We both grew up in the small city of Lincoln and it will always have a special place in our hearts. It was first colonised by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago and you can still spot some ruins around the old town. It is slowly turning into a university town which has helped its night life, but below are the five top historic things to do in Lincoln town.
Cathedral
This is the only reason our small town is officially a city and it’s gorgeous! Any child growing up in Lincoln will have visited this place as part of many many school trips. It was first built in 1092, scary to think it has been around for nearly 1000 years! It’s well worth a visit and try and spot the Lincoln Imp (the official city mascot) sitting high up in one of the eves.
Roman Ruins
Dotted throughout the old upper hill part of lincoln are reminders of who established the town – the romans (plus the very straight roads leading to the city). The best places to go are
- Old city gates, especially the east gate,
- Newport arch
- Lower West Gate
If you would like to see more Roman artifacts there are plenty on display at the Usher Art gallery (free entry)
Museum of Lincolnshire Life
This is a great insight to the life of the locals and it has free entry. It is housed in Victorian barracks built in 1957, it has a working Victorian kitchen and printing press along with other important relics dating back to 1750 to the present day from around Lincolnshire.
And if you have time head to the Ellis Windmill (just behind the museum) it is the sole survivour of 9 mills built in the 18th Century on mill lane and it is still in full working order, even producing flour on windy days!
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| Lincoln Castle cc: Lincolnian (Brian) |
Castle
The castle you can visit today was built in the 11th Century on the same site the Roman’s chose over 1000 years earlier. The whole castle is still in pretty good shape and you can walk around most of it’s ramparts which gives you great views of the Cathedral, just a stones throw away. It is home to one of the four remaining magna cartas and a Victorian prison, which is well worth a visit and gives a great insight into their prison system.
Interesting fact: The castle is also home to Lincoln Crown Court which still hold sessions to this day
Christmas Market
This is only on for four days at the beginning of December, but if you can make it – I would really advise you to go. It was established in 1982 with just 12 stalls but it has now ballooned to over 250 and is the biggest Christmas market (by size) in the UK. Now the first half of the market is within the castle, it then takes over the lawns and closes down three streets in the bail gate. It’s great to pick up some unique Christmas gifts, a lot locally hand made within the Lincolnshire area.
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