River Lymn - Route - Steeping River

Steeping River

The railway line between Boston and Skegness crosses to the north bank, and then follows the course of the river to below Wainfleet All Saints. The next bridge is Clough's Bridge, carrying a minor road over the main channel. Just before it, the old course of the Lymn leaves the straight channel of the Steeping River. It is no longer connected to the Steeping River, but is maintained as a drainage ditch by the Internal Drainage Board (IDB). Warth's Bridge and Thorpe Culvert Bridge follow, both roads leading to Thorpe Culvert railway station. Thorpe Culvert pumping station, owned by the IDB, is located just before the second bridge, and after it, the Wainfleet Relief Channel turns off, passing under the railway almost immediately. There are two more bridges as the main channel crosses Wainfleet Common, Bycroft's Bridge and Crow's Bridge. Crow's Bridge has an elliptical arch constructed of red bricks, and was designed by the engineer John Rennie in 1812. Salem Bridge carries the B1195 road to Wainfleet railway station, and the A52 road crosses to the east of Wainfleet All Saints. The channel is now also called Wainfleet Haven, and both names are used to describe it until it reaches the sea.

The Wainfleet Relief Channel is also crossed by the B1195 road, and shortly afterwards, the Lymn joins it. Cowcroft Drain, which joins the Lymn from the north, and the Lymn below the junction are both designated as main rivers, and are the responsibility of the Environment Agency, as is Croft Lane pumping station, which pumps the water from the Lymn into the relief channel. Croft Lane bridge is next, after which the A52 and the Boston to Skegness railway cross, and the relief channel rejoins Wainfleet Haven. The final section contains three flood defence structures. Haven House Sluice is first, after which the channel splits. Wainfleet Clough Outfall is on the western channel, which is tidal below the sluice. The Burgh Sluice Relief Channel is to the east, and Burgh Sluice protects it from the sea just before the two channels rejoin. Cow Bank Drain was excavated in 1812, as part of the last land reclamation scheme in the area. Cow Bank pumping station, owned by the IDB, pumps the drain into the outfall.

Below the outfall, Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve is located to the east among the dunes and saltings. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Ramsar site, which provides a diverse habitat for birds such as grey plover and knot, plants including brackish water crowfoot and insects including the red-banded sand-wasp, among others. Skegness Yacht Club is located at Gibraltar Point, and the east bank of the river channel is used for mooring yachts. Now called Wainfleet Harbour, the channel crosses sand and mudflats to reach Wainfleet Swatch, an area of water protected from the North Sea by the Inner Knock sandbank at low water. The area to the south of Wainfleet Harbour is called Wainfleet Sand and is a danger area. It has been used for artillery practice since at least 1890, but may have been used for cannon and musketry practice long before that. More recently, it was part of RAF Wainfleet, and was used for weaponry practice by aircraft, until the closure of the range in December 2009.