The Viking Way celebration day

And what better way to celebrate than walk a small section of the county’s primary long-distance footpath 40 years to the day it opened - September 5, 1976.

“Many thousands of people have used the Viking Way over the past 40 years,” said Stuart Parker, area secretary for Lincolnshire Ramblers.

“It has been modified a bit over time to take walkers off the roads but continues to be a popular route for individuals and groups.”

The 147-mile Viking Way runs from the South Bank of the Humber and down to Rutland Water.

“It certainly does away with the myth Lincolnshire is flat,” said Stephen Almond, area chairman of the Lincolnshire Ramblers.

“It creates a lot of interest to the local community and the wider walking community.”

“It is also important for the Wolds’ economy,” added Helen Gamble from the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service, which produces leaflets to take walkers off the main route and help them explore the surrounding area.

Also present at the celebration walk, which started from Tealby, where the Way was launched 40 years ago, was Ella Sivil, who was part of the group setting out the Viking Way.

“We had to fight for the path and it is good to see it still well used, let’s hope that continues,” she said.