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Andrew Elsden - stories, tales , rural and social and business issues past and present as I see them.
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Freiston Shore - the forgotten resort of the Wash part 3
In January 1824 the Freiston coastguard experienced no small success: “Last week in Lincoln Deeps, as a detached party belonging to the...
Aug 2, 20244 min read
Freiston - the forgotten resort of the Wash Part 2
What made Freiston Shore so popular? If we look at the various activities there are a few factors that may have influenced this, but they...
Jul 29, 202420 min read
Freiston Shore – The Forgotten Resort of The Wash. - Part 1
It is perhaps hard to imagine as you wind down the narrow roads approaching Freiston village and then a little further, two miles, to...
Jul 26, 202412 min read
Fishing from the Coast to River and Fen
Sturgeon Sturgeon are almost never seen in UK waters either in the sea or inland. However, occasional non-native sturgeon species get...
Jul 22, 202416 min read
The Linehams at Fosdyke
Perhaps the most famous fishing family from the Wash are the Linehams of Fosdyke who have made their lives from the sea as fishermen and...
Jul 19, 20248 min read
Decoys - part 3 Friskney and Wainfleet decoys The Skeltons and the Williams decoymen.
DECOYS AROUND FRISKNEY AND WAINFLEET The decoys of this area provided great interest yet by the time Oldfield published his History of...
Jul 15, 20246 min read
Sailors and Fishermen and the ports of the Wash and Fens
It is possibly hard to imagine nowadays, but the Wash and the inland waterways leading from the Wash provided key channels for trade and...
Jul 13, 202427 min read
Decoys - part 2 notes on more Lincolnshire Decoys
DOWSBY DECOY - “……….towards Sleaford, we soon get to another group of six old Decoys, all within three miles NE of Dowsby, the most...
Jul 12, 20248 min read
Decoys - part 1
Most of us are familiar with the word Decoy referring to a wooden, or plastic model of a duck or pigeon, but in this case the word Decoy...
Jul 8, 202416 min read
Netting Lapwings and other Birds
Also, reproduced many times in books and magazines are Frank Parkinson’s photographs of plover netting on Cowbit Wash with clap-nets....
Jul 5, 20244 min read
More puntgunning
If you look at punts in different areas they have different designs. Those used on the tidal Norfolk Broads and large expanses of water...
Jul 1, 20243 min read
Whittlesey Meer - Punt gunning on a sledge
In 1876 JM Heathcote describes the use of a stalking sledge on Whittlesea Mere and at the same time related a curious way of pursuing...
Jun 28, 20243 min read
Washland Punt Gunning
The inland punt-gunner was a rare beast that was typically found in the Fenlands of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, but was also seen in...
Jun 24, 20242 min read
Wildfowlers Observations, Tails and Tall Stories Part 6
Wildfowlers are usually very clever people. They learn their craft from others and by observation. Many have self-taught skills to make...
Jun 21, 20248 min read
Wildfowlers Observations, Tails and Tall Stories - Part 5
A Day on the Marsh (Or never trust a stranger if he lets you buy the ale). There I sat quietly drinking my ale When this fellow Wells...
Jun 17, 20242 min read
Wildfowlers Observations, Tails and Tall Stories - Part 4
Joining a wildfowling club around the Wash could be a challenging experience. All had limited memberships and certainly up to the 1990’s...
Jun 14, 20244 min read
Wildfowlers Observations, Tails and Tall Stories - Part 3
It is not often that wildfowlers get a second chance when making a mistake with water, the elements, dogs and guns all providing their...
Jun 10, 20246 min read
Wildfowlers Observations, Tails and Tall Stories - Part 2
Anyone visiting Ken Burton's house would turn into a driveway made up of stone and broken clay pigeons that had been picked up from the...
Jun 7, 20247 min read
Wildfowlers Observations, Tails and Tall Stories - Part 1
I have enjoyed many evenings at various venues around the Wash from Heacham to Boston, listening to wildfowlers telling their tales....
Jun 3, 20245 min read
Men of Marsh and Mud Part 3 - More Local Wildfowlers
The mallard duck is now a common site in Spalding, yet this may not have been the case if it wasn’t for the likes of Tony Creasey his...
May 31, 202411 min read
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