Stamford via Easton On The Hill

With such glorious weather for April and the night-shift looming, I couldn`t pass up the opportunity of a lovely walk to Stamford in Lincolnshire (or Northamptonshire!) and with Willow waiting eagerly, lead in paws, she was ready too. 
We would follow parts of the Hereward, Jurassic and Macmillan Way, and it is only 6 miles long, but enjoyable.
Starting at Ketton, Just past the church, we picked up our first sign that would take us through a small wood and alongside a housing estate before reaching out to the open plains.......

 

With the route quite well signposted, Willow stops to explore the vegetation!
And The Daffodils and Rape seed have come out to play showing their vibrant colours!

 
After heading south and through a small village called Geeston, we returned to open countryside and occasionally  the quarry works would give the usual boom of explosives. I was still pondering how long my house would be standing for, still it is damned good solid stone!

 


With roads to be followed and views admired, it is a walk that is gentle on foot and desired.
With the drystone walling falling down, the cement works and quarry are a dominant feature and I wanted to put the wall back together!
It was soon that we entered a village called Easton On The Hill and is around 400 years old.
Originally it was a farming village, with many still here today and a Priests House which dates back to around 1475 - 1500.
Today it is a museum and well worth a look.
I also met the oldest resident of Easton On The Hill Mr Sunny Nicholls.

 

 
Inside the Priests House (which is now National Trust Owned) is a narrow winding staircase which takes you to the museum and houses an array of ironmongery etc once used long ago and it also tells of the history behind the Priests House and village.
Now peckish, we decided to visit the Blue Bell Public House for a meal and refreshment and we were not disappointed, but I couldn`t quite manage the huge portion infront, I had help - Willow of course! But reasonably priced and helpful staff, why not pop in for a pint or two?

 


As we were walking out of Easton, I noticed a poster that had recently been put up and alarm bells began to ring......

I spoke to one of the local villagers who told me all about the company that wanted to take low level radioactive waste and bury it a couple of miles down the road!
It is actually not one of the best companies in the uk, its record in safety is abysmal, but no doubt they`ll probably give the councillors the usual back handers and it`ll go through, normal practice these days for a society that is getting more corrupt - or is it my imagination? somehow I don`t think so and judging by the village turnout last night, it is not welcome and will not benefit the locals apart from congestion and road accidents that have doubled.
If you have one 40 tonne lorry carrying low level waste, doesn`t that make it a high level risk?
I know from living in Tow Law in County Durham during the foot and mouth crisis of 2001 how conditions of the locals worsened and the stench from the quarries that were dug a mile outside of the village to hold the thousands of dead cattle was horrendous and made you physically sick.
Good luck to the locals in fighting these guys, I`ll be backing you up.......

 
 This picturesque village is under threat and needs our support.
It is typically English and steeped in history, we can`t lose it.......

 The Local church and Willow still wants to play!
We headed out of the village and through farmers fields and then onto a nasty bit, the railway line...

 

The only railway crossing we had to make.
A minute after we crossed a freight train came rushing round the bend and the tunnel that went underneath the A1 and Stamford was a mile away.

 The day was very warm and Willow took a well deserved dip!

Our final destination.....Stamford.
With the four church towers and spires showing the way, it was a pleasant site and we will be exploring Stamford in detail tomorrow...........