Getaway: Lincolnshire
Charlotte and Al Smith explore the historic sites and gorgeous landscapes of Lincolnshire
WHEN A FRIEND invited us to camp on his nature reserve last year, it sounded like fun, so husband Al and I set off for the glorious Lincolnshire countryside.
Our first port of call after pitching the van (A) was Gibraltar Point, a fantastic nature reserve with a new visitor centre, café and shop. You can enjoy views across wetlands and walks to the beach, and see plenty of wading birds, butterflies and other wildlife, and in season, gorgeous wildflowers.
We saw a fox chomping on something in the reed beds. Al surmised they were snails, because we could hear they were crunchy!
After lunch we continued on to Skegness, to see its long sandy beaches and fun-packed seafront. There are donkey rides in the peak season, a big fairground with rollercoasters and thrill rides, a pier and lots of amusement arcades. We strolled along the promenade, taking in the impressive views.
Lincoln Castle
The first castle on this site was a classic motte and bailey construction for William the Conqueror in 1068. It had a wooden keep and a temporary fence was erected as the outer wall. Later that century, the wooden buildings and fencing were replaced by the Lucy Tower and stone walls, which you can still see today (B, C). Other buildings were added between the 12th and 19th centuries.
Walk around the castle walls today and you can learn a little of its long, sometimes rather gruesome, history. For example, the last public hanging here, in 1859, was met by a mixture of excitement and disgust, and after that date, executions took place inside the castle walls, away from prying eyes.
The route along the walls shows you where prisoners were held, where public executions took place, and where private executions were later carried out.
There’s an exhibition about the Magna Carta, a copy of which is on show, and the Victorian Prison (D) in the grounds is also fascinating. You can dress as a prisoner, lie on the beds, and try some of the activities that occupied the inmates – knitting, laundry, rugmaking, and oakum picking (teasing out fibres from old rope, used for caulking ships).
Grimsthorpe Castle
The next day, we went to see Grimsthorpe Castle. This magnificent residence was built in stages, with the main tower constructed in the 13th century as a fortress, and the rest added in Tudor times. It’s been home to the de Eresby family since 1516.
The gardens are just glorious, with walks through parkland and around the lake. We joined a guided tour to see the house, which began in the Great Hall, where life-size portraits of monarchs have been painted directly onto the walls. The rooms here reflect the mix of eras, from medieval to Tudor to early 20th-century design.
Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre
Formerly a key Bomber Command airfield in the 1940s, Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre is apparently the only place in Britain offering visitors a ‘taxy ride’ experience in an RAF Avro Lancaster bomber – this is a ‘tail down’ or ground-based trip.
The ride costs £350; we opted to visit the museum, a more affordable £8.50.
Inside the main hangar is the Lancaster and a Dakota, alongside other military and vintage vehicles. There’s a huge collection of wreckage from crashed aircraft, with
stories about the aircrew. Some exhibits relate to the famous Dambusters raid, including a bouncing bomb and recorded interviews with servicemen. Display cases house a selection of aircraft memorabilia, from radios to tins of food and clothing.
Outside are rows of Nissen huts, which were used as barracks for serving officers. One was a briefing room, where military strategy would be relayed to the crews. The control tower is recreated with mannequins in uniform on duty at the radios, typewriters and specialist equipment. There’s a chapel too – a memorial to the fallen.
The Home Guard exhibition displays aspects of civilian life during wartime, such as gas masks, children dressed for evacuation, Land Girls and air-raid shelters.
A scene of a bombed city, with light and sound effects, aims to bring the Blitz to life, and as you walk through the exhibits, you can also see a 1940s living room.
Tattershall Castle
Our next stop, Tattershall Castle, dates back to the 15th century. It’s not furnished, so you need to use your imagination to envisage the daily life of the castle’s inhabitants, but the informative audio guide helps.
You can explore the servants’ basement and the Great Hall, which served as a communal space and trading place. The fascinating story of the castle is also told on film.
A spiral staircase leads up the main tower. In the grand dining hall they held feasts, weddings and other celebrations. It would have been laid out with two long oak tables – imagine the dining room at Hogwarts – with tapestries covering the walls and food brought up from the kitchens. Sadly today, it’s just a shell, but it must have been quite fabulous in its heyday.
At the top of the castle is an open roof. The original roof was destroyed, leaving the castle exposed to the elements, so when Lord Curzon stepped in to save the building in 1911, he had a new roof put on. The rooftop now offers great views across the surrounding village and countryside.
‘Sir Isaac Newton was a rubbish farmer, and lost the sheep he was charged with protecting. His mind was on bigger things, like the cosmos’
Woolsthorpe Manor
Woolsthorpe Manor, the birthplace and childhood home of Sir Isaac Newton, is a charming house near Grantham.
One of the first things we learnt on arrival was that little Isaac was a bit strange! He was a rubbish farmer. He lost the sheep he was charged with protecting, and took a horse into town, then forgot to bring it home. Apparently, his mind was always on bigger things, like the cosmos.
He was fascinated by the big questions, but the widely accepted answers were not acceptable to him. He asked his mother why things always fell down, not up or sideways, and she said it was because God made them that way. But Isaac didn’t rest until, inspired
by an apple falling from a tree in his garden, he devised the theory of gravity.
In the Discovery Centre here, you can test this and other theories. Philosophers used to say heavier balls would fall more quickly than lighter ones of the same size. But they don’t. You can investigate this with a raised platform and a series of coloured balls of different weights.
Newton also observed the colours of the white light spectrum, showing that it is actually made from coloured rays, which are made visible by a crystal prism. The accepted explanation of the day was that crystal prisms had magical powers, which changed white light into various colours.
Gunby Hall
We returned to the more recent history of the 1940s with a visit to Gunby Hall, a fine country house that once belonged to the Massingberd family. In 1944, it came under threat when the War Ministry wanted to build a runway there.
Field Marshal Sir Archibald MontgomeryMassingberd donated the property to the National Trust that year, together with 1500 acres of land. This saved it from demolition, and secured the future of the house.
The gardens are the best feature, with immaculate flowerbeds and lush vegetable plots. The art gallery here hosts a series of exhibitions. In the house, you see the music room, antechamber, dining room, parlour, study, bedrooms and servants’ quarters.
Bubble Car Museum
On our final day, we went to the Bubble Car Museum, a quirky collection of more than 50 vintage bubble and microcars, none of which I’ve ever seen on the road. They’re all wonderful, but I think my favourites were the Bond Bugs from the 1970s.
You can also see period rooms here, depicting a 1960s lounge and kitchen, and a rather fine collection of toys. Matching picnic cases, a doll’s house and string puppets take you back to the days when things were perhaps a little more simple.
Among all of those classic vehicles you can spot an old wooden caravan, vintage petrol pumps and a workshop with the body of a Peel microcar inside.
There’s a Reliant van, with motorbike steering, and upstairs, a collection of vintage motorcycles and scooters.
Heckington Windmill
After a busy week, we managed to squeeze in one more visit, to Heckington Windmill, which is apparently the world’s only working eight-sailed windmill.
The mill, shop and tea rooms are open to the public from 12-5pm at weekends in the summer. It’s a pity we were visiting on a weekday, but the view was wonderful!
As we said our farewells and packed up the caravan to head for home, we were sad to leave the reserve and all the animals, but we’re keen to return to Lincolnshire another time, so we can experience it all again.