Another rail trail

Leaving Lincoln we set off following the old Lincoln to Boston railway line, known as the Water Rail Trail, running between the River Wirtham and the Sincil Dyke.  It goes without saying that once on the trail the going was flat.  Because we were sandwiched between the River and the drain we were stuck on the path until we came to a bridge, which were not very frequent. 

Near the start of the Water Rail Trail

A sculpture along the way

Another sculpture along the way.

We got to Station Road, where we were leaving the rail trail just in time to see a glorious sunset.  It was a sunset that kept on giving, starting with gold, then brilliant pinks, still lingering gently on the horizon almost an hour later.

Station Road 

We were headed for the village of Woodhall Spa, arriving at our hotel in darkness.  Looking at it we thought we were in Disney land.  Apart from the building itself, all the topiaried shrubs, and

numerous trees, were decorated with fairy lights. 

Arriving at Petwood Manor Hotel, Woodhall Spa....

... and leaving. 

We knew this was an historical building,  but we had no idea how much history!  We were staying in the Petwood Manor Hotel,  which was the Officers Mess for Squadron 617, the Dam Buster Squadron.  Here, senority showed!  Sharn, a generation younger than me, knew nothing about the Dam Busters, but she soon did.

The remains of a prototype of the bouncing bomb, in one corner of the garden

A bar in the hotel, with a pine stick at the top of the bar.  This came home after piercing a cockpit because pilots were practising flying low

That wasn't all of the history of this place though.  It began its current life in the early 1800's as a landscaped garden, designed by Harold Peto, commissioned by a disgruntled divorcee, Baroness Grace van Eckhardstein.  She then began building a house, which with her very lavish taste, presumably backed by an equally lavish fortune, became a very lavish mansion in mock Tudor / Jacobean style, complete with trimmings of oak beams and a carved staircase.  She remarried a politician and became Lady Weigal, subsequently opening the house as a hotel in 1933.

During the first World War it was requisitioned as a convalescent hospital.  We were in no hurry to leave, having had a leisurely breakfast,  and then a meander through the wonderful gardens. It truly was a memorable stay.  

The dining room

The beautiful heavy embroidered curtain fabric

The steps leading to what was, presumably, the swimming pool, though now a bit green!

We only had about 7 miles to go, and as we wandered through the town of Woodhall Spa (which I had never heard of) the history lessons kept coming.  

We were headed for Leagate Inn, on the outskirts of Coningsby.  On the outskirts of the village is an airfield, used extensively during the war.  We were distracted as we walked by jets taking off frequently.  This whole area was a buzz with troops during WW2.  Presumably they could stay in the many woods safely, though there were a few major catastrophies when bombs landed, a manor house destroyed,  and a huge hotel too.   The area was visited by King George and also Montgomery. 

The Leagate Inn also has a grand history,  being built in 1542.  Apart from being the oldest continually licensed pub in Lincolnshire, it's also the last of the fen guide houses.  Prior to the fens being drained, the fens were very dangerous,  and guide houses were built so that travellers could be helped to safely cross them.  In the back garden there is a giant yew tree, thought to predate the Inn, making it over 900years old.

Leagate Inn

The giant Yew Tree

My birthday fell on this day, but it felt like I had a very long birthday staying in such upmarket places, AND eating up market food.  It was a lovely two days.