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Ralph Cox•Follow
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September 23, 2022

Corner to Corner, Day 54: Scunthorpe to Boston

Report at the time: Glorious day. Flat straight roads near the start and end. Unknowingly, our route followed the 100% tarmacked Water Rail Way. With lots of history to learn about. Last night's hotel owner/chef gave us each a glass jar of food from Sicily which we gave to our impromptu lunch host and friend after she saw the C2C map on my jersey whilst cycling behind me. This evening's hosts knew we'd coming from Scunthorpe, having googled us, found and studied the website. Added at a later date: Bike touring routes created by Komoot for York to Epping: Without adjusting: 244 miles, climbing 7275ft, incl. Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester & Milton Keynes. For road cycling: 200m, 4150ft, 26miles of A road. Via Humber Bridge: 232m, 4350ft, incl. Boston, Peterborough, Cambridge. then via Brigg: 237m, 3925ft, , B, P, C. If HB then Scunthorpe hotel: 242m, 4250ft, inc; L, B, P & C. We used the flatter route created from York which included Gainsborough, Boston, Ely and Cambridge, before adding our east Scunthorpe hotel. Gainsborough roads were busy. With 31.5 miles still to go, we followed the Water Rail Way from its start in Lincoln, diverting only for non-paved section Bardney-Southrey. A YouTube video advises our diversion in or after former railway it follows was the Lincolnshire Loop Line. 4.8 mile North Forty Foot Bank absolutely straight just outside Boston.
Distance
76.0 mi
Elev Gain
869 ft
Time
6h 40m
Pietro Catalano, owner and chef at the San Pietro Restaurant and Rooms, Scunthorpe, kindly gave us each a jar of pistachio paste for Lorraine and hazelnut chocolate for me, which normally sold @ £9.95. We had acknowledged that his restaurant serving complimentary dishes between courses was unique and delightful and his rooms had everything anyone would want, more than anywhere we had stayed, and that we would put assessments on TripAdvisor and
Lorraine in front of San Pietro Restaurant and Hotel as we are about to leave. Took a while to book - well worth the effort. The commentary with 2009 Geography photo by Richard Croft tells some history about the 1858 tower windmill. The photo records the site before the hotel was built: Link to various entries on Mills Archive website about Uriah Long's Mill. The site was the Old Mill pub before being the hotel and restaurant:
The main road was not too busy, but Bristol Road is a good side road then cycle path beside Scootter Road: follow those.
Use side road
0:17
St Peter's church, Scotter. 11th, 13th-15th century.
0:26
All Saints Laughton, Lincolnshire - not to be confused with the one in Sheffield. 13th century, restored in 19th.
Round the corner from All Saints
Redhill Farm, Laugjton Road. Lorraine was delighted to see this treatment of pigs. Made her day.
0:30
0:14
St Helen's, Lea
Preparing for a book sale in support of the restoration fund
Cottam (coal-powered) Power Station in Nottinghamshire. Decommissioned in 2019.
0:22
"Anglo-Saxon" Stow Minster. Website includes a video of the inside by the altar.
Looking back to the road sign announcing Stow as the next village.
Sally had seen the back of my jersey, had invited us to fill bottles, use facilities and made us lunch and we had a great time with her and her friend, Debbie, who had cycled to Gainsborough for a coffee. Before that, I had talked with Debbie's brother-in-law at a bus stop. He also had seen the jersey, expressed interest... He recommended a route by a river and it turned out we went that way. (Sturton by Stow)
Lincoln Cathedral on the horizon, to the right
Lincoln Cathedral on the right.
Lincoln Cathedral
St Peter, Aisthorpe I raised the phone above my head to take a photograph over a hedge!
I had hoped to see the dog's grave at the entrance to RAF Scampton, but that proved to be on the busy A15, which would have been a 3.6 mile detour we had no time for.
As much as we saw on the airport and runway
RAF Scampton is up on the Lincoln plateau above the flat land to its north and south.
6 kudos
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