{"id":470,"date":"2019-01-14T10:13:50","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T10:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/?p=470"},"modified":"2019-01-14T10:13:50","modified_gmt":"2019-01-14T10:13:50","slug":"lines-across-lincolnshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/heart-of-the-county\/lines-across-lincolnshire\/01-2019","title":{"rendered":"Lines Across Lincolnshire"},"content":{"rendered":"

A landscape moves and changes due to geological and historical events. Lincolnshire\u2019s landscape has seen many such events and so too have the routes, roads and rivers of the county. Local photographer Jon Fox explores these incredible lines of Lincolnshire in his new publication…<\/h3>\n
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Former Trent Valley from Lincoln Castle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you consider Lincolnshire\u2019s ever-evolving landscape, its open country fields, Lincoln\u2019s city views, the flat fenlands or perhaps the sandy coastline may come to mind. I doubt your first thought was of the roads and rivers, the weaving lines that make their way through the bucolic scenery of Lincolnshire.\u00a0But this overlooked aspect of Lincolnshire holds so much interest and information both geologically and historically. That is something that Lincoln man Jon Fox has recognised and documented in his latest publication \u2018Lines Across Lincolnshire.\u2019<\/p>\n

Following on from his previous beautiful book the Lincolnshire Landscape, Jon likes to put the reasoning behind the photos he takes, why the landscape looks the way it does and how.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in landscapes and the history of them,\u201d says Jon. \u201cI\u2019m also passionate about photography.\u00a0Combining these long-standing hobbies I\u2019ve had since I\u2008was just a boy, I\u2019ve created a business out of it, providing books that give a story behind what people see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jon\u2019s latest book covers all the lines weaving through Lincolnshire, but he told us half a dozen of his most interesting discoveries.<\/p>\n

1.\u2008The Lincoln Edge. This is an enormous line running across Lincolnshire. It\u2019s the longest escarpment in Lincolnshire, over 60 miles long and covering the full length of the county from Denton near Grantham to the village of Winteringham near the Humber. It\u2019s a band of harder rock called Lincolnshire Limestone that was used to build buildings like Lincoln\u2008Cathedral and Harlaxton Manor, and is still quarried in Ancaster.\u00a0This route is also part of the Viking Way and demands incredible views over the land to the west of the county.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s an early prehistoric route, probably the oldest in Lincolnshire, known as The Jurassic Way. This linked Yorkshire and Somerset and everywhere in between during prehistoric times.\u2008By the Iron Age, there would probably have been some kind of road here.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Medieval Sea Bank. The coastline around the Wash has changed considerably over the centuries. In Anglo-Saxon times Boston, Kirton, Spalding, Holbeach, and Long Sutton would all have been coastal towns. At some point, locals decided to protect themselves from tidal floods and reclaim the land from the sea.\u00a0\u201cBy 1300 there was a continuous sea bank around the Wash and new villages such as Gedney Dyke, Holbeach Hurn, Moulton\u2008Seas End had been created due to this reclamation of land.\u00a0The sea banks have continued to be extended from the 14th century up until 1983. This extension of land has created villages like Sutton Bridge, Dawsmere and Holbeach St Matthew.\u00a0\u201cNo one really knows how the seabanks were constructed years back – probably in small sections rather than in one go – but they would have been built to provide protection against storm surges and also to expand the land for farming primarily. Within the last 20 years, sections like Frieston Shore have been breached to allow the sea back in to support wildlife and to defend against flooding.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Louth Canal. The Louth Canal – or rather the Louth Navigation as it was partly the river Lud canalised in 1770 to bring trade to Louth – is an early canal with a distinctive \u2018experimental\u2019 design of locks.\u00a0\u201cCanals were still new so the locks near Louth were experimental using curved sides. Sadly, the disused locks are now decaying, though the local canal trust is hoping to restore them as part of the canal\u2019s heritage.\u201d\u00a0The canal declined with the rise of railways and road transport and finally closed in the 1920s, but it still makes a fascinating feature of our countryside scenery.\u00a0\u201cYou can walk along parts of it and a particularly pretty section to walk alongside is around Alvingham.\u201d<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Lincoln Trent. The River Trent has changed direction and therefore moulded the shape of Lincolnshire over many years. It completely changed its course after the Ice Age, leaving behind evidence in the form of gravel spreads and other features.\u00a0The river originally ran through Ancaster 600,000 years ago, the oldest evidence of this river being found in the area. Evidence suggests early humans were living in the country at this point in time.\u00a0During the Ice Age, a big glaciation changed the course of the river to flow through Lincoln and out through the Wash. This is proven due to the gravel deposits that occurs along its former course. The River would\u2019ve been like that from at least 250,000 years ago, when it enlarged the big valley gap that forms the setting for Lincoln today.\u00a0Around 17,000 years ago, after the Ice Age, the River then changed course to how it flows today; all the way up to the Humber. The old valley that once flowed out to the Wash is used by the River Witham.<\/p>\n

