Walking in Nettleton in Lincolnshire
Walking in Nettleton in Lincolnshire
Today saw your host out on a superb walk, not just a walk but almost an overload of great things
What a day I’ve had !
I don’t recall seeing such a span of things of great interest in any one day before - the period of time covered was staggering - from new to old, how about from an early Warning Radar ‘Golf Ball’ to 200 million years old !
I had the great good fortune to be in the company of someone well known to regulars here, The Right Honourable Chris Keyworth Esq !
This was CK’s idea and route and inspired it was too, great company and a great guide - I’m hugely indebted.
As this was going to be more of a trek than a walk I made a tactical judgement, sadly my tactical judgement turned into a tactical error !
My camera rucksack has no room left in it all all and weighs a ton, knowing we were going to be covering a good distance today I decided to sacrifice my big lens for a litre of water - makes sense I thought - after all I’m only photographing scenery today - look left 
Bird count today was 4 Buzzards, countless Kestrels and 2 owls !! - See later results
Not to mention many other species of birds, plants and insects and a grass snake.
I did the nest I could at 400mm instead of 800mm - I shall be back though
Nettleton sits next to the A46 to Lincoln, I’ve driven passed it countless times, seen the hill but never imagined what lay beyond it - what an incredible spot.
We walked for about 4 hours or so today and I saw, 2 Deserted Medieval Villages ( DMVs ) , a Celtic Mint (for the making of coins not the sucking of sweets) , valleys, hills, earthworks, radar installations, ironstone mines the list just goes on so I’ll cover some topics in later specific articles
Here’s something old:
A Selection of Fossils Found Today at Nettleton
There was a beautiful exposed seam of hillside which allowed you to see the layers which spanned many millions of years and went to make up the entire area.
You could clearly see times when fast running water made up a layer with soft sand and polished stones, the ice age and so much more.
You’ll note the knife in the picture, this is quite special to me and never normally leaves the house but Chris said bring a knife, you’ll need it for fossils I thought it deserved a special day.
My Uncle Jack, who is sadly no longer with us, used to enthral my brother and I as little boys with it. It was his army knife which he had when he saw active service in the jungles - he used to tell us how many enemy soldiers throats he slit with it - we used to stare open-mouthed in wonderment at him . . then one day . . . he gave me the knife !
An Early Warning Radar Golf Ball
The above is as opposite as you can get. An early warning military surveillance radar. It’s all Top Secret, or it’s meant to be, I imagine the fact it really rather large, on top of a huge hill and quite distinctive is a bit of a setback on the secrecy front.
I’m told it’s possibly owned by the CIA !
The Hills and Valleys Around Nettleton
The picture above doesn’t do justice to the area, the scenery is so dramatic, probably the most spectacular I’ve seen in Lincolnshire, it sort of Irby Dales x10.
Miles after mile of sweeping valleys and hills, it was truly incredible. Add to that the history that is soaked into the very stone beneath your feet.
Today I’ve walked in the paths trodden by Neanderthal men, ancient Britons, Vikings, Romans right up to modern day when every now and then a jet fighter may tear through the valleys at low level.
The stone is also very familiar, a sandy ironstone, very soft and packed with shell fossils, very clearly the source of the stone used to build the churches at the likes of Little Coates and Irby
Just as I proof read this Chris comes through for me again with a satellite map produced in conjunction with his GPS unit - it shows, in blue, the route we walked today.
Our Route Today
The area is about as high as you can get in Lincolnshire, indeed we walked passed officially the highest spot at 551 feet above sea level. W
We stood on top of one hill, looked out and could see Lincoln cathedral - Chris’ GPS registered 481 feet above sea level - the views were staggering.
I could have written swathes about today and as mentioned I will return to a couple of specific items in separate articles but I’ve tried to be concise.
It wasn’t easy to be brief, arguably I wasn’t, and it isn’t well written but I wanted to get something up tionight and share it with you - it’s such a tremendous place but I’m left with mixed emotions.
I’ve had the most fabulous day and found a place I shall return to time after time from now on but it’s tinged with embarrassment. It’s about 15 minutes from where I live and I never knew such a place existed.
I’m still basking in the place and will go back for sure . . . I wonder . . . is tomorrow too soon !
