This week I am blogging about my visit to Lincoln, which included food, a reunion and steep walks up cobbled streets and hills!
Last Saturday Derek and I travelled just under 160 miles to Lincoln. The reason? There was a Police Dog Handlers Reunion at The Pride Hotel, and Derek wanted to meet some of the men and women from past times and have a ‘chat about the good old days’.
We stopped on the way in a place called Thrussington. I must admit I had never heard of this pretty village, with a pub called The Star, built in 1774, which has an excellent reputation for food and drink. After a super lunch, which consisted of local sausages, runner beans, mash and onion gravy for Derek and homemade salmon and prawn fishcakes with a delicious salad for me, we carried on with our journey to Lincoln.
We had arranged to meet a couple that Derek had befriended on FB to take us to The Pride Hotel for the evening party. Mick and Sue were so friendly and welcoming. It turns out that Sue works in Exmouth as a District Nurse.
The party involved plenty of reminiscing from the dog handlers, and the women chatted about anything and everything. A buffet was served, and a video wall showed many dogs performing their duties from years ago.
A very late night left us with little sleep. Sunday dawned foggy and, after a good breakfast with Sue and Mick, we said our farewells and set off to the centre of Lincoln to see the magnificent cathedral. The fog lifted by 10.30 am and the sun shone. Parking was easy to find in the centre of town.
A Look Around Lincoln
This video gives a good idea of what visitors can expect to see around Lincoln city centre, including the Cathedral, Castle and historic streets.
After a leisurely walk along flat streets looking at old buildings and shop window displays, we saw the signs pointing to the Cathedral.
It is on the top of a VERY STEEP hill. We began our ascent, up and up and up and up………. Rail handles let people stop for a breather.
The cobbled paths made the walking quite difficult in places. Steep Hill really does live up to its name and links the city centre with Lincoln’s historic Cathedral Quarter. By the time we reached the top, we both agreed that the calories from breakfast had been burned off quite significantly! Then disaster struck whilst eating breakfast at a cafe that shall forever remain nameless: Derek’s tooth cracked. Finding a dentist on a rainy Thursday lunchtime was a nightmare till we found Dr Katalin at Castle Dental. She was amazing and fixed the tooth in under 25 minutes; we cannot thank you enough. Their website is here.
Walking Around Historic Lincoln
This narrated walking tour includes Steep Hill, Lincoln Castle, the Cathedral Quarter, High Street and many of the historic buildings we saw during our visit.
Turning the corner, and there was the Cathedral in all its glory. The bells were ringing for a Sunday service, so we could not go inside. We stopped and admired the magnificence of the building work from all those years ago. If you are planning a visit, you can check the latest opening information on the Lincoln Cathedral website.
Inside Lincoln Cathedral
We didn’t manage to go inside on our visit, but this video gives a fascinating look around Lincoln Cathedral, including its interior, history and tower.
Opposite the Cathedral is Lincoln Castle, and there were many people dressed in plus fours and riding vintage motorcycles. They were taking part in a charity run to raise funds for Prostate Cancer. Some gleaming machines were parked up for people to admire and only guess at the value of these motorbikes.
After a welcome pot of tea and a further look around, we began our journey back to Hereford. All in all, a great way to spend a couple of days.
Have a good week everyone, see you next Saturday!