Market Deeping &West Deeping

A circular walk of 9 km (51/2 miles)

Introduction

The Deepings lie on thesouthern edge of Lincolnshireand are made up of MarketDeeping, West Deeping,Deeping St James andDeeping Gate. The name“Deeping” means deep or lowlying fen or meadow and wasgiven to the area by theSaxons who first occupied thearea around the River Wellandduring the 5th century. Prior tothe Saxons the Romansoccupied the area and anumber of Roman gravel pitswere un-earthed near WestDeeping during recent pipelineconstruction. There is alsoevidence of extensiveprehistoric settlements in thearea between Market Deepingand West Deeping.

Market Deeping, the largest ofthe Deepings, lies on thejunction of a number of oldcoaching routes from Londonto Lincoln, London to Bostonand Stamford to Boston as

well as being a main crossingof the River Welland. Most ofthe buildings are built of stonebrought down the oncenavigable River Welland fromquarries in Northamptonshire.Church Street is regarded asone of the prettiest inLincolnshire dominated by thechurch of St Guthlac datingback to the 15th century. Thechurch is named after theChristian who came to nearbyCrowland more than twelvecenturies ago to spreadChristianity.

West Deeping, the smaller ofthe Deepings, lies on a bend ofthe River Welland and is one ofthe most picturesque villages insouth Lincolnshire, worthy of avisit are the 14th centurySt Andrew’s Church and thenearby old water mill nowconverted to a private house.

The Walk

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The walkLeave the Market Square andwalk along Stamford Road,keeping to the right hand sidepath.

At the roundabout cross theroad with care to continue in thesame direction beside the A16.Continue over the drain knownas the Greatford Cut with theold water mill on your left.

Approximately 100m past theold mill cross the A16 with careand follow the public footpathbetween the hedge and fenceuntil you come to a tributary ofthe River Welland, and possiblythe line of the old StamfordCanal. Follow the north bank forapproximately 2 km (1 ¼ miles).

As you enter West Deeping donot cross the river but follow thepath right between the wall andthe hedge. Follow the pathbetween the houses to a lane.(Note the old thatched roofhouse on your left). Walk downthe lane to the centre of WestDeeping, the Red Lion pub isimmediately onyour right.

The Stamford Canal ran betweenMarket Deeping and Stamford adistance of 6¾ miles. The canalwas built some time in the 1660sat a cost of £5000, after the riverWelland became difficult tonavigate when a number ofwater mills were built along itslength. It was used fortransporting goods by horsedrawn barges until its closure in1863 when the railway arrived inStamford. It was the longestlocked canal in the country whenit was constructed and only thesecond post-Roman canal tohave been built in Britain, the firsthaving been built in Exeter.

Molecey’s Mill was also knownas the Fulling Mill and it isknown that in 1563 3 corn millscalled the Queens Mills stoodon this site, now only the privatehouse once owned by the VanGeest family is left standing.

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Map & Walk

Map Scale: 400m1⁄4 mile

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Lincolnshire County Council reproduced from OS mapping with permission of the controller ofHer Majesty’s Stationery Office (C) Crown Copyright and Unauthorised reproduction infringes

Crown Copyright and may lead to civil proceedings. OS Licence 100025370”

The Walk

Turn left down what was the oldRoman road of King Streetwhich was originally used forcattle droving and trading but isnow the main street through thevillage. At the end of the housestake a detour right downChurch Lane to admireSt Andrew's Church and theold water mill.

Retrace your steps up ChurchLane and turn right (from herethere is a lovely view of thechurch across the meadows ).

Cross the river over two stonebridges (next to each other)before turning left onto a publicfootpath into the meadows bythe river. Cross the field to a stileover a small stream, the pathcontinues over another fieldwhere a yellow marker postdirects you through some treesback onto the banks of theRiver Welland.

Follow this lovely stretch of riverto the sluice gate the roar ofwhich can be heard as youapproach through the trees.Continue over the sluice andfollow the grassy area to a gateat the corner of Maxey Millwhich is the building on yourright.

The River Welland is one of themain waterways across theFens. It rises near MarketHarborough, flows throughLeicestershire,Northamptonshire and Rutland,finally into Lincolnshire atStamford. It continues itsjourney through the Deepingsand Spalding before ending itsjourney at The Wash. A totaldistance of 35 miles.

Water mills could never havesurvived in the Fens because oftheir slow moving rivers andabsence of fall but there weremany around the edge of thisflat expanse of land, particularlyclose to the surrounding corngrowing areas. This mill was builtin the 19th century althoughthere was a water mill on thissite for many centuries, at onetime West Deeping had fourwater mills.

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The Walk

Turn left at the road forapproximately 100m, (ignore thefootpath sign on your right) turnleft into the field at the sign andfollow the path alongside thetrees until you are once againon the banks of the RiverWelland, this time on the southbank and actually now inPeterborough.

Continue following the riverbank with views of the village ofMaxey to your right. Eventuallythe path passes a smallmicrowave tower and continuesunder a bridge carrying the A16.Continue alongside themeandering river until you cometo the old Market DeepingBridge and road.

Turn left and walk over thebridge and return to the MarketSquare.

The present mill at Maxey datesfrom 1779 and is powered froma breast shot wheel. The millcurrently produces stoneground meal for the Grasmerefarm herd of pigs.

Look out for the wildlife usingthe river, in particular swans,herons and kingfishers. Theheron is a large majestic birdfeeding on fish it catches in theriver. They nest high in trees ingroups known as heronries.

The old stone bridge that carriesthe A15 over the River Wellandwas opened in 1842 and cost£8000 to build. It replaced awooden bridge that had been atthis point since the 16th century.

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MWalk location: Market Deeping lies 15 km(9 miles) north of Peterborough on the A15.

Starting point: Market Square,Market Deeping. Grid Reference TF 139 099.

Parking: Market Square or car parknear the supermarket, off Godsey Lane.

Public Transport: For information call the Traveline on0871 200 22 33 or visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/busrailtravel.

Walk length: 9 km (5½ miles) and will take approximately2¾ hours to complete at a leisurely pace.

Type of walk: Mostly easy level walking using fieldfootpaths, occasional stiles, a short stretch of walk is on aroadside footpath.

Ordnance Survey maps for the area: Explorer 235 Wisbech &Peterborough North, and Landranger 142 Peterborough.

Refreshments: Numerous pubs and cafes in Market Deeping andthe Red Lion pub in West Deeping.

Public toilets: Precinct, Market Deeping.

Walk Information

Published September 2008

Be a responsible walker

Please remember the countryside is a place where people liveand work and where wildlife makes its home. To protect theLincolnshire countryside for other visitors please respect it and onevery visit follow the Countryside Code. Thank you.

• Be safe - plan ahead and follow any signs• Leave gates and property as you find them• Protect plants and animals, and take litter home• Keep dogs under close control• Consider other people

Most of all enjoy your visit to theLincolnshire countryside

This leaflet is one in a series of walk leaflets producedby Lincolnshire County Council’s Natural EnvironmentTeam to help you explore and enjoy the county’scountryside. If you have enjoyed these walks and wouldlike information on other walking routes in Lincolnshire thenplease visit our website.

If you encounter any problems whilst on these walks, such as anovergrown path or a broken sign post, please let us know so theycan be corrected.

We would also welcome your comments and suggestions on thewalk and leaflet to help improve future editions.

If you require this leaflet in another format please contact us.

Lincolnshire County CouncilNatural Environment Team

Tel: 01522 782070 Minicom: 01522 552055Email: dev_net@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Web: www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/countryside