the course in 1995 to set up a National Golf Centre. A second course, "The Bracken", opened for play in 1998 alongside the original course, now named "the Hotchkin". The St Andrews Trophy was held at the golf course in 1996. Most recently, it was voted 20th best course in the world by Today's Golfer magazine in 2010. Footpaths and Walking The Viking Way is a long-distance footpath which passes through Woodhall Spa en route between the Humber Bridge and Oakham in Rutland. The Spa Trail runs for along the former Horncastle Branch Line between Sandy Lane on the outskirts of the village and Thornton Lodge at Fifty Acre near Horncastle. It is concurrent with the Viking Way and forms a continuous traffic-free footpath between Woodhall Spa and Horncastle. Along the route can be found sculptures an information board on the history of the railway and local area. The Water Rail Way is a long part of the National Cycle Network that runs from Boston to Lincoln, following as closely as possible the banks of the River Witham. Between Woodhall Spa and Lincoln it consists of a tarmacked path that runs along the route of the former railway line from Boston to Lincoln. It was built and financed by Sustrans, and was finally completed and opened in November 2008. It is open to all forms of non-motorised transport, forming part of NCN Route 1. Named primarily after its route and former use, the path is also named after a native but seldom-seen wading bird called the water rail. Hotels and Accommodation The Legacy Woodhall Spa Hotel opened in 1882 as the Eagle Lodge Hotel. It was converted into a nursing home in the 1960s and reopened as a hotel in 1991. The Golf Hotel was originally called Clevedon House and has been a school, a club and a hotel of the same name. The Royal Hydro Hotel and the attached Winter Gardens were mostly destroyed in a German air raid during World War II in August 1943, although part survived and became the Mall Hotel. The Petwood Hotel is so called because it was originally built at the turn of the 20th century as a house for Grace, Lady Weigall, who had it constructed in her favourite wood, her "pet wood". Lady Weigall turned her former home into a hotel in 1933. The Cottage Museum The heyday of Woodhall Spa