Day 24 The Peter Scott walk to Lincolnshire

Wednesday 29 April 2015

Kings Lynn to Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire
15 miles
The Riverside Inn

Another good day for the wind turbines. I had a strange evening in Bev’s house as she went out to work and then stayed out all night. Very embarrassingly I opened the window in my room (I like an open window) and then pulled the handle off the window. Oops. I’m not used to breaking other people’s houses. 

It was overcast but not raining when I left Kings Lynn on the Lynn Ferry across the Great Ouse to West Lynn. There has been a ferry across the Ouse since 1285. Walking across Kings Lynn Tuesday Market Place enlightened me to the heritage of this town on the NW corner of the Fens that was once an important merchant city and still has some grand buildings.  

The Lynn Ferry with Kings Lynn in the background

From West Lynn I started on the Peter Scott walk around the sea wall, looking out across The Wash, the 11 miles to the Nene River. After an hour the rain arrived and it wasn’t long before the combination of wind and rain was chilling my fingers in particular.  

no good views today, this photo taken just before the heavy rain started

There was one building, an empty cow shed, that represented any sort of human life on this walk and I came across it 40 minutes after the heavy rain started. I was glad of a bit of shelter and the chance to put more clothes on in the dry, and particularly my gloves. I decided to make a brew and wait until the rain stopped (according to the forecast it would and I could see a brighter sky approaching slowly).  

making a brew in a cow shed sheltering from the rain

Once the rain stopped I got going again and the wind soon dried everything that was wet, which was only really my shorts and legs as I have a good rain jacket. 

The views weren’t inspiring me today, no sea, just marshland and not much sign of wildlife (I think they were all sheltering) even though this is yet another nature reserve. There were a couple of strange mounds rising out of the marshes; these are man made and the  furthest one away was built in 1975 and designated a sea bird nesting reserve in 1987.  

man made mounds in The Wash

At the mouth of the Nene River are 2 lighthouses that were built in 1830, when the Fens were drained, to signify the entrance to the river for boats in The Wash. The East Lighthouse was Sir Peter Scott’s home before he founded the WWF (the one for wildlife not wrestlers!).   

The lighthouse gate guardians of the Nene River

 After a wet and windy walk I was ready for a hot shower and a cup of tea.