The Lincolnshire Bird Club

5 SEOs between Stapleford and Beckingham along Upper Witham.

Cheers,

Oliver.

Oliver,

A most interesting report........but according to my Ordnance Survey Map 121 (Lincoln and Newark-on-Trent), the whole area for several hundred yards on both sides of the River Witham between Stapleford and Beckingham is marked in red : Danger Area...... ie. Army rifle ranges.
Is Saturday a "go-go" for walkers?

Any comments?

Freddy

Hi Freddy,
there is indeed a rifle range at the Beckingham end but it never seems to be used at the weekends. When it is in use they fly the red warning flags. I normally park at the bridge just through Stapleford and walk upstream on the right hand bank for maybe a mile and a half.
There are a lot of rough, uncultivated fields probably due to the land generally being owned by the MOD and it looks good Owl and Raptor territory. Not entirely sure about rights of access but i have wandered up there fishing and birding for the last 40 years and have never been challenged or indeed shot! The Owls are unpredictable, as usual, and seem to appear anywhere along the length, i have had 3 sightings in probably 20 visits this winter.
Hope this helps,
Oliver.

Many thanks, Oliver, for your helpful reply.

Freddy