River Witham - Route

Route

From near Claypole to Beckingham, a distance of about three miles, the river forms the boundary between Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. From North Witham to Long Bennington, the river largely follows the line of the A1, which crosses the river just north of the B6403 junction near Easton. From Dogdyke near Coningsby to Boston, the north bank of the river was used by a former railway - a section of the Great Northern Railway from Lincoln to Boston.

In Lincoln, the river flows into Brayford Pool, and exits along a narrow channel that passes under the mediaeval High Bridge. The bridge not only restricts navigation due to its small size, but the volume of water that can pass through the gap is limited in times of flood. This is alleviated by the Syncil Dyke, which leaves the main channel at Bargate Weir, and runs for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) through the industrial areas to the south of the main city centre. It used to rejoin the main channel at Stamp End, but was re-routed into the South Delph, a drainage ditch constructed by John Rennie in the early 19th century, which joins the main channel below Bardney lock. The origins of the Sincil Dyke are unknown, but it is known to have been used as a drainage channel in the mid 13th century, and is thought to be pre-medieval or even Roman. Parts of it were culverted in 1847, in order to allow the construction of Lincoln Central railway station.

A long-distance footpath, the Water Rail Way, follows the course of the river from Lincoln to Boston. The path uses sections of the river towpath and abandoned railway tracks, and has been opened in stages, with the final 2 miles (3.2 km) being completed in September 2008. The path is now part of Route 1 of the National Cycle Network, and features a number of sculptures along its length, each commissioned from local artists. They include Lincoln longwool sheep at Stixwould, Lincoln red cows at Washingborough, and Lincoln curly pigs, which became extinct in 1972, at Southrey.