[1] From your parking place, head north on a waymarked bridleway beyond yellow metal barriers. The path bears right, climbing past an old quarry to reach a field boundary, where you turn left and walk with the hedge on your right. At a track, follow it right and keep with it as it turns left, now walking with the hedge on the left. At the far end of the field, pass through the boundary and continue, hedge right and aiming for woodland, which is passed to your left.
(A) Notice the blue and gold waymarks of the Wanderlust Way. This is a popular twenty-mile circular walk starting and finishing at Bradley Woods to the West of Grimsby. Originally called the Bradley 20, the walk was renamed in 1990 to commemorate the life and work of James Neville Cole, founder of the Wanderlust Rambling Club.
[2] Follow the track round the field edge as it makes several turns, but always with boundary left, then as you approach woodland, take a waymarked path through the boundary and walk with the wood to your right keeping to the track as it rounds the corner of the wood. As you reach oil tanks, notice the semicircle of well-tended grass on your right, which belongs to the local model aircraft club. At a track junction beyond the oil tanks, go left and continue, passing a metal gate to reach a waymark post. Go right here, with conifer hedge left, and follow the field edge round to the left to a track, with metal gate on the left.
[3] Cross, and take the track ahead, woodland right, soon descending to reach a road. This road is extremely busy, so cross with care and walk left, along the verge for a short distance, then take a path down to the right before the Armco barriers. Follow the path, hedge right, to a T-junction where you turn right and walk, boundary left. Ignore a kissing gate on the left and continue for a short distance to cross a stream and then onward along an often muddy track. The surface improves as the track bears left, joining a lane by Roberts Farm.
[4] Follow the lane for a short distance, then take a kissing gate on the right, following the right boundary to go through another. Cross a driveway, pass through another gate, then walk right, initially alongside a poultry enclosure, then striking out across the grass to a kissing gate in the far hedge. Beyond, cross the driveway and go through a further gate, then in this field walk diagonally left to the top left corner where another gate gives access to a lane. Turn right and follow the tarmac as far as metal gates on the left that you go through. Walk now with a plantation to your right and hedge left. Ignore all turnings left, before crossing a driveway and continuing to a corner, where deer fencing forces you to go right, with woodland left. Climb to reach the road.
[5] This is the same busy road that you crossed earlier, but this time you must cross with care and walk left along the verge facing the oncoming traffic. Keep well away from the road, as overtaking vehicles coming up behind you can dramatically shorten your walk!
Fortunately, you only have a short distance to walk before a bridleway on the right. Enter the field here and climb the field edge to a waymark post, where you go left on a level route heading for Hawerby Hall Farm. As you reach the first barn on the right, notice the old carts, a relict from an earlier age of farming. Walk across the concrete yard and look for steps down to the left, where you will find a seat with fine views, a possible lunch stop, though only a little over 5 miles of your 13.
(B) The busy road below you is the A18, known as Barton Street. Barton Street was a prehistoric trackway that followed the eastern edge of the Wolds that formed the coastline aeons ago. The sea cliffs were subsequently masked by boulder clay from the last Ice Age, then covered with forest as the climate improved.
There are far-reaching views to the coast with a number of landmarks; from left to right, the Waltham windmill, built around 1870. It was worked by wind until 1962, then operated for a while by electric engine, producing animal feed. The mill has now been restored.
Moving right, there are distant views of Grimsby Dock Tower. This is a hydraulic accumulator tower, 309ft high, completed in 1852 with the purpose of containing a 30,000-gallon hydraulic wrought iron reservoir at a height of 200 feet. It was used to provide hydraulic power to the lock gates and cranes of Grimsby Docks, the extreme height of the tower being necessary to achieve sufficient pressure. The Grade I listed tower had a short working life, providing water for hydraulic working until 1892, when a more efficient tower was constructed nearby.
Further right is the Tetney oil terminal. Oil is stored here, before being pumped underground to the Humber refinery at South Killinghome. Out to the right, is the Conisholme wind farm.
To continue the walk; beyond the farm, you reach a road that you cross, then go diagonally right across the field to the boundary and walk with it on your right, noticing the large house down to your left – Hawerby Hall.
(C) The Hall is Grade II listed and was built around 1780, then enlarged and extensively altered 1840-4. Some years ago, the Hall was run as a small hotel for women, painted pink and called the Hen-House.
At the field corner, pass through the boundary and continue in the same direction and descending to a path junction.
[6] Turn left, passing the Old Rectory on the left and walking as far as the entrance driveway.
