I love a good Christmas market.
Boo and I have visited them in Budapest, Prague, Lisbon, Birmingham, Ljubljana, and more.
Hopping on a quick flight to Europe has allowed us to see a lot of beautiful European countries as well as get some unique little gifts.
This year I stayed a lot closer to home and went to Lincoln with my friend Sheila to explore the wonderful old town which was transformed into a Wintery wonderland.
The event takes place over several days at the beginning of December and features lots of stalls, food vendors, entertainment and of course, Santa.
It took around 2 hours from my home to drive to Lincoln. The directions were very straight-forward and gave a postcode for the park-n-ride location.
Parking is something of a premium in the City as it is an ancient locale, with lots of tiny, cobbled streets and I imagine, not a lot of parking.
The Park-n-ride was brilliantly set up; you could pre-pay for a slightly cheaper amount and this covered per car. All the occupants of that car could then get the free bus into the City centre.
On Friday the parking/bus was £14 and there were three buses waiting at the stop to take people in. There were even special minibuses for people with mobility issues and their equipment.
I have to say that as I was using a walking roller frame, I was pretty impressed by this!
Anyway, I got onto the normal double-decker bus and the journey into the centre took less than ten minutes. It stopped right by a section that had been blocked off into a pedestrianised area.
Sheila and I took a slow walk into the main area and were faced with stunning views of Lincoln Castle, surrounded by wooden cabins.
There was a huge variety of items on offer; cheese, beer, baubles, hand-made crafts, fudge, gloves, sheepskin products and some beautiful nutcrackers.
Sheila and I bimbled about looking at all the stalls before making one or two select purchases.
One thing we did notice was that there were a lot of ‘security’ staff about.
Now, when I say security, not all of those were big burly blokes designed to keep out trouble. There were staff just there to assist, give directions and join in the festive fun.
It did give a feeling of safety and security which continued throughout the whole day.
When we arrived at the perimeter of the Castle, it was quite a large slope up into it. I decided to ask a guard if there were stalls and things to do IF I braved the slope.
I didn’t want to exude all that energy to find an empty expanse of castle!
He happily told us that there were many more stalls in the Castle, so we opted to go there first.
I was so pleased that we had, as the whole of the inside of the Castle was filled with stalls whilst Festive music was being played over large speakers.
Behind the Castle was Lincoln Cathedral and we made our way over to have a look inside.
I have to say, it is a beautiful edifice and the inside isn’t a disappointment either.
Glorious stained glass, brass plates in the ancient stone floor and even a dedicated alter for the Emergency Service; Fire, Ambulance, Police and the NHS which I thought was a beautiful touch.
I lit a candle, as I always do and we then opted to go back outside and hit some more stalls.
Sheila and I had decided to try and find a pub or restaurant where we could sit down properly and rest whilst sharing a meal.
Walking down an area called Steep Hill, we spotted a pie shop called Browns and enquired if there was a table for two.
It was going to be about 30 minutes so we booked it, and wandered down Steep Hill. I say wandered. Sheila did, I sat on the walker and watched the World go by.
We eventually popped back to Browns and were welcomed into a tiny, old fashioned restaurant which was absolutely packed.
The aroma of the food was amazing and we both started salivating over the menu which consisted of several different pies and sausage rolls.
Sheila and I both opted for the Xmas pie; a Turkey and cranberry pot pie with a puff pastry lid, served with mashed potato, stuffing, pig in blanket and seasonal vegetables.
I upgraded my mash to horseradish mash and added some bone marrow gravy to the order.
When the plates arrived I was blown away by the size of the pie. A huge ceramic dish was topped with a high puff pastry lid, and the all the trimmings were added on the side.
It was absolutely glorious!
Even though we were both full, as we were at a Christmas market and had a Christmas pie, we had to have Christmas pudding for dessert.
Oh and I am so glad that we did. Made in house, it was light, delicious and flavoursome without feeling like a brick sitting in your tummy.
We were both suitably stuffed and decided to have a little walk around whilst there was still a little bit of daylight left.
The Castle ramparts were going to be all lit up after sunset and you could take a walk around them. I would have loved to do this, however my knee was starting to give me some serious discomfort.
We headed back into the main area of the market and came across a marquee filled with crafts and then a large area filled with numerous food stalls; sweets, German sausage, cakes, mulled wine, pizza and more.
I have to admit that I didn’t even have room for a chocolate covered raisin, so we only looked but didn’t taste.
The lights were all illuminated and it was as pretty as a picture. We headed past the funfair towards a beautifully lit building and made a final perusal of stalls before heading back towards the bus which would transport us back to the car park.
It was a fantastic day and certainly one of the nicest Christmas markets I have been to. Add the superb pie shop and the whole day was a complete winner.
Certainly I plan on a return visit, for the pies alone!
Till next time,
SPSG xxx