< Previous30 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYHOMESHeard it on theGrapevine?Send us details of anyforthcoming events orinteresting newsLincolnshire Today MagazineArmstrong House, Armstrong Street, Grimsby,N E Lincs DN31 2QE or email lincs-today@blmgroup.co.uk Fantastic free giveaways Mouth watering festive recipes What to wear Lincolnshire after dark Great gift solutionswww.blmgroup.co.ukBLMGROUPGROUPBLMWWW.LINCOLNSHIRETODAY.NETTHE REGION’S FAVOURITE COUNTY MAGAZINETHE REGION’S FAVOURITE COUNTY MAGAZINE£2.60 DECEMBER 2012£2.60 DECEMBER 2012WWW.LINCOLNSHIRETODAY.NETAll you want for ChristmasAll you want for ChristmasFantastic free giveaways Mouth watering festive recipes What to wear Lincolnshire after dark Great gift solutionsWISHING ALL OUR READERS A MERRY CHRISTMASLincolnshireAfter DarkWhere to go, who tosee, what to wearRememberingOur Heroes The county's wartimeconnectionsChristmas isComingYour completesurvival guidewww.blmgroup.co.ukwww.blmgroup.co.ukBLMGROUPGROUPBLMBLMGROUPGROUPBLMWWW.LINCOLNSHIRETODAY.NETTHE REGION’S FAVOURITE COUNTY MAGAZINETHE REGION’S FAVOURITE COUNTY MAGAZINE£2.60 NOVEMBER 2012£2.60 NOVEMBER 2012WWW.LINCOLNSHIRETODAY.NETUnmistakablyLincolnshireUnmistakablyLincolnshireLincolnshireAfter DarkWhere to go, who tosee, what to wearRememberingOur Heroes The county's wartimeconnectionsChristmas isComingYour completesurvival guidefinetribalgalleryIntroducing African TribalArt to your homeOffering the most authentic and original ethnographic carvings and masks from themost remote of villages across West Africawww.finetribalgallery.comCall 01673 308143 for a private viewingInnovation fromGreens WaterSystemsLincoln-based watersoftener suppliersGreens Water Systemsannounce the latestinnovation in domestictechnologyOctober sees the launch inLincolnshire of the brand newWatersprite water softener range, setto save local families a small fortunethrough the prevention of damagecaused by limescale. Recent research from the Battelle Instituteconfirms that fitting a water softener is “one of the very best”household energy savers. That’s because softeners help maintainthe efficiency of boilers and major appliances and keep showersand taps unclogged, the report found. The new Watersprite continues the trend towards smaller,highly-efficient yet powerful softeners, a revolution compared tothe old fashioned softeners of the past. Fitting easily into a muchsmaller space than you would imagine, and being simple to installand operate, the non-electric softeners don’t even need to beplugged into the mains! The range is aimed squarely towardscustomers seeking to protect their investment in kitchens andbathrooms as well as enjoy relief from the hard work caused byhard water. Jeremy Heath, Managing Director, says, “We know that customersupdating a kitchen or bathroom will want to keep it looking likenew for as long as possible, yet in Lincolnshire limescale and hardwater marks can quickly get a grip. The good news is that it’s asimple problem to solve - once the Watersprite is fitted it will givemany years of beautifully softened water.”The systems are available through selected kitchen andbathroom outlets as well as from Greens Water Systems’showroom at North Hykeham. For more information call01522 509383 or visit www.water-systems.co.uk.024-031:Layout 1 7/12/12 13:45 Page 7NOW ONwith savings throughout the storeAvanti Chair & Stool was £399 best ever price £169saleHALFPRICEBETTER THANLincolnshire Co-operative homeTritton Road, Lincoln Market Place, Gainsboroughwww.lincolnshire.coopdon’t forget yourdividend card 024-031:Layout 1 7/12/12 13:45 Page 832 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYGARDENSOn first view, the couple’s garden isdeceptively simple, with flowerslining the walkway up to the houseand a lush, green lawn viewable through aflower-framed trellis. Dig a little deeper,though, and you have a whole cavalcade ofhorticultural wonders on display. On the corner of the lawn is one of Hugh’shighlights, which is an autumn border,varying shades of brown, yellow, dark greenand orange vie for your attention. Amongthem are Alum root (Heuchera caramel)cornflower, dogwood and the amusingly-named ‘sneezeweed’ (Helenium autumnale).This was planned by Hugh to provide acontrast to the colours of the garden andworks in the extreme, its range of colours arerich and pleasing on the eye.The house was originally a barn which hasincreased in size - as Penny