First cycling holiday in Lincoln/Lincolnshire

[Tribansman]

Love cycling in Lincolnshire, you'll have a great holiday. Just in from the coast anywhere between Sutton on Sea and Skegness would be good.

I was based at Anderby for a week and had some fantastic rides in north, south and west. Nice spin up to the edge of the wolds too.

One word of caution, can have some pretty severe headwinds, which can be worse than hills!

 

[Tribansman]

didn't know woodhall spa was so revered.
All i know it for is as the birthplace and childhood and early adult home of Robert Webb from Peep show.
Don't recall him making it sound captivating in his autobiog.

It also has a lido

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The cycle route to the west of Lincoln beyond Skellingthorpe is also worth an explore if you like traffic free and don’t mind gravel. It’ll take you out to the Trent valley.

 

[wajc]

didn't know woodhall spa was so revered.
All i know it for is as the birthplace and childhood and early adult home of Robert Webb from Peep show.
Don't recall him making it sound captivating in his autobiog.

You've got to appreciate what there is to do in the rest of Lincolnshire though and some of the places you might encounter such as Boston, Skegness and Grimsby

Funny you should mention Robert Webb as he is the only famous person that I can claim a tenuous link to as I went to the same school as him for a couple years. Although being 3 years younger than me it's likely that this involved no more than passing him in a corridor at some time!

 

[OldShep]

Had a week with caravan near Horncastle and liked it. A good number of bridleways to use along with quiet lanes.
An old pumping station was open for visitors while I was there very interesting. Cycled to Woodhall Spa and thought it worthy of a return but not done yet.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

There’s also the coal fired chippy in Upton

http://www.uptonchippy.co.uk/default.aspx

 

[IaninSheffield]

I'll second Woodhall Spa as a potential base. Taking the Water Rail Trail up to Lincoln and back through the lanes and villages is around 40 miles - very pleasant, gentle cycling with things to see along the way. Taking the Trail south to Boston and back long the lanes would also be undemanding (on a breeze-free day!), although with longer, straight sections which can sometimes become monotonous.
The easterly route out past, and possibly including, Horncastle will take you into the Wolds - a less visited gem. Although do keep an eye on the route profile; there are one or two testers, albeit nothing too steep or too long.
Almost all westerly options involve long, straight sections, which can be quite wearing.

I always camp in Woodhall so not sure about self-catering options, but there are several hotels and B&Bs. If there's nothing suitable for you, then shifting your base to Lincoln would still leave plenty of enjoyable cycling opportunities.

 

[mjr]

The cycle route to the west of Lincoln beyond Skellingthorpe is also worth an explore if you like traffic free and don’t mind gravel. It’ll take you out to the Trent valley.

It'll take you across the Trent valley on the Fleggborough viaduct. The Dukeries Trail. NCN64/647. Tarmac where it's route 64, although there are a few narrow bits. Gravel where it becomes 647, until it joins back roads. Eventually joins NCN6 into Sheffield IIRC but I've not gone that far west on it.
I second Woodhall Spa as a good base. I enjoyed a lunch stop at the Tea House In The Woods. NCN1 along the Water Rail Way is good but it directs you into cycling bans in Boston and there's no good cycleable route into that town anyway, which is a shame because the marketplace and church are pretty good. The local politics are very conservative to nationalist though, which may deter some.

Lincolnshire back roads are fairly quiet and it's pretty and mostly pretty easy unless you seek hills. However, most cycling infrastructure away from the NCN is 1980s-style rubbish, what little driving you do see may well be cycle-unfriendly and I think the local roads policing is awful. It's fun to visit sometimes but I'm glad I'm over the border in Norfolk!

 

[Amac]

Cheers guys for all the tips and hints.
my mind is now made up, and I have presented my findings to the “boss” 😅
Woodhall spa it is, just starting to look for accommodations now.
Thanks for everyones help.

 

[BrumJim]

Summer of 2020 we had a holiday in Lincolnshire, where my son and I did a load of cycling in the area and had a great time. Will add our experiences here:

 

[BrumJim]

Stayed at a great farm in East Barkwith here.

Location was great, hosts were superb, and just a great place to stay and wander around. Wragby has a great butchers and a few other shops too.

 

[BrumJim]

The cottage had a number of walking and cycling guides which we used to plan our route. For the first couple of rides we just bimbled around the local area to the North of where we were staying, taking random turns and then heading home when it was time.

First full route involved being dropped off in Caistor (to the North), doing a loop and then riding back to East Barkwith. Very hot, but great places to stop for lunch, ice creams, etc.

Second one was heading out East over the Wolds to Louth and back again. Yes the Wolds are hilly, but nothing that would stop a fit 7-year-old. Not saying he enjoyed it, but he got up and over. Once you are in Louth we did a circuit on some pretty flat countryside.

Last big ride of the holiday was the Water Rail route from Lincoln out to Bardney, Kirkstead and beyond. This is flat. Very, very, very flat. Possibly too flat. But the cafe at Bardney was very welcoming and the route is peppered with sculptures, making it fun and interesting.

Generally the roads were very quiet and trouble-free, but there again my comparison is Birmingham. There are some hidden gems in that part of the country (places to visit, places to eat, shops), but being in rural Lincolnshire they aren't exactly around every corner.