Louth to Woodhall Spa via Horncastle 3/5/26
Riding out today from the Louth Meridian Leisure: Ty Harness, Tim Newbury, John Rickett, Stephen Croton, Harvey Wright and (ridden in from Gainsbourgh) Trevor Halstead. The group would be meeting Paul Linder (ridden in from Alford direct to Horncastle) at the Bridge Tea Room Horncastle 11 a.m.
Louth to Woodhall route: A mixture of road and trail riding with plenty of hills.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/54157981
The weather forecast had improved, but there would be no sunshine today. We headed out of Louth via Kenwick and over to Cadwell through Tathwell. There was the familiar roar of engines on the Cadwell motor racing circuit—a huge draw over the Bank Holiday weekend. We joined the Bluestone Heath Road down to Tetford. Trevor was very impressed by the picturesque village life on the East Lindsey side.
The first climb of the day was Castcliffe Hill to Fulletby, with some immense views of the Wolds, but we couldn’t see Lincoln Cathedral today. We then headed down into Horncastle for 11am and made our first refreshment stop at the delightful Bridge Tea Room—a quick visit to an old-fashioned tea room.
Paul had arrived one cup of tea earlier but was able to stay on for a bowl of soup before directly returning to Alford to adjudicate in a cake competition.
Today’s ride would also serve as a recon ride for the upcoming Spa Trail Wolds Festival ride on 16/5/26. More details can be found here:
https://www.cyclinguk.org/event/spa-trail
We took a leisurely pace along the trail because it’s shared with pedestrians, but there was a chance to admire some of the sculptures along the way. When we arrived at Woodhall, we made our way to the Tea House in the Woods, which is always a busy venue, but we managed to get a table for six. Several members enjoyed soup, a panini, chips, and cake.
https://www.teahouseinthewoods.co.uk/
The weather looked iffy, but no one mentioned it so as not to tempt fate. We travelled through Wood Enderby, Claxby Pluckacre (perhaps one for the TVI YouTuber, according to Trevor), Hammeringham, Slash Lane (English Civil War - Battle of Winceby 1643 where Cromwell's horse was shot out from underneath him).
https://www.lincolnshireworld.com/education/the-battle-of-winceby-the-b…
Then to Greetham, and Salmonby, before tackling the much feared Tetford Hill. This hill makes most people breathe hard. 11.7% at the steepest point and 71 brownie points on Climb Finder https://climbfinder.com/en/climbs/tetford-hill-tetford
The route took us to the last hill of the day, but first a very fast descent into Ruckland. The group took a water stop halfway up the other side at St Olave’s, one of the smallest churches in the UK, measuring just 31 ft by 17 ft.
https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/church/st-olave-ruckland
Then up again to Woody's Top, only 46 difficulty points - can't believe that although a little fatigue was creeping in. https://climbfinder.com/en/map#lnglat=-0.001008/53.283764&position=13/5…
We then traversed from Haugham to Tathwell. Alas, the arts festival church had wound up for the day. It was only a couple of miles for the group, but at least 35 miles for Trevor. The group completed 52 miles, and Trevor racked up 125 miles.
Photos provided by Ty, Tim and Steve.
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