12 Mile Route South

- the footpath out the back of Southfields to Silk Willoughby is well marked and perfectly passable, unaffected by building works currently
- there are two stiles, one from field to bridge and one from bridge to road, at Hart's Lodge where the path alongside Barrow Hill Farm meets the A15; I climbed them but my German Shepherd was able to bypass them completely, just had to pass the lead through a low gap
- the field before those two stiles had sheep in last time I walked it, dogs allowed but must be on lead
- the road after this part is two-directional but decent sized grass verges; that said, they come fast along it!
- you can go straight on at Willoughby and Walks Farms but I took two steps into the field and my feet immediately got six times heavier so I hung a left to go towards Kelby Farm instead and knocked some mud off - the path is unmarked and the field ploughed
- look out for golf balls! Also there seems to be a motorbike track in the woods beyond the golf course on the left, so if you hear dirt bikes, they're probably not on the road and coming towards you at speed...
- the A153 is horrendous, but it's less than 400m walking and has a wide (if rubbish-filled) grass verge. Thorpe Drive is generally quiet and has a wide verge but it is a bus route so care still needed.
- from Pinfold Lane, there are multiple sets of paths that will all take you to the same place eventually, and there are two points that you can cross the A15 almost straight over (the one marked and Drove Lodge/New Farm to Drove Lane) and then still meet the River Slea footpath along Electric Station Road into Sleaford, so the last 2-3 miles are negotiable!
- The highlighted option has one stile; there is a gap at the bottom that my German Shepherd will go through if forced, but it's a squeeze. Smaller pups will have no issues, or stronger people can lift pups over, that's what dad normally does but I can't get her high enough as she hangs with straight legs! There's an even worse stile, impassable for doggos, if you take the right-hand fork and cross the railway onto the A153; and if memory serves, there are no stiles if you go left past Hall Farm, Field Farm, Drove Lodge and New Farm, although the paths are not well marked in that direction - pretty sure last time I did that, I still ended up crossing the A15 at the point marked, and missed the last two farms entirely. Probably trespassing but hey ho.

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