Days out in Lincolnshire
There’s certainly a great choice of attractions and activities for days out in Lincolnshire, whatever you want to do. Alongside Lincoln’s capital city and county town, other towns, including Grantham, Boston, Scunthorpe, and Grimsby, offer plenty of culture, history, and heritage. Lincolnshire’s popular seaside resorts all add to the holiday excitement!
Lincoln has plenty in the way of history, starting with its beautiful cathedral. In the heart of the city, this medieval, gothic-style building, apparently once the tallest in the world, is well worth visiting – keep an eye out for the Lincoln Imp. Nearby Lincoln Castle lets you explore the walls, towers, and dungeons of the Norman ruins as well as giving you the chance to see the Magna Carta – one of only four surviving originals. Don’t miss the picturesque cobbled streets of Steep Hill, with its boutique independent shops.
In Boston, you can visit the 5-sail Maud Foster Windmill to see one of England’s largest working windmills together with the historic landmark of St. Botolph’s church, otherwise known as the Boston Stump, famed for its riverside location and 80m tower and fabulous views across the town. The Bubblecar Museum just outside the town centre in Langrick will transport you back to the 50s and 60s with its collection of British microcars - yeah baby!
In Woolsthorpe by Colsterworth near Grantham, you can visit Woolsthorpe Manor, the birthplace and home of Sir Isaac Newton, and see the actual apple tree which led to his theory of gravity. Head to Louth to see various markers of the Greenwich Meridian Line around the town - the official ‘vertical equator’, where east meets west.
Grimsby pays tribute to its rich fishing history with the Fishing Heritage Centre. Whilst you’re there, look out for the Italian-style 300ft Dock Tower landmark - you really can’t miss it. Of course, Skegness, Cleethorpes, and Mablethorpe all offer miles of golden beaches with piers and plenty of seaside fun.
If you want to get away from it all, there’s plenty to explore in Lincolnshire’s own area of outstanding natural beauty, the Lincolnshire Wolds. Dotted with traditional market towns, the likes of Alford, Caister, and Horncastle make for a great place in which to spend some time. There’s a host of Wolds walks of different lengths, some fantastic cycle routes, and plenty of horseriding trials.
Belton House
Belton House has a 17th-century landscape park of 270 hectares with later 18th-century additions, and 19th-century ornamental gardens of four hectares.
Grimsthorpe Castle
Grimsthorpe Castle has a landscape park developed from a forest that was first recorded in the Domesday book in 1086. The forest was transformed into a landscape park in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Castle is set on a ridge running from north-west to south-east through the site, giving views to east and west.
Topography, geology, and climate
Lincolnshire features a wonderful mix of open countryside with rolling hills and low-lying fens alongside a natural coastline. Combined, it gives Lincolnshire a diverse landscape that provides a range of different land qualities and soil types.
The west of the county is predominantly made up of seasonally wet, base-rich loam and clay with smaller areas of high acid, wet sand and loam soils. The central area features lime-rich soils over chalk or limestone with lime-rich loam featuring more heavily in the north and south. Eastern Lincolnshire features similar soils, particularly the lime-rich soils over chalk or limestone with lime-rich loam across the Wolds. The eastern coastal flats of loam and clay are naturally wet and reach considerably inland.
Lincolnshire’s weather can vary due to its easterly position on the coast and mix of high and low-lying land. The county often enjoys warmer temperatures in the summer with a fairly mild climate, averaging around 20ºC (68ºF). Winters can also be milder with sea temperatures reducing heavier frosts and temperatures average at a little over 2ºC (35ºF). Rainfall across the county is also variable and averages around 675mm (27”) though can be more across the higher ground of the Wolds.
Lincolnshire’s parks and gardens
With a good mix of formal and informal gardens, Lincolnshire has plenty of fine gardens to enjoy. Sitting on their own or within the grounds of historic buildings or stately homes, each offers a relaxed and inspiring day out for gardeners, horticulturalists, and families.
- North Lincolnshire
Goltho Gardens near Market Rasen is a family-run garden covering 4.5 acres. Once just a ploughed, open field, this hidden gem has been transformed and now features an enviable collection of well-tended areas including a kitchen garden, prairie garden, wildflower meadow, and beautiful rose garden.
Near Scunthorpe, Normanby Hall Country Park is a 300-acre countryside oasis of extended parkland with herds of red deer and a large fishing lake, extensive woodland with many mature specimens and nature trails, a sunken garden, and an award-winning Victorian Walled Garden with glasshouses of exotic and sub-tropical plants and a range of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The Walled Garden in Baumber near Horncastle is an exciting garden that’s been completely remodelled from its former derelict state. Excellent bed and border planting schemes make for a delightful bee-friendly habitat to explore, alongside a lake and lawns with plenty of seating areas.
Just north of Lincoln near Saxby, Brightwater Gardens is a beautiful mix of formal and natural gardens with stunning countryside surroundings. Covering a healthy 8-acres, these gardens feature woodland and naturalistic wildflower meadows alongside well-tended terraces and garden rooms with a beautiful mix of plants including salvias, peonies, hyacinths, and agapanthus.
- South Lincolnshire
Dating back to the 17th-century, Gunby Hall near Skegness is a wonderful country house with fantastic Victorian walled gardens to enjoy together with a wider estate. Featuring different garden rooms across 8 acres, Gunby has plenty to enjoy across every season including stunning displays of roses, wide herbaceous borders with unusual plantings, and an extensive kitchen garden.
Burghley House near Stamford is an Italian-styled Tudor mansion with gardens and wider parkland largely designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. Includes the exquisite Garden of Surprises with the lavender-lined water feature and the formerly lost Sculpture Garden with sweeping borders with plenty of diverse plants and pathways leading you through wildflower areas into the parkland with lake and specimen trees.
In Bourne, Grimsthorpe Castle is a magnificent, 800-year-old estate offering 3,000 acres of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown-designed gardens and sweeping parkland. With stunning formal lawns and clipped topiary, a long, colourful herbaceous border and Yew hedge provides views to the parkland lake, in addition to a stunning formal rose parterre and a kitchen walled garden.
The Petwood Hotel Gardens in Woodhall Spa are a sight for the senses. Designed by landscape designer, Harold Peto, alongside well-kept, manicured lawns and elegant planting schemes, spring and summer come alive with colour and scent. The highlight is the restored Long Walk pathway, with its herbaceous borders providing amazing colour for up to 8 months of the year. Expect to see excellent displays of roses, sidalcea, salvia, asters, peonies, euphorbia and much more.