Get Lost Mountaineering

Skellingthorpe  Old Wood  Doddington  Ash Lound

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

13 km/8 miles      About 1 hour

Introduction

This route uses the sustrans track to access the Old Wood tracks then the newer track to reach Doddington before returning via the Kennel Lane track down the side of Ash Lound wood. Cycling in the Old Wood is mainly on good tracks but there may be very short muddy patches. Part of the route by the side of Ash Lound wood can be quite rough despite being a bridleway!

Route

(1) From the community centre car park walk follow the track in the direction of Doddington and Harby. Pass Bluebell Pond. Continue on the sustrans track, passing under the road bridge the passing by the old farm bridge (overgrown). Pass a path going left then immediately go right (a byway). This is more like a path to begin with but becomes a track further on before ending a T junction. Turn left and pass some houses. Continue ahead on what seems to be a footpath but is actually a bridleway. Follow this to reach a major track on a bend. Turn right and follow the track to a T junction, passing a cut through track on the way. Turn right and go past Old Wood House to reach the 5 way junction. Turn left, north, and reach the start of a major track, on the left. Follow this track. Pass a picnic site with a fence post carving opposite then pass the other end of the cut through track. Reach a crossroad and follow the major track left. Reach the next bend where you joined the major track earlier. Go straight ahead, retracing part of the earlier route. Soon reach a right turn and follow it to an arch just before the sustrans track.

(2) Turn left, towards Skellingthorpe, and soon reach the new sustrans track going right for Doddington which is well signed. Follow the track to its end where it meets Kennel Lane in Doddington. The return route goes left here, down Kennel Lane, but many will want to make the short detour to Doddington Hall by following Kennel Lane to the main road opposite the church. Doddington Hall is obvious from here. The facilities are good with a bike shop, clothing shop, two cafes, delicatessen and seasonal Christmas shop. Return to Kennel Lane after visiting Doddington Hall.

(3) Follow Kennel Lane down, away from the main road, until it becomes a track then a path which can be both rough and muddy in bad weather. When the rendering plant is getting close, look for the lake on your right then continue, forking left to join the path/track coming from the rendering plant. Follow this path back to the main sustrans track. Turn right and retrace your outward route back to the community centre.

Notes

(a) This cycle took place in July, 2020.