I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and enjoyed their time however they spent it. We hosted my husband’s family which meant Christmas dinner for 11 and I’m now putting my feet up and relaxing as I type this with a glass of wine.

For my last post of 2021, I’m going to wrap up the Christmas trips I’ve taken during the festive period. After my operation, I had all of November laid up in bed recovering, and then in December I was able to get out and about at around 50% of normality again. From the new year I go back to work, so I was really grateful to manage a few days out in December. I was booked to go to Hamburg which would have been amazing, but Omicron put paid to that so the final trip I took pre-Christmas was to Lincoln, England.

I’ve visited and written about Lincoln before – you can see my post of what to do there HERE (including a Castle, Cathedral, Victorian prison and even the Magna Carta), but on this return visit it was all about getting festive.

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The best Christmas spots in Lincoln

A. Lincoln Castle

Lincoln Castle was originally built in the 11th century by William the Conqueror, and its main draw is the wall walk which is one of the best preserved in the country. On this Christmas visit, it was super misty so the famous views out to the Cathedral were very blurry and murky, unlike the crisp clear views I had on my previous visit (post HERE). Regardless, the Castle’s light trail is often voted one of the most beautiful in the country and it’s easy to see why!

The light trail runs through the middle of the castle at ground level, along a path lined with lit up Christmas trees, finishing with a light arch which pumps out fake snow every 10 minutes. The big kid in me loved it. It then continues with a climb up some steps to get to the wall. The trail is lit in fairy lights and purple strobe lights, making for a striking effect in the night sky.

B. Lincoln Cathedral

You can see Lincoln Cathedral from the Castle, but it’s worth going in it to see the magnificence of its architecture and enjoy the internal Christmas decorations – stunning traditional big trees.

C. Steep Hill

Lincoln Castle and Cathedral are at the top of aptly named, Steep Hill. On the hill are lots of gorgeous shops, cobbled streets and pretty views. There are a number of tea shops on the way up, serving mulled wine, mince pies, afternoon teas and lots of other festive treats. We particularly liked The Bookstop Cafe and Bells Tea Shop.

We also chose to eat both lunch and dinner around the Steep Hill area (yes, I know we did a lot of eating and drinking for just a one night stay!), and both Cafe Zoot and Thailand No.1 were delicious!

D. High Street and Shopping area

The main shopping area of Lincoln lies at the bottom of Steep Hill, and it has more of the modern high street shops (though not as much character!). It also has a nice waterfront which is good for a little stroll. Over the Christmas period, there is even a tiki bar which pops up called Thors, serving mulled wine and alcoholic hot chocolates, perfect for a little stop off!

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Getting to Lincoln

Getting to Lincoln is fairly straightforward. There is a direct train from London King’s Cross which takes just over 2 hours, or you could drive direct from the capital in about 3 hours.

It’s also easily accessible from other major cities by train such as Nottingham (1 hour), Sheffield (1.5 hours) Manchester (2 hours), Leeds (2 hours) and Cambridge (3 hours), meaning it’s a really great weekend break or overnight stay option in England to see somewhere a bit less touristy, but just as beautiful.

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Where to stay in Lincoln

We chose to stay in a really central hotel – The Castle Hotel – because it was within walking distance to everywhere we visited. It was a good place to stay and not too expensive either, so I highly recommend it if you’re looking to stay in the city. I don’t think you really need more than 1 night to see all that Lincoln has to offer, so it’s easily do-able as a little mini break.

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What do you think of my festive jaunt to Lincoln? As I’d been before to do most of the things there are to do in the city (post HERE), this visit was more about getting festive and relaxing – which meant enjoying the Castle light tour, doing a bit of shopping and eating and drinking lots. It was a good way to switch off and as my final post of 2021, all that’s left to say is – Happy New Year everyone!