On the trail of vikings: a stroll under vast Lincolnshire skies to a 14th-century pub

04.10.2023 - 12:21 / theguardian.com

Tealby. Two syllables hinting at 1,600 years of history. The name of this little Lincolnshire wolds spot is thought to mean “village of the Taifali people”. Which is odd, as the east Germanic Taifali tribe hailed from the Carpathian mountains, far from the east Midlands.

It seems that a Roman cavalry unit, the Equites Taifali, was stationed hereabouts in the late fourth century to defend nearby Lindum (Lincoln) – and never left. The Old Danish “-by” (“farmstead” or “village”) was added by the Vikings, who later settled here.

And modern-day Tealby, home to 600 people, a shop and a primary school founded by the uncle of Alfred Lord Tennyson, is one of the loveliest villages in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It clings to the wolds’ western edge, above the River Rase, which was once dotted with watermills. There are 27 listed buildings in the village, some of which were smithies or dressmakers’ workshops. Many are built from Tealby limestone, with its honey-marmalade hue. One is built of whitewashed rubble and thatch: the Kings Head pub. This 14th-century inn is a good starting point for a walk north and back along some of the wolds’ loftiest reaches, the highest ground in eastern England between Yorkshire and Kent.

I start by winding through the village, via neat cottages, the Vintage Tearooms and a lane called The Smooting (“narrow passage”), another Danish remnant. A volunteer-run shop sells everything from tins and toiletries to tourist info. Most tempting are goodies from the Choowee Cookie Company – the baker who makes them in nearby Market Rasen is there, dropping off a fresh batch. “They’re our bestseller,” the woman behind the till confirms.

I resist and walk on, past the village hall which, like the school, was given to Tealby by Charles Tennyson. His father, George Tennyson, owned land here, but disinherited his eldest son, George Clayton Tennyson, who became a rector, and raised his family – including poetic son Alfred – in tiny Somersby, in the southern wolds.

Meanwhile, ambitious Uncle Charles, eager for a peerage, added the noble d’Eyncourt to his name and built the gothic-style Bayons Manor outside Tealby, starting in 1836. In the end, Lord Alfred got the title; the manor fell into disrepair and was demolished in the 1960s. Only ruins remain.

There’s a memorial to Charles in Tealby’s 12th-century All Saints church. But I’m more taken by the facilities. A parish meeting is under way and a woman says the kettle’s boiled and would I like a cup of tea? “We have toilets too, put in last year!”

But it’s time I joined the Norse men, so I continue north, picking up the Viking Way. This long-distance trail spans 147 miles of Danelaw land from the Humber to Rutland. Today it’s taking me