Cherie's Place

I had a good night’s sleep and was awoken by both the alarm clock and the construction workers refurbishing the White Hart Hotel on the opposite side of the road. I thought that 7am was a little early for such noisy activities to be taking place.

We crossed the courtyard to the breakfast room where we chose a window table. Breakfast was as good as I remembered it and, this time, I was able to relax and enjoy it.

The weather was lovely so we decided to visit Lincoln Castle for the wall walk and to see the Magna Carta and Forest Charter. We were pleasantly surprised to find that there was a cheaper day ticket option that allowed us to experience both of these for a reduced price. However, when we started to buy our tickets, we were disappointed to find out that the Magna Carta had been removed the previous morning and that only a replica was on view so we bought a ticket for the wall walk only. The views over the city and into the castle precinct were well worth the climb up the stairs, the lift being out of order.

After the lofty heights we descended the hill, the long way round, into the lower town where we caught the end of the Freedom Parade which was celebrating the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the 65th anniversary of the granting of the Freedom of the City to RAF Waddington.

Before heading to the Lincolnshire Museum we had lunch in Madame Waffle where I chose cherry bakewell with morello cherries; it was delicious.

We always enjoy the displays in the Lincolnshire Museum but on this occasion, we particularly wanted to see the Roman dodecahedron found nearby during an archaeological dig. It is one of the largest of only 33 dodecahedrons found in the United Kingdom and, despite research, it is not known what the object was used for.

Afterwards, we had time to spare so we returned to the Cathedral in search of the Lincolnshire Imp which I knew was located in the Angel Choir, to the left of the ‘Our Lady of Lincoln’ sculpture. As luck would have it, we arrived just as a tour guide was explaining the area. I was patient and waited until she shone her torch on the little imp and explained why he might have been carved there.

Back in our room we played a board game, 7 Wonders Duel (I lost miserably) before getting ready for our anniversary meal in a restaurant, La Trattoria da Vincenzo located at the bottom of Steep Hill. The food was delicious but the restaurant was lacking in atmosphere.

After dining we embarked on the challenging walk up Steep Hill stopping off at the Wig & Mitre for a nightcap before returning to Castle View for the evening.

Tags: 7 Wonders Duel, 80th Anniversary, D Day, Freedom Parade, La Trattoria da Vincenzo, Lincoln, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Hill, Lincolnshire Imp, Lincolnshire Museum, Madame Waffle, Magna Carta, RAF Waddington, Steep Hill, Vacation