An enquiry on the Lonely Planet forum led me to write this note, which may appeal to some Fodors travellers. Lincoln has a splendid cathedral and interesting castle. I was asked, what else. I replied

The Museum of Lincolnshire Life describes the social history of the area.
http://www.heritageofbritain.co.uk/t...ln/lincoln.htm
The Lincolnshire Road Transport Museum houses a collection of over 65 vintage cars, buses and commercial vehicles spanning 77 years of road transport history. There are also many interesting displays of transport history including a traditional workshop. http://www.lvvs.freeserve.co.uk/

The City and County Museum
http://www.britainexpress.com/Where_...ry/lincoln.htm

http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/ccm. says
The medieval centre of Lincoln is blessed with an abundance of original 14th and 15th century buildings, as well as a large number of half-timbered Tudor houses.

High Bridge is the oldest bridge in England to have houses built upon it. The structure dates from the 12th century, and looks its age in the most complimentary fashion.

A relative parvenu compared to High Bridge is Stonebow, a wonderful Tudor Gothic bridge that once formed the city's southern gate. The city council still meets in chambers above the archway.

Lincoln has a wide variety of interesting museums, including the Incredibly Fantastic Old Toy Show of childhood games and toys, and the Usher Gallery, featuring original poems and memorabilia of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, a native of Lincolnshire.

A Heritage Trail links many of the historic attractions in the city centre, and a leaflet describing the trail is available at the Tourist Information Centre, 9 Castle Hill, Lincoln LN1 3AA Tel: +44 (0)1522 529828 Fax: +44 (0)1522 579055. The TIC is also the departure point for a variety of fascinating tours of the city, including guided walking tours, open top bus tours, ghost walks, river trips, and horse and carriage rides.


The fifteenth century pub The Cardinals Hat Lincoln was closed and may still be so, http://www.hodgsonelkington.co.uk/news/ 2001-03-cardinals-hat.html

The site http://www.norman-world.com/angleter...n/lincoln1.htm lists three Norman houses. One is St Mary's Guildhall. The others are
The House of Aaron the Jew, http://www.heritageofbritain.co.uk/t...ln/lincoln.htm
And the Jews House Lincoln. This has a restaurant whose web page looks decent
http://www.a-zoftourism.com/ Restaurants-in-Lincoln-id9819-p0.htm

The site http://www.eats.co.uk/towns/r_lincoln.html shows places most of which are routine restaurants, some of them parts of chains. The Ritz, for example, is a Wetherspoon pub, and Wetherspoon food is very ordinary.

But http://www.a-zoftourism.com/Restaura...-id9818-p0.htm reports the Wig and Mitre, which looks good.

I must say, I am thinking of a stay there myself, before winter sets in.

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Ben,
Thank you for all the information you garnered for your post.
I took a day trip from London to Lincoln and thoroughly enjoyed walking about in the town looking inside and out at 14th century buildings; the next time I go there I will linger for a couple of days.
The main purpose of my Lincoln trip was to find the tomb of Katherine Swynford in the cathedral.
Not only did I find what I was looking for, I also discovered so many more pleasantries, one of which was lunch at the Wig and Mitre.
The walk up Steep Hill was invigorating, too.

Ben,
you forgot to mention that one of the four extant copies of the Magna Carta belongs to Lincoln Cathedral and can usually be viewed in the castle.

Another notable attraction is the Usher Art Gallery & Museum which houses arguably the finest collection of William Worsworth effects and memoribilia.

Also The Jews House, half way up Steep Hill (and its called Steep for a very good reason! - to walk up it to the cathedral certainly brings the modern day tourist closest to the mediaeval pilgrim of any approach to a Britisgh Cathedral)- back to The Jew's House - a 12th century house now one of the city's finest restaurants (anglo-french cuisine).

To stay I would recommend the White Hart where you can stay in the same suite as Churchill would when visiting the RAF and USAF bases in Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire during WWII.

Regards
DrD.

Mr Haines,
Many thanks for sharing the info. What I have missed! One more place to visit, hopefully it won't be too cold in the winter.

I have enjoyed visiting Norfolk and Suffolk very much,but never been to Essex,would you suggest some fine old/intersting towns/villages to see? Thanks.

