Lincoln

After a quick walk to the nearby shop for a newspaper, Mike called at the station to see if he could find out any more about which trains run from Saxilby, he returned to the boat and we were away in good time. Overnight it had rained heavily but the morning run down to Lincoln was rather pleasant.

Burton Waters Marina Entrance

Although the Fossdyke is generally very straight, it was not dull. Shortly after passing the entrance to Burton Waters Marina, one of the few places on the Fossdyke for mooring boats, we came around a corner to face a rather wide beam boat coming the other direction. Passing was rather easier than the photo suggests.

Soon we had our first glimpse of Lincoln Cathedral - clearly standing on the top of the only high ground in the locality.

The run in to the city itself has a long line of moored boats - of a rather wide variety of styles!

As soon as the navigation reaches the city centre it widens out into the large Brayford Pool - sadly the extensive new entertainment developments alongside seem to have resulted in visitor mooring being abolished leaving only the boatyard moorings on the opposite side, close to the University of Lincoln buildings.

Glory Hole

The exit from Brayford Pool, however, is very narrow with flood gates and the channel almost immediately leads to the famous Glory Hole bridge above which is the main shopping street in the city centre

On the other side we found good visitor moorings, although at first we could not see how to escape through the strong barrier which lines the waters edge. Across the navigation stands a large and impressive modern sculpture.

Steep Hill

We moored and set off to explore, mainly heading to the cathedral at the top of the hill. One of the narrow streets leading up to our destination is called Steep Hill, somewhat appropriately. However, this name was only given to it in the nineteenth century having been called Micklegate before that.

Cathedral Facade

Although there is an entry charge (which often puts us off going into cathedrals) we decided to visit and it was indeed very worthwhile. Rather than give a detailed commentary, the pictures will stand for themselves. Several points perhaps are worth noting:

Nave from West End entrance

Choir

Firstly, unlike some other old cathedrals, Lincoln felt much more coherent and not cluttered with too many Victorian additions.

Chapter House

Secondly, there was a surprising number of school parties - including one that were trying out what it was like to listen to a speaker in the Chapter House.

Forest Stations

Thirdly, a remarkable set of Stations of the Cross, made in wood and inlay by William Fairbank and called the Forest Stations.

The body of Jesus is held by his mother

Dean's Eye

Fourthly, the stained glass round windows - the Dean's Eye has been completely restored at a cost of £2 million and fifteen years of work, ending in 2005. In general, the stained glass is spectacular and we were fortunate that the sun was shining through some of them when we arrived.

Cathedral Cloisters

After leaving the cathedral we took a quick glance at the castle but, as it was now well past lunch time, we left that for another day. As we walked back down the old streets a sudden and very heavy shower of rain arrived, with everyone scuttling for cover, umbrellas or waterproofs, It soon cleared enough to carry on and we returned to the boat for lunch.

Afterwards we went in search of some food items - never straightforward in a city centre and the Central Market was a bit of a disappointment. Finally, Mike was allowed a quick diversion to Julian Graves for treats!

Stamp End Lock

Shortly after leaving we arrived at Stamp End Lock, noted for its guillotine gate at the upper end - on the Nene and Ouse two years ago, almost all such gates were at the bottom of locks.

Just as we were about to leave the lock very heavy rain arrived and stayed with us most of the rest of the run to Bardney lock. At one stage the clouds were so black that a couple of claps of thunder and a lightning streak added to the drama.

At one point it was almost impossible to navigate and Mike tried to bring the boat alongside whilst he sheltered but the wind and river flow quickly turned the boat around and so he had to go back out into the rain!

It was raining too hard to take a picture of the cow sculptures mentioned in the Richlow guide but a little later we did see an unlisted corn sculpture - seemingly in the middle of nowhere!

Our neighbour on Bardney Visitor Mooring

There are few places to moor along this navigation and we were heading hopefully to Bardney Lock (to give us a fighting chance of reaching Boston tomorrow - after all, said Christine, having come this far we might as well get there!) Fortunately there was plenty of space at the Bardney Visitor Moorings - pontoons to cope with fluctuating levels of the managed water system.