Make Do and Mend

Simon Stabler enjoys an eco-friendly break in Bomber County

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Take a trip around Lincolnshire and it won’t be too long until you discover a connection to World War Two. Known as Bomber County for good reason, you will find memorials and museums dedicated to the Bomber Command squadrons based in the county during the war, including the International Bomber Command Centre at Lincoln, Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre, and Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre – the latter located on part of the former RAF Woodhall Spa.

Set between Metheringham and Woodhall Spa is the village of Martin, an ideal base for exploring these places and more. As well as its aviation links, there is a historical connection to the Women’s Land Army.

Martin Manor House, once part of Manor Farm, was commandeered as a hostel for the land girls who toiled in the fields here during World War Two. Today, the manor house is owned by Sherry Forbes, whose adjacent Manor House Stables provides two cosy selfcatering holiday cottages, The Hayloft and The Bothy.

Back in 2008, the Grade II listed former stable block underwent a sympathetic, eco-friendly restoration to create the accommodation, along with a small ground-floor museum and kitchen for history cookery courses, both of which Sherry ran until lockdown.