Saturday marked the start of the annual Lincolnshire Wolds Walking Festival. My dad and I (Dad more so) are quite keen walkers and we always try to make it along to at least one of the Festival's walks each year. This year the launch day was at the lovely village of Donnington on Bain and we popped along to take part in a walk titled "Radars and Railways". A 7 mile stroll through the fields around Donnington and through the Stenigot Estate began with a trek up to the hill to see the old Ace High station.
This walk being run by the Society for Lincolnshire History & Archaeology, we were treated to some interesting talks about each place we stopped. So, those big dishes were Ace High and they were used for relaying information between stations in the Cold War. There was a network of them reaching from Turkey up through Europe and over the Atlantic to the USA. More info here: RAF Stenigot
Apparently when the base was decommissioned the dishes were left behind because the scrap merchant thought they were made of aluminium, not steel.
Next stop was the other side of the Ace High dishes to see the last surviving transmitter mast of the Stenigot Chain Home station. Chain Home was a rudimentary but remarkably effective radar system used during the Second World War to detect incoming aircraft.
From here, the walk took a turn across the Stenigot Estate, passing some very early concrete buildings (early 20th Century). I resisted the urge to mention the fact that the Romans were using concrete centuries before that...
And then on down the hill, stopping at the little church in Stenigot to see these old memorials to the Spanish family who owned the estate around the time of the Spanish Armada.
And finally into Donnington to have a quick walk along the trackbed of the old Louth-Bardney Railway. Not much left save the station building.
And the platform edge.
Oh, and this very old, battered gradient post.
In all, a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon and great to see so many people turn out for it!
Do you have any secret history nestled away nearby? What about a favourite afternoon stroll? Why not share in the comments below.
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