It is a bit of unknown for us because we have no idea what the walking will be like on the sea dykes. Sometimes they are good walking with the grass cut or grazed to a reasonable height. Other times they are over-grown jungles with waist high grass, nettles and thistles. Fortunately, there are sometimes two or three dikes to choose from with the outer dike generally the wildest and the nearest dike, because it is closer to the arable land, is better cared for. Between them, we hope to find a reasonably passable route.
The tide was out as we hit the beach, uncovering the huge expanse of sand. We had a sand walk of a few miles, heading for the nature reserve at Gibraltar Point. Just off the coast we could see the Lincs Wind Farm' turbines turning slowly. This 250MW project with the nearby Lynn Wind Farm and Dowsing Wind Farm adding a further 20MW, make a substantial contribution to the power generated by wind energy on this coast.
The reserve primarily consists of two sets of sand dunes, separated by a saltmarsh. There are shingle, sand, and mud and saltmarsh habitat to the front of the dunes as well as the arable and roughlands to the rear. The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust administers the reserve, which is owned by various local and national bodies. An interesting feature on the sand dunes is that they use black (dark brown) hebridean sheep to graze the coarse shrub in an effort to control the growth. Controlling the growth enables the growth of wild flowers and grasses with all the benefits that come from that for butterflies, moths, and bird life.
Approximately 1.7 sq., miles in total, the reserve runs for three miles from just outside Skegness to Gibraltar Point, which is the northern starting point of the area known as The Wash. The reserve has wildfowl, waders and gulls in residence and is home to a nesting colony of Little Terns, which have bred here since the 1920’s. Just off the Point was the location for Wainfleet Harbour and from where ships could pass up the Steeping River to reach the town of Wainfleet. With the silting up of and changes to the watercourses it became impossible to sail up the river.
Importantly for the walker, the nature reserve has a very nice visitor centre, which we took advantage of by stopping for tea and sticky bun.
Leaving the reserve we tried to get on to a path that ran up the side of Cow Bank Drain but our progress was halted by, you guessed it, a herd of cows. As they all had calves at heel we decided not to risk opening the field gate and walking through them and instead retreated back to the road to walk further up before accessing the turn off to an area called Seacroft. At this rate we were in danger of ending up back where we had started!
From there we continued over Wainfleet Clough, passing above the road end to Clough House Farm and on to a tarmac road to a crossing over the Steeping River above New Yard Farm. Just before the crossing at the Steeping River the rain came on and we stopped beside Wheelbridge to don the weatherproof gear. Crossing over the river we noticed a man sitting quietly by the river's edge fishing, seemingly oblivious to the rain. He looked so content in the quiet and serenity of the riverbank.
We passed through New Yard Farm and Marsh House to access the sea wall, which we stayed on until the road end above Marsh Farm East. Turning left here we bypassed Marsh Farm to the left and on to a right of way which led on to the third of three dikes in this area, heading in the direction of Outmarsh Yard to the east. Although we were on the innermost of the sea walls, we decided to stay on it as the route from here on the other walls was uncertain. We did not want to walk to the outer sea wall or dike only to find out there was no way forward or that the walking was too difficult. Walking on the third wall, if there was no way forward when the short section of path shown on the OS map ran out, we would be better situated to find an alternative route via Wainfleet All Saints.
Sure enough, the heavens opened as we were out on the open dike and with thunder and lightening around we decided to retrace our steps a few hundred yards and seek shelter in a hedgerow we had passed. With the rain really heavy we ran at full pelt to get in under cover. Sitting on our rucksacks in the shadow of some small trees we were protected from the worse of the rain and after about ten minutes the sky cleared and we were able to get back on the trail
We met one person as we walked the dike, a retired farm worker with the wonderful name of Tony Curtis. Tony, in his eighties and now retired, started work on the fields we were passing as a young man of fourteen and never left the farm. Still living locally, he continues to visit the fields regularly to see how the crops are doing. He was a lovely man with a great sense of youth and vitality about him. We spoke about the issue of migrant workers, which is a hot topic in Lincolnshire in the run up to the refereundum. Tony's view was that without the migrant workers a lot of the crops would stay in the field because there is not the local labour to do the job. He had a very positive view of the contribution the workers make and described them as very hard working. Tony, thank you for taking the time to speak to us. Lang may your cabbages grow!