Lincoln

The city is small but the cathedral is absolutely outstanding and the castle opposite is also splendid - it has one of the four (?) original Magna Cartas and great views of the cathedral from the walls.

One key thing to remember about Lincoln is that it’s divided into uphill and downhill Lincoln, by a very steep hill that’s fun to walk down but not up and is too steep for vehicles, although there’s a bus that takes a roundabout route: https://lincolnbus.co.uk/special-services/walk-and-ride

Uphill is where the cathedral and castle are, plus some quirky restaurants and shops, and Steep Hill itself is lined by some extremely old attractive buildings. Once you get downhill, it’s a functional workaday small city with a university & chain shops & chain restaurants. Most hotels are in the downhill Brayford Pool area, a nice waterfront area.

But I would always prefer to stay uphill by the cathedral - the Lincoln Hotel immediately opposite the cathedral is pretty nice.

It’s certainly worth one night and it’s underrated on this forum. The previous post has summarised it well. There are some interesting old buildings such as The Guildhall. The modern element is just an average high street.

The Steep street (called Steep Hill for obvious reasons) is really quite steep - complete with handrails.

The new city isn't much - the old city is fabulous.

We recently spent two nights in Lincoln this May. We stayed uphill at The Rest, perhaps a 5 or 10 minute walk from the cathedral. The nearby TI was helpful. We had a car ( driving up to the hotel and then to its parking lot a block away was almost like a Disney ride ). Do not underestimate “Steep”....they know from whence they speak. One day was more than sufficient for us; we spent the second day driving to see Burghley House and walk around Stamford. The Rest is a modern hotel and offered an excellent breakfast. We had a minor issue with a train ticket and the young woman at the desk was very kind and helpful.

I enjoyed a day and night in Lincoln a few years ago and also found the tourist info office helpful. I used the public bus between train station and TI, then a short taxi ride from there to the B&B they found for me.

Thanks for the feedback guys and mentioning Stamford area as well! We're doing a bit of genealogical exploring too as my wife's relatives moved from Ireland to Lincoln in the 1820's before venturing to USA in the 1840's.

Google maps "walking the streets" was helpful as well - both hotel mentions look spot on.

Lincoln is a very nice place to visit. We spent 2 nights there. It has an excellent cathedral. The Magna Carta is displayed in a new museum made for its 800th anniversary. (Check to make sure it’s going to be there when you visit). We also enjoyed the castle and Victorian Prison and we visited an agricultural museum. We stayed uphill.

Hi from Wisconsin,

By the way. Lincoln is two words in one. Like smog (smoke and fog). Lindum Colonia, a Roman settlement. Means something like Lake Colony.

wayne iNWI

Many place names are mangled Latin. The new inhabitants couldn't speak Latin and just said what they thought they heard.
Chester, or anywhere with "chester" in the name was a Roman fort. Londinium lost a syllable in the dark ages.

"Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium" is a good name (Claudia Agrippi's colony), named after the wife of a Roman Emperor.. The former city gate with the inscription 'CCAA' is in the city museum. Today it is shortened to "Köln" or "Cologne".