in the spring, lasting about 7 months, and ending in the autumn. Winters are generally cool with little temperature variation. Heavy snow is rare but snow usually falls at least once each winter. Spring and autumn can be pleasant. Demography The 2011 census recorded the population of the civil parish to be 4,327. The 2001 census recorded a resident village population of Welton civil parish alone as 3,821. The population in the Welton ward was 5,016, which includes other smaller villages and nearby parishes from Hackthorn to Faldingworth. The population of the Welton civil parish alone was 3,821. Amenities There is a wide range of services, amenities, and retail outlets in the village, ranging from supermarkets to a tea shop, gift shops and takeaways including an award-winning fish and chip shop, as well as banking and financial services. There is also a campsite, Co-op store, local butchers, and a veterinary clinic. Welton Manor Golf Centre has proved to be a major asset to the village, as a Golf Centre of Excellence with eighteen holes of challenging golf to suit all players. Its 120 acres include tree-lined fairways, lakes, and meandering streams, which eventually go on to join the Barlings Eau and link up with the Welton Beck on the way to the River Witham. The site also houses a driving range and a fishing lake with a caravan and camping site. Its club house is now the Falconer bar and restaurant, which is licensed for civil wedding ceremonies and christenings. The site originally opened in the mid-2000s as a nine-hole course, with the restaurant opening a year earlier, and is an example of successful diversification by local farmer Charles Ottewell, and his sons, Andrew and David. Welton has two public houses: The Falconer by the golf course, and The Black Bull in the centre of town. The Black Bull is rumoured to be a former regular of the Dam Busters, and reputedly, haunted. Though no ghost has ever been seen, the haunting has often been reported because of inexplicable sounds believed to be a phantom slowly climbing the eighteen stairs to the restaurant. The pub is run as a joint venture between equal partners Derek Wright, his wife Bridget, her son Thomas Allen, and his partner Leanne Robinson. Reportedly, special themed nights such as pie nights, steak nights and quiz nights which have proved particularly popular as well as a