Our Stay in Saxilby
Saxilby is one of those towns you either cruise or drive though, probably on the way to somewhere else and with a blink of an eye you’re out the other side.
However if you just take two minutes to unpeel the somewhat unpolished veneer, you will find a charming gem steeped in history.
A local lady cares for the flower tubs along the water front, she had the biggest smile you have ever seen, just because a neighbour had saved her hours. He had put a bilge pump at the end of a hose pipe, enabling her to reach the water below to water the plants, instead of lowering a bucket on the end of a rope. MAGICAL…. COMMUNITY SPIRIT…. the plants seemed to be smiling too 😊.
Going back in time, as with many other villages in Northern Lincolnshire, Saxilby, with Ingleby, was subject to the control of the Vikings for much of the ninth and tenth centuries. The name of Saxilby is derived from the Viking ‘ayse ce eyes le by’ meaning ‘the farm amidst the mooring pools’.
The Romans built the Fossdyke which runs through Saxilby. Roman pottery has been found in the area and there are remains of a Roman camp just outside the village.
The population of circa 4,000 are served by a number of bus routes to Lincoln, Gainsborough and Scunthorpe
In addition the town has its own train station which was opened in 1849. The station house has been converted for private use – dwelling and an office, which made it a little more interesting when we waited for our trains.
And it has a two pubs, we liked them both😊.
‘The Ship’ and ‘Sun Inn’ have stood here since records began, and it was here in 1806 that the body of a young girl was laid out in ‘the sun’ following her murder on their wedding day by her husband, Tom Temporal, alias Otter. Following his execution, his body was hung in chains close to the murder spot on Doddington Road, also known as Tom Otter’s Lane
Standing opposite the Village Hall is ‘The Anglers’ – previously known as the Railway Hotel, another enterprising landlord adopted a name change following an influx of anglers from Yorkshire during the late nineteenth century.
As many as 1,000 would arrive for matches on most weekends!
Our moorings - Saxilby has reasonable facilities with good moorings, toilet facilities and shower room (managed by the local council). The facilities along with the waterpoint are situated on the opposite side to the moorings and can be accessed using a pedestrian footbridge.
Adjacent to the moorings is a recreational area with barbecue facilities provided, neatly trimmed grass and hardstanding.
The only downside we could think of was the lack of waste disposal. There is room for about a dozen boats or more and we felt lucky as most of them were taken when we arrived.
Saxilby Fish and Chips are renowned for serving some of the finest fish & chips for miles around, well according to two bikers from Lincoln who told us whilst tucking into them on a bench close to our moorings.
They must have been right as they didn’t offer us any to try.
So based on their recommendations we took on the challenge of walking 10 minutes to see for ourselves. YES, YES, YES they were AMAZING.
Tony Arber Butchers was just a five minute walk from our moorings. They served some of the most scrumptious Scotch Eggs & Pork Pies we have ever tasted and the rest of what we saw would even make a vegetarian think twice. It was unfortunate that our fridge was already stocked up or we would have bought more 😥
On leaving Cromwell lock, The Lady became alarmed as water & steam was escaping from places within their Engine Room. The Captain conducted a very quick evaluation and decided to maintain his original course. On reaching Saxilby, further evaluation concluded that a torque wrench was required to address the problem.
Pete, (a family member of The Lady) came to the rescue and the problem was soon resolved to the Lady’s satisfaction. 😊
During our stay in Saxilby, we were very privileged to receive an invitation to spend an evening with the extended family of The Captain & The Lady. Truly a memorable night with fine homemade cooking and delightful beverages to wash it down. All enriched by the scintillating yet humorous conversation and genuine warm hospitality.
A Night we will always remember, Thanks Caroline & Pete.
As the Saxilby moorings are restricted to 72 hours, we had to make the most of our time there, meeting up with John & Cathy from NB Harry was a very pleasant surprise. Almost as surprised as the two local pool champions, who found themselves two frames down before John & Paul allowed them to draw at two each. (not wise to upset the locals)😊.
We read quite a few articles recommending the Pizza takeaway ‘Mama Luiza’ & Ice-cream parlour ‘Waters Edge’, unfortunately both were permanently closed. We believe in the saying “If you don’t use it, you lose it”…
That why we visit so many pubs 😊 😊 😊.
Unfortunately, the time to press on to Lincoln came all too soon, but more unchartered waters awaited us with even more surprises but that’s for the next blog.
