a long-distance footpath, the water rail way, follows the course of the river from lincoln to boston. the path uses sections of the river towpath and abandoned railway tracks, and has been opened in stages, with the final being completed in september 2008. the path is now part of route 1 of the national cycle network and features a number of sculptures along its length, each commissioned from local artists. they include lincoln longwool sheep at stixwould, lincoln red cows at washingborough, and lincoln curly pigs, which became extinct in 1972, at southrey.