Did you know that the place name Quarrington means “settlement of the millers”?

Did you know that there was once a long-lost hamlet of Quarrington called Millthorpe, on an arm of the River Slea that has now completely vanished?

In fact, the whole area around the town of Sleaford was dotted with watermills in Anglo-Saxon and medieval times. Between Castle Causeway and Haverholme – a distance of about four and a half miles – the Domesday Book of 1087 records no less than eighteen watermills, of which nine or ten were in Sleaford itself.

The town of Sleaford, which only developed in later Anglo-Saxon times, is probably where it is only because it was a focal point of these mills.

This walk will take you on a journey through time, starting with the mysterious pond that once existed in the High School grounds and looking at the mills of Quarrington and Millthorpe, at how and why the course of the River Slea may have moved in medieval times, and at where long-vanished watermills once beat hemp and flax and ground corn and malt in the centre of the town.

The walk will pass through Money’s Yard, where we will pause briefly to look at the windmill that still dominates the skyline of Sleaford.

We will end our walk at Cogglesford Watermill, the only working watermill in the whole of Lincolnshire. The mill will be open and milling especially for the day.

Why not round off your walk with a cup of coffee at the café and a chat to the millers, who will explain to you how the centuries old techniques of traditional milling works? You can even take a bag of flour home afterwards to make your own bread or biscuits.

Sunday 6^th September 2026

Two hours starting at 10.00am

Meet at the Handley Monument on Southgate. The walk ends at Cogglesford Mill at about 12.00 noon.

No rough terrain, nearly all tarmacked footpaths – suitable for adults, children and well-behaved dogs on leads

No booking required