Lincolnshire Wolds
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The Lincolnshire Wolds, September 2005. |
The
Lincolnshire Wolds are a range of
hills in the
county of
Lincolnshire,
UK. They are a designated
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and the highest area of land in eastern
England between
Yorkshire and
Kent. They run, roughly parallel with the
North Sea coast, from the
Humber in the north west to the town of
Spilsby in the south east.
The Wolds comprise a series of low hills and steep
valleys underlain by calcareous (
chalk and
limestone) and
sandstone rock, laid down in the
Cretaceous period. The characteristic open valleys of the Wolds were created during the last
ice age through the action of
glaciation and meltwater.
Geographically, the Lincolnshire Wolds are a continuation of the
Yorkshire Wolds which run up through the
East Riding of Yorkshire, the Wolds as a whole having been bisected by the tremendous erosive power of the waters of the
Humber.
The Lincolnshire Wolds can be divided into four distinct areas: the main area of chalk hills in the north, the north west
scarp, an area of ridges and valleys in the south west, and the
claylands in the south east. The
Red Hill nature reserve near the village of
Goulceby is notable for the unusual
red colour of its soil and underlying chalk.
Wolds Top is the highest point in the whole of Lincolnshire and is marked by a
trig point just north of the village of
Normanby-le-Wold, at approximately 168 metres (551 feet) above sea level. [
1] The Wolds provide some spectacular
views across the flat
fens and salt
marshes of the remaining Lincolnshire countryside: it is possible, from various points on the Wolds, to see all of the larger structures in the north and east of the county: the
Belmont Transmitter,
Boston Stump,
Grimsby Dock Tower, the
Humber Bridge,
Lincoln Cathedral, St James' Church in
Louth, the
radar station near Normanby,
Tattershall Castle, and the
wind turbines on the coast near
Mablethorpe.
The Lincolnshire Wolds were designated an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in
1973, and are managed as such by the
Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service.
The Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers 560 square kilometres, while the Countryside Service recognise a wider
Lincolnshire Wolds Character/Natural Area which incorporates the AONB and the neighbouring areas of the (geographical) Wolds to the north and south, which are not covered by the AONB.
The Wolds AONB cuts across the council boundaries of Lincolnshire County Council,
East Lindsey District Council,
West Lindsey District Council and
North East Lincolnshire Council.
The boundaries of the AONB are marked by
tourist signs incorporating stylized hills and trees, placed on roads leading into and out of the Wolds. The placing of these signs has not been uncontroversial, with some residents unhappy that they outline only the Wolds AONB and not the cultural/geographical area as a whole.
The Wolds are sparsely populated and have a deeply
rural character.
The area has a fascinating history, with a strong
Viking influence evident in many of the placenames. There are also an abundance of
mediaeval '
lost villages': settlements abandoned due to changes in land use,
soil exhaustion and disease.
The AONB is 'ringed' by several small
market towns that lie close at the foot of the Wolds:
*
Alford;
*
Horncastle, billed on tourist signs as the "gateway to the Wolds", lies just outside the south end of the AONB;
*
Louth, "the capital of the Wolds";
*
Market Rasen;
*
Caistor;
*
Spilsby.
Several notable roads and paths run over the Wolds.
Caistor High Street, the path of a
Roman Road and now the route of the B1225, runs from Caistor to
Baumber near Horncastle. The lonely
Bluestone Heath Road follows the course of an ancient
drove road from west to east across the Wolds, and several
"A" roads also run through the AONB.
The Wolds are now promoted as a tourist destination: the area's connection with
Tennyson (who was born in
Somersby) is being exploited, and
farmers are being encouraged to diversify into the tourism industry. The roads of the Wolds are particularly popular with
motorcyclists, and the area is home to
Cadwell Park, one of the UK's top
race circuits.
The area is also popular with
hikers: the
Viking Way long-distance footpath runs from
Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire across the Lincolnshire Wolds and into
Rutland, and there is a
Youth Hostel in the middle of the Wolds at
Woody's Top near the village of
Tetford.
*
Lincolnshire Wolds*
Cadwell Park
