Get Lost Mountaineering

Skellingthorpe Fledborough Ragnall Rampton Church Laneham Laneham Dunham Thorney

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

46 km/29 miles     About 3 – 4 hours

Introduction

This is a pleasant cycle which is on a sustrans track to its end at Fledborough. A minor road is then followed to the busy A57 west of Dunham with a short detour to Fledborough hamlet on the way. The A57 is crossed to pass Stokeham then a short detour, if you wish, to Rampton Hospital which is actually in Woodbeck not Rampton, before passing through Rampton village then using rough tracks and a minor road to get to Church Laneham, by the River Trent, then onto Laneham and Dunham on Trent and over the River Trent toll bridge (free to cyclists) then past Newton on Trent to the turning for Thorney after which quiet roads are followed to rejoin the sustrans track back to Skellingthorpe.

Route

(1) Follow the cycle track from behind the community centre in the direction of Harby. Soon leave Skellingthorpe behind. After just over 3 km, go under the Doddington Road bridge. Continue for about another 1.5 km to go under the Harby Road bridge. Continue, ignoring the sharp left tiun for Harby. Almost immediately, the track deteriorates and can be muddy in places. Continue ahead, passing some turbines on the right then crossing Wigsley Drain before passing under the Wigsley Road bridge then the South Clifton Road bridge soon after. Soon after, pass the only house next to the track which still has its old level crossing. Continue and go under another bridge, near Moor Farm, then another (on no road) before reaching the remains of Clifton on Trent station. One platform and a station sign remains but the former station buildings are now private and fenced off. Just after the station is the A1133 road bridge, part of the road from Newton on Trent to Collingham and Newark. Continue and soon pass the turn off for North and South Clifton then soon reach the start of the long viaduct over the River Trent. At the far end is an old signal, after which there is what is left of the formaer High Marnham Power Station on the left. Within a mile reach the old Fledborough Station. At the end of the old platform, the sustrans track leaves the track bed of the old dismantled railway and ascends to the road where there are signs.

(2) Follow the road north, past the two houses but not crossing the bridge over the sustrans track as that is south! Reach the turning for Fledborough village, on a bend, and take the short detour to the church from where there is a good view of the Fledborough viaduct. Retrace back to the main road. Turn right and follow it through Ragnall to reach the busy A57 at the crossroads to the west of Dunham. Cross over and follow the road, passing a turning for Dunham and two turnings for Laneham to reach Stokeham which is mainly bypassed. Reach a crossroads where you go left for Woodbeck and Rampton Hospital whose entrance is opposite a garage. There is nothing to stop you going into the outer grounds before the inner high security area is reached but security may come out and challenge you. They are sensitive to you taking any photographs especially of secure areas. Retrace back to the crossroads and go across to reach Rampton village. Follow the road to the church then go right on a road which soon becomes a dirt track and heads towards Cottam Power Station. Take the right turn, marked byway, alongside the power station. Once round the initial bend the track straightens out and reaches the minor road from Rampton. Continue ahead and reach Church Laneham which is scenically set next to the River Trent. Pass the Ferryboat Inn then the church and continue to Laneham. Go through Laneham then turn left onto Dunham Road which soon rejoins the road which was used earlier after crossing the A57. Follow the road back towards the A57 but turn left opposite Gauntleys Outdoor Store. This is the back road into Dunham on Trent which reaches the A57 by the White Swan. Turn left and follow the road through Dunham on Trent and over the River Trent toll bridge (free to cyclists). Continue, passing Newton on Trent to reach a layby with a cafe which is the old road. Follow this, to avoid the traffic, until it rejoins the A57.

(3) Cross over and follow the meandering road through the village of Thorney and its interesting church. Continue after the village, passing a left turn, and reach a crossroads. Go straight across, for Wigsley, and soon get to the foot of the bridge going over the old railway now the sustrans track. At the foot of the bridge is a farm track forking off left which can be muddy in wet weather. Follow the track around a bend to reach a footpath, about 20 m long, which takes you onto the sustrans track. Turn left and follow the track back towards Skellingthorpe Community Centre. The noticeable drain crossed is Ox Pasture Drain before passing the old Harby station, exit for Harby village and going under Harby road bridge. Further on, a marker is passed which is the county boundary between Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Pass under the Doddington road bridge then continue to Skellingthorpe.

Notes

(a) This cycle ride took place in May, 2020