South Kyme can be explored through two distinct interests: medieval history and walks in the surrounding area. Its historic side ranges from a notable comparison of fortified towers to ecclesiastical and monastic heritage. For walking, you can choose between a short circular route around the village and another walk with two named bridges as its endpoints. These differences can help you choose the focus of your stay: historic buildings and traces in the landscape, or a particular type of route.

Monastic and Landscape History

Kyme Tower is the earliest in a series of fortified towers in this part of Lincolnshire and the only one in the series built of stone. This highlights two distinct features: its place in the chronology of the series and its building material. St Mary and All Saints represents the church history. The church was originally an Augustinian priory founded before 1196 and dates from the Norman period.

St Mary and All Saints also contains six important pieces featuring 8th-century Saxon interlace carvings. Interlace patterns consist of intertwined forms; here, they are rendered as carvings. The church’s details therefore span more than one historical period: alongside its Norman origins and former use as a priory are the Saxon works from the 8th century.

The monument at South Kyme also comprises several historical features. These include a mid-12th-century Augustinian priory founded by Philip de Kyme and built on the site of an Anglo-Saxon establishment. The monument also includes the remains of a medieval monastery, a fortified manor house, the moat and fishponds, and a post-medieval garden. The Augustinian priory and the moated manor house are contemporary and connected features of the medieval landscape. Buildings, the moat and other landscape features are therefore among the historical elements that distinguish South Kyme.

Walks: Circular Route or Linear Walk

The banks of the River Slea and the surrounding area offer good walking opportunities. A short circular route goes around the village of South Kyme and can optionally be extended to Ferry Farm Bridge. It follows easy, flat paths beside the canal, across meadows and along country lanes. You can choose between the shorter loop and the stated extension; the different landscape sections give the route its character. As conditions can change, it is advisable to check them before setting out.

Another option is a linear walk that starts at Ferry Bridge near South Kyme and ends at Chapel Hill Bridge. It follows the towpath throughout, which is rough in places and covered with clumps of grass. Unlike the circular walk around the village, this route has two named bridges as its endpoints; its surface is also specifically described as rough in places. For planning purposes, one route loops around the village and can be extended, while the other follows a towpath between two bridges. You can take the route type and the stated surface conditions into account when choosing.

Discover more destinations: Immingham, Messingham, Gainsborough, Skegness, Wrawby, North Somercotes, South Witham, Ulceby.

For the main travel overview: Lincolnshire.