Get Lost Mountaineering

Longest Walk in Hartsholme Country Park & Swanholme Lakes

Start/Finish

Car park just inside the entrance to Hartsholme Country Park. The entrance is off Skellingthorpe Road between the level crossing and Birchwood Avenue. If coming from the level crossing, go past the school and shops; the entrance is a little further. If coming from the A46 Lincoln bypass, it is about a mile. Go past the petrol station at the start of Birchwood Avenue. The park is after the houses on the right, you will see the lake before you reach the entrance. The car park can be muddy and soon fills up. There is a cleaner alternative on the other side of Skellingthorpe Road about 100 m towards the bypass.

Distance/Time

7 km/4 miles     About 2 hours

Introduction

Hartsholme Country Park and Swanholme Lakes are separate entities but are adjacent, joined by several paths and occupy the undeveloped area bounded by Skellingthorpe Road, Birchwood, Doddington Road and the railway line behind Tritton Road. Hartsholme Country Park is a former stately home so its grounds are well laid out; the former hall is no longer standing. Swanholme Lakes was formerly a series of gravel pits (common in this area). Work ceased in the 1960s and the land has gradually reverted to wild with some management in recent years. The gravel extraction left a number of fairly shallow lakes with very irregular shapes making for very pleasant walking. There are three major lakes: Dragonfly Lake, Sanctuary Lake and Coot Lake which has major and minor sections; there are many more unamed lakes some of which are quite large. There is an abundance of wildlife including swans, ducks, geese, squirrels and deer. Dragonfly Lake has the least access of all the major lakes but two short detours allow more of it to be seen.

Route

(1) From the main entrance, take a path which shadows the Skellingthorpe Road. This soon reaches the lake. Continue ahead, still alongside the road, on what is probably an old promenade. At the end of the promenade, follow the path left around the lakeside. A bank soon blocks views of the lake but look for paths going left which give better views before rejoining the main track. Follow the main track around the edge of the lake until White Bridge is reached.

(2) Cross over White Bridge then turn right so you are following the “river” away from the main body of the lake. Once clear of the White bridge and the main track going towards the Visitor Centre, stay with the track alongside the “river”. Pass a path labelled “Top Cut Through” which is written on the fence itself and not very obvious. Continue to pass the “Middle Cut Through”. Continue to reach the “Bottom Cut Through” which is by a black litter bin and a red dog bin. If visibility is good, you may be able to see Black Bridge from here. Take the “Bottom Cut Through” path and follow it to join a major track. Turn right towards the white house. Go through the gate into Swanholme Lakes just before the house with Coot Major Lake soon obvious and there is also an information board.

(3) Turn right and follow the track until a “shack” is reached just around a left bend. Coot Major Lake is on your left and Dragonfly Lake on your right. Take the track left by the shack which follows Coot Major Lake. Soon Sanctuary Lake appears on your right. Follow the track round to reach a meadow then continue round; You are essentially walking around Sanctuary Lake. Stay with the good track, past Sanctuary Lake to join a good track. Turn right and soon reach the shack again with Dragonfly Lake on your left.

(4) Go past the shack but before reaching the gate to exit Swanholme Lakes, take a path which goes straight ahead and follows the edge of Coot Major Lake. Soon, you over looking a sports field but stay on the bank and follow it around the end of the lake until it joins a good track coming from the sports field. This track stays by the lake, with some houses on the left, before heading south, still along the edge of the lake. Note an island which has trees but seemingly no land! Along this stretch, Coot Major becomes Coot Minor but it is still the same lake. Reach some gates, before some houses, where the track continues ahead (to Doddington Road) but you take the path going off round to go around the top of the lake. The path soon diverges from the houses. Coot Minor Lake is on your right and an unnamed lake, with houses beyond, is on your left. Stay with the main path although there are some minor paths off to both the left and right if you wish to be nearer the water. Be careful about following such paths too far as soon are now dead ends since the houses were built. The main path reaches an open sandy area and the main track bends right and heads back to the shack but don't go that way. Dragonfly Lake should now be on your right and a large unnamed lake on your left.

(5) The route follows a path by the unnamed lake keeping the lake on your left but it is worth taking a short detour first to see more of Dragonfly Lake. There is a faint path down the left bank of the lake which gives views unseen from the main paths. The path eventually meets swamp so retrace back then take the path at the side of the unnamed lake which has houses beyond it. This path heads towards the houses and meets a garden fence with a small lake on your right. In dry conditions, it is possible to walk by the fence and continue to reach the main track between Doddington Road and Black Bridge. In wet conditions, there is a path around the other side of the small lake.

(6) Turn right onto the main path and follow it, by the “river” towards Black Bridge. Look for a wicker fence on the right about 100 m before the bridge. There is a muddy gap at the far end of this fence but it is worth the very short detour for more views of Dragonfly Lake. Retrace back to the main track and continue to Black Bridge. Either cross over or don't and continue to White Bridge. If you crossed over then cross back. From White Bridge follow the good track by the main body of the lake and pass the old boathouse. Continue, trying to stay as close to the Lake as possible. Reach a “garden” on the left with steps on the right. Continue ahead to rejoin the outward route at the start of the promenade. Turn right and return to the entrance.

Notes

(a) This walk took place in January, 2021.