Ever been to a cloud bar? Remember bubble cars? Want to explore a fishing trawler? All this – and lots more – beckons in lively Lincolnshire
Words: Tim Walker Pictures: Jen Tricker
“Why on earth are you going to the Lincolnshire coast?” we were asked more than once before we set off. The simple answer is that we had started our journey around the English coast in Northumberland and Yorkshire the previous year and we were picking up where we’d left off. As we discovered, there is much more to this stretch of coast than we could have imagined.
In the space of a week, we encountered the second-longest single-span road suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, the longest listed building in England, the innards of a North Sea trawler, a nature reserve that doubled as an RAF bombing range, seaside donkeys, a Cloud Bar, bubble cars galore and plenty more.
We like a dramatic entrance and what could be more so than cycling into Lincolnshire over the Humber Bridge? It proved to be surprisingly easy.
There is a free car park below the North Tower and, 10 minutes later, we soared over the Humber along a dedicated cycle and footpath, feeling well protected from the traffic roaring past and enjoying the stupendous views. It is only a couple of miles each way and not at all arduous.
On the other side we tootled around the Bartonupon-Humber riverside area and chanced upon The Ropewalk, an arts-centre-cum-café-cum-museum housed in a low brick building which is a quarter of a mile long – part of the now defunct Hall’s Barton Ropery. That evening, we were treated to the most fabulous sunset as a backdrop to the bridge, just a mile from our campsite, and spent an absorbing hour trying to take the definitive photograph of the sunset.
Before heading to the sea, we wanted to visit Alkborough Flats further upstream where the Trent meets the Ouse and becomes the Humber. Our mission was to see bearded tits.
Sure enough, we came across a little band of juveniles leaping from bendy reed to bendy reed, seemingly just for the fun of it. As a bonus, we saw a great egret and a few spoonbills as well. As we explored the pretty village of Alkborough we learned that it is home to one of only eight surviving ancient turf mazes in England; Julian’s Bower. While not as exciting to my mind as the bearded tits, the maze sits high and there are superb views across the flatlands below.
We moved on to a campsite just south of Grimsby where barnacle geese grazed nearby, another ornithological treat. Grimsby’s main attraction is the Fishing Heritage Centr
