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The Viking Way is a long distance trail in England running between the in North Lincolnshire and in .


History
The route was officially opened on 5 September 1976 at , by the Deputy Chairman of Lincolnshire County Council; it was to be opened by the Chairman of the council, John Hedley Lewis, but he was ill and died in December. Hedley Lewis was President of the county Ramblers' Association, and a memorial stile was made for him in 1978 on the route at , a half-mile north of the Rutland Arms in Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir.

The Countryside Commission recognised the significance of the Viking Way as a high-quality long-distance walk linking other major routes in Eastern England, these being the Yorkshire Wolds Way at the northern end, the and from and indirectly via the , the from Stamford and the southern end of the from . Most of the route is designated as part of the European long distance path E2.

Many prehistoric settlements were established on dry ground in the Lincolnshire Wolds and on the Limestone Heath. The route passes sites of early settlements. There is evidence that the Vikings exercised influence over the county () in the 9th century: e.g. the place names ending in by, names recorded in documents and also names marked on coins. Much of the Viking Way is classified as a Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT) and is thus a vehicular right of way.


Route

North Lincolnshire
The walk passes under the Humber Bridge, then follows the escarpment of the Valley over the M180 at the A15 roundabout (Barnetby Top). This section was part of until April 1996.


Lincolnshire
It follows the Lincolnshire Wolds over the AONB through , crossing the A46, and Horncastle, crossing the A158. It follows the into along a former railway, now the Spa Trail. It heads north-west through , , , , before reaching Fiskerton where it follows the south side of the towards Lincoln due west. It used to run alongside the river on Waterside South and then down Canwick Road, but was diverted in around 2002 to take a detour near over the river.

From here it crosses the Lincoln – Grimsby railway, then enters Lincoln on Crofton Road then skirts the south side of Lincoln County Hospital, follows Terrace and crosses the A15. It passes Pottergate and enters the grounds of Lincoln Cathedral, passing the south side on Minster Yard. It heads down Steep Hill and follows the main shopping High Street of Lincoln, over the River Witham and crosses the railway at a level crossing. It follows Tentercroft Street then continues along Sincil Bank towards the . It heads along Scorer Street towards South Park, and meets the old route on Canwick Road (B1188). It then runs along the southern edge of the South Common, which also forms the boundary between the borough of Lincoln and and crosses the A15 on the North Kesteven boundary.

It runs parallel to the A607 to the west of Bracebridge Heath and through Waddington, , Coleby, , and along the Lincoln Cliff, then follows the old , crossing the A607. Near High Dyke Farm, just north of the A17 it meets the boundary of and North Kesteven, west of . At Byard's Leap it crosses the A17 and follows the B6403 towards Ancaster along the South Kesteven boundary (which continues to just north of Ancaster). It heads west and enters South Kesteven. It meets the A607 again at , then crosses the River Witham and passes through Marston and . It was extended to Long Bennington in 1997 to allow walkers to cross the A1 on a road bridge, as previously they were obliged to cross the road directly, near Foston. It no longer goes through Allington, and crosses the A52 near and a level crossing over the Nottingham to Grantham Line. It then follows what used to be called Sewstern Lane and meets the Lincolnshire – boundary near Harston which it follows and crosses the A607.


Leicestershire
It passes Airfield (former ) and , then goes through where it briefly enters Leicestershire and the borough of Melton.


Rutland
It rejoins the Lincolnshire boundary near to the source of the River Witham then enters and . It passes close to the former (now ) and goes through Greetham and Exton. It meets the A606 and at Whitwell, then passes through the two watersports centres on at Whitwell and Barnsdale. From here it follows the A606 from Barnsdale Hill into Oakham. When the route was opened, it followed main roads from Exton to Oakham; the facilities at Whitwell and Barnsdale had not then been developed.


See also


Further reading
  • Stead, John; The Viking Way (A Cicerone guide); Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press (1990).
  • The Viking Way: Official Guidebook to the 147 Mile Long Distance Footpath Through Lincolnshire and Rutland; Lincolnshire Books (1997).


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