Bardney Bound.

We set off quite early for us and had to back down towards the lock to spin round and head the right way. The weed cutting boat was coming up through the lock to go and work at Barton Waters Marina. They told me that they had seen a seal in the River Witham so we will have to keep our eyes open. There was a fair current in the river after the heavy rain yesterday and over night and the warning light was to proceed with caution. It didn't take us long to get to Five Mile Bridge.

 Five mile Bridge is the first bridge after Lincoln and it is only a foot bridge, five miles from Lincoln!

We were soon at Bardney lock where we went alongside by the lock to take water, dump rubbish and get rid of other stuff. By the time we were finished and had the lock turned round there was a cruiser coming and the wind had sprung up so I struggled to get the boat turned. In the end I reversed back up to the lock and turned there. We shared the lock with two of the cruisers and helped with the other. They were all off to Boston for the weekend.

The old railway bridge just by the lock which now carries the Water Rail cycle way.

Not far down from the lock was the pontoon by the road bridge over the river at Bardney. We soon finished lunch and had a walk into the village. Just near the river is the Bardney Heritage Centre that is in the recreated station building. Next was the only existing goods shed of its type.

Bardney Heritage Centre. The carriages are B&B cabins and there is a tea shop too.

There were displays in the waiting room. It seems the building by the canal was the Morrell's vegetable canning factory. It closed in 1994. To the North East of the village was Bardney Aerodrome that was built in 1943 which was a satellite of RAF Waddington. It was from here that IX Squadron of Lancaster bombers operated from. One of their major successes was they sank the German battleship Tirpitz in a Norwegian fjord. In 1959 it was one of a few bases that had the new American Thor intermediate missiles, with three stationed there. They were removed in 1963 and the base closed.

St Lawrence's Church Tower with gargoyles.

The church was very interesting as it was built in 1434. The original church had fallen down a few years before. The villagers used the Nearby Abbey church but the Abbot thought that they were disruptive so had the church built in the village to give them peace!

The Abbey was first built by the Anglo Saxons in around 675 by Ethelred, the King of Mercia. He buried his father in law's body there, King Oswald. He became a Saint after his body that was being transported was left outside the gates at night as they were locked when they arrived. A pillar of light was seen beaming up to heaven from the coffin and the Abbot recognised him as a Saint and never closed the doors again on God's people. That is why in Lincolnshire, if somebody leaves a door open they would say 'where you born in Bardney?'. The abbey was closed due to sacking  by Vikings in about 870 and St Oswalds remains taken to Gloucester. After the Normans arrived it was rebuilt in 1087 and expanded in the 1400's until the dissolution. The monks rebelled and six of them were hanged drawn and quartered at Lincoln for their trouble. The Abbey was finally closed in 1538 and the stones used to built a manor house for the new land owner Sir Robert Tyrwitt.

The church has several of these charity boards that declare the bequests made. These are quite unusual as they have pictures of the benefactors. I like the finger pointing to the moral at the bottom, even more so as the like wife should read likewise (I assume).

This stone slab was dug from the ruins of the Abbey. It weighs 4 tonnes and is the tombstone of Abbot Horncastle, 1466 to 1507. It is beautifully carved.

Tribute to IX Squadron that was erected in 1980 and is a propeller of a Lancaster bomber.

Just by the RAF memorial are the alms houses that were built in 1712 as a hospital for 7 men and seven women but in the 20th Century were converted to flats for six elderly people with connections to the area.

Bardney Alms Houses.

I found this very fascinating especially with flour, corn and cake dealers, and offal too!

We had seen that the Heritage centre served fish and chips on Friday to eat in our out so on the way back we picked up some to eat on the boat. It was something that we weren't expecting so pigged out a bit. Nice though.