Sure is sweet.

A very quiet mooring and a good nights sleep was rewarded with the sun streaming in and the prospects of a nice day ahead.

On our way over the bridge to the King's Arms this photo gives you some idea of high we are and what the surrounding countryside looks like at Kirkstead.

We seemed to have the river to ourselves. One lady on a narrow boat pulled off the pontoon at Southrey almost in front of us, and that was it.

Stixwould Station opened on the Great Northern Railway in 1848 and this was the main north to south route with 5 trains a day. In 1850 the line from Peterborough to Doncaster via Grantham and Newark was completed and this line became a backwater. The signal box controlled the level crossing and a small goods yard. The station closed to freight in 1963 and passengers in 1970. The small ferry that crossed the river here, mainly for school kids and train passengers, also closed. It is a private house now.

There are ten art works on the Water Rail Way that follows the old railway line between Woodhall Spa and Lincoln. This one is a 5m tall piece of sweet chestnut that is representing a meandering river. On the side it has a quote from Tennyson, 'For men my come and men may go, but I go on for ever. It was made by Nigel Sardeson.

The Lincolnshire Beet Sugar Co Ltd opened in 1927 and at the end of its first year made a profit of nearly £134,000! By 1934 2000 tons of beet were processed every day, 250,000 in the year. £1 million was paid out to growers. They produced 750,000 sacks of sugar and pulp and had over 500 employees. In 1950 the last cargo of beets was brought by barge, and in 2001 the factory closed.

Today's photo shows there are still some of the original buildings left, although I'm not sure why it is still standing. Much of the machinery has been sold to other UK factories and even abroad. The biggest building in the old photo seems to be the one behind the tall light column and the brick building to the right seems to me to be the rear most of the buildings in the old photo. Of course the chimney has gone replaced by a steel one.

The road bridge near the sugar beet factory was only erected about 1894 and replaced the ferry that had been there since 1714. It has been given a bit of assistance today as it has been strengthened with some concrete supports.

A little further up river you come to the railway bridge where the line crosses from the north to the south bank. Under the foot bridge is the South Delph and when Stamp End Lock in Lincoln was being built in 1808 this provided an alternative route to maintain the navigation. The original railway bridge was a timber one until replaced with this is 1860.

As the River Witham passes under the railway the Old River Witham continued straight on. The improvements that included the building of Bardney and Stamp End Locks also meant an artificial cut was made to straighten and deepen the navigation and the old Witham was disused. It still goes up to a pub and caravan site.

The lock was part of the river improvements of 1812 here at Horsely Deeps. A few years later the navvies working on the river improvements rioted over the cost of bread and and other basic needs.

The Bardney Lock was overseen by a Mrs. Wright for 34 years as she lived in the lock house. It is now a holiday let. The steps on the other side of the lock mark the site of a swing bridge that gave access to the north bank island between the Witham and North Delph drain. It was still there in 2006, but not sure when it was removed. We stopped for water and to dump the rubbish.

A little bit further on is the pontoon at Fiskerton Fen. We were pleased to see it empty as this is such a peaceful spot.

There is access to Fiskerton Fen Nature Reserve. It was created after the field had been used to dig out clay for the carrying out of flood defence works to the embankments between 2002 and 2004. Afterwards it was allowed to flood with rain and it was made into a wet land habitat and reeds planted. The hide is constructed with a nod to Bronze Age man. An axe head was found here.

There was very little to see in mid afternoon but you can just make out the pontoon on the river in the top left. We have seen barn owls hunting on the bank here, so lets hope they are out again tonight.