adds, “like theTARDIS”. The plantable ground with neatbeds dotted around contain such diverseflowers and plants as a gorgeous ‘blackLincolnshire Today readers Hugh and Penny Nott of Tealby have atraditional cottage garden on the main road through the village, butstep through the stone-arched gate and we discover much morethan we bargained forTHEpersonalTOUCHCoreopsis Grandiflora‘Early Sunrise’Senecio Cineraria‘Sea Ragwort’Achillea Landsdorferglut ‘Yarrow’deep salmon pinkLysimachiaPunctata- LoosestrifeRose ‘Compassion’Cornflower032-033:Layout 1 7/12/12 13:18 Page 1knight’ purple buddleia and strikingly bluecornflowers. Out on the road, a large bedholds a vast range of flowers which is nodoubt a pleasing way to enter the village, tobe greeted with such colour and variety.Everlasting pea competes for space amongeuphorbia, yellow roses, a butterfly plant,and an ice plant (Sedum). Also on displayhere is a mountain thistle (Centaureamontana) which has a flower that seemsalmost like shattered glass, its petals notconnected to each other in a spiky array. Penny also tends to a small cutting areatucked behind the house. A keen collector ofcuttings, she propagates a lot of the garden’smake-up from friends’ gardens or visits. Thislab-like setup means the garden brims withcolours and genus that may not have cometogether originally, giving it a unique feel.Hugh’s passion for growing fruit andvegetables is revealed as we walk around. Asection towards the end of the lawn holds analmost allotment-like area. Redcurrants,blackcurrants, runner beans,French beans, parsnips,peas, shallots andbeetroots sit alongside sweet peas,raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb andgooseberries and Hugh says they will haveenough to eat all summer and into theautumn. A bumper harvest of gooseberries inparticular, possibly because of recentwet weather, had just beenpicked prior to my visit.Hugh has exhibitedbeetroot, shallot, carrots,dessert apples and beansbefore and has even won a fewprizes. Towards the house, there isa plum tree and several apple treesharbouring pairs of small apples on weighed-down branches, where Grenadiers hangalongside Lord Lambourn varieties.This is a garden created with passion andpersonal interest, with thought and lovepoured into it. Isn’t that the best kind?Lord Lambourn apples032-033:Layout 1 7/12/12 13:18 Page 234 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYGARDENSWith January being the coldest month of the year, the weather might beuninspiring for getting stuck into the limited gardening jobs available, butnow’s the time to start planning new borders! If you have a border readyto be planted or want to rip out plants that are past their best to create anew aspect to your garden, now’s the time to get creative. Adequateplanning is best carried out now, before the weather starts improving andyou just want to be outside getting stuck into the practical elements!A planting style I’m passionate about is using perennials and grasses togive a more natural look to your garden with form, texture and movementat the forefront of thinking rather than focusing on colour. This extends the interest of the border all the way from spring throughto late winter without having to introduce seasonal flowering plants. Themain thing is that you are enjoying seeing perennials in their natural cycleof spring shoots, luscious foliage, flowering and then dying back. Using ornamental grasses gives you different heights within the border,but most importantly movement, whether from the arching leaves or thedelicate flower spikes moving in the breeze. The seed heads of manygrasses still look beautiful at this time of year, with white and silverRob Parry has run landscaping,tree surgery and gardenmaintenance businesses foryears, but his real passion isplants. In June, he realised adream and opened a plantnursery in Middle Rasen,specialising in British-grownperennials, grasses, herbs andshrubs. Here he offers ideas foryour garden in the bleakest ofmonths.Above left: Eryngium x Oliverianum in a border looks fantastic in frosts as you can see in a gardenRob has worked on in his landscaping capacity.Above right: Here are the flowers of the Eryngium x Oliverianum in the winter.Right: Rob says that using grasses is a great low maintenance way to make your garden look great allyear round. The tall grass is ‘Kaerl Foerster’.A WAVE OFNEW IDEAS034-035:Layout 1 7/12/12 13:19 Page 1bleached colours