Brothertoft

Brothertoft is a small hamlet in the Lincolnshire Fens, sitting within the civil parish of Holland Fen with Brothertoft, about four miles northwest of the historic port town of Boston. It is the kind of place that rewards anyone curious about England's drained wetlands: flat, fertile, big-skied farmland criss-crossed by drains and dykes, with the River Witham threading its way towards the Wash a few miles to the east.

The hamlet's name is thought to derive from a grant of land to two brothers who were given the task of cultivating a patch of fen carved out from the surrounding wetland, and Brothertoft has a genuinely old story to tell. Romano-British pottery and a coin of the emperor Septimius Severus have been found locally, and the settlement itself is first recorded in documents from the 14th century. In the 18th century, the reforming MP Major John Cartwright ran his estate from Brothertoft and introduced new farming methods, while in 1767 local people rioted against the enclosure of Holland Fen, a reminder that this quiet farmland was once fiercely contested common ground used for fishing, fowling and grazing. St Gilbert's Church, built in 1847 at the expense of Thomas Gee of Brothertoft Hall, still stands as the hamlet's landmark building today.

Top things to do near Brothertoft

Brothertoft itself is a scattered farming hamlet rather than a visitor destination, so most days out are built around nearby Boston and the wider Fens. Here are some of the best options within easy reach:

• St Botolph's Church (the Boston Stump) — Boston's parish church has the tallest church tower of its kind in England at 83 metres. Climb the 209 steps for sweeping views across the Fens to the Wash, or simply admire it for free from the market square below.
• Maud Foster Windmill — a short walk from Boston town centre, this is the tallest working windmill in Britain and the last survivor of the town's fifteen former mills. Its seven floors of Georgian machinery are open to visitors, and the attached bakery sells flour ground on site.
• Boston Guildhall — one of the earliest brick buildings in Lincolnshire, dating from around 1390. Now a museum, it holds the cells where two of the Pilgrim Fathers were reputedly held after their failed attempt to flee England in 1607.
• River Witham towpath — the river runs close to Brothertoft on its course from Lincoln down to Boston and the Wash. Long, level stretches of bank make for easy walking or cycling through classic Fenland scenery.
• Holland Fen — the wider fen that gives the parish its name is a patchwork of arable fields reclaimed from wetland during the 18th-century enclosures, and a good spot for anyone interested in the engineering and social history of Fen drainage.
• Boston Market Place — one of the largest market squares in England, still hosting a busy market on Wednesdays and Saturdays beneath the shadow of the Stump.

Getting to Brothertoft

Brothertoft sits just off the B1192, roughly four miles northwest of Boston. By car it is easily reached via the A17 and A16, both of which connect into Boston, with Lincoln around 25 miles to the northwest and Peterborough about 35 miles to the south. There is no railway station at Brothertoft itself; the nearest is Boston railway station, on the line between Skegness and Nottingham via Grantham, from where a taxi or short drive covers the remaining distance. Local bus services link Boston with the surrounding villages, though services to the hamlet itself are limited, so a car is the most practical way to explore the area.

Best time to visit Brothertoft

Late spring and summer suit this part of the Fens best, when long daylight hours make the most of the open, level landscape and the drainage dykes and hedgerows are at their greenest. The flat terrain and exposed skies mean weather can change quickly, and winter brings the low mists that the Fens are famous for, atmospheric for photographers but best combined with warm layers. Boston's market days, Wednesday and Saturday, are a good anchor for a visit if you want the town at its liveliest.

Where to stay near Brothertoft

There is no hotel in Brothertoft itself, so most visitors base themselves in Boston, which has a range of pubs with rooms, guesthouses and budget hotels within a few minutes' drive. Rural bed and breakfasts are dotted around the surrounding villages of Holland Fen, Kirton and Swineshead, offering a quieter, more agricultural setting close to the fen itself.

Food and drink near Brothertoft

Brothertoft has no pub or shop of its own, so eating out means a short drive into Boston, which has a solid choice of cafes, pubs and restaurants around the Market Place and along the River Witham, from traditional Lincolnshire pubs serving hearty, locally sourced food to independent cafes catering to the town's busy market days. Fenland farm shops in the surrounding villages are worth seeking out too, given the area's strong arable and vegetable-growing tradition.