Location Summary
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust (LWT) Nature Reserve with many hides and lakes. Extensive walking trails around the lakes. Further lakes and trails in the Waters' Edge Country Park on the east side of the Humber Bridge.
Possibility of seeing: Kingfisher, Egret, Canada Geese, Mute Swan, Cormorant, Coot
Hide 1 - Family Hide
Hide 2 - Seated double decker
Hide 3 - Seated
Hide 4 - Seated
Website: LWT Far Ings
Car Park: Limited free parking at Far Ings. Lots of free parking at short distance away at the Waters' Edge Country Park
Fee: Free
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Captain's Log
Sparrow Cooling Off
26/08/22
First Visit
My intention for the day had been to park at Barton Upon Humber, cross the Humber Bridge, and then follow the river upstream on the Trans Pennine Trail. As I was approaching the carpark I noticed a sign for the Far Ings nature reserve. 'That'll be worth a gander', I thought, and so set off along the riverside path towards the Far Ings Vistor Centre. I never ended up crossing the Humber Bridge, since there were so many trails to explore in the nature reserves on the south bank. I spent half of my day in the Far Ings nature reserve, and the other half exploring the nature trails around the Water's Edge Country Park on the east of the Humber Bridge. There are so many trails in the reserves that it is easy to construct a walk of any desired distance.
I started off on the Tadpole Trail. As soon as I got through the gate to the trail I spotted a Marsh Harrier flying above the marshes. An impressive start!
Humber Bridge
Reed Warbler Or Sedge Warbler
The Far Ings reserve is split into two and I had to walk along the riverside path to get between them. There is a derelict hotel between the two halves of the reserve. This used to be the Humber Bridge Country Hotel and the organisation collapsed due to large debts. The hotel looks a large, modern construction, but it looks like the vandals have been busy; a lot of the windows had been smashed. There was some noise of drilling and I saw some people moving stuff to a van. I wasn't really sure if they were salvaging or stealing stuff. There appears to have been a planning request to build 19 wooden huts on the site as some sort of holiday complex, but this has had objections due to the nearby nature reserves.
I spent some time in a double decker hide. I was on the top deck and it had good views over the nearby lake. I heard a couple of blokes on the lower deck talking about a bird in the reeds just in front of us. 'It's a Reed Warbler'. 'Are you sure? It looks like a Sedge Warbler to me'. I took a photo of it. I think it is probably a Reed Warbler.
Call 999?
As I was walking along the riverside path I had to do a double-take when I saw what I thought was half of a torso in the undergrowth. One wonders how these things get there.
It was a hot day and I dropped into the Water's Edge Visitors Centre Cafe for a cup of coffee. As soon as I entered the entrance door I was interrogated by an old couple sat at a table. They were nature lovers and they gave me an unabridged account of their lifelong adventures. The man was over 90 and age hadn't diminished his enthusiasm. I was eventually saved by the waitress who had brought them their dinner. I took the opportunity to make my way to the counter.
There are no hides in the Water's Edge Country Park but there were many trails to walk along and many birds to view in the many lakes.
Although my itinerary had not been as I intended, it had been a marvellous day. Certainly a place that I'll return to in the near future.