Page 72 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

load space. It could cross ploughed fields and went round corners on rails!

On leaving Boston and heading home to New Bolingbroke down the Horncastle Road, just
out of the town by what is now the local golf course, I had the choice of two routes. The
main road down the right-hand side of a large land drain, or the more minor route to the
left of the drain and a little bit shorter.
A geographical illustration of the area would help here. The Land Drains in Lincolnshire
are like small rivers but do not flow the same. Lincolnshire close to the coast, being flat
and largely below the level of the sea, has a mechanical drainage system.

Picture above of the actual drain alongside “that road “ in the story.

The whole of the flat part of the County is criss crossed by big drains and dykes. Dykes
run down the edges of all fields and roads and they feed into the bigger drains. Some
drains are from 50 to 100 feet across and 30 feet deep from the side of the road.

The drains eventually end up at the nearest exit to the sea where there are huge
mechanical pumping stations capable of ejecting water over the sea walls into the “salt”
and thereby preventing any of the flat lands becoming flooded.
My chosen route home was the minor road to the left, down the very edge of the 100 foot
wide drain. It was very dark and I wanted to get home and back to bed. The 4L only had
an 8 horsepower motor but I was not going slowly.

WHAT COULD BE BEHIND
Proceeding quickly down the bank side, in my rear view mirror I could see lights of a
vehicle on the road behind. He was faster than me and catching quickly.

About two miles or so down this bank side the road takes an acute left turn following a
secondary but equally large drain at a junction where two drains join. The road turns a very
abrupt 90 degrees with no warning. If the 90 degrees is not negotiated there is no
alternative but entering the drain immediately in front down a very steep 30 ft embankment
and into the very deep water.
There are no warning signs and no safety barrier, as it is truly a very minor road for use by
local traffic.
“Hmmmm,” I thought, “wonder just how well this other chap knows this road?

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