All the best
Ro
chris keyworth said,
August 2, 2010 @ 8:21 pm
yes go for it rod leave the bottle of water take the big lens pack your bayonet and enjoy the walk see if you can get them two little owls and jump on the back of that buzzard oh and try and catch up with that grass snake i nearly stepped on i cant get over that its the first one ive seen in our area…
regards
chris
Rod said,
August 3, 2010 @ 7:28 am
Chris,
it was fantastic - what a place.
Sorry to have pestered you for the map but it really makes the post being able to see the route.
Fabulous !
Best
Rod
Gordon Luck said,
August 3, 2010 @ 10:27 am
The Golf Ball is actually Claxby Radar, owned by NATS (National Air Traffic Services). It first appeared sometime in the 1980’s visible as a normal rotating radar dish, added on top of the 1950’s Post Office telephones/BT microwave tower.
Rod said,
August 3, 2010 @ 7:29 pm
Gordon,
thanks for that, really appreciated, I like loose ends tied up
Cheers
Rod
Little Brother said,
August 3, 2010 @ 9:03 pm
Rod,
Another great find, I’m jealous.
LB
Peter Mullins said,
August 8, 2010 @ 3:21 am
A favourite of ours, but your post reminds me that we haven’t been recently, and Chris Keyworth introduced you to things we’ve never quite pinned down. There is a spot on the road near Nettleton Top from which it is possible to see both the Humber Bridge and Lincoln Cathedral. Tioxide’s community relations people once took me as part of a group into a private quarry area where you can see the thin seam of Lincolnshire red chalk outcrop; I think it used the quarry for inert landfill and I now wonder into whose hands it has or will transfer (perhaps CK knows this as well as everything else?).
Rod said,
August 8, 2010 @ 8:32 am
Peter,
it is a tremendous spot, I returned twice in successive days after my trip with Chris, had one day off then back again.
Chris is like some kind of human GPS device - it’s all a mystery to me but he lands you exactly in every spot you want to be in - no misses no wrong turns.
Personally I need directions to navigate my own house
Cheers
Rod
chris keyworth said,
August 8, 2010 @ 1:16 pm
the quarry was still part of tioxide last i heard, Rod thats my incredible sense of direction, trust me im just as good at it in the dark having a photographic memory helps too..
regards
chris
Rod said,
August 8, 2010 @ 5:18 pm
Rod,
What comes around, goes around!
Think back to when you were not much more than a toddler, and Chris wasn’t even a twinkle in his Dad’s eye. That’s when I was doing exactly what you have been doing at Nettleton over the last week.
You made me go rummaging in my collections yet again; which is a totally good thing as it puts them to a fresh purpose after all these years. Here is just a small but broad sample of fossils to be found in the area in the varying layers of what is officially known as the Ferruginous Bands of the Claxby Beds of green Spilsby sandstone. As the placenames suggest these rocks extend a long way down the Wolds spine of Lincolnshire. The matrix is notably oolitic as I discussed with you on other posts regarding the makeup of building stone at various churches. This is quite evident on the shell specimen of your original post above.
When I had to emigrate from Lincolnshire to Essex in the early eighties, it was impossible for me to bring everything with me, otherwise Lincs. would have risen by about two inches so I left my larger fossils from Nettleton at the Immingham Museum including Pectens about four inches across, large Ammonites up to fifteen inches across and so on.
The annotations are as follows: A - fossil wood; B - marine worm casts; C & D - mussel like shells called Panopea, notice C is from the ferruginous layer and D is from the green layers; E - Gryphea or ‘devil’s-toe-nail’; F is of bone and I suspect is either a patella, (non-human of course), or an epiphysis, (engaging surface of a bone); G&H some rather fine bellemnite guards, (a sort of ancient squid).
Regards,
Neville
Amiguru said,
August 8, 2010 @ 5:18 pm
Rod,
What comes around, goes around!
Think back to when you were not much more than a toddler, and Chris wasn’t even a twinkle in his Dad’s eye. That’s when I was doing exactly what you have been doing at Nettleton over the last week.
You made me go rummaging in my collections yet again; which is a totally good thing as it puts them to a fresh purpose after all these years. Here is just a small but broad sample of fossils to be found in the area in the varying layers of what is officially known as the Ferruginous Bands of the Claxby Beds of green Spilsby sandstone. As the placenames suggest these rocks extend a long way down the Wolds spine of Lincolnshire. The matrix is notably oolitic as I discussed with you on other posts regarding the makeup of building stone at various churches. This is quite evident on the shell specimen of your original post above.