DrD,thanks for the info too.

Hi
At the risk of being 'unfaithful' to Fodors. What is the address of the Lonely Planet Forum? Always good to research as much as poss.
PS I agree with your comments on Lincoln - it is an easily missed gem.

I am planning another trip to Enland in November and among the places I will be going is to Lincoln to visit a pal who is Chief of Forensics for Lincolnshire! This has given me some good ideas of what to do while I am there. My friend tells me it's a great area to explore.

Author: Dr_DoGoodDate: 09/11/2003, 06:04 pmMessage: Ben, you forgot to mention that one of the four extant copies of the Magna Carta belongs to Lincoln Cathedral and can usually be viewed in the castle.Another notable attraction is the Usher Art Gallery & Museum which houses arguably the finest collection of William Worsworth effects and memoribilia.Also The Jews House, half way up Steep Hill (and its called Steep for a very good reason! - to walk up it to the cathedral certainly brings the modern day tourist closest to the mediaeval pilgrim of any approach to a Britisgh Cathedral)- back to The Jew's House - a 12th century house now one of the city's finest restaurants (anglo-french cuisine).To stay I would recommend the White Hart where you can stay in the same suite as Churchill would when visiting the RAF and USAF bases in Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire during WWII.RegardsDrD.
Author: JudyCDate: 09/11/2003, 11:01 pmMessage: Mr Haines,Many thanks for sharing the info. What I have missed! One more place to visit, hopefully it won't be too cold in the winter.I have enjoyed visiting Norfolk and Suffolk very much,but never been to Essex,would you suggest some fine old/intersting towns/villages to see? Thanks.DrD,thanks for the info too.
Author: blueskiesDate: 09/12/2003, 08:15 amMessage: HiAt the risk of being 'unfaithful' to Fodors. What is the address of the Lonely Planet Forum? Always good to research as much as poss.PS I agree with your comments on Lincoln - it is an easily missed gem.
Author: fairfaxDate: 09/12/2003, 10:20 amMessage: I am planning another trip to Enland in November and among the places I will be going is to Lincoln to visit a pal who is Chief of Forensics for Lincolnshire! This has given me some good ideas of what to do while I am there. My friend tells me it's a great area to explore.

The tourist office are to send me a b and b list: there are many at 30 to 40 pounds.

Victorian newspapers used to have a column called Answers to Correspondents. Perhaps I need one too.

For JudyC: Essex, I am glad you asked. The county of Essex made heaps of money with a one-crop economy in the fifteenth century. Around an old house in Coggeshall is the motto: I praise God and ever shall, it is the sheep hath paid for all. This is true of many places
Saffron Walden: fine market place with old town family bank, now Barclays. Fifteenth century church with grave of a great twentieth century liberal Tory. Good town museum. Celtic grass maze. Fifteenth century pub with good lunch. Some quirky shops.
Ten miles south by bus is Thaxted. Fifteenth century church, houses, and delightful town hall on columns.
Lavenham and Long Melford, the wool churches, great halls of glassed space reaching fir heaven, full of light and air
Coggeshall: fifteenth century houses
That is off the top of my head: a guide book would say more.

Blueskies: You start at http://www.lonelyplanet.com, go to Thorn tree, go to UK and Ireland, and Bob s your uncle. Their Postcards are good, too.

Fairfax: if you use Google for Lincoln England Murder you will find two murders, in 1255 and 2002, neither of which happened. The 2002 death may well be a favourite of your friend: the 1255 accusation is simply horrid.

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Mr Haines,

Indeed,your own answers to correspondents will be most helpful.

Many thanks again for the replies. Saffron Walden and Thaxted are what I am looking for.

I have walked around Lavenham and Long Melford last fall.The wool church in Long Melford is so very beautiful.

Among more than half dozen guide books about England,it seems not much of Essex being covered.

JudyC: Perhaps it gets short treatment because we Londoners think of it as commuter country. So it is, but much more too.

Ben Haines

Thanks Ben for reminding travellers of Lincoln. We've been there a number of times and always enjoy it. We particularly enjoy the Cathedral although the outside seems perpetually covered in scaffolding.

