Exploring Market Deeping on Foot | Local Walk & Hidden Gems

Exploring Market Deeping on Foot | Local Walk & Hidden Gems

5,469 Steps Through Market Deeping

Hidden corners, riverside glimpses and a well-earned plate of fish and chips

The idea

Welcome to Steps Through Our Towns, a new series in which I explore towns and villages at walking pace, discovering what we often miss when simply driving through.

For my first outing, I chose Market Deeping.

I arrived with a simple plan: park the car, start walking and see what I could discover at a comfortable pace.

My original target was around 4,000 steps.

As things turned out, curiosity took over, and by the time I returned to the car, my step counter was showing 5,469 steps.

Setting off

I started near the Co-op filling station in the main car park, walking back past the small parade of shops before reaching the High Street.

Turning left, I began exploring.

Almost immediately I found myself paying more attention to the buildings around me.

Market Deeping is one of those places many of us probably drive through without stopping to really look. On foot, it becomes a very different experience.

Exploring Market Deeping

After walking for a while, I turned around and headed eastwards along the High Street.

That was when I began noticing just how many interesting buildings and individual shops were tucked away in little nooks and crannies.

Shopfronts, architectural details and little side passages kept catching my eye.

Sometimes, it seems, you need to walk along the same street in both directions to really see it.

A little detour

Reaching the end of the High Street, I turned into Bridge Street and continued as far as the Masonic Centre.

With my step count steadily climbing, I decided that was far enough and turned back.

Besides, there was another very good reason to turn around.

Lunch!

Time for a break

I made my way back to Boundary Fish & Chips, where I settled down to cod and chips with a Diet Coke.

With Riverside Park nearby, it provided a welcome opportunity to take a further break, admire the Second World War memorials and gaze across the river towards fields glowing in the sunshine.

Suitably refreshed, it was time to continue exploring.

The home stretch

Walking back along the High Street gave me another opportunity to spot things I’d missed earlier.

One particularly pleasant discovery was a small public riverside viewing area.

Standing in the shade, away from the sunshine, I caught a glimpse of a rowing boat moored on the opposite bank.

It was only a brief moment, but it summed up what this little adventure was becoming.

Slow down, look around and you never really know what you might discover.

I continued along the High Street before eventually turning through Market Alley, where a pretty little tea shop and other characterful shops caught my attention, before making my way back to the car park.

And the final count… 5,469 steps!

I’d planned around 4,000 steps, but Market Deeping had tempted me into another 1,469.

Those extra steps helped me discover buildings, shops, hidden corners and riverside views that I might never have noticed from behind the wheel of a car.

And perhaps that’s what Steps Through Our Towns will really be about.

It’s not how far I can walk, but what I can discover along the way.

Sometimes we don’t need to travel far to have a little adventure.

We simply need to park the car, start walking and remember to look around us.

Walk information

Location: Market Deeping
Planned steps: Around 4,000
Actual steps: 5,469
Route: Co-op area → High Street → Bridge Street → Masonic Centre → Boundary Fish & Chips → Riverside → High Street → Market Alley → car park
Refreshment stop: Cod and chips with a Diet Coke at Boundary Fish & Chips

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