Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England and shares borders with Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire, as well as England’s smallest county of Rutland. In addition it also has England’s shortest county boundary, with just 20 yards of land joining Lincolnshire to Northamptonshire. It is the second largest county after North Yorkshire and, although it has been divided into nine separate districts, the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire encompasses the land from the Wash to the River Humber.

Largely rural in character, with several notably excepted areas, and extraordinarily flat and low-lying (apart from Lincolnshire Wolds), Lincolnshire’s economy for centuries has relied on agriculture, and there are many picturesque market towns and villages dotted around the county. However the region has also played its part in other areas of industry; for example, the area around Scunthorpe was mined in small amounts for iron ore during the Roman occupation of Britain, but from the 1850s onwards the town became prolific in the production of iron and steel. Further, Grimsby is one of the county’s busiest ports, as well as being one of the UK’s major centres for sea fishing while Gainsborough quickly grew into a key town for boiler making. Then there is the port of Boston which became important during the 17th century as English immigrants made their way to the New World. It is Lincolnshire’s county town, Lincoln, that is perhaps the most frequently visited place in Lincolnshire, and it has been the hub of the local economy for centuries. Of course, the impressive Lincoln Cathedral dominates the town’s skyline and tourism focus, fitting in well with the attractive and traditional nature of the rest of the destination.

There is evidence of pre-historic habitation of the area around Lincoln, but most historians believe that the city’s origins date from the Iron Age when it was known as ‘Lindun’. In Roman times a settlement and garrison for soldiers was set up here not long after the Roman invasion of the British Isles, and was given the name ‘Lindum Colonia’, indicating that it was a major town. The famous Fosse Way linked the town with Exeter, via Bath and the Cotswolds, but it was under the Normans that two of Lincoln’s best loved landmarks were built: the magnificent castle is remarkably well preserved to this day, while the gothic cathedral is one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Northern Europe.