Hello and Welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning the Three Amigo’s met up and did a 10.8 mile circular walk starting in Long Bennington and taking in the Lincolnshire villages of Westborough and Dry Doddington.

The highlight of the walk was a visit to the café at J and J Alpacas. https://visitalpacas.co.uk/visit-us/

It was a sunny but chilly morning when we met up outside St Swithun’s church in Long Bennington. We were most grateful that it was a sunny and dry day for once.

We set off following the Viking Way towards the picturesque village of Westborough, crossing a bridge over the river Witham followed by a few green fields.

We walked through the peaceful village. There is a church in the village which has an interesting interior apparently so we will have to pay a visit when it is open.

Leaving Westborough we joined the road towards Hougham. ( pronounced Huffham Chris told us – I do like the vagaries of the English language) It was quiet with very few vehicles.

Along the road we trod, spotting Hares bounding across the fields. One of the fields was being used to grow turf and looked like quality grass. England’s green and pleasant land!

A tractor was in another field doing some ploughing- good to see this as previously the land had been too wet.

The Three Amigos were discussing gentle tv comedy of bygone years – such as ‘The Detectorists’, ‘Dad’s Army’ and ‘Last of the Summer Wine’. All fantastic series but alas nothing like it is made any more. We chuckled when ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ was mentioned as it is about three old blokes who go walking together! Chris said being the tall one I must be Foggy but who is Compo? 😊 We burst into laughter!

Leaving the tarmac road we followed a farm track north.

We passed a strip of grass that was a runway for microlight planes.

A field was being ploughed for potato planting – it had deep furrows.

We were headed to a crossing under the East Coast main line railway.

We were about 6 mile in on our walk and we were looking forward to arriving at the cafe.

The site is home to over 90 Alpacas and is a very popular spot. I hope to visit again soon.

Leaving the café somewhat reluctantly we were now heading towards the village of Dry Doddington. The church of St James dates back to the 12th century. The tower was built in the early 14th century and is famous for leaning towards the west. The angle of the lean has been authenticated as 4.8 degrees – this is greater than the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

Our walk continued, passing a trig point, we had extensive views over the countryside. I had a great sense of openness and space. It was wonderful.

There were a few good hearted murmurings in the ranks about the length of the walk – we had exceeded the billed distance. Mileage can be a flexible measure on my walks I have been told 😊.

We soon arrived back into Long Bennington after a great walk.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️