Open Country

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Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of Britain

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

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Open Country: Journey to the Source of the Ancholme

Journey to the Source of the Ancholme

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Journey to the Source of the Ancholme

Ian Marchant tracks the River Ancholme in Lincolnshire back to its source.

Ian Marchant tracks the River Ancholme back to its source, exploring the historic boats of the Lincolnshire landscape along the way.

Ian Marchant tracks the River Ancholme to its source. Others might prefer the Limpopo or the Zambesi, but Ian is drawn to the subtle mysteries of the canal-like Ancholme in Lincolnshire, arguing that there are delights to be found if you take a close look in your own back yard. And there are plenty of delights. If historic boats are your thing then there's Humber Sloop Amy Howson, an ochre-sailed ship moored at the mouth of the Ancholme, in the care of the Humber Keels and Sloop Preservation Society, or Brigg Raft, a five metre Bronze age raft designed specifically for the slow moving waters of the Ancholme. 

Brigg was always, it seems, a good place to keep a boat. The town is an island, created by two channels of the Ancholme encircling its centre. Brigg Raft and the even more astounding Brigg Log Boat (nearly fifteen metres long) were discovered in 1886, lurking in mud at the site of what is now Glanford Boat Club. There are still around fifty boats moored at Glanford Boat Club, a vibrant social centre.

Just off the course of the Ancholme is Stow Minster, which has, etched into its stone, two images of Viking longships: further evidence of visitors by boat to central Lincolnshire. But will Ian make it to the source in the Lincolnshire Wolds? And how would he know if he got there?

Produced for BBC Audio by Mary Ward-Lowery

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