a couple of old petrol pumps on the main road, adjacent to a motor garage. I think it is some time since these were in use.
And this car was nearby, an American Ford with a badge stating “Super Deluxe”:
Nearby, there are the remains of Kirkstead Abbey, founded in the year 1139, which is mostly beneath ground level.
And a little further on is the church of, “St Leonards Without”, which is named as such because it lies “without” the walls of the monastery. It was built between 1230 and 1240. The walls all lean significantly outwards and have been tied-together as well as buttressed.
We explored the area further by pushbike, riding along the track of a disused railway line, now identified as the “Water Rail Way” which you can ride between Lincoln and Boston, much of it alongside the River Witham. We joined the path at the old Woodhall Spa Junction Railway Station, riding north west upstream..
It was a well made path, mostly tarmac, which took us through some beautiful, if flat, landscape:
It was great to be well away from traffic and there were also some interesting sculptures along the way…
…and what remains of railway infrastructure:
The path follows the river closely. As the landscape is quite flat, it runs very slowly here.
It all seemed quiet and idilic, until we were reminded that we were near to an RAF base:
Visiting by Motorhome
We had booked a place on a temporary holiday site, organised by the East Yorkshire District Association of the Camping and Caravanning Club. Temporary holiday sites are just that, they provide the essential facilities required for a stay at minimal cost, within a specified time-frame. In this case on fields belonging to Woodhall Spa Football Club.
"See-u-Later" 