Kirkby-on-Bain

Kirkby-on-Bain is a small village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, strung along the River Bain between the market town of Horncastle and the riverside settlement of Coningsby. It sits just west of the A153, with the neighbouring hamlets of Roughton, Haltham, Tattershall Thorpe and Tumby scattered around it across flat, well-farmed countryside that gives way to the rising chalk of the Lincolnshire Wolds a few miles to the north.

The village takes its name from the Old Norse for a church settlement, and its roots go back to the Viking Age. St Mary's parish church was rebuilt in 1802 and belongs to the Bain Valley Group of churches, while the Ebrington Arms on Main Street has served as the village pub since at least the 16th century. Just outside the village, the old gravel pits have been left to nature and are now a well-regarded Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust reserve, with shallow pools and islands that draw breeding waders and wildfowl through spring and summer. It is a modest, unhurried place, but it makes a genuinely useful base: Woodhall Spa's golf courses and wartime history are a short drive north, and Horncastle's antiques trade is a few minutes south.

Top things to do near Kirkby-on-Bain

None of the big attractions are in Kirkby-on-Bain itself, but the village is well placed for exploring this corner of Lincolnshire on foot, by bike or by car.

• River Bain and the old gravel pits — the river runs straight through the village, and the flooded former gravel workings just outside it are now a Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust reserve, good for a quiet walk and birdwatching.
• Woodhall Spa Golf Club — a few miles north, this is one of England's great inland golf venues, with the championship Hotchkin course regularly ranked among the best in the country alongside the shorter Bracken course.
• The Petwood Hotel, Woodhall Spa — built as an Edwardian country house, requisitioned in the Second World War as the Officers' Mess for RAF Woodhall Spa's 617 Squadron, the Dambusters. Its Squadron Bar is filled with wartime memorabilia and a prototype bouncing bomb sits in the grounds.
• Horncastle antiques trade — voted one of Britain's best antiques towns, Horncastle's shops and multi-dealer centres, including Horncastle Antiques Centre in a converted factory, are worth a browse.
• Horncastle market and Sir Joseph Banks Centre — the town holds markets on Thursdays and Saturdays, with a farmers' market on the second Thursday of the month, and the Sir Joseph Banks Centre tells the story of the Lincolnshire-born botanist who sailed with Captain Cook.
• Lincolnshire Wolds — an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty rising to the north, offering walking and cycling routes through chalk hills, hedgerowed lanes and small villages.
• Tattershall Castle — a short drive away, this striking 15th-century brick tower, built for Ralph Cromwell and now in the care of the National Trust, dominates the flat fenland skyline.

Getting to Kirkby-on-Bain

Kirkby-on-Bain lies just off the A153, which links Sleaford and Horncastle to Skegness, making the village straightforward to reach by car from across Lincolnshire and from the A16 and A15 corridors. Horncastle, two miles away, is the nearest sizeable town for shops and services. The closest railway stations are at Lincoln and at Grantham on the East Coast Main Line, both around 45 minutes to an hour by car, so a train-and-drive combination or a car for the whole journey is the practical option; there is no station in the immediate area.

Best time to visit Kirkby-on-Bain

Spring and early summer suit the area well, when the wildlife reserve is busiest with breeding birds and the Wolds are at their greenest. Late summer brings warm, settled weather for walking and golf, while autumn colours the Wolds' woodland and hedgerows. Winter is quieter, with the countryside stripped back and pubs like the Ebrington Arms offering a welcome stop, though some seasonal attractions in Woodhall Spa and Horncastle reduce their hours.

Where to stay near Kirkby-on-Bain

Kirkby-on-Bain itself has little visitor accommodation, so most people base themselves in nearby Woodhall Spa or Horncastle, both a short drive away and well stocked with hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs, including golf-focused stays built around the Woodhall Spa courses. Self-catering cottages are dotted through the surrounding villages, and the flat, quiet lanes around the Bain valley also make for pleasant caravan and camping stopovers if you are touring the Wolds and the Lincolnshire coast.

Food and drink near Kirkby-on-Bain

The Ebrington Arms on Main Street is the village's own pub, a genuinely old building that has been serving the community for centuries. Beyond the village, Woodhall Spa and Horncastle both have a reasonable spread of pubs, cafes and restaurants, and the Petwood Hotel's bar and dining rooms are open to non-residents as well as guests. Horncastle's Thursday and Saturday markets, plus the monthly farmers' market, are a good source of local produce, bread and meat if you are self-catering.