lit up on frosty mornings. These plants only needcutting back in spring when the new season’s growth starts, so theinterest runs for virtually all year round, changing constantly.A superb ornamental grass to start with is Calamagrostis xacutiflora, or ‘Karl Foerster’. This is one of the most upright of all thegrasses, which bends in the wind, making it almost weatherproof. Agood companion to contrast this grass is Eryngium x Oliverianum,with its silvery blue thistle-like flowers standing out against uprightstems of grass.Another benefit of this kind of planting is the plants filling up all thespaces in between each other once they are established, thereforeleaving no bare earth in need of constant weeding. Also a lot ofperennial and grasses also attract a huge range of pollinating insectswhich is of great importance to the countryside as insect numberscontinue to drop year on year.In future issues I will be developing this subject in more depth, butin the meantime hopefully this will inspire some thinking while youare maybe sat in the warmth of your home looking out at the garden.To do listIf the sun does shine through or you justneed to get outside and do something,here are some jobs to be done in thegarden this month…It’s a great time to plant bare rootdeciduous hedging and trees.On a dry day, dig over and prepare newplanting areas, including digging inmanure or other organic matter as thefrost will help break it down.Carry out pruning on deciduous trees.Start planning what seeds you will begerminating for your vegetable orornamental gardens.Wrap up peach trees with fleece orpolythene to protect from leaf curl.Let’s not forget the wildlife - carry onfeeding the birds, as most of the naturalfood stocks will have been used up and itwill be a very cold month.034-035:Layout 1 7/12/12 13:20 Page 236 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYPHOTO: COLIN SHIELDSBelton House, near Grantham in theautumnal sunshineLincolnshireLincolnshireWe’re still in the depths of winter, but there’s somuch beauty in the county to behold. The great thingabout Lincolnshire is its constantly changing look.Fields standing proud in the summer with lusciouscrops of grain or vegetables become bleak in theautumn, but take on a frosty, unspoilt look in thewinter. Similarly, the coastlines of our county mayhowl with wind this time of year, but make fordramatic scenes to inspire and wow nonetheless.We’ve bought together some inspirational shots takenfrom across the county by readers who have been outand about, capturing what makes the county trulyspecial.036-037:Layout 1 7/12/12 13:21 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY37Snow Buntings atCleethorpes beachPHOTO: COLIN SMALE/WWW.FOTOLINCS.COMPHOTO: WWW.LEE-BEEL-PHOTOGRAPHY.CO.UKPHOTO: PETER WOODLottie on winter beach,TheddlethorpeWe absolutely welcome your photographs, from any time of the year. Have yousnapped a scene you want to show off? If so, send a hi-res jpeg to lincs-today@blmgroup.co.uk and we’ll consider it for publication within these pages.Frosty morning at theWaters Edge CountryPark, Barton on Humber 036-037:Layout 1 7/12/12 13:21 Page 2ragby is an ancient town and was granted three annual fairs and a market asfar back as 1668; however the charter authorizing these was never formallyapproved by Charles II. Early in the walk we see - and again as we return - thetall 1831 windmill and then visit the imposing earthwork remains of Wragby’smedieval, moated manor house. This is believed to have belonged to Sir Ernais de Buronwho fought with Harold at the Battle of Hastings. The village’s mediaeval church wassituated nearby too. There is open access to explore the site - and do take time to readthe fascinating information board. We arrive in Langton-by-Wragby - the “long village” - opposite the church, which isdedicated to St. Giles, the patron saint of cripples and beggars. The tower has the oldestmasonry with large pieces of fossilised seashell embedded in the stonework around thewest door. The rest was rebuilt in 1866. Coincidentally the list of vicars begins in 1215,the year of Magna Carta. Note too the metal memorial arch over the entrance erectedfor Edward VII’s coronation in 1902.As we leave the village we see Langton’s history information board; another interestingread! Take a moment to look at the fields either side of the road where earthworks andridge and furrow field patterns of the mediaeval village survive. In