Get Lost Mountaineering

Skellingthorpe Eagle Eagle Hall N & S Scarle Collingham Winthorpe Newark Coddington Stapleford Bassingham Aubourn 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

65 km/41 miles     About 4 – 5 hours

Introduction

This is a pleasant cycle although it does use some minor and major roads as well as a proper cycle track which is also a popular footpath so keep an eye open for pedestrians. The track from after Collingham to Winthorpe can be rough in places. It is a long climb out of Newark on the road to Coddington and there is a bit of an uphill climb through Whisby. The A1 and A46 (Newark bypass) are both crossed by tunnels. A short section of the route runs alongside the main East Coast line just after Newark North Gate station.

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. Immediately after, turn left (a tight reverse fork) and follow it up to the road. Turn right and head towards Harby village, passing Queen Eleanor's Primary School. Take the next left, signposted for Swinethorpe, and follow the road around to the right and past the Bottle and Glass pub. Continue to the corner then go straight ahead for Swinethorpe.

(2) Follow the road past the church with the high spire and continue following the road. Swinethorpe is just a few houses after a double bend where the road surface can be very rough. After Swinethorpe the road goes left at a corner. From here it is slightly uphill until Eagle Moor is reached. There are good views of Doddington Hall from the first straight section and the bend at the end of it. The road then meanders before passing some houses and horse fields then joining the main road from Lincoln to Eagle at Eagle Moor crossroads.

(3) Turn right, for Eagle. Reach the village and 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 right, towards North Scarle, and follow the winding road to reach the hamlet of Eagle Hall. Turn right for North Scarle and pass the entrance to Eagle Hall House (on the left) then reach a T junction by Preston's Farm (on the right). Continue ahead towards North Scarle, about a mile. Reach the crossroads, close to the White Hart in North Scarle. Turn left and go down the main street past the pub to reach the church. Retrace but only as far as the narrow Blacksmiths Lane which connects to the road for South Scarle without having to go back as far as the junction. Turn right at the end of Blacksmiths Lane and follow the road out of North Scarle. Continue ahead at a junction where a road goes left for Eagle (Eagle Hall actually). Reach a T junction at the edge of South Scarle. Turn right and go into the village which is very picturesque and wouldn't look out of place in the Cotswolds. Follow the road through the village to the church where the road, Church Lane, goes right and soon leaves the village behind. Turn left at a T junction just before a bus shelter (on the right) and take the road signed for Collingham.

(4) Follow the road which soon climbs up a long, gently inclined hill which allows a free wheel down its other side to reach the (unsigned) outskirts of Collingham at the 30 mph signs. Continue to a T junction then turn right and continue to the main road, A1133, through Collingham. Cross over the main road and follow the road around the back of Collingham, passing a church. (If you need refreshments, you will need to turn left and go through Collingham where there are shops and a Co-OP then find your way tot he back road). Reach a triangle (Bell Lane) and fork right. Reach another triangle and fork right again – both are well signed. Continue to Cottage Lane and follow it out of Collingham. Recah a left hand bend where a partially hidden sign directs you into the RSPB reserve. Follow the track to the entrance to the reserve where the track goes left and stays outside the reserve. Follow the meandering track, rough in places and looks like it would be boggy in wet weather. Cross a road near a quarry and continue to reach the road from Langford to Holme. Turn right, towards Holme, and follow the road to reach a left turn for Winthorpe. Follow this road, over a level crossing, to reach a T junction in Winthorpe. Turn right and go uphill then downhill to a dead end but in the right hand corner is the cycle track which goes under the A1. Continue further and go under the A46 to emerge at one end of a housing estate. Follow the road for some distance until a not very obvious sign tells you to fork left at a triangle. Follow the signs to emerge in Newark at the foot of the bridge over the railway. Go over the bridge (retail units on your right) then turn sharp left for Newark North Gate station.

(5) Reach the entrance to the station and go through the car park just beyond then follow a cycle track alongside the railway, East Coast Main Line. After passing under a bridge, turn right to get onto the bridge then turn right to cross over the railway and then go straight on towards Coddington. This road has a long climb on it which may surprise some as this is a generally flat area. Stay with the road and pass Coddington (mainly off to the right) and reach the A17 roundabout. Go straight across, for Stapleford, and follow the road through Stapleford Woods to reach Stapleford. Follow the signs for Bassingham which initially head towards Norton Disney before a right turn just before the village. Cross over the River Witham (looks like a deep ditch) then turn left for Bassingham on a road which takes you past the war memorial and along the main street wher ethere are shops if you need refreshments. Follow the road out of the village then turn right then left for Aubourn. Turn left at Aubourn church and recross the River Witham to reach Haddington. Turn left to reach the centre of the village and follow the curving road out to a junction. Either turn right and follow the road to a bridge over the A46 or go straight on and reach the A46 more directly then turn right on its cycle track to reach the bridge over the A46.

(6) Cross over the A46 bridge and follow the road into and through Thorpe-on-the-Hill passing the playground and Parish Council Meeting Room. The houses end on a right hand bend after which there is a long downhill back to the crossroads. Continue ahead to 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.

(7) Soon after joining the main road, there is a wide drive with a sign for “Giant Cycles”. This is the way into the Doddington Hall facilities apart from the actual hall itself which is slightly further down the road. Doddington Hall dates back to Elizabethan times. The facilities include 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. Return to the main road and find the start of Kennel Lane, opposite the church. Follow Kennel Lane for less than 100 m, going straight on where it bends to the right. Join the recently created cycle track which takes one back to the main sustrans track from Skellingthorpe. Turn right onto the main track and soon return to the community centre.

Notes

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