Lincolnshire WalksBe a responsible walker

North Somercotes

Walks Location: North Somercotes lies close to the

coast between Mablethorpe and Grimsby.

Starting point:

Village Hall, Keeling Street. Grid Reference TF 425 964.

Parking: Village Hall (as above) or responsibly in the village.

Public Transport: For information call the Traveline on 0871 2002233 or

visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/busrailtravel.

Walk length:

Village Walk: 3 km (13/4 miles). At a leisurely pace this walk will take

approximately 1 hour to complete.

Church Walk: 2 km (11/4 miles). 3/4 hour to complete.

Short Church End Walk: 11/2 km (1mile). 1/2 an hour to

complete.

Mill Field Walk: 31/4 km (2 miles) or 43/4 km (3 miles). 1 or 11/2

hours tocomplete.

500 Acres Walk: 41/2 km (23/4 miles). 11/4 hours to complete.

Type of walk: The walks use a mixture of surfaced paths, tracks, field

paths and quiet roads. It may be wet and muddy in places.

Ordnance Survey maps for the area: Explorer 283 Louth &

Mablethorpe. Landranger 113 Grimsby.

Toilets: Playing fields, Keeling Street.

Refreshments: There is a good selection of pubs and shops in North

Somercotes.

These walks and leaflet have been put together with assistance from North Somercotes

Parish Paths Partnership Group and North Somercotes Parish Council.

Please remember the countryside is a place where people liveand work and where wildlife makes its home. To protect theLincolnshire countryside for other visitors please respect it andon every visit follow the Countryside Code. Thank you.

• Be safe - plan ahead and follow any signs• Leave gates and property as you find them• Protect plants and animals, and take litter home• Keep dogs under close control• Consider other people

Most of all enjoy your visit to the Lincolnshire countryside

This leaflet is one in a series of walk leaflets produced byLincolnshire County Council’s Natural Environment Team to helpyou explore and enjoy the County’s countryside. If youhave enjoyed these walks and would like informationon other walking routes in Lincolnshire then please visitour website.

If you encounter any problems whilst on these walks, such as anovergrown path or a broken sign post, please let us know sothey can be corrected.

We would also welcome your comments and suggestions on thewalk and leaflet to help improve future editions.

Lincolnshire County CouncilNatural Environment Team

Tel: 01522 782070 Minicom: 01522 552055Email: Dev_NET@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Website: www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/countryside

Five circular walks from 11/2 to 4 3/4 km (1 to 3 miles)

These walks are set around thevillage of North Somercotes andthe surrounding countryside.

North Somercotes lies in theLincolnshire coastal plain knownas the outmarsh. During the12th century this section of thecoastline was several milesfurther inland than it is todayand North Somercotes is one ofa line of villages that sit alongwhat was once the sea bank.Settlers slowly drained andreclaimed the land and duringthe medieval period the richpasture was used to fattenlivestock.

The individual walks in this leafletcan be linked together to formlonger walks to take in villageand countryside.

IntroductionWalk Information

Published September 2007

If you require this leaflet in another format please contact us.

The Walks

Continue along the road as itbends to the right to a T-junctionwith Keeling Street.

Turn left to return to the VillageHall.

Longer option (adds 4.1 km - 2.5 miles to the walk)At this point if you wish to extendyour walk - and see the sea - crossArk Road and follow the longstraight Donna Nook Road.Towards the end and to the rightyou will see the old Coast GuardHouses and the lookout. Whenthe road turns left you have the

option of following the publicfootpath right to the sea

shore. It passes through the RAFDonna Nook establishment whichcontrols the Weapons Range. Theright of way is foot access onlykeeping to the right on themetalled road. If the range isactive you will be restricted onhow far you may go onto thebeach. WHEN THE RED FLAG ISFLYING UNDER NOCIRCUMSTANCES SHOULDANYONE ENTER THE BOMBINGRANGE AREA.

At this point you are also in themiddle of a Nature Reservemanaged by the LincolnshireWildlife Trust. It stretches fromGrainthorpe Haven in the north toSaltfleet in the south.

If the sea and weather is goodyou may wish to turn left as yougo onto the beach and follow thesea bank to the next pulloverknown as Stone Bridge. To rejointhe walk leave the car park on theland side to join Marsh Lane. Pickup the walk again at Ark Road.You will have now walkedcompletely around the 500 acres.

To the right there is still some evidence of theold wartime camp. The land that you pass onthe right hand side is The 500 acres andstretches to the sea bank. It is one quarter of aparcel of land which was drained on theinstructions of King Charles I. In 1632 hegranted Endymion Porter - one of his Groomsof the Bedchamber - 2000 acres of mature salt-marsh to reclaim. This was soon achieved andby way of compensation to the communities ofboth North and South Somercotes Porteragreed to the construction of the Forty Footway to the sea at Stonebridge, and furtherallotted the 500 acres to the commoners.

Turn left and on your right you willpass the village cemetery.

The Walks The Walks The Walks The Walks

VILLAGE WALK

From the Village Hall walk into thevillage past the War Memorial andturn right along Brown’s Lane.

At the end turn left in front ofHumberstone Villas and follow thepath around to the right to thejunction with Willerton Road.

Turn left and follow this road to a T-junction and go straight acrossfollowing the path between the FireStation and the houses on the left.