We also like the Castle and enjoyed the chapel where the prisoners were chained in pews. We also enjoyed the shopping and found that not only were the antiques reasonable but the lace was beautiful. I still have, and I purchased it almost 20 years ago, an angel for the top of my Xmas tree covered in lace which I bought in Lincoln.

There is a pub there, I think it's called Ye Olde Mitre (?) or is it the Wig and Mitre, which is ancient and serves the best food upstairs (although a tad expensive). One of our favourite sources for antiques is just north of Lincoln at Hemswell.

Good to remember there is so much to see north of the Cotswolds.

I think the pub is the Wig and Mitre, but shall know within this month.

As the fifteenth century Florentines show us, the Angel Gabriel was full of beauty, grace, and power. So will you let a man raise an eyebrow at lace. Lace?

Just quibbling

Ben Haines

I can confirm that the gastro-pub is indeed the Wig & Mitre. It has long been a haven of fine food and civility.

I can link this into the mention of antiques at Hemswell...

The largest antiques fair in Europe happens two or three times a year at Newark Showground just 16 miles away from Lincoln across the Notts border. The real business, as is the way with these things, is done on the first day (Ithink they're three day affairs)about 4-6am as the traders are setting up. However there are still bargains to be had and it routinely draws dealers from all over Europe and N.America.
Newark itself is a centre for Antiques and, being on the KingsX/Edinburgh mainline and only 2 hours out of London (people commute) it really should be considered by any visitors to London who are antique fiends.

Anyway back to The Wig & Mitre - the owners of that establishment have also recently opened on the same template The Caunton Beck at Caunton, near Newark not far from the beautiful Georgian and minster town of Southwell. Again it reaches the high standards of the W&M.

Finally to round off Lincs/Notts antique info I should add that those with a car or the patience for rural bus services should also consider the delightful market town of Horncastle in Lincs which is another centre for the trade that hits far above its weight.

Finally, finally (!) you may also like to consider Louth in the Lincs wolds which has the most gorgeous parish church with I believe the tallest spire in the country of any church. As a Georgian brick-built market town it is an unspoilt gem and were it in France or Germany would no doubt be an established tourist destination. Sometimes those Yellowbellies (slang for Lincolnshire folk) are far too retiring for their own good.

Ofcourse one of the other gems of Lincolnshire is Stamford about which much has been written on these boards and that's in the deep south of the county and doesn't fit with this evolving itinery (Lincoln/Newark/Louth & Horncastle). By the way this Lincoln area is not the flat fen lands of the south and contains some truly beautiful Wolds scenery.

Anyway, enough!

Regards
Dr D.

Dr.D, Interesting info,even to someone not into antiques.

Any other little-known delightful village/town in Lincs? Thanks.

JudyC; if your spending some time in Lincs I might also suggest:-
Woodhall Spa: The poet Sir John Betjeman described Woodhall Spa as an "unexpected Bournemouth-like settlement in the middle of Lincolnshire". Which rings true but actually Woodhall owes its air of Edwardian gentility more to Barnsley & "King Coal" than the seaside. Apparently it was during the search for coal hereabouts that curative mineral water was discovered.
A prospective coal baron sank a shaft in Woodhall in the vain hope of finding coal to power his new nearby factory. But the only coal brought up from the shaft was the coal which the workmen took down with them in their pockets in order to prolong the project! Before long the 1,000 foot shaft was abandoned and allowed to fill with water.
When he went bankrupt another man took advantage of the situation. The local squire used the water from the shaft to ease his gout, and others in Woodhall found it a useful cure for rheumatism and skin ailments. A pump room and bathhouse were built for the 20 to 30 patients who were visiting daily by 1841.
By Woodhall's Edwardian heyday a golf course, a Teahouse in the Woods and Concert pavilion were added. The pavilion is now a charming and unique cinema - The Kinema In The Woods is one of oldest in the country and quite unlike anywhere else I've ever seen a film other than in India, the teahouse is still open for business, and since 1996 the golf course has been the site of the headquarters of the governing body of English amateur golf. I'm no golfer but it's reckoned to be one of the finest courses in the country and I believe the Women's British Open is played there on occasion. The Spa, sadly is no longer open;It began to decline after the First World War but revived somewhat in 1948, when the new National Health Service gave it a role as a rheumatic centre. In 1983 the spa baths were finally closed after the Well collapsed.
Also in Woodhall is Waterloo Wood, planted after the battle in 1815 by Colonel Richard Elmhirst and set off by a bust of Wellington on a stone obelisk; and the Dambusters' Memorial to the men of 617 Squadron who dropped the Bouncing Bombs on German dams in 1943 and whose officers' mess was in the Petwood Hotel.
More to follow (I bet you can hardly wait!)...
Dr D.

