Sunday's spotlight - Lincoln - Part 2

By guest blogger Pete

I mentioned last week that Lincoln is a very beautiful and historic city. I think it more than matches the likes of York or Canterbury and I am far from alone with that opinion. But Lincoln, like the county of Lincolnshire, remains a secret and the number of visitors we get is far, far lower than that achieved by the other two cities I've mentioned.

Next year matters will be even worse. The city fathers - the city council - faced with the present financial crisis have decided to close the two tourist information offices at the end of this year. They reckon that without their closure the Victorian tradition - and extremely large and successful - Christmas four day Market cannot continue. Many of the people in the city are extremely annoyed by the impending closure of the tourist information offices and see this as a serious blow to our tourist image. There is so much to be seen in Lincoln - so much that the average visitor would not be able to discover if left to his or her own resources.

Something NO-ONE who visits Lincoln can ever miss is our wonderful Cathedral. It stands on the summit of a hill and can be seen from anywhere in the city and from quite a few places in the surrounding countryside as well. A stone's throw from the Cathedral is the ancient castle. The square that separates the two has featured in many historical period BBS productions. It was in this square that, many centuries ago, King Stephen stood each morning to shout insults at Catherine, besieged in the castle. King Stephen spent most of his reign fighting usurpers and Catherine was the powerful mother of the main usurper.

Also within easy reach of the city are numerous Roman remains because Lincoln has been in existence for many centuries. I think I mentioned some time ago that a steep hill - known as Steep Hill - separates the two parts of the city. The hill hosts many of the most beautiful dwelling medieval houses in the country. Amongst them is one of the earliest synagogues still in existence. Most of the ancient gateways into the old city still exist along with the remains of the old Roman road and much, much, more.


If you're in the area then don't miss Lincoln. If the city fathers want to make it a secret place then help make it an open secret.

Bye for now.