THE VIKING WAY (Part 1)

DAY ONE
 Lincoln to Waddington
(5.5 miles)

After arriving at the railway station in Lincoln, we immediately headed uphill - in the opposite direction to our Viking Way route - to the Cathedral to meet up with Jacqui, a former work colleague and good friend, for lunch.  It was good to catch up over sandwiches and a pot of tea sitting outside on the picnic tables of the Cathedral Tearooms.

After lunch Jacqui played tourguide, taking us to see the amazing display of ceramic poppies, Poppies: Wave, in the grounds of Lincoln Castle before waving us off in the direction of Steep Hill.

Immediately we set off we felt a few drops of drizzly rain, and as we progressed through the city centre it got progressively heavier.  By the time we had followed the route down a dead-end (due to some heavy duty construction work), and found a suitable diversion, it was time to belatedly don our waterproofs.

We paused briefly at the football ground for Steve to have his photo taken, then headed up across South Common to join a pleasant tree-lined path with lots of benches and occasional (murky) views back across to the Cathedral and city.  Such a shame about the weather - this would have been a lovely stretch under other circumstances.

Beyond the Common we headed due south, mostly along grassy paths and field edges, all the time getting wetter and wetter due to the combination of rain and soggy, overgrown vegetation.   At this point, Steve discovered that his right boot was no longer waterproof - not the greatest thing given the weather forecast for the week ...

We were soaking by the time we reached Waddington,  (Note to self:  get your waterproofs on as soon as it starts raining - and don't forget your over trousers, particularly when wading through long grass and/or crop fields !)  but we checked out the Horse & Jockey and the Old Village Stores on our way through the village to our B&B, Carnforth Guest House.

After a nice hot shower we returned to the pub for our two favourite 'walking' dinners - bangers and mash for Steve, Fish Pie for Carolyn - washed down with a good pint and a glass of sauvignon blanc respectively !