A Lincolnshire Lad - Zion Hill Poem by Christopher Tye

A Lincolnshire Lad - Zion Hill

Built up from great storms on the Lincolnshire coast,
From the thirteenth century onwards,
Nature created the beginnings of this storm beach,
Millions of tons of sand and shingle deposited here.

Now within The Saltfleetby - Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve,
This once great conical sand hill stands at the heart of this reserve,
Zion Hill once the tallest sand hill in Lincolnshire,
Reaching over fifty foot high in the past.

Zion Hill even served King and Country,
Machineguns positioned on top of the hill,
Protecting the coastline in World War One,
Then the RAF later used this area as a bombing range.

Why Zion Hill? Who really knows why?
A simple sand hill with a biblical name,
Maybe the Lincolnshire Primitive Methodists gave this name,
For the dunes were used for Sunday services.

Now time has started to wither this hill,
Winter storms and wind eroding it away,
And us humans not helping by continually walking over it,
But still it stands high amongst it's neighbour's.

Zion Hill a little reminder of warmer climes,
A lovely place to stand and gaze in high summer,
Viewing the great coastline of Lincolnshire,
But in winter it can be a very cold and bleak place.

Where else in Lincolnshire can take you to the Holy land,
Thinking of King David's great palace mounted on a hill,
The great history of Jerusalem and the Holy land,
And most of all Sir Hubert Parry's Hymn Jerusalem.

By Christopher Tye