Lope along to Lovely Lincoln. (Lincoln in General)

Member Name: Lawrencian

Product:	Lincoln in General
Date:	10/07/01 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty to do and see. , A small City with Great Historic buildings., Quiet and peaceful.

Disadvantages: None.

I have said that the city of Rochester, in beautiful Kent is one of the smallest cities in England and that, for that, I love it. Lincoln however is one of England's most beautiful Cathedral cities.

Set on a hill, overlooking the unspoilt Lincolnshire countryside, you can see further than in practically any other county in England. The land is so flat that, the relief of a wooded area containing a few trees, a welcome sight in the area, could almost be called a forest.

The Romans were amongst the first to discover Lincoln. They must have gone north from the town in which I now live, Colchester the old Roman Capital of England. In AD48 they set up a military garrison in Lincoln to watch over the two great highways from North to South and from East to West. Roman Lincoln became one of the finest cities in Europe with, an inland harbour, an aqueduct and a sewerage system that was, at that time, unique in Britain.

I would think that Lincoln Cathedral is one of the finest buildings in Europe. Cologne Cathedral takes some beating but I would think that Lincoln comes a close second. The Normans started to build here in 1072 but the church was rebuilt in the 13th century after damage by fire, and, would you believe an earth tremor. Churches in Colchester suffered from tremors and an earthquake in the 19th century and are probably on the same fault line on the East Coast of England.

Lincoln Cathedral's spire in 1311 was the tallest building in the world. There are many other fine historic buildings to see in Lincoln including Castle which dates from 1068, Roman Newport Arch, 12th century Jews' house on Steep Hill and the 15th century Stonebow and Guildhall.

The 12th century High Bridge over the River Witham in Lincoln is the oldest bridge in Britain still to carry buildings. In Florence you can still see another, the Ponte Vecchio, possibly the only other in Europe.

All of this history is lear
ned memories of a guided tour of this fine city and reads like any other guidebook - I hope to capture some of the personal feeling that it gave me to visit there. Not least of this is the happily busy city of fine shops including the new or fairly new Waterside Shopping Centre. There is, of course, the usual clutch of antique and gift shops to interest the tourists, each one unique in its way. Whilst I was there there was a daily market which took me back to my youth, as you don't see many market towns around today.

There are too many fine hotels and restaurants to mention any in particular and to further enjoy yourself there are a number of beautiful parks, a theatre, an art gallery, and museums. The Museum of Lincolnshire life is particularly interesting. The Tourist Information Centre is suitably housed in a medieval; timber framed building that has the beams blackened and the plaster between painted white, so beloved of the Victorians. I have never felt the same about this type of treatment of a 16th century building since I saw the genuine article in Colchester called Tymperleys which is still maintained with the outer plaster, intact, over the timber frame. The Tourist Centre is located on the corner of Castle Square, directly between the Cathedral and the Castle.

A visit to Lincoln will take the visitor back to an England of about 40 years ago at least that is if you can look past some of the more modern buildings. There is the pace of life, which epitomises this part of Eastern England which you, can discover all the way south from here around the coast of Norfolk. A constant breath of Spring.

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