Kesteven (2)

Walk Details:
Date: 23/7/2005
Total ascent: 2m/ 7ft
Total distance walked: 0.81 miles
Walk difficulty: 0/10
Enjoyment rating: 1/10
Best bits: Water tower at top
Worst bits: Top effectively flat – no way of telling highest point
Walkers: Anth, Jim
Car Parking: You can park at the county top, next to the water tower

Top details:
Name: Buckminster Water Tower
County top number: 87 of 207
Grid reference: SK 88982 23750
Height above sea level: 152m/ 499ft
How nice was the top? 2.5/10
Views: 3.5/10
Description/Notes: Buckminster Water Tower vies with Big Wood for the title of highest point in the former county of Parts of Kesteven. The high point at Buckminster Water Tower is an indeterminate point on the road heading southward from the water tower.

The Walk:

Various scales of OS map showed spot heights of 151m at the water tower about 1km to the north-east of Buckminster, and 152m on the road just south of there. Our task was to establish whether whether or not these points were higher than the other potential Kesteven county top at Big Wood, where we’d just come from.

Just as at Big Wood, we found ourselves tight up against the county boundary and on the Viking Way – in fact the water tower itself was across the border in Leicestershire. We parked outside the water tower, crossed the county boundary and took an altitude reading – it was exactly the same as at Big Wood. There were slightly better views from here though – you could see for a fair old distance looking northwards along the descending Viking Way. On the fence around the water tower compund, a solitary sign said, somewhat pointlessly “please obey all further signage”.

We wandered down the road heading southwards from the water tower (still on the Viking Way) to the 152m spot height shown on the 1:10,000 maps. According to Simon Edwardes, this was the place George Bridge had down as the Kesteven county top, but the GPS altimeter barely registered a flicker – if it was higher than the water tower it was only by a matter of centimetres. We decided to take our official grid reference next to the water tower as it made a more interesting top! Given that our first ever county top (Reading) was crowned by a water tower, we’ve ever since been please to say one at a top.

It also made a good spot for lunch, and we sat admiring the view northwards before packing up and heading off to our next county top in Rutland.