Wolds Diary: A new adventure into Lincolnshire

IT’s been a week of contrasts. I have revelled in the chance to stay at home and do necessary things, even the dreaded housework, but I’ve also explored a bit.
Lincoln Cathedral.Lincoln Cathedral.
Lincoln Cathedral.

My washing machine was still leaking so again I called the mechanic and he fixed it. I’d been concerned by an over active overflow pipe and asked my wonderful local plumber to sort it. To do this I had to venture into my loft and clear a space to allow access to the water tanks.

My lodger helped as I sorted out fleeces, bags of bits of ties, spare bedding and eventually we cleared access to the tanks. This needed a trip to our local tip and I even cleared a lot of unwanted bits and pieces from the garden. I decided that there was a distinct need for some boarding for the loft and so I bought some from our local builders’ merchants. They’re always so friendly and helpful there and even loaded up my car for me. After my plumber had fixed the problem we set to and boarded a lot of the loft.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I also managed to find a worthy home for a lot of the cones and spools of wool that I’m unlikely to use in the next 10 years. I know a group of Christians who regularly send such items to Romania where the poor people there are in dire need of warmth and are very grateful and have machines to knit such wool into blankets and warm clothes.

I’m in touch with some dealers in second hand ties and there are certain ties that I can’t use and these I have sent in exchange for those that I can. All this clearing out has been very therapeutic!

My young lodger very kindly assembled a flat pack spinning wheel I had purchased a while ago and then I started to teach him to spin. I can only say that he picked it up much faster than I did years ago and is already rather good at it. This activity required me to hunt for something from the flat pack which meant a thorough tidy of the living room, shed and study before I located it in my needlework box.

I decided I needed to get out and explore somewhere new. Together with my lodger I set off for Lincoln, a city I have never visited before. Someone told me once that Lincolnshire was flat, not in Lincoln it isn’t.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I really enjoyed the trip over the Humber Bridge and then drove down the A15 and was delighted with a village called Spittle-in-the-Street which had some fine buildings. I found Lincoln to be a well signposted and easy city to access.

Having parked and investigated the markets and charity shops we started heading uphill towards the cathedral and castle. It was quite a pull but well worth it.

The cathedral is magnificent. The view is stunning and the whole area a pleasure to visit. We walked round the outside of the building and I was charmed by the variety of gargoyles and the wonderful stonework. Inside is certainly impressive and very large, made to seem more so by there being no chairs or pews in the knave.

During the day I went into lots of shops and there were some good vintage and antique shops but most of them were very expensive. I rather liked the people we met and will return to the city to see more.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We took a slightly different route on the way back and I was somewhat intrigued to see a sign by the road advertising “Husband Daycare Centre”. Then it was back over the bridge and home, having had an exciting and interesting day.

On the Thursday I went for a course at a hotel on the A90 at Fulford. It was a well appointed old building with pleasant staff which made the day very agreeable and the tutor was excellent. I certainly learned a great deal and met some fascinating people from all over Yorkshire and was back home by 5pm.

The dogs have had some good walks this week. It was very windy one day and I set off thinking how pleasant it was on the tops of the Wolds and had gone some way before returning. Then I turned round and headed into the wind. This was not so easy and I really had to work very hard to retrace my steps. Even the dogs were tired by the time we made it back to the car and once home it was a very quiet evening as they slept off their exhaustion.