5. Drove Roads in the Wolds. Droving is the act of moving animals from one place to the other. Lincolnshire has prehistoric examples of drove roads, where cattle and sheep would\u2019ve been moved to go to market or to go out to graze. These were wide grassy paths between fields were huge herds of animals would pass through, controlled by men on foot and on horseback. By the 18th century, animals were being moved by professional drovers from Scotland to markets in London taking weeks or maybe months so these roads were vital.\u00a0\u201cDrove roads were important routes as droving was the only way of moving livestock before the railways, and drove roads allowed big herds of cattle to avoid the tolls and stagecoaches on main roads.\u201d\u00a0\u201cThere were established stops for drovers including drover\u2019s pubs with fields to keep cattle overnight. There are still some of these around today, proud of their droving heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0The Loop Line Railway. The Lincoln to Boston walk and cycle path was once a railway called \u2018The Loop Line.\u2019 It was part of the first north to south railway in Lincolnshire carrying freight and passengers, going from Gainsborough to Peterborough. It finally closed in 1970 following Dr. Beeching\u2019s recommendations for streamlining Britain\u2019s railways.\u00a0\u201cWhen the line and many others were established, it almost completely stopped long distance road traffic. It was easier, quicker, cheaper and newer and therefore more exciting to travel by train.\u201d\u00a0This is a great spot to walk now as are many of the places in Jon\u2019s book.\u2008To see the beautiful views he had the privilege of featuring in his publication, you can purchase Lines Across Lincolnshire in local Waterstones, independent bookshops and visitor attractions like the Cathedral and Boston\u2008Stump.<\/p>\n

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Lock at Keddington, Louth Canal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About Jon Fox…<\/h3>\n

Jon\u2008Fox is the man behind the lens in all these incredible photos of Lincolnshire, but he\u2019s also the man behind the endless hours of research putting together his books that delve deeper into Lincolnshire\u2019s landscape.\u00a0\u201cI combined my passion for photography with my interest in landscapes, and what\u2019s behind the view you see, why it looks that way and how,\u201d says Jon.\u00a0Jon has always lived in and around the county, moving to Lincoln 20 years ago, having had a successful career with local authorities before starting as a publisher.\u00a0\u201cThis is my second publication – my first being Lincolnshire\u2019s Landscape. They take me around three years to put together. I don\u2019t just go to an area and take a photo; I\u2008like to get a feel of the place. I\u2019ll stay overnight camping, getting sunrise and sunset shots and getting an understanding of the area.\u00a0Lincolnshire\u2019s the perfect place to see the most incredible landscapes, which still display the evidence of its past. There is so much history in this land, especially in the lines through it, from the Roman roads to prehistoric tracks and medieval valleys.\u00a0I started putting this book together as soon as I had published Lincolnshire\u2019s Landscape. It\u2019s become a very enjoyable process, and I\u2019m hoping to do a third!\u201d\u00a0Jon\u2019s book is sold in Waterstones, independent bookshops and visitor attractions across Lincolnshire. He also attends trade shows and fairs up and down the county when he\u2019s not putting together his books! For more information visit www.greenploverbooks.co.uk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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