Second Viking Way Walk of the Month visits Caistor

To mark the milestone it is sharing a number of recommended short walks using sections of the Viking Way.

This month’s latest pick of perfect places to partake of the Viking Way takes you to Caistor with a neat 3.75 mile loop that links the town to Nettleton right on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds.

It’s an easy walk that will suit most people, making it another ideal way to dip into the Viking Way without signing up for the full 149-miles.

The route gives you a feel for the landscape the main trail crosses. It’s short, simple and ideal if you want a quick outing with a bit of history attached.

Caistor was once a Roman fortified town. It had a defensive wall around it and parts of that wall are still visible on this walk. The Market Place is the centre of things, marked by a lion statue sitting on a water pump that was put up in 1897 for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The streets around it are lined with Georgian and Victorian buildings and much of the town is a Conservation Area.

The walk includes a recently created section of the Viking Way. It was added last year to make crossing the Caistor bypass road safer, so you’ll be stepping onto one of the newest pieces of the trail.

If you’re taking children, grab the I Spy sheets or tick off a few items from the 50 Things list on the website (details below). It keeps the walk lively and gives younger ones some specific things to look out for along the way.

Anyone who prefers company can join a guided walk on May 20. It’s led by the County Council’s Rights of Way team as part of the Lincolnshire Wolds Outdoor Festival. Details are on the festival site (details below).

Maps, I Spy sheets, the 50 Things list and more circular routes are all on the Viking Way page at Visit Lincolnshire. To go there, visit: www.visitlincolnshire.com/things-to-do/viking-way/

• The Viking Way was created in 1976 and runs for 149 miles from the Humber estuary to Oakham in Rutland

• It was developed by Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Humberside County Councils with support from The Ramblers

• The name reflects the area’s links to the Danelaw in the late ninth century, when Lincolnshire formed part of historic Mercia

• The route passes through some of the county’s best landscapes, including the Lincolnshire Wolds National Landscape, the Lincolnshire Limewoods, the cliff villages south of Lincoln and the Kesteven Uplands