A VISIT TO BOSTON

On one side of The Wash there's Skeggy and on the other Sunny Hunny. Skegness and Hunstanton are probably the closest seaside resorts to Leicester. When you look at a map of the UK, The Wash is a u-shaped inlet into which the rivers Witham, Welland, Nene and Great Ouse drain. You don't go to The Wash for a paddle! One minute the tide is in and then it's gone – like someone has pulled out a giant plug.

All that's left is a muddy, gloopy mess! But this mud is rich in nutrients and a breeding ground for shrimp, cockles and mussels – perfect dining for birds; over two million of them use the Wash for feeding, breeding and migrating. It's a bird watcher's paradise, and you have to be there to experience flocks of waders whooshing by in a twisting and turning aerial display, honking geese flying overhead, long-beaked curlew digging for shrimp, and little plover, sanderling, knot, dotterel all scuttling backwards and forwards along the shoreline.

Inland from the Wash there's barely a hill to be climbed. This flat, farming landscape, like a giant patchwork quilt of fields, stretches for miles, interrupted only by silhouettes of pylons and church spires. One particularly impressive church spire is Boston Stump. The tower of St Botolph's Church at 272 feet high certainly isn't “stumpy”. A winding staircase of 365 steps leads to the top of the Stump with panoramic views across The Wash to the Norfolk coast, north to Lincoln, and inland across the Fens. Building started in 1409, and it took over 70 years and four architects to complete. The tower was crowned with an octagonal lantern that served as a beacon to guide sailors on the Wash and Fen travellers inland.

Boston is an interesting town with a market place, Guildhall Museum, and riverside walks. And wherever you walk you can be sure Boston Stump will be looking down on you!

ttp://www.visitlincolnshire.com/site/discover/markets-and-towns/boston