When I had to emigrate from Lincolnshire to Essex in the early eighties, it was impossible for me to bring everything with me, otherwise Lincs. would have risen by about two inches so I left my larger fossils from Nettleton at the Immingham Museum including Pectens about four inches across, large Ammonites up to fifteen inches across and so on.
The annotations are as follows: A - fossil wood; B - marine worm casts; C & D - mussel like shells called Panopea, notice C is from the ferruginous layer and D is from the green layers; E - Gryphea or ‘devil’s-toe-nail’; F is of bone and I suspect is either a patella, (non-human of course), or an epiphysis, (engaging surface of a bone); G&H some rather fine bellemnite guards, (a sort of ancient squid).
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
August 8, 2010 @ 5:23 pm
Neville,
it’s very strange isn’t it how some things echo back. I tooo thought about my childhood when I was there and saw the red seam and thought of Red Hill Nature Reserve.
It’s a fabulous collection of fossils Neville, I particularly like A and B
Many thanks
Rod
Jill Lucas Hassan said,
November 2, 2010 @ 12:03 am
You’ve done it again Rod !!
My dad used to work at Nettleton mine as a deputy , and we lived in the school house.
My spiritual home is Nettleton/Caistor.
The saddest day was when emptying the house in Knebworth, where they moved to, on my mother’s death in May 2008 not knowing what to do with his collection of fossils…my sister took them , don’t know what she did with them but I couldn’t bring them to Cairo …..
Thanks again,Rod.
Rod said,
November 2, 2010 @ 9:43 am
Jill,
great to hear from you again - it’s been a long time. Fancy your father working at the mines Jill - amazing !
You don’t have any pictures that show any of the mines, machinery or people etc t work do you Jill ?
I preparing a separate article just on the mines and have some modern pictures but it would be fabulous to have something from the period.
Best wishes
Rod
Jill Lucas Hassan said,
November 2, 2010 @ 11:05 am
Hi ,Rod,
When clearing the house we found some pix of the miners with the mine in the background and I am almost sure we kept them as being historically important and family history, if so they are in my house in Knebworth,so I promise I will rootle about for you ! Small problem , that won’t be until the spring or maybe even the summer . I tell you what though, why not contact Roy Thomas or Russell Thomas? They went to CGS with me and lived in Nettleton as their dad Mr. Thomas was the mine manager at the time.Roy is married and lives with his wife in Holton Le Moor where they have a B&B so he should be very easy to track down. We are talking about 1960 ish here.He knows me and we met at the 50 year anniversary of ” The Walk” so mention my name , his wife was in my class and to my shame I can’t remember her name, she is something very high in the WI . Old age , sweetheart !I also have a feeling Russell lives in Nettleton,but I may be wrong . The third and middle brother, my age , sadly passed away some time ago. Tudor , he was called . They are Welsh.
Let me know how you get on , please!
Hope this isof some use ,
LOL,
jill
Hugh said,
January 20, 2011 @ 11:11 am
Did you, by any chance, on your jaunt last August, come across the remains of a watermill in the Nettleton area. I have discovered a document, recording that it was given to Sir William Hervy, by Brian Scaman, in 1606, which I have arranged to see, at the archives in Kew, but do not know if there is any evidence on the ground. Presumably there would be an ideal site on the Nettleton Beck.
Chris Keyworth said,
January 20, 2011 @ 1:11 pm
hi hugh
two possible hits for you on this one the first one is Crowgarth Farm TA 1125 0005 this is the most likely spot as there is a mill pond still extant, the other one is further down the beck at TA 1060 0020, no visible remains here though
regards
chris
Rod said,
January 20, 2011 @ 6:33 pm
Hugh,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site, I didn’t come across a watermill I’m afraid but were I looking for it I can think of no better place to start than by trying the suggestions from Chris Keyworth.
let us know how you get on Hugh
Kind regards
Rod
Hugh said,
January 24, 2011 @ 8:32 am
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your prompt reply to my enquiry, as to the site of the watermill in Nettleton. I got the map out on Saturday morning and, thanks to your references, took a virtual hike around the valley. The shape of the pond looks right. Cheers Hugh.