A weekend in Woodhall Spa

Last weekend was spent with the 50+ Adventure Club in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire for a cycling and walking weekend.  I, and five others were staying in a luxury lodge at Woodhall Country Park complete with a hot tub and on the edge of the lake where we were delighted to see families of geese with their goslings and heard the cuckoo quite close very day.

 

We arrived on Friday morning and walked into the town for lunch and then had a wander round before meeting at the Museum for a tour -

The Cottage Museum

- a bungalow with its own historic story.  A very interesting place that told us the early story of the town.

But what I did not know was its wartime story and I was thrilled when we came to this place

and I discovered that 617 Squadron were stationed here during the war and it was from close by that they flew on their famous Dambusters Raid.

Group Capt Guy Gibson (leader of the Dambusters) was killed later in another raid over Germany

617 Sqdn's Dambusters are commemorated top left and the same squadron also helped sink the Tirpitz (second down right).  We then walked to the Petwood Hotel which was the Officers' Mess for 617 Sqdn

 

and we saw this prototype of one of the bouncing bombs in the gardens.  It was big!

We headed for the Kinema in the Woods (correct spelling with a hard K), where we booked for Sunday afternoon

 passing the derelict Spa on the way

sad end to an interesting building

So after this back to the lodge and a dip in the hot tub, followed by everyone meeting up for a fish and chip supper!

Next day we set off on our bike ride to Horncastle along the Viking Way where we stopped at a café for refreshment

and I noticed this old building built in 1846, behind the café

and so back on our bikes we headed back, stopping for lunch on the way.

It had been going so well up to this point, but one person got a puncture, the group had sped on and as tail-end Charlie I had to phone the group for help.  Once this was sorted we proceeded and just before the end I deviated and took this photo

The Wellington Monument

It was built out in the countryside and looked an odd place for it.

We saw the weather forecast for Sunday and I was thankful I had brought my waterproofs because heavy rain was forecast!!  Typical.  However we were pleasantly surprised to wake to cloud and later sunshine.  As we were approaching the Country Park at the end of the walk, in the distance we saw a plane take off from RAF Coningsby and became so excited when we realised it was a Lancaster Bomber, flying at tree top height, straight towards us.  It was so low we could almost see the pilot, and I cursed myself for not getting out my camera.  It was doing a flypast over the Petwood Hotel behind us, as a celebration of 75 years since the Dambusters Raid.

Following Sunday lunch we all trooped off to the Kinema to see 'The Leisure Seeker' starring Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren which included Alzheimer's and death, that necessitated another dip in the hot tub when we got back and copious amounts of alcohol to cheer ourselves up!!!

However I had had a brilliant weekend with friends and am now looking forward to my next trip away with the club in September - walking Hadrian's Wall.