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Walks
Langton by Spilsby lies in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at
the southern end of the Lincolnshire Wolds, which offer long views from the
tops of the rolling hills as well as smaller, more intimate views in the
villages and hamlets of the area. There are three paths crossing parts of the
village and the farm.
An official footpath and an official bridle path both start at Langton.
Footpath number 123 starts at the farmyard next to the church and leads past
the site of an old settlement about 200 yards from the farm buildings and then
via a well made farm track and across arable fields to Partney church about 2
miles away: from here it goes on to Skendleby. Bridle path number 103 starts
at the bottom of Langton Hill and goes along the other main farm track, along
a hedge, through the neighbouring farm at Dalby, across the Partney - Louth
road and then as a footpath on to Skendleby, where it meets footpath 123 to
return to Langton.
At the top of Langton Hill is Limeburner's Cottage. On a clear day
it is possible to see the
coast of Norfolk to the south east from here.
Another footpath (known as a "permissive footpath" as the landowner permits
visitors to walk on this path for the time being) leads in a large semicircle
from the top of Langton Hill, just beyond the Limeburner's Cottage, along the
western edge of the Wolds high above an area known as the Sheep Walks, to
Grange Farm about a mile distant. To return to the starting point take the
main farm track back through the fields. The whole trip is about three miles
of easy walking and you can see well over twenty miles westwards from the top
of the Sheepwalks. The Sheepwalks themselves have been largely untouched for
centuries and it is easy to imagine how the Wolds would have looked a few
hundred years ago before the development of intensive cereal cropping.
 The
geology of the Sheepwalks consists mainly of white and red chalk, sandstones and
various clays and is unique in the Lincolnshire Wolds. The geological variety,
coupled with generations of grazing have created a great diversity of flora and
the area is designated a "Site of Special Scientific Interest." There is some
very unusual terracing throughout the length of the Langton Sheepwalks. The
origin of these terraces is uncertain, but they may date from Roman times, when
vines may have grown here. During one of Dr Samuel Johnson's visits to his
friend "Lanky" (Bennet Langton) he is said to have found himself on the Sheep
Walks. Declaring that he had not had a rolled down a hill for a long time, he
then emptied his pockets and rolled down the slopes from top to bottom.
Not far from Grange Farm (and now inaccessible as they are in the middle of
arable fields) are the "Spellow Hills." These hillocks were previously a 180
foot long barrow, which appears to have been reduced by several centuries of
stone robbing. It is thought that the name "Spellow" derives from Old Norse
"Spella", meaning to destroy, which may imply that the Spellow Hills form the
site of an ancient battle.
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