They Say Lincoln Loves Kids – So We Thought We’d Find Out Why?
Considering a weekend in Lincoln with your kids and wondering what are the best places for kids in Lincoln. Pondering whether there’s enough to occupy them? Well, we’ve tried and tested it! So use the ideas & inspiration from our family visit to help make your next visit to Lincoln as enjoyable as possible (for you and the kids!)
FIND SOME FREEDOM FOR YOUR KIDS TO BURN OFF SOME ENERGY, EXPLORE OR BE INSPIRED AT CASTLE HILL
For those that say Lincolnshire is flat, you’d be right! But perhaps not Lincoln… so with two active girls, we know the importance of finding places to burn off some energy before they head into attractions! So after a decent walk up Steep Hill (aptly named!) and a run around Castle Hill & the Castle Grounds, we headed towards the Cathedral. Pausing to see one of the 2012 Golden Letterboxes where both girls loved reading about Sophie Well’s Paralympic success! A real inspiration!
But for those visiting for a weekend like us. You’d be forgiven for heading straight for the centre of Lincoln… However, there’s so much more to explore in the surrounding area too… So we’ve split up the weekend between historic visits to Lincoln Castle, Cathedral & Prison today… with opportunities to see Museums, Art galleries and the amazing Bransby Horse Centre later
GRAB A GUIDED TOUR OF THE IMMENSE LINCOLN CATHEDRAL…
As with our previous visits to cathedrals, we’ve loved the interaction you can get on a guided tour. Especially if they are as enthusiastic and friendly as our wonderful guide Doreen… Cold stone was brought to life by the beautiful light streaming through the windows… whilst the historical tales of this wonderful Christian Cathedral had the girl’s full attention throughout… It really is a living museum, buzzing with daily life and yet with great historical lessons to learn from… it’s easily as good as Exeter, York & Durham and we’d highly recommend people make a bee-line for it’s charms!!
From learning about the ‘Dole Windows’ where grateful pilgrims were met with either food or sometimes money to the ornate christening font with it’s lid that takes 4 people to lift!… It really does celebrate Lincoln’s christian heritage… whilst the inner church is a masterpiece of design and carving… leading to gasps of amazement from the girls (even though they’ve been lucky enough to walk through Europe’s premier cathedral at Santiago de Compostela, Spain and compare both cathedrals)
We visited early on a Saturday morning in February and we certainly timed it right as the cathedral got busier and busier throughout the morning. So it’s definitely worth kicking off your trip with this visit… The carvings of the green men offer a secular link, whilst the cathedral proudly shows off it’s Norman Heritage (commissioned by William the Conqueror) Whilst it’s truly stunning cathedral stained glass windows match those we’ve seen in Chartres in France. But take your time as there are so many stories across the entire cathedral ranging from the Lincoln Imp, new stone sculptures or old rings linked to Oliver Cromwell..
RUMBLING TUMMIES, HEAD FOR SOME HEARTY LINCOLNSHIRE ‘SOUL FOOD’ FROM THE CHORISTERS CAFE IN THE CATHEDRAL
If your kids are anything like our girls, they need to be fed or you run the risk of tiredness kicking in… Not ideal when visiting a city! So you’d do far worse than to grab some grub in the cathedral’s own restaurant in the Cloisters… the girls loved the quick self service, whilst the cooked food was piping hot and delicious on a cold wintry day – just perfect! There’s even trays of homemade cakes to finish your meal off…
BRAVE STEEP HILL IF YOU DARE?
So whilst your children’s tummies might be full, I’m sure they’d love to follow our girl’s example and run down and up Steep Hill… It’s an easy way to help the digestion process if you don’t get distracted by the small boutique shops that line the way… Thankfully Libby’s purchase of boots earlier this week meant we headed up without too much ‘window shopping’! Those old, misshapen shop fronts just add bundles of character to the cathedral quarter of Lincoln and it’s certainly compares easily with York’s ‘Shambles’
WALK LINCOLN’S CITY WALLS USING THE BRILLIANT GUIDED HISTORY TOUR
Now if you only had time for one thing in Lincoln, we’d recommend this trip… we’ve traveled across Europe for over 460+ days searching out new experiences for the girls to add to our road schooling and adventure seeking.
But this is certainly as good as the famous Dubrovnik City Walls with it’s Game of Thrones link or Segovia in Spain.. But these had no audio guide, whereas this one has a brilliant account England & Lincoln’s history across the ages… The tour takes you past stunning views of the cathedral and castle and the old victorian prison and is perfect for kids/adults alike.. There’s even a vertigo inducing tower to finish the tour!!
Explore a Victorian prison
For those luck enough to fit it all into one day, you’ll probably know that by now your kids were shattered and ready for a break… so we’ll return tomorrow to enjoy the ‘back pack’ tours of Lincoln’s Victorian Prison, So you’ll have to check back here for the dressing up into old victorian prison outfits & the Magna Carta…. But we did finish the day at 4pm with Lottie ringing the bell to signal the end of the day for everyone… fingers crossed the last few stragglers made it out in time!!!
hungry? WHY NOT GRAB A SLICE OF LINCOLNSHIRE FOOD HERITAGE WITH SOME TASTY FISH ‘N’ CHIPS
With tummies rumbling, we wanted the girls to understand the food heritage of this wonderful part of England… much like we’d done in Sarlat in the Dordogne.
And where better in a county that is linked to fishing (Grimsby) or potato production (Fens)… Tasting a national dish that has experienced a recent revolution due to the #OceantoPlate campaign for sustainable fishing across the world.
But we hadn’t anticipated meeting such a wonderful group of people at the award winning ‘Burton Road Old Chippy‘ . The food was fantastic as we enjoyed a healthy seafood platter with 6 different fish types alongside some delicious salads.. This shop recently came second in the prestigious ‘SeaFish National Fish’n’Chip Awards‘ and it’s easy to see why… It was perhaps one of our favourite meals of the entire trip so far… full of flavour, great company from the owner Des & even an ice cream sundae to finish…
We’ll certainly sleep well tonight, but tomorrow sees us return to Lincoln to find out what else this city has in store for us… it’s been an unexpected find from our UK Cities tour and one that has been brilliant for our girls… Lincoln certainly loves kids!!! And hopefully your kids might feel the same about Lincoln!
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