The hotel breakfast was nice, although it was served in an unusual way. The toast was served stacked on the plate with the breakfast rather than in a toast rack. After breakfast it wasn’t time for the castle gate to open so we walked around ‘The Lawns’ which was formerly a lunatic asylum.

When the gate was open we entered the castle to look at the Poppies Wave both from the ground and the wall walk. On my way to see the poppies at ground level I saw a mother duck and her cute ducklings sitting at eye level on a wall. By the time I got back from looking at the poppies the mother duck and some of the ducklings were on the ground below the wall. Four ducklings however were running frantically backwards and forwards on the top of the wall squeaking loudly whilst mum waited patiently. A Lincoln Castle grounds attendant gentle herded the ducklings along the wall towards mum, when all but one wildly jumped off the wall to join the others. The last one eventually launched itself off the wall landing on its back needing a little assistance to right itself. For a few moments it looked like it was wounded, but all of a sudden it joined the back of the line of ducklings following mum.

After this excitement we climbed the stairs to the castle walls where we enjoyed views of Lincoln and the Poppies Wave from above. When we had finished at the castle we walked to the nearby museum of Lincolnshire Life stopping for a cup of tea along the way. The museum had some interesting exhibits, including life size models of men fighting on top of WW1 trenches and a WW1 infantry tank Mark 4. When we had finished looking around the museum we made our way to the Cathedral Cloisters for lunch.

After lunch we ventured down to the low town area intending to find the arboretum but decided that it was to far in the time we had available. Instead we browsed around an arts and crafts shop where they had a large collection of colour art pencils. I was almost tempted but Mr C had bought me some for our anniversary so I thought I would wait until another occasion before getting any more. We walked back to the hotel through the Temple Gardens which were enjoyable in the sunshine.

For our evening meal we dined in the White Hart Hotel which we had enjoyed on our previous visit to Lincoln. The food was nice but the service was rather disappointing. Sherry was served in a tumbler and the wine list disappeared meaning the starter arrived before the wine was ordered. The wine list was requested for a second time and the head waitress quickly sorted out our requirement. The staff were not in a hurry to engage in conversation with us and we are not in a hurry to return which is a shame because we had excellent service on our previous visit. To finish the evening off we called in at the Wig and Mitre before returning to the hotel.

We set off on our journey on time and the traffic was mostly kind to us. As usual when it was time for lunch there was a dearth of places to stop off for lunch. We eventually came across a farm shop just outside Lincoln where they had a nice selection of sandwiches. After lunch we made our way into Lincoln and headed for our hotel (The Old Palace). There was a last minute bit of confusion and no sign post highlighting the whereabouts of the hotel. We eventually found the hotel tucked away through an archway. Luckily the room had just become available when we arrived. This meant we were able to check in and take our cases up to the luxurious room with window seats and a view of Lincoln Cathedral.

As we were leaving the hotel in order to explore Lincoln a member of the hotel staff said hello to us as we were trying to find the exit.  He told us about the garden room where breakfast is served and also about St Hugh’s Chapel which is attached to the hotel. The chapel was built in the Victorian era as a private place of worship for the Bishop of Lincoln. The hotel itself was formerly Bishops palace and part of the building is still in use (as offices) by the current Bishop.

As we set off the weather took a turn for the worse and it started to drizzle with rain which lasted for the rest of the day. This had the effect of making the stone on the Cathedral look rather drab and grey and the turrets were partially hidden in mist. We walked around the castle area and browsed in a couple of bookshops before visiting a tea shop for afternoon tea. I was tempted to have a slice of Lemon Easter Cake which was topped with chocolate mini eggs. The waitress service was a bit chaotic but the cake was delicious Afterwards we made our way back towards the hotel to freshen up before dinner. Along the way we stopped off to visit the Cathedral in between the Good Friday services. On entering the Cathedral I was struck by its immense size!

We dined in The White Hart Hotel and by the time we had finished our meal it had stopped raining so I didn’t need my umbrella as we walked to a nearby pub for a nightcap before returning to the hotel for the evening.