Day 3 Kate's Bridge to Easton on the Hill

Kate’s Bridge to Easton on the Hill

11 Miles

Bank Holiday Monday generally only means one thing.  It will rain. In that respect this was a typical Bank Holiday Monday.

The day started with a new experience for me during for this walk. There was a slight incline. It was only a few feet but that was the most climbing I had done since ascending the staircase in the hotel in Boston. The fens are very, very flat. I would imagine that life is fairly quiet if you are a member of the Spalding Mountain Rescue Team.

The villages I have passed through today are more defined rather than just a handful of dwellings. Many of the villages boast some very nice houses that must cost a bob or two. There is more general woodland starting to appear, with oak trees becoming more prominent instead of the willows of the wet fenland. Noticeably there are some limestone chippings visible on the footpaths, giving a clear indication that the subsoil has changed its character.

The incessant rain has made some of the paths very boggy with the section through Seven Acre Wood being the heaviest going I have so far encountered.  To be more exact it is not a footpath but classified as a bridle way. A horse-racing commentator would probably have described the going as very heavy to squelch! It was hard work.

Stamford was nice. It is a very attractive town having developed from early Georgian architecture. The town centre still retains an individual look with varied shop fronts and independent traders. It looks as though Stamford is managing to avoid the continual onslaught of the multiple outlets whose aim seems to be to force every town to present the same monotonous appearance. Unfortunately for Stamford’s retail industry the weather was keeping the Bank Holiday shoppers at home today and the narrow streets were almost deserted.

From the centre of Stamford the

Macmillan Way

runs alongside the River Welland.  In summer this would be a wonderful stroll across the meadows. Today it is a matter of dodging the worst of the very boggy bits whilst slipping, sliding and squelching my way towards the road bridge where I can pass under the A1. All that remained was to leave the river bank and struggle up a very muddy hillside, seemingly taking two steps upwards then sliding one backwards, before arriving at the attractive village of Easton on the Hill.