"I loved the brimming wave that swam
thro' quiet meadows round the mill,
The sleepy pool above the dam.
The pool beneath it never still,
The meal-sacks on the whiten'd floor,
The dark round of the dripping wheel,
The very air about the door,
Made misty with the floating meal"

EXTRACT FROM THE MILLER'S DAUGHTER BY ALFRED LORD TENNYSON
Very little of the surrounding country has changed since the Poet Laureate wrote the lines above. Stockwith Mill and its streams lie nestled amidst the rolling beauty of the Wolds much as they did over 180 years ago when Alfred Lord Tennyson was born on 6th August 1809. The fourth child (third surviving) with six brothers and four sisters, Alfred would often escape from the bustle of Somersby Rectory into the peaceful countryside beyond.

The country walks presented here explore this area of the Wolds familiar to Tennyson in the early part of his life. The routes are all circular, starting from the mill forecourt, and are clearly waymarked.

Follow in the footsteps of the great nineteenth century poet!