Get Lost Mountaineering

Walk 11 Wiseholme Holt & Skellingthorpe Moor Plantation

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

4 km/2.5 miles   About an hour

Introduction

On the south side of Skellingthorpe are two pleasant woods: Wiseholme Holt and Skellingthorpe Moor Plantation. The latter has some historical interest in that it contains the remnants of buildings which were used to store bombs for the nearby RAF Skellingthorpe/Birchwood during World War 2.

Route

(1) From the community centre car park walk out onto Lincoln Road and turn right towards the Skellingthorpe roundabout. Soon reach Waterloo Lane, on the right, and fit for a short distance taking the first left turn into Gardenfield. Follow this, going straight on when it curves to the right and locate the narrow path at the end in the right hand corner. The path soon widens and continues behind the houses on the right. Take the first path going off to the left. This has some obstacles, fallen trees, but these have had some tidying up so they are easily passed. The path soon curves around to the right and shadows the edge of a field before gradually drifting right into the middle of the wood. Stay with the obvious path which crosses a ditch, now with a makeshift bridge, and reach the edge of the wood where it meets a track, across which is Skellingthorpe Moor and Plantation. Go left on the track and soon meet a path which forks right to access the moor which is now open arable fields. Follow the edge of the field to a corner then continue around towards Skellingthorpe Moor Plantation. Squeeze through the narrow entrance into the wood and follow the path just inside the edge. The wood can be explored and there are several exits onto the busy A46 Lincoln bypass which splits the wood in half. The bomb dumps are almost at the far end and are recognised by earth mounds around them. Once they have been visited, it is best to return to the path just inside the wood and continue to exit by its north west corner back onto Skellingthorpe Moor.

(2) Continue up the side of the field on a good path which goes into the next field via a small bridge. Continue to the end of the second field where the path goes right and follow that edge to reach the end of a row of new houses. Exit the field onto the road then turn left and follow the track towards Bird's Holt. Just before the house, the path forks right so follow that. A little further, the path splits so take the right fork. This leads to Goldfinch Close. Turn right and reach Swallow Avenue. Turn left and soon turn right into Magpie Close. Just after Redwing Close on the left is a footpath sign on the right. Take this. Stay left when another path joins and soon reach Bluebell Pond on the sustrans track. Turn right and soon reach the community centre car park.

Notes

(a) This walk took place in April, 2020.