Exploring Lincoln

From Canwick the route leads south-west on a tree-lined path beside South Common to cross the A607 leading to Bracebridge Heath and onward to where the path meets the River Witham. Around here, reputedly the oldest part of the city, the Romans kept a garrison from where they controlled most of Eastern England. The river served both to slow down advancing enemies and to provide a link for trade. Roman Lincoln was a fine town with many handsome buildings and public baths. Some parts of the Roman wall around the city are still standing, and the Newport Arch survives as the only Roman gateway in this country still used by traffic.

After the Romans left, the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes both influenced the development of the town, but it was eventually the Normans who made Lincoln a very important city. Lincoln Castle was established by William the Conqueror in 1086, and many other fine buildings in the city, well worth a visit, have been erected over the years.

South Common occupies an area of around 220 acres and was originally used as pasture and grazing for the inhabitants of the suburb of Wigford and the villagers of Canwick. The area has never been part of any open field system and has only ever been used for pasture. During the 16th century, in their role as Lords of the Manor, the City Corporation decided to enclose the land, and later in the early 1800s the commons were completely closed. When the Lincoln to Honington railway line was built in the 19th century across the common land, the area south of the line was developed for housing, which is now South Park.

From Bracebridge the walk follows the River Witham, which rises near the villages of South and North Witham some ten miles south of Grantham. The river flows north to Lincoln, but it is not navigable until it joins the Foss Dyke at Brayford Pool. The Foss Dyke was dug by the Romans to link Lincoln with the River Trent. Dating back to 120 AD, it is Britain's oldest artificial waterway, and Brayford Pool served as an ancient port. From Lincoln, the River Witham turns south, eventually running through Boston and emptying out into the Wash.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.