Cathedral Quarter

Lincoln.

After breakfast we checked out and set off out into another bright, sunny morning. Up the hill, called Steep Hill, through the lovely shops and houses that make up the Cathedral Quarter.
Ever present is the cathedral of course. Chris and I have both considered that this is the biggest cathedral we have been in. It certainly seems it but it is the fourth biggest in England after St Paul’s, Liverpool and York Minster. Quite surprising as we have been in all those.

We were heading for the Mediaeval Bishop’s Palace rather than the cathedral today, the place we went to on our only previous visit to Lincoln with the children where there were lots of bank holiday costumed activities going on like archery. It’s below the cathedral and I had noticed some scaffolding yesterday - yes it was under restoration!
I did at least find some horse chestnuts ( conkers) only found sweet chestnuts in Suffolk where one hit me on the back of the  neck in the woods at Sutton Hoo.

So we took ourselves back up to the castle to walk the walls. A bit breezy up there and a lot of steps initially but it was interesting. The walls encircle a current courthouse and a Victorian prison, the latter can be visited. Also the site of public executions and later private ones complete with a grave yard!

We availed ourselves of a coffee in the prison building when we came down and on the wall was a list of prisoners daily rations.
We opted not to visit the Magna Carta.

It’s been a very interesting visit to Lincoln and has rounded off our trip to SE England very well.

On the motorway in N Lincolnshire and Yorkshire we came through horrendous rain, thankfully it’s back to fine blue skies now we are home which is what we have been lucky to experience on this short break.

Extra - top Steep Hill, Cathedral from our accommodation, Cathedral from the castle walls
bottom Dragon under the walls of  Cobb Tower, place of execution