3 September 2023 - Louth
Miles driven today = 128
Total Miles to date = 128
Our previous van "Bertha" was compact enough to fit neatly on our driveway and we could therefore hook her up with mains electricity whenever we wanted. But at 7.4 metres we can't do that with our current van and there is no hook up at the depot, so we have taken to moving her 6 miles to my Mum's place the night before we go away in her so that we can get the fridge/freezer down to temperature before we head off. That way we can be assured of having uncurdled milk and plenty of ice for G&T's when we reach our destination, which is obviously vitally important! So we headed over there this morning and filled the fridge with several days' worth of food & booze before hitting the road.
Lisa and I spend a large chunk of our lives ploughing up and down the A1 between our respective homes in Suffolk and Yorkshire, so on this trip we have decided that we will stick to roads less travelled for our outwards journey. We struck out northwards on the A134 to Kings Lynn where we picked up the A17 and then the A16 via Boston where the only drama of the day occured when a suicidal cyclist inexplicably veered off the pavement in front of us. Thankfully there was nothing in the outside lane and I was able to swerve to avoid him as there was no way I would have had enough time to brake. I didn't even have the opportunity to hit my horn in displeasure so I'm sure that he carried on blissfully unaware that he was a second away from being bolognaise on my bumper.
Shortly after Boston we passed a sign welcoming us to the Lincolnshire Wolds which completely put to bed my previously held belief that Lincolnshire is completely pancake flat. "It's actually quite hilly" observed Lisa and she wasn't wrong. It's also a stunningly beautiful part of the country which had completely passed under my radar until today. Definitely worth a return visit at some point.
We passed through the villages of East and West Keal, which had some sort of scarecrow festival going on. Every other house had at least one straw man standing outside, several of which made us chuckle, especially the one which appeared to have its head down a hole looking for the moles which had wrecked the owner's otherwise pristine frontage.
The A16 wriggled its way onwards to our first stop on this tour at the quaint little town of Louth, which is on the eastern boundary of the Lincolnshire Wolds, where it meets the Lincolnshire Marshes. Neither of us have been here before but it sounded an interesting place to visit so after a quick brew we went for a wander.
Louth is full of Georgian and Victorian architecture and has a proper Oldy-Worldy feel about it.
St James' is the main Parish Church. According to the info board at the entrance it has the tallest spire of any mediaevil parish church in England. You can clamber up it but, much to Lisa's relief, not on a Sunday.
The Lincolnshire Rising was instigated in St James' in 1536 and for his part in it the Vicar was hung drawn and quartered at Tyburn the following year.
There are lots of little passages and alleyways, many of which were bedecked in Union Jack bunting. I'm not sure if this was left over from the coronation or they are always just remarkably patriotic round these parts.
Refreshingly, it is reckoned that 70% of the shops in Louth are still independent from the major chains which are ubiquitous on most high streets these days.
I'm not sure why the proprietor of "The Foot Doctor" decided it would be a good idea to place the sign above his shop upside down!
This is the rather splendid looking Town Hall.
Louth is situated on the Greenwich Meridian, as signified by this plaque outside one of the local chippys.
It is also the site of the very first Currys store which opened in 1904 with the slightly perplexing address of 102 and a half Eastgate.
After our meanderings in the remarkably clement September sunshine we thought we deserved a libation so we popped into Ye Olde Whyte Swanne where I had a very quaffable couple of pints of Charnwood Steam Train.
The pub looks tiny from the front but it goes on forever, culminating in a fabulously florid beer garden which is adorned with a battered old tuk tuk and lots of quirky ornaments.
We made our way back to the van past this rather imposing looking building, which presumably was once a Church but is now home to the Yorkshire Trading Company.
Final fun fact about Louth. It is home to the last remaining cattle market in Lincolnshire and our stopover for the night is the car park for said market.
It's a tenner a night to stay here and you have to ring and pay in advance but it's a great little tucked away spot with fresh water taps and grey water drains available should we need them. We've been forewarned that there is a market taking place tomorrow but it's not until the afternoon so hopefully there won't be too much in the way of moo-ing to disturb us before we are up and about.
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