After breakfast we walked down Steep Hill in order to join the 10.30 guided tour of Lincoln’s Stonebow and Guild Hall which has been the meeting place of the City Council since Medieval times. We arrived early so we spent a few minutes in Waterstones where I perused the board game section.

When it was time to join the tour, we returned to the Guild Hall where a few minutes later we were greeted by Richard, who, because as we were the only two, treated Mr C and I to a personal guided tour.

The tour and talk covered the council chambers, the history of Lincoln, the Mayors and Sheriffs of Lincoln and the basement where all the city’s ceremonial regalia and other treasures are stored. We learned about ceremonial swords versus swords used in combat and the orientation of the markings on the hilt.

One of the swords in the collection is the actual sword used by King Henry VIII (Henry Tudor) at the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487. He presented it to the city in an attempt to secure the loyalty of Lincoln’s aldermen and with them the city.

The mace in the collection is from the time of Charles I and is unusual because it is unaltered. Most such maces had their Royal markings removed by Cromwell’s government during the period of Commonwealth.

In this room we were also shown various charters and seals presented to Lincoln by different monarchs over the years. This almost made up for the missing magna carta.

As we walked round the building, we noticed a photograph of a more recent Royal visit which also pictured Richard in his ceremonial hat. We recognised seeing him it the day before as part of the Freedom Parade.

The tour was excellent, I would recommend it to anyone interested in history.

After the tour we returned to Waterstones to finish browsing the board game section before visiting another local independent board game shop. We were specifically looking for games that accommodate 6 players or more but these are few and far between. We left empty handed but by now Mr C was on a mission and there was just one more board game shop in Lincoln. This turned out to be further away than he thought and when we arrived it turned out to stock mostly miniature figures for war and fantasy games rather than board games. Our route to the shop took us past the 16th century St Mary’s conduit which supplied drinking water to Lincoln until 1906.

The owner chatted to us and it turned out he was originally from Walsall and we started reminiscing how that area including Birmingham had changed over the years. When we had finished chatting it was time for lunch. Suitable lunch options were a bit sparse in the lower town so we returned to Madame Waffle before embarking on the walk ‘up’ Steep Hill.

Mr C stopped to enjoy the model shop and I continued walking up the hill. I paused at the bottom of the steepest part of the hill and a passing lady stopped to ask me if I was alright. I was, but how lovely of her to stop and ask.

Back in the cultural quarter we visited the Museum of Lincolnshire Life where I was captivated by the same displays, I enjoyed on my previous visit in 2016. We then sought out a nearby secret garden, the John Dawber Garden, which on arrival we realised we had visited before when we stayed in the adjacent Charlotte Hotel.

We made our way back to Cathedral View stopping for drink at the Lion and Snake on the way. The weather was lovely so we were able to enjoy it sitting outside in the sunshine. Back at the B&B I was challenged to another game of 7 Wonders Duel and just to be consistent I lost again…

We dined in Thailand No. 1. We found it to have a warm and vibrant atmosphere and delicious food. We returned to the Lion and Snake (next door) for a night cap before returning our billet for the evening.

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.

This was our rescheduled trip to Lincoln after we had to cut short our Easter trip due to mum being ill. We chose the dates to coincide with our wedding anniversary.

We set off early enough to reach the Daisy Made Ice Cream and Coffee shop in time for lunch. We know from previous visits that it is good and, on the plus side, it is located just outside Lincoln.

After lunch, a ten-minute journey and we were parked at the back of Cathedral View, the B&B we were staying in for the next few days. We made a quick phone call to let the proprietor know we had parked the car and were about to set off into town when a lady who was servicing the rooms noticed we had arrived. Although it was too early for us to check into our room we were given the keys in advance.

Admin sorted, we walked the short distance to Lincoln Cathedral. When we stepped inside, we were enveloped by the peace and quiet within. The atmosphere was calming and we spent some time exploring the various spaces within. I was reminded why I was drawn to Lincoln for the Easter service, which, unfortunately, despite best laid plans, I was unable to attend on my first trip to Lincoln this year. The Cathedral is currently hosting the ‘Table for the Nation’, a 13-metre-long table made from a 5000-year-old fossilised oak tree trunk.

We took advantage of Lincon Cathedral café where I enjoyed a refreshing Elderflower drink accompanied by a slice of Cherry Bakewell traybake. Suitably refreshed I spent time in the Cathedral shop where I purchased books on the cathedral, the oak table and the Forest Stations artworks that are displayed in the nave of the Cathedral.
Next, we spent a short time walking around the Cathedral quarter calling in at the Visitor Information Centre to purchase ‘Lincoln – A Walking Guide’ so that we could locate some historical places of interest that we hadn’t previously seen.

It was now time for us to check into our room, unpack and chill out before a pre-dinner drink in the Wig & Mitre which is located next to Brown’s Pie Shop where we dined. The food was every bit as good as I remembered it from our first visit of the year. The waitresses were lovely and we were able to have a banter and giggle with them.

We had a nightcap in the Wig & Mitre before retiring to Cathedral View and the cosy bed inviting us for a good night’s sleep.

G. K. Chesterton

The Stations of the Cross refers to a series of images depicting Jesus on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers.  The stations grew out of imitations of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is believed to be the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary.  The object of the stations is to help the Christian faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ.

In the words of William Fairbank “The forest stations are dedicated to beings of the world for whom timber plays an integral part in their lives” and it was William’s love of timber and the attraction of the timeless nature of the subject that brought him to complete the fifteen sculptures which tell the story of the traditional account of Jesus death, depicting each stage, or station, along the road to the place of crucifixion. The images are formed within the natural and carved shapes and colours of different timbers.  The Forest Stations are on semi permanent display within the Nave of Lincoln Cathedral

Vijali Hamilton