Haxey: Haxey Hood and Trails

When travelling to Haxey, there are two distinct areas of focus to choose from: the annual Haxey Hood and trails with their own landscape features. On the Haxey Circular, its length and hilly terrain are useful points of reference; Haxey Turbary combines woodland, a remnant of a bog and a history of land use. If you are looking for hotels in Haxey, you can first decide whether the custom or time spent on the trails should be the focus of your stay.

The Haxey Hood and how it unfolds

The Haxey Hood is held every year. On the morning of 6 January, the officials prepare; at around 2:30 pm, the procession reaches St Nicholas' Church. There, the Fool gives a welcoming speech, and the ritual known as “Smoking the Fool” also takes place. The morning preparations and the arrival at the church in the afternoon provide two concrete points of reference for the timing of the custom. If you are planning your trip around the Haxey Hood, take the morning preparations on 6 January into account and check the event details for the date in question.

The Haxey Hood also involves pushing a leather tube: people from Haxey and Westwoodside move it towards their preferred local pub. So, in addition to the procession and the events at the church, the custom includes this part centred on a local pub. Participants from both places and the preferred destination are among the specific features that make the Haxey Hood a local custom.

Circular walk, woodland and former railway line

The 2.6-mile Haxey Circular is hilly, follows a circular route and starts at Haxey Church. One section passes through a cutting where the Axholme Joint Railway once ran. This gives you several concrete points of reference when choosing a route: a stated length, hilly terrain and a named starting point. The cutting's former use as a railway line is another feature. The Haxey Trail has a different stated focus and leads into a woodland area called Haxey Turbary. The themes of the two routes are therefore distinct: the Circular focuses on its circular route, terrain and railway history, while the Trail focuses on the woodland area.

Haxey Turbary: bog landscape and history of land use

Haxey Turbary, a remnant of a bog, lies in the area around Haxey. The bog was extensively mined for peat and was subsequently colonised by birch trees. A public footpath runs along the main path through Haxey Turbary. The Haxey Turbary route also passes fields where rare sheep breeds are occasionally found. These details combine practical route information with the landscape's history: the footpath lies on the main path, while peat extraction followed by the colonisation of birch trees describes how the bog area has changed.

On the Haxey Circular, the cutting points to the former Axholme Joint Railway; at Haxey Turbary, the focus is on the bog, peat extraction and the growth of birch trees. These offer two different ways of exploring the landscape's history. When planning your trip, you can also consider whether you would prefer to focus on a circular route with a stated length and hilly terrain, or on a trail associated with woodland and bog.

Discover more destinations: Horbling, Burton Coggles, Waltham, Barton-Upon-Humber, Marston, Redbourne, Lincoln, Keelby

For the wider travel overview: Lincolnshire.