Lincolnshire Wolds

Coordinates: 53°21′0″N 0°6′0″W / 53.35000°N 0.10000°W / 53.35000; -0.10000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Lincolnshire Wolds

The Lincolnshire Wolds near Stainton le Vale (top), location within Lincolnshire (bottom)
LocationLincolnshire, England
Coordinates53°21′0″N 0°6′0″W / 53.35000°N 0.10000°W / 53.35000; -0.10000
Area560 km2 (220 sq mi)
Established1973
Governing bodyLincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service

The Lincolnshire Wolds are a range of low

Humber Estuary in the north-west to the edge of the Lincolnshire Fens in the south-east. A large part of the Wolds are a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and form the highest land in eastern England between Yorkshire and Kent.[1][2]

Geology

The Wolds are formed largely from a series of pure marine

Barton upon Humber via Caistor before it loses its identity north of Spilsby. To the north of the Humber Gap, the same formations continue as the Yorkshire Wolds.[2] The rock succession in stratigraphic order
i.e. youngest/uppermost first, is this:

  • White Chalk Subgroup
    • Burnham Chalk formation
    • Welton Chalk Formation
  • Grey Chalk Subgroup
    • Ferriby Chalk Formation
    • Hunstanton Chalk Formation

The thin Hunstanton Chalk and the Ferriby Chalk formations form much of the west facing Wolds scarp but it is the overlying Welton Chalk Formation which forms the greater part of the easterly dip-slopes with the Ferriby Chalk extensively exposed within the dry dip-slope valleys. The Burnham Chalk Formation forms an indistinct secondary scarp to the east of the main scarp between Barton and Louth. In the north between South Ferriby and Grasby, the lower part of the scarp is formed from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation. A series of other rock layers intervene from the Caistor area southwards, uppermost of which are the green-brown Carstones:

Lower/early Cretaceous

  • Carstone Formation (sandstone)
  • Roach Formation (interbedded mudstone and limestone) (present from Stenigot southwards)
  • Tealby Formation (mudstone - but including the 'Tealby Limestone Member')
  • Claxby Ironstone Formation

Upper/late Jurassic

The numerous

landslip.[5]

Geography

The Wolds comprise a series of low hills incised by characteristic dry open valleys.

View from Red Hill in August

The Lincolnshire Wolds can be divided into four distinct areas:[2]

  1. the main area of chalk hills in the north,
  2. the north west scarp,
  3. an area of ridges and valleys in the south west,
  4. the claylands in the south east.

The Red Hill nature reserve near the village of Goulceby is notable for the unusual red colour of its soil and underlying chalk.

trig point just north of the village of Normanby le Wold, at approximately 551 feet (168 metres) above sea level (TF121964).[1]

Other hills include:

The Wolds provide

Tattershall Castle and the wind turbines on the coast near Mablethorpe
.

Waterways

Name Length Source Source Elevation (m) Mouth Mouth Elevation (m) Notes
River Bain Ludford 130 River Witham, Dogdyke 2 Partly concurrent with the Horncastle Canal south of Horncastle.
Great Eau North Sea, Saltfleet Haven 0
River Lud
North Coates
 0 Also known as the Louth Navigation due to its canalisation.
River Lymn Belchford 91 North Sea, Gibraltar Point 0
River Rase Tealby 118 River Ancholme, Bishopbridge 6
River Waring Belchford 100
Horncastle
 28

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The Lincolnshire Wolds were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1973, and are managed as such by the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service.[6][7]

The Wolds AONB covers 560 square kilometres, while the Countryside Service recognises a wider Lincolnshire Wolds Character/Natural Area which incorporates the AONB and the neighbouring areas of the (geographical) Wolds to the north and south.[2]

The Wolds AONB cuts across the council boundaries of Lincolnshire County Council, East Lindsey District Council, West Lindsey District Council and North East Lincolnshire Council.[1][2] The boundaries of the AONB are marked by tourist signs incorporating stylized hills and trees, placed on roads leading into the area.

People and places

The Wolds are sparsely populated and have a

rural character. They are 'ringed' by several small market towns that lie around their edge:[1]

Many of the place-names in the Wolds indicate a strong

soil exhaustion
and disease.

Several notable roads and paths run over the Wolds.

drove road from west to east across the Wolds, and several "A" roads also run through the AONB.[1]

The Wolds are now promoted as a tourist destination: the area's connection with

Tennyson (who was born in Somersby) is being exploited,[8][9] and farmers are being encouraged to diversify into the tourism industry. The roads of the Wolds are particularly popular with motorcyclists, and the area is home to Cadwell Park, one of the UK's top race circuits.[10][11]

The area is also popular with

youth hostel in the middle of the Wolds at Woody's Top near the village of Tetford.[14][15]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0319238233
    .
    Lincolnshire Wolds South (Map) (A1 ed.). 1:25000. Explorer. Ordnance survey of Great Britain. 3 April 2006. § 273.
    ISBN 978-0319238219
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e "NCA Profile: 43 Lincolnshire Wolds (NE440)". Publications and products. Natural England. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  3. ^ "1:50000 Series England and Wales sheet 90, Grimsby (including sheet 91 Saltfleet), Solid and Drift Geology". Maps Portal. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  4. ^ Kent, Peter (1980). British Regional Geology: Eastern England from the Tees to The Wash (second ed.). London: Institute of Geological Sciences, HMSO. pp. 118–125.
  5. ^ "Geoindex Onshore". British Geological Survey. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Lincolnshire wolds". Lincolnshire wolds countryside service. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  7. ^ "AONB facts and figures". Natural England. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  8. ^ "The birthplace of Tennyson". St Margaret's Somersby PCC. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  9. ^ "Birth Place of Lord Alfred Tennyson, Somersby, Lincolnshire". Explore Lincolnshire. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  10. ^ "Cadwell park race circuit". Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  11. ^ Miodonski, James (23 August 2014). "BSB Round 8 Cadwell Park". MotoGoLoco.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  12. ^ "The Viking way". Lincolnshire county council. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  13. ^ "The Viking way". Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  14. ^ "Woody's Top". Youth Hostel Association. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  15. ^ "Woody's Top youth hostel". Visit Lincolnshire. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  • "Landscape character". Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  • "43 Lincolnshire Wolds". National Character Areas. Natural England. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  • "The Lincolnshire Wolds". Areas of outstanding natural beauty. Natural England. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  • "The Lincolnshire Wolds AONB". Lincolnshire landscapes. Greater Lincolnshire nature partnership. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  • Rawding, C. (2001). The Lincolnshire Wolds in the nineteenth century. Lincoln: History of Lincolnshire Committee.
  • The Lincolnshire Wolds Landscape. Landscape Character Assessment. Natural England Publications, Communisis Print Management, Balliol Business Park West, Benton Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE12 8EW: The Countryside Commission. 1993.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)Precursor to the Natural England designation
  • Thorold., Henry; Yates, Jack (1968). Lincolnshire. The Shell Guide. London: Faber & Faber.
  • "Spilsby Sandstone". Lexicon of Named Rock Units. British geological survey. Retrieved 12 October 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lincolnshire Wolds.
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