contrast to Wragby,Langton Manor across the road is quite modern dating from 1841, but it retains itsancient site and moats.But what of Stephen Langton himself? He was born in this isolated spot around 1165and from humble beginnings became a biblical scholar and influential ecclesiasticalpolitician. He was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1207 and amongst hisachievements was organizing the books of the bible into the chapters that we recognisetoday. And in 1215 he was also principally responsible for drafting the Magna Carta andarranging for King John to sign it at Runnymede. Lincolnshire has a surviving copy ondisplay at Lincoln Castle. Bishop Langton died in 1228 and is buried at Canterburycathedral.38 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYLINCOLNSHIRE WALKSEXPLORINGON FOOTWRAGBY AND LANGTON-BY-WRAGBYThis walk from Wragby also visits Langton-by-Wragby, thebirthplace of Archbishop Stephen Langton, who became one ofthe most powerful men in early 13th century England.APPROACHINGLANGTON-BY-WRAGBYCHURCH AND MOAT ATLANGTONWRAGBY MILL FROM THEEARTHWORKSLincolnshireW038-039:Layout 1 7/12/12 12:53 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY39LINCOLNSHIRE WALKSAs we head back into Wragby we cross the former Louth to Bardneyrailway, which opened in 1876 and finally closed in February 1960 whenthe last goods trains ran.THE ROUTE.Walk away from the traffic lights and in 200 yards turn leftinto Mill View Road. At the end pass through a kissing gate then head overopen ground, skirting the manor earthworks, to reach the old cemetery.Turn right here along a distinct trodden path to another kissing gate, afootbridge and then a hedged path. In 25 yards at a path junction keepahead beside a stream and in just under half a mile you will come to a road. Continue ahead (use the wide verges) for a quarter of a mile and justafter Little Langley house climb the stile on the left. Go diagonally rightover a paddock to another stile in the far right-hand corner, there joining atrack. Now turn left. Immediately before a bridge (although there’s nowaymark!) turn right along a field edge for 120 yards to a footbridge by alarge willow. Cross onto a rising grass track and pass an isolated, derelictcottage, dated 1850, keeping forward at the field corner to reach ajunction with a surfaced track. Turn right.Immediately before a barn (again no waymark) go left onto a grasstrack. At the end keep ahead with a hedge on your right and at a gap lookto your right to see a stile! Walk to it, climb over and then go left to entera farmyard. Continue ahead between barns - there’s a waymark on the left-hand one - to exit at a stile and footbridge, then follow the left-hand fieldedge down to a hedge gap at a road. Turn left.In 100 yards go left at a footpath sign and footbridge - the first fewyards may be a bit overgrown! - then follow the left-hand field edge. Youmay encounter rather long grass here, but if so walk at the crop edge untilyou join a grass track. At the field corner is a stile and footbridge. In thearable field beyond bear half right aiming just right of Langton churchseen in distance.Much better though is to stay on the grass track for 100 yards to a trackjunction by an electricity pole, going left there (all on grass) to meet thefield path near a paddock fence corner. Keep ahead by the fence to a stileand cross another paddock to a lane with the churchyard gate opposite.Turn left following the lane round past the Manor House with its moat toreach Langton’s information board; then take the track on the left.At some woods (Ash Holt) look for a footpath sign indicating a grassstrip over an arable field. On reaching a hedge turn left behind it to join afarm track and bear right. When the track bends left enter the trees ahead,cross a footbridge and then go left downhill past woods (BadgermoorWood) to eventually reach another footbridge. Now bear diagonally rightover a meadow to a kissing gate in the far right-hand corner, cross the oldrailway and rejoin the outward route.Turn right and retrace your steps back into Wragby.by Hugh MarrowsFACTFILESTART: Wragby Market PlaceMAPS: OS Landranger 121 • Explorer 273DISTANCE: 6 miles • 9.5 kilometresREFRESHMENTS: Inns, coffee shop, café, pizza and chip shop in Wragby -all in the Market PlaceMANOR HOUSEEARTHWORKS WRAGBYSt GILES CHURCHLANGTONWRAGBY MARKET PLACEMOAT AT LANGTON -BY-WRAGBY038-039:Layout 1 7/12/12 12:53 Page 2Next >