Lincoln; Saturday, 23 October, 2021

I had an early breakfast before heading out of the hotel and over to the bus station where I picked up the bus out to the South Lincolnshire town of Tattershall. The journey took just over an hour and ran through some very pretty Lincolnshire countryside

The castle in Tattershall was always important locally, but after the civil war fell into ruin. As with many of the castles of Britain it would have been just another ruin in the landscape if it wasn’t for the furore that occurred around the removal of the castles fireplaces and subsequent sale and shipping out to America. It was seen as an act of cultural vandalism and campaigns, lead by Lord Curzon who brought the castle site, were started to return the fireplaces and restore the castle.

With the castle restoration well underway Lord Curzon then spearheaded campaigns through parliament for better protection for the ancient monuments of the county, which eventually lead to the creation of the modern system of Scheduled Ancient Monuments and from it Historic England and English Heritage – which is all the more ironic given the castle is in the care of National Trust.

The fabric of the castle was restored to empty rooms on the lower floors, but perhaps a little bit of Disneyfication (before even the concept of Disney existed) with the roof with a set of battlements and crenelations that may not have existed originally on the castle, but from the top they do offer stunning views across the countryside, which even on a dull day included being able to see Lincoln Cathedral some 18 miles away.

After looking round the castle and a quick wonder around the village centre I headed back to the market place to pick up the bus back into Lincoln. Back in Lincoln I walked the short distance from the Bus station to the train station and, after a quick lunch, hopped onto a train to Gainsborough.

Gainsborough is located in the North Western corner of Lincolnshire, on the border with Yorkshire, and on the banks of the River Trent. At one time it was an important inland port – reputedly the most inland port in England at nearly 55 miles from the mouth of the River Trent. Today little comes this far up the river and the town has instead just become a quiet market town.

But the history of the wealth of the town is on show in the Old Hall – with the first buildings being erected by the 14th Century and houses one of the best examples of a medieval kitchen in the country.

After looking round the Old Hall I managed to time it right so that I could catch the bus back into Lincoln from the bus station that was a 5 minute walk from the Old Hall, rather than having to slog the 30 minutes back to the Railway station on the edge of town.

Back in Lincoln I hopped off the bus near the hotel and popped in to freshen up before heading back out to the station to head over to Newark for the evening to meet up with friends for dinner.