Lincolnshire Holiday

 

Friday 12th July

We started our holiday today driving to Kirton, just below Boston. We settled into our accommodation and decided which days we should go where depending on the weather.

Saturday 13th July

One of our reasons for travelling to Lincolnshire was to see the Boston Stump, better known as St. Botolph church. It is one of England's largest parish churches and has the tallest tower in the country for a parish church. Work on the present church was begun in 1309. 

It was only a short journey from Kirton. The tower could be seen long before we arrived and parked the car. It was easy to find the church as you couldn't miss it. It stood by the side of the River Haven. It looked very majestic, standing so tall and proud, looking down on all around it. 

There was some beautiful stone masonry around the windows and especially above the west door. If we thought the outside looked grand the inside was even better.

The 17th century Cotton pulpit remained after the screens and organ had be broken up and sold. The pulpit was name after John Cotton who later became famous in Boston, Massachusetts.

Among the many stained glass windows was one of John Cotton bidding farewell to a large group of people immigrating from Boston to Massachusetts.

Parts of the roof were decorated with gilding and relief and loads of carvings. One such carving was of the Grim Reaper.

In the choir stalls there were some wonderful carvings and also 62 misericord seats. A misericord seat, or a tip-up seat has a smaller seat on the under side to allow the choir member to rest but still appear to be standing on his feet. 

The carvings show wonder skills and imagination of the medieval wood carvers. There is a mixture of religious and profane themes.

The misericord seats

       Carving at the end of choir pew

After leaving the church we had a wander round the town. It was very busy as it was market day.
The town had plenty of shops, but like most towns it had a vast number of charity shops and shops that had closed down. We had a late lunch and just made it home before the 'heavens opened'.

The Market Square

Sunday 14th July

A lazy day today. We went for a walk around the perimeter of the village. There was a lot of new houses being built which will considerable add to the size of the village. We went to the local pub for lunch. It was interesting to see how many England football fans were already in a celebratory mood for the final of the European cup that evening. Having had lunch we left the pub and the supports to return to our accommodation to watch the men's final at Wimbledon. In the evening we settled down to watch England in the European football final. Unfortunately England lost to a better side.

Monday 15th July.

As the weather was going to be grey and damp today we went to Lincoln to visit the city and the cathedral. We parked on the outskirts of the city and rode in by bus. The cathedral was on the other side of the river, in the old part of the city. There was a long, steep, uphill climb to reach the cathedral. It was a massive building built during the rule of William the Conqueror. The original building was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1185. The central tower collapsed in 1237. It was replaced by 1311 with a tower and topped with a spire making the cathedral 160 meters tall. The central spire fell down in 1548 after a storm and has never been replaced. 

Inside the building felt over powering. There were several chapels around the sides of the main building. There were no pews in the main nave, just a few chairs. The choir were hidden by a screen which was erected in the 1330's for the clergy, their assistants and the choir. the screen was originally brightly painted. 

The font, to the right of the nave was made from marble back in the 12th century. The sides are carved with mythical beasts of good and evil.

The lectern stands on the other side of the choir screen. It is a huge eagle that sits on a globe symbolizing the world. Behind and above the lectern stands the organ with approximately 4000 pipes. It is considered to be one of the finest organs in the country.

After some lunch we walked around the cloisters admiring some of the carved bosses on the roofs.

People travel from all over the world to visit Lincoln cathedral. To me it was overpowering, too stark, devoid of feeling. There was no warmth to the place. It felt too much like a 'show piece'. It is however a part of English history, and a fine piece of architecture and a credit to the craftsmen who built it. 

After leaving the cathedral we made our way back down steep hill browsing in the artisan shops on our way. The cobbled street has a gradient of 16.12. It has been graded as the fourth steepest street in England.

We crossed back into the main part of the city. It seemed light and airy after the visit to the older part of the city. The Empowerment Sculpture, a millennium addition, crosses the River Witham. The sculpture takes its inspiration from the turbines, symbolic of the rich engineering heritage of Lincoln. 

Following the line of the river we headed towards High Bridge. The bridge dates back to the 1160's and is the oldest bridge in the UK. to still have buildings on it. The first building to be built on the bridge, that is now part of Lincoln High Street, was a chapel, dedicated to Thomas Becket - a common occurrence on Medieval English bridges. All that is left from the bridge's original purposes is a short row of black and white timbered shops, dating back to around 1550. The passage underneath is named 'The Glory Hole'.

The city's shopping center had all the usual high street shops, cafe's and charity shops. We wandered around for a while before taking the bus back to the car and then headed for home.

Tuesday 16th July

As today was forecast as another wet day we went to the Lincolnshire aviation heritage center at RAF East Kirby. (This will cover the air part of my Trefoil challenge for this year). It was not a huge place and is based on the Bomber Command. There were plenty of plane parts to view which were displayed in glass cabinets. Many stories were told of the men who flew the bombers. Some made it back while others were killed in action. Work is being carried out on the NX611 Lancaster bomber. It is a ten year project that will cost around £3 million pound. It is at the stage that it can now taxi down the runway. The next big project is to overhaul the wings so it can be flown again. We were fortunate to see the Lancaster as it was brought from the hanger and taxied down the run way. An amazing sight.

On our way home we stopped off at Boston for a late lunch and another visit to the 'Stump'.

Wednesday 17th July

As today was a bright, sunny day we went to visit Frampton Marshes. It is an RSPB site that we haven't visited before. It has been a while since we have been out to do any bird photography. We saw our first ever Spoonbills. There were a group of fifteen on one of the scrapes. Although they were some distance from us we still took some record shots.

There were well over a hundred Black-tailed Godwits on another scrape. We also saw some advocets and a juvenile Shelduck.

I also photographed my first Celti warbler. It was a lovely reserve to walk round and it was good to take photos of birds I hadn't seen before.

Thursday 18th July

Another bright, sunny day and as we weren't far from the coast so we headed to Skegness. Skegness is a traditional seaside town with long sandy beaches and seaside attractions including amusement arcades, food stalls, shops and bingo halls.

The pier, is over a hundred years old and was the fourth longest in the country until a large section was destroyed and swept away during a storm in 1978.

Friday 19th July

Today we headed home. We had a good journey. It was a different kind of holiday for us as we would usually head for somewhere more remote away from the towns and into the countryside or coast. 

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