What to do, eat and drink if you are passing through Lincoln
It was a sunny Monday in May and we’d taken a ‘leisure drive’ out to Lincoln to mooch and lunch. As you well know, Monday is not the most auspicious day to get a brace of high quality restaurants opening for your business, but we thought we’d give it a whirl.
I’d been to Lincoln before, for the very festive Christmas Market, but so long ago it was practically a ‘Victorian’ Christmas and consequently had no idea of my bearings. It seemed the sensible option to park by the waterfront and work our way towards the cathedral along the central thoroughfare for shops, restaurants and the fabled quaintness.
Brayford waterfront is home to the University of Lincoln and the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre. It has a whole heap of chain restaurants and bars with the opportunity for alfresco dining if the weather is good. Like many towns, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting if you pitch up here, something solidly familiar and highly unadventurous, but it does have the advantage of a view over Brayford Pool giving the experience a twist.
Chains aren’t really my bag, so a stroll along the waterfront and up onto the High Street sets you in the right direction for the main draw to Lincoln, Steep Hill, independent shops and the gothic architecture of the cathedral.
Steep Hill is the fourth steepest street in England, just pipping the renowned Gold Hill in Dorset, featured in the Hovis Bread advert, by 0.03 of a degree. It’s a cobbled delight but definitely hard work on the thighs and you’ll be glad to take a couple of breaks to enjoy the views or browse in the shop windows. There’s a lovely range of books, vintage and food to tempt you as you ascend.
At the top of Steep Hill, you’ll find the historic highlights: Lincoln Castle and Lincoln Cathedral. Lincoln Cathedral was the tallest building in the world at the time it was completed in 1311 and for the following 200 years. It’s an imposing sight even now. The cathedral’s main claims to fame are owning one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta, currently housed in the Castle, and having a memorial to Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Lincolnshire born romantic poet, Poet Laureate between 1850 and 1892 and most famous for his poems The Lady of Shalott, Charge of the Light Brigade and Ulysses). There are tours of the cathedral available daily except Sundays, including access to the medieval library, tower and rooftop. Just outside is the pretty Dean’s Green, a peaceful garden haven to sit and contemplate quietly. Or in my case, inspect all the colourful flowerbeds while polishing off an ice-cream.
Lincoln Castle is similarly ancient and imposing, dating back to William the Conqueror over a thousand years ago, its walls encircling the site of many burials and executions, where thousands would have come to view the gruesome spectacles. It is now used, like many castles, for concerts, medieval shows and other family events. You’ll need a ticket, but once inside there are free guided tours of the prisons and other grisly pieces of history. It was closed to the public on our visit and we could have wandered the walls for free, a circumference of a third of a mile, taking in the towers and dungeons along the way. We, however, opted to follow our noses to the speciality food shops.
First port of call was Redhill Farm Shop, supplying award-winning pork products, cheeses and some tasty chutneys, quickly followed by the Lincoln Eco Pantry directly opposite which has a range of products for sustainable living, not just tasty eco-friendly snacks. A sit-down and coffee stop was required, and being a sunflower with my head eternally straining towards the sun, we secured two seats down a side road, outside Grayz tea shop to worship old Helios for a moment or two. It felt quite hard to find a suitable outdoor cafe spot, perhaps something Lincoln is lacking – or just hidden from us at this end of town. The inherent problem with being new to town is that the locals sometimes keep their best secrets to themselves.
We’re always truffling for tasty tidbits to eat, so our journey continued towards the enticing Cheese Society on St Martin’s Lane. We were unlucky and only managed to push our faces up against the window as it’s closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Such a pity, it looked delicious – and on a subsequent visit this was proven true, when we managed to gather a hamper full of treats including slabs of Colston Bassett, Lincolnshire Poacher, crunchy flatbreads and swathes of piccalilli. There’s a cafe serving raclette, souffles, charcuterie boards and more. A cheese lover’s paradise, it’s definitely a place to pick up gifts for your ‘turophile’ friends (no, I didn’t know the word for a cheese-lover either) and maybe a subscription for yourself. On this Monday, however, we were to be denied one of the all time greats of mountain food.
In fact, it was the beginning of a hangry episode that was difficult to quell. Finding that the Cheese Society was shut, we then began an endless trudge up and down Bailgate, looking for a suitable outdoor lunch spot. Or just a lunch spot. There was a mediocre looking pub, the much better looking Duke William Hotel (which we liked the look of, but foolishly chose not to eat in because we wanted an outdoor table), a too brightly-lit cafe and a Greggs. Where did people eat around here on a Monday, were people fasting after the weekend, what was wrong with them? Weren’t they hungry, damn it?
I don’t know about you, but when I get those blood sugar dips, I can’t even think straight, let alone make a calm and rational decision about lunch. Hell, I was nearly all over a Greggs sausage roll, and the stoical Pablo had to pick up the pieces and make a quick choice for both of us otherwise I was potentially going to lay on the cobbled street crying and thrashing my legs about stroppily, like a toddler.
He chose Craft which is a multi-floor cafe bar that cranks up in the evening with live music and cocktails. They have a huge patio beer garden, which was lively for a Monday lunchtime. The menu is pretty straightforward in terms of burgers, pizzas and light bites, but definitely tasty and a saviour after my crash and burn on the street outside. It was a pleasant pit-stop but nothing exceptional. If we were just having a drink, he would have preferred the Strait and Narrow a few doors down, which is a bottle shop and bar with an extensive range of craft beer, it looked inviting. And if we weren’t driving, it would have certainly made our visit list.
Descending back into the shabbier end of town, past all the mobile phone shops, we discovered a riverside path leading to the Lincoln Central Market, which is a fabulous listed building housing a really drab market. Thankfully, the city council have taken this in hand and are currently renovating it to the tune of £8m – let’s hope their plans to develop it into a destination venue work. The building definitely deserves more than the sorry looking fruit and veg we found on visiting.
Further on from this is the Cornhill Quarter, which is a joyful area to stroll around. It has the historic Corn Exchange at its heart, built in 1879, and all the surrounding shop frontages have been painstakingly restored from extensive historical research or early photographic evidence.
Cornhill has an extensive range of familiar high street brands, restaurants and a cinema. Even if you aren’t that interested in chain shopping, it’s definitely worth a visit for the buildings alone. Superb.
With that, we found ourselves back at Brayford Pool and ready to head home, suitably fed after an averted crisis and with a few artisan chutneys in hand. A few hours well spent for an architecture fanatic. The quaintness quotient was definitely high in pockets of the city.
First impressions: A tale of two halves, the superbly cobbled Steep Hill and imposing cathedral versus the decidedly shabby High Street and underwhelming Central Market. If you’re a history buff, you’ll enjoy the quaint buildings and imagine yourself in a Sunday night period drama; if you’re with the family, I’d suggest just coming for the Christmas Markets if you can bear the crowds, there might not be enough to hold younger ones’ attention.
Eat: Suggestions welcome – we certainly didn’t find the high watermark on a Monday lunchtime
Drink: The Strait and Narrow , 29-31 The Strait, Lincoln LN2 1JD
Shop: The Cheese Society, 1 St Martin’s Ln, Lincoln LN2 1HY
See: Lincoln Cathedral, Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PX