Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaargh (Lincoln Ghost Walk)

Member Name: funagogo

Product:	Lincoln Ghost Walk
Date:	08/08/07 (1529 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Informative, funny, get to see the sights

Disadvantages: No ghosts! 7pm is quite an early start

I am a born and bred yellowbelly (ie from Lincoln) and have done all the touristy things on copious amounts of schools trips. There is the Cathedral, the castle and all the old cobbled areas that date back to Roman times.

I have often heard stories, and seen programmes about how haunted Lincoln is, so one night after a considerable amount of alcohol, myself and a group of girls decided to give the ghost walk a go.

The walk takes place every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 7pm and cost £4 (or £2 for under 12s) for a 90 minute walk around the most haunted parts of Lincoln.

For those of you who don't know Lincoln, the high street meanders from the modern area to a cobbled area called the bail, which is full of old fashioned shops. This is accessible from the High Street from Steep Hill, but be warned this name is not a joke - its not wheelchair, high heel or drunk friendly. You can also access this by road following the signs for the castle/cathedral. At the top of this are is a cobbled square - to the left is a castle, built in 1216 and to the right is the Cathedral, where they filmed the Da Vinci code. Also on the square are the Tourist Information Centre and The White Hart Hotel.

Luckily the walk starts directly in between a pub and the cathedral, so if it is cold you can wait in there. We arrived to find an eccentric lady stood in a long black cloak with wild grey hair, and weren't sure about what we were letting ourself in for.

She began by explaining why she does the walks, apparently she found a ghost in an old house she bought and decided to research further into Lincoln's paranormal activity.

So we set off on our walk which took us up to the castle, down to Brown's Pie Shop (which is well worth a visit on its own), up to the Cathedral and round to Greestone steps. This for me was my favourite bit. Personally I have never been around this part of Lincoln before, but it leads from the Cathedral to the Usher Art Gallery - home of some Lowry paintings.

These steps are home to at least 3 ghosts and the rolling head of a king that knocks peoples feet from under them. Including Tom Hanks' bodyguard when they went on the walk. This place was also a great place for a photo opportunity as strange happenings tend to show up in photographs, and according to stories people tend to vanish from pictures. If this happens you are not welcome within Lincoln City walls!

From this point you are taken around the back of the cathedral and back round to the White Hart hotel. This is another places frequented by ghost hunters as there is a room in the hotel where several people have killed themselves. That is something to bear in mind if you are staying there! Especially as one of them allegedly has half his face burnt off.

Even though this does not sound like 90 minutes worth, the amount of information and stories you are provided with is enough to make the time fly. As I said at the start of the review I am from Lincoln and the amount of historical information I was given blew me away.

So, did I see any ghosts? In a word, No. But on my photo of the steps when I got home were two massive red light balls, which are apparently orbs of paranormal activity. According to the guide children are more likely to see actual ghosts, but this could be because they have wilder imaginations.

I would advise if you are going to do this do it in the winter as it adds to the atmosphere being dark and seeing your breath. If you have no interest in paranormal activity or think it is a joke, go along anyway. For the sake of £4 you will learn more about the history of the city than any guide book, plus there are some funny tales in there too.

Do take a camera with you just in case something does happen - you will be able to sell the pictures to the papers. Also the cathedral is incredible at night so if you are a tourist, it will definitely be worth a look.

If you have been on the walk before, the guide does a different route on a Thursday night, and if you do the walk on Halloween watch out for ghostly figures jumping out on you!

Website:
http://www.lincolnhistorywalks.co.uk/

Phone Number:
01522 874 056

Email:
spookygreen@ntlworld.com

Summary: A good night out