I just this Friday past returned from a week based in Tetford, near Lincoln. Although it was a group holiday of about 30+ friends from university days, we did get out and do some sightseeing.

Will try and remember to add brief notes on what we enjoyed to this thread shortly.

Dr D.,Many thanks for the story about Woodhall Spa. Just checked the map, I think I could easily visit the place from Lincoln.

Lincolnshire and Essex are the only two areas I have never visited in England. My mistake.

Looking forward to more suggestions.

Kavey,would love to hear your visit of Tetford.

Hello everybody. In reply to a few of the posts, Woodhall Spa is about a half hour drive from Lincoln. The two pubs rickmav is referring to are the Wig & Mitre and the Ye Olde Crowne and the reason the Cathedral is always covered in scaffolding is because traffic pollution is deteriorating the stonework so the Cathedral is constantly being restored. One last point that might be of interest is Steep Hill is actually a man made hill that was built by the Romans. I live in Lincoln so we had to learn it's history when I was at school.

Well, here's what I remember - I didn't keep a journal as we weren't on that kind of holiday.

There were about 20 of us in one house - that's Pine Lodge in Tetford: http://www.pinelodge-tetford.com/ and 5 in the other house - The Garth: http://www.littlelondoncottages.co.uk/garth.htm - actually a lower number than usual now I think about it.

Pine Lodge is a lovely property BUT most of the rooms are not large and the soundproofing between rooms is apalling. There are parts of the building which seem to have been added on with the sole intention of providing maximum rooms (and hence maximum rental income) and these are the ones with no (aural) privacy. The doors are also somewhat dodgy resulting in having to pull the darn things shut with a slam. That aside the house is great - a truly lovely pool and sauna, fantastic gardens, a lovely main kitchen and two secondary ones, a pool room, a dining room and two living rooms.

The Garth is heavenly - an adorable size and full of mod cons and all in 70s style - architecturally and furnishings wise. Not the lurid side of the 70s but the subtle side. Beautiful.

Tetford is a tiny place but well situated.

Went to Horncastle a few times as it was the nearest for supermarket shopping with two right in the centre. A pretty town to wonder around with two particularly excellent second hand book stores as well as some other interesting little shops and a few nice places for lunch.

Lincoln was one of my favourite places - the shops here are classy and fun to browse - the cathedral is magnificent (though charges £4 if you want to enter more than the initial entrance area, unless you are there for a service) and those who went into the castle said it was also interesting to visit. Lots and lots of eating options and very picturesque.

Mablethorpe beach is beautiful, unspoilt and empty at this time of year even in good weather. We loved it.

Skegness is the epitome of bad taste - full of amusement arcades and cheap food places absolutely lining the coast and has more "mobile" caravan holiday camps than I have ever seen in my life. That said there were memories of childhood in the candy floss, cockles and excellent fish and chips and it was worth half a day. Roller coaster visitors were not disappointed but certainly not blown away either.

Boston church is more like a cathedral and well worth visiting - and much less intimidating than Lincoln Cathedral. Also free. However shops surrounding it are standard high street stores for locals and certainly of very limited tourist interest.

We also stopped at a local Ostrich farm on the way back from Boston to Tetford, driving past some wonderful drainage canal-like waterways. The farm sells ostrich steaks and burgers as well as eggs, fresh and also blown through.

We didn't go out for dinner though we had a catered dinner one night in the lodge.

I think that about covers my touring...

Hope it's of help.

Kavey,Many thanks for the note,it really helps to shape up my visit.

You're welcome...