The path bears right, and thencrosses a field to the turning headin Evison Way. Continue in astraight line, ignoring the road tothe right, and then follow the pathas it turns sharp right along a dykebank.Cross over a bridge and proceedacross the field to pass behind thevillage cemetery.

Turn left where the path meetsJubilee Road and then continue tothe crossroads.

Turn Left into Keeling Streetpassing the Axe & Cleaver pub onyour right and The Birkbeck School(opened 1964) on your left.

Map & Walks

On the right, oppositeChurchill Road is theWesleyan Chapel and behindthis the Manse, rebuilt in 1871.

Scale 1/4mile

(400m)

N

Continue north across the threebridges and fields to the village.

Follow School Lane to its junctionwith Keeling Street.

Turn left to return to the VillageHall.

MILL FIELD WALK

From the Village Hall walk awayfrom the village centre and takethe first turning on the right,School Lane.

After approximately 400m (1/4 mile)as the road bends to the right,carry straight on along a lanesigned as a bridleway to SouthSomercotes, known as MillfieldRoad.

After about 600m you enter theparish of South Somercotes. Afterfollowing the track as it bendsright and walking slightly up-hillfor about 150 m you will see thepath signed right to take you backinto North Somercotes. Ahead youwill see the Brickyard - active lastcentury - which now has a fewcaravans and fishing ponds.

In the distance over to the left you can see theForest which was set in the Warren shortlyafter the East Coast Floods in 1953. TheWarren was developed to provide sand andgravel early last century and the ponds thatremain are used for both private and publicfishing.

As you follow the bridleway you will passhummocky fields - the remains of early salternsdeveloped around Mare haven which becamesilted up around 1200. To the distant left youmay see something of the back of ‘LocksleyHall’ popularly associated with the LocksleyHall of Tennyson’s poem.

Continue on Keeling Street to returnto the Village Hall.

CHURCH WALK

From the Village Hall walk towardsthe village centre and at the WarMemorial cross the road and take thepath opposite signed to Church End.Follow the way-marked path straighton through several fields, over abridge, emerging onto the road atChurch End.

Turn right. Continue towards theChurch past the farm on the rightand then turn right along thefootpath about mid-point along thenext field.

The cemetery was opened in 1880 with its twoChapels - now Grade II listed buildings.Originally one was for the Methodists and theother for the Church of England.

St. Mary’s church can be more closely inspectedif you carry on about 110 m. It was mainly builtin the 1200s. The font is very interesting for itsillustrations of Christ rising from the tomb andthe symbols of his crucifixion. From the church yard looking south-west youcan see the graceful spire of St Peter’s at SouthSomercotes (redundant since 1988). Almostdue South the church of St Botolph, Skidbrooke(also redundant) lies in isolation in the fields.North Somercotes village is across the fields tothe north and probably relocated there 300years or so after the village was recorded in theDomesday book.

SHORT CHURCH END WALK

From the Village Hall walk awayfrom the village centre past theOasis fishing lakes and primaryschool.

Just after the school and oppositeSt Anne’s Avenue turn right alongthe public footpath signed toSchool Lane.

Cross School Lane and take thepath opposite signed to ChurchEnd.

At the road turn right and follow itas it bends left.

Continue towards the church andpass the farm on the right. Turnleft along the green lane next tothe bungalow and continue to ajunction of tracks and paths knownas Threeways.

Turn left onto the bridleway.

Continue along the bridleway untilit joins the road.

Carry straight on and follow theroad as it bends left and becomesSchool Lane.

For the longer walk continuestraight on beyond the Brickyardon Millfield Road.

At the T-Junction with South Roadturn right and continue beyondSwancroft Farm on the left untilthe next junction.

Turn right onto the track, NorthGreen Lane. Follow this to ajunction with a road. Rejoin thedirections at .

For the shorter walk turn rightonto the path to NorthSomercotes. Walk straight acrosstwo fields to a bridge. Cross thebridge and turn left and followthe field edge to another bridge.Continue straight ahead along thefield edge to emerge next to abungalow onto a track.

Turn right and follow the track toa junction with a road.

At the road carry straight onand follow the lane as it bendsleft and becomes School Lane.

At the end of School Lane turnleft to return to the Village Hall.

500 ACRES WALK

Follow the directions for theVillage walk to the Fire Station.

Turn right and where the roadturns left into Cemetery Roadcontinue straight on along afootpath signed Ark Road.

Follow the unmade road past thehouses on the left to the endwhere the path turns slightly leftand passes between two hedges.

Where the double hedge ends,turn right across a field beforecrossing ‘Cradle Bridge’ where thepath turns half right between twofields. To the left you will seepart of the old RAF Donna Nookbuildings. The path will shortly turn left andyou will pass through the oldcamp area, to Ark Road.

(if you would like to extend thiswalk see longer option below)

Turn left and follow this road to aT- junction. At the T-junction turn left andcontinue to the junction of thisroad with Bank End andCemetery Road.

Arriving at the main road afterpassing the public toilets, turn rightonto Keeling Street and continueto the Village Hall.

VILLAGE WALK

SHORT CHURCH WALK500 ACRES WALK

CHURCH WALKMILL FIELD WALK

P

P Start and Parking

“Map drawn from aerial photography copyright Lincolnshire County Council and Getmapping PLC.Lincolnshire County Council reproduced from OS mapping with permission of the controller of Her

Majesty’s Stationery Office (C) Crown Copyright and Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to civil proceedings. OS Licence I00025370”

A

A