(D) The Rectory belonged to St Margaret's church Hawerby-cum-Beesby, which can be viewed a little further along the driveway. Hawerby is in an area where there has been much depopulation since the Middle Ages and is thought to have been a ‘plague village’ though changes in farming practice was often the reason why villages in Lincolnshire were abandoned. Beesby, a couple of miles away, was a thriving village with its own church, but that was demolished in the fifteenth century. St Margaret's was made redundant in 1974 and is now privately owned.
Pass the Rectory, then turn right, walking along the field edge, boundary right. On entering a second field, climb the bank and continue, fields either side, then with a hedge on the left.
[7] On reaching the field corner, turn left and follow the track downhill toward the road, but before reaching it, take a track on the right, now walking with a hedge on the right. On reaching woodland, turn left and follow the grass track down to a road. Turn right and in a short distance you reach a gate on the right. This is your return route and the walk can be shortened by about 4 miles by going right, through the gate and continuing, boundary right, to [11]. To complete the full circuit, continue along the road a short distance to a waymark on the left, where you drop down to a field-edge path that you follow with a ditch on the left, eventually reaching a road.
[8] You need to go right here and walk along the rough verge for a while. As before, this is a very busy road, so keep a lookout and walk well away from the carriageway. Pass the entrance to Cadeby House on the right and continue to the next entrance, the driveway to Cadeby Hall. Take this, passing through the metal gates and following the driveway to reach the Hall on the left.
(E) This early 18th century Grade II country house was empty and partly derelict for many years, until planning permission was granted around 2007 for restoration to begin. On the hillside beyond the house lies the deserted village of North Cadeby. This is a typical deserted medieval village site with a rectangular pattern of sunken roads and raised house platforms. One enclosure is thought to be the site of the church and churchyard, though nothing now remains. The village was deserted in the late 14th century as a result of the retreat of agriculture from the marginal lands of the Wolds.
Continue past the Hall to reach a barn and a right turn. Here, go left, through a field gate and walk downhill, between the kitchen garden and a pond to reach a metal gate. Pass through and climb the field, boundary left, to a corner.
[9] Turn right and follow the line of electricity poles as they cross the field, then go through the field boundary and continue in the same direction, with the hedge on your right. Go through a metal gate, then another in a short distance to access a driveway, with Wyham House ahead.
(F) Another Grade II listed mansion, Wyham House is mostly early 17th century, but with some medieval 14th century remains. This medieval fabric is thought to be part of a grange belonging to the Gilbertine Priory of nearby North Ormsby.
The settlement of Wyham Cum Cadeby is mentioned in the Domesday Book. In 1428 the village had fewer than ten householders and only one by 1563.
Turn right and walk along the tarmac to a point where it makes a left turn and here, go ahead on a broad grass path between fields. At the far side, pass a metal barrier and continue, boundary left, to reach a track with a farm ahead on the right.
[10] Descend to the farm and pass it on the right, ignoring a driveway left. Keep on the track, losing height gradually to reach a barn on the right. Here, look left for a gate, pass through and follow the cross-field path to the far side where another gate gives access to pasture. There are good examples of ridge & furrow ploughing here, though best seen when the sun is low. Continue ahead, hedge left, to reach a road. Go right here, walking with care along the tarmac to a point where the road bends left. In the field to your left you can see the humps and bumps of another ‘lost’ village – Beesby.
(G) Beesby, listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as Basebi, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument now given over to pasture. By 1450 the village had merged with Hawerby and the shrinkage continued when in the mid 1500s there were only 7 families recorded as resident. The earthworks include a clear hollow way snaking through an area containing tofts and crofts, bounded by banks and ditches up to 1m deep. The site is bisected by a farmhouse and in the further section, the earthworks of a church within a rectangular enclosure are visible.
Follow the road to reach a waymarked gate on the left – this point was passed earlier in the walk. Go through the gate and descend into a pretty valley. Follow the right boundary, passing through a number of gates to eventually reach woodland, known as 'The Valley'.
[11] The track through the wood is easy to follow and it brings you to a road where you turn right. Walk for a short distance, then go left, into South Farm. Walk up to the barn and turn right in front of it, then follow the track as it swings left, then right, bringing you to fields. Continue on the track, boundary right, to a left turn. Here, go ahead over grassland towards the church in the woodland ahead. At the church, go through the gate on the right and continue, passing the entrance to the church and arriving at a gate and stile. Beyond, go ahead and cross the stockyard to reach the road. Go right to your transport.