Lincoln

West Norman frontage of Lincoln Cathedral

Lincoln Cathedral

Frieze above north west door

Sanctuary

South West window

Top of the Streap

Looking from the castle to the cathedral

Lincoln is the largest UK city that I have never visited. Its position halfway down England on a flat plain never inspired me to make the effort. I even turned down a trial to play county cricket for Lincolnshire in the Minor Counties league after graduation. Aileen had bought a car online and by chance, it required it to be picked up in Lincoln so there was an excuse to visit. The journey to Lincoln after a weekend in London was remarkably cheap at £17 once we had figured out to buy two separate tickets: London to Newark and then Newark to Lincoln. The direct fare bought from the online "cheap rail ticket" sites would have cost £47 but that's what happens when you split rail travel across 26 companies and let the corporate ticket touts enter the fray to (mis)sell tickets.  Station booking staff are far more willing to give the passenger a better deal and they seem equally dismissive of all the ticketing scams.

We arrived at Lincoln in the early afternoon on a cold but sunny winter's day. We walked up the pedestrianised High Street that continued and became the Strait and then Steep Hill to the ridge on which the massive 11th-century cathedral and castle are built. Several locals commented on the fact we were dragging suitcases up the hill, it was a pretty sharp incline making me wish that I had brought a rucksack. The castle was closed following the weekend's Christmas market with over 300 stalls in and around the castle. The market had been a roaring success but the throngs of visitors were described as having to walk like penguins along the narrow streets.

Town Map

Our mission was simple, dump our bags and spend time visiting the cathedral, once the highest building in the world and responsible for the largest diocese in England, established by William the Conqueror in 1072, stretching from the Humber to the Thames. Built on the Lincolnshire ridge at 250 feet, it looms over the vast flat plains of Lincolnshire and was described by John Ruskin as "the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles". It has suffered a number of calamities from earthquakes, and collapse from poor construction and today, like almost every other large church or cathedral, is undergoing a massive restoration.

It was the scale that impressed us and the fact that one of the four copies of the Magna Carta is held in the cathedral, although at the time of our visit, this was on loan to the Lincoln Center in Washington DC.  The Magna Carta with its message that all free men could not be held or imprisoned without being judged by their equals and that "the King was not to deny, delay or sell justice" were radical concessions by King John to quell the uprising of the barons. Whilst there have been claims that this was the precursor to civil liberties, it applied primarily to the barons and did not extend to the common people.

Magna Carta

We tramped up and down the steep hill several times and discovered that it had been voted the best shopping street in Britain. It was interesting but not that remarkable and the High Street was cluttered with the usual offerings. Brayford Pool and the river Witham provided a linear water feature through the heart of the city and there was an impressive collection of civic buildings.

Apart from its location in the midst of a rich agricultural area, the town is also home to Siemens and has benefitted from a new University which has acquired a good reputation for business studies in its short 20-year life. The outskirts of the city are an ugly addition to a fine city centre and have extended too far into the flat plains, the area is a melange of car showrooms, warehouses and modern housing. As we left the next morning the roads out of Lincoln were at capacity and even the 10 miles on the A46 to the A1 north took a good half hour amidst heavy commercial traffic.

So that's Lincoln crossed off the visit list although I could be tempted back if only to see the cathedral again and visit the castle. I would like to think that the surrounding countryside would be a palette of Lincoln Green in summer but I suspect that yellow fields of rape seed and a smattering of commercial buildings with grey roofs amidst blocks of tarmac would flank the historic city.