Manby Flats

Monday was the walk we had planned for Manby Flats.
Rachael, Rachel and I headed out to Louth as I had been going on for so long about the amazing food to be found at Perkins Pantry that it was decided we should dine there before heading out on our walk.
After all, how many cafes offer a choice of over 130 scones? Every day?
The vegetarian menu is just enormous. Although the menu itself is just vast, I'm sure that there is always a stunned silence when people come in and see the scale of it.
The plan is that we get ourselves booked in for high tea this year. I cannot resist the draw of tiered cake stands with sandwiches and cakes indefinitely!
Maybe I will get there for my birthday this year!

After lunch we made our way to Manby and began to look for the church. We had decided it would be easy to find as they all have steeples making them taller than their surroundings. Unless their surroundings are ancient, very tall, trees that is. We eventually spotted a pair of high visibility vests and recognised the walk leaders from the previous day and parked the beastie outside the church.
The ground was littered with confetti, which somehow always raises a smile, giving you images of a wonderful day. Although I'm not sure the daisy was so joyful.
The church at Manby is just beautiful. I'm disappointed that you can't make out the gargoyles that sit at each corner near the top as they were wonderful. It was built back in 1485, which will never fail to stun me, it's in such gorgeous condition.
Roads in Lincolnshire are not designed for speeding!

This area is owned by one gentleman, he bought the fields following the death of his farmer friend and has turned it over to nature. The field below is ploughed and then sown, but all the crop is left to go to seed and provide food for the birds over winter. It just seems like a wonderful use of the land to me.

Each area is named after someone, the ponds were the first thing that he created when he bought the land, and he had a daughter, who sadly died but had always wanted a pond, so he created large ponds, which are now wonderfully established and home to an amazing amount of wildlife.

I'm sure at some point I spotted an egret but hadn't taken my binoculars with me, I've also never seen one in this country but I can't think what else it could have been. Someone suggested it might have been a goose. Really, I know the difference between a goose and an egret. I've seen enough of both to be able to tell the difference. I had no idea Manby Flats even existed but many, many birds don't seem to have been in the same boat. There were so many birds to look at that I bored all around me with my cursing about the lack of binoculars. It frustrates me most when I can't immediately recognise them.

We climbed a number of stiles. I attempted to kill someone with my bottle of ice as I accidentally flung it into the air in a mishandled stile climb. No serious injuries were sustained though.

Although all the people standing on the very rickety wooden bridge made me very nervous. I have issues with bridges at the best of times, but ones that are clearly rotting make me especially nervous. I'm known to run across most bridges. I'm weird like that.

We returned back to the car and a number of the walkers carried on to look at something else, but I had plans so dragged Rachael and Rachel off to go home, so I could prepare dinner for Gary & Aggie.

Running Total

Miles Walked: 3

Miles Walked This Festival: 7