| Kate |
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Stamford Town Meadows have always been important to the people of Stamford. As school children we called down there after school and when the meadows were flooded in spring we stood on the fence post in our wellies near the Mill and looked at that dark expanse of water in awe. In the summertime we crossed over the meadows on our way to places (principally the openair swimming pool or on our way up to Burghley Park). Half way over the meadows path (which had in those days a large "hump" in the middle) we would go through the "tunnel" under the hump and get a little scared half way through. Since then the pathway has been levelled and though an improvement I'm sure today's children would have enjoyed that "tunnel" and the excitment it afforded. If you went left at the other side of the meadows it took you along station road in front of the George Hotel and opposite Motors and Tractors (now stone housing development).
The meadows are appreciated by today's children for games and gathering. There are seats and on weekends all the locals with small children gather down there to feed the ducks and if nice and warm to lick an icecream as they wander round and take in the view of the bridge and all the other people enjoying the day. A right turn will take you to the Station - to get there years ago you had to go through the Station Yard which housed timber and coal etc. now again it is domestic housing and a more genteel walk!
The meadows are used for various events - among them Classic Cars display, music festival and part of the midlent fair which spills over from Bath Row. If you visit Stamford you must go down the Meadows and be sure to look back at the town and see the Church spires from that perspective - one of Stamford's most famous views. Why not visit Stamford and find some corners to tell us about?
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| Gillian Hendy |
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Kate - replying to your comment about the walk to the station prior to the housing development being built there, I recall there was a dairy there too. When I was at the High School after having had a swimming class I would come out of the Nuns gate to the side of the station and walk home that way. I recall there was a family of ferral cats there too.
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| Peter Bowman |
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We lived in Stamford in the 1950s. It was the location of an idyllic childhood, and the Meadows was a key ingredient in that. The ultimate use of the Meadows was as a means of walking from Stamford to Tinwell. I remember that the Meadows had three distinct sectors.
The first was neat and tidy and was the location for the iconic view back of the church steeples. Then there was a fence and beyond that the Meadows became quite wild and exciting. It was like the prairies in westerns, or so I imagined. This phase finished with what I found most impressive - an iron bridge across the Welland which made a lovely clanging sound when you 'galloped' across it. Is that still there? It made a wonderful walk with the family or exciting expedition with friends.
Then the aspect became gentler as you followed the path into Tinwell.
Is this walk recognisable today?
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