Get Lost Mountaineering

Skellingthorpe Doddington Eagle Eagle Barnsdale Morton Thurlby Haddington Thorpe Whisby Doddington

Start/Finish

Skellingthorpe community centre where there is usually ample free parking. This is most easily reached from the Skellingthorpe roundabout on the A46 Lincoln bypass. Take the road into Skellingthorpe and the car park is roughly where the cycle track from Lincoln crosses the road.

Distance/Time

30 km/19 miles     About 2 – 3 hours

Introduction

This is a pleasant cycle although it does use some minor roads as well as a proper cycle track which is also a popular footpath so keep an eye open for pedestrians. The road is quite rough from Eagle Barnsdale past Morton Hall to the A46. Morton Hall is now an Immigration Centre having formerly been a female prison and a male open prison before that.

Route

(1) Follow the cycle track from behind the community centre in the direction of Harby. Soon leave Skellingthorpe behind. After about 1.5 km, look for the newish sustrans track going off left which is signed for Doddington Hall although not very obviously so it can easily be missed at speed. It is the only tarmac track going off the main sustrans track. Follow the track which comes out on Kennel Lane opposite Doddington Church next to Doddington Hall which dates back to Elizabethan times. It is worth going into the Hall's grounds where there are shops and two tearooms as well as a cycle shop. Depending on the time of year, parts of the hall, itself, may be open. It is worth going past the cycle shop to look at the back of the hall and fairly picturesque small lake. In the run up to Christmas, there is a Christmas shop on the way to the lake.

(2) Continue on the road through Doddington to soon reach a left hand bend. Go right here towards Whisby and follow the road to a crossroads. Turn right for Eagle and continue to reach a T junction. Turn right and cycle through eagle Moor to reach Eagle. Go past Scarle Lane, on the right. Reach the village hall next to the distinctive entrance to the church. Continue ahead, passing The Struggler (pub) and follow the road through Eagle. There is a left hand bend just before the end of the village followed by some downhill which leads, after a while, to a T junction. Turn left here for Eagle Barnsdale. Pass houses and cross the level crossing. Continue on the winding road until it straightens. Continue past Morton Hall and reach the A46 at the Halfway House roundabout.

(3) Cross over and cycle past Witham St. Hughes. Reach a T junction. Turn left and continue to Thurlby, ignoring as you enter the hamlet. Follow the road left around a bend to pass the church which is worth a very short detour since it cannot be seen from the road. Continue on the same road, straightish for a while then, after a left hand bend, take a right turn (marked no through road for vehicles) to reach the Dovecote where there is an information board. Continue to the centre of Haddington then go left to reach a crossroads. Go straight across which is a dead end for cars but not for cycles; it is an old tarmac road from Haddington to the A46. Follow it to its end where it joins the A46. Turn right, towards Lincoln, and follow the cycle track to just after the bridge for Thorpe. Take the next right then the next right which joins the road over the bridge. Continue into Thorpe on the Hill. Take the Main Street and follow it to reach a playground and Parish Council Meeting Room then turn left. The houses end on a right hand bend after which there is a long downhill to a crossroads.

(4) Continue ahead towards Whisby. Pass houses then the Railway Inn and go over a level crossing to enter Whisby. Soon after, the road climbs, fairly gently but for some distance, into Whisby. Continue through to reach the road between Eagle and Lincoln at Whisby Crossroads which is signed. Go straight across, pass some houses then enter a wood and reach another crossroads which is on the road between Eagle Moor and Skellingthorpe. Go straight across for Doddington, and follow a meandering road to reach the busy B1190 at one end of Doddington village. It is only a short section on this busy road and there is a good footpath on both sides of the road.

(5) Pass Doddington and turn right into Kennel Lane, opposite the church. Pick up the sustrans track used on the outward section and follow it back to the main sustrans track then onto Skellingthorpe.

Notes

(a) This cycle ride took place in March, 2020.