John Edward Cooper’s Notes
Saturday 1 February 2020
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[2020] Trip to Lincoln: visit to Lincoln Castle … Janet and I got a №10 bus into Town from Suggitts Lane (boarded, 07:51). Whenever we have these days out, we leave a more-than-ample margin of time till the connecting service, and visit the loos in Freshney Place… The №53 bus was waiting and boarding when we left Freshney Place (boarded, 08:36).  On arrival in Lincoln, we headed straight for the Wetherspoon pub I’d found on the map the other day, i.e. heading west and taking the first left turn. The reason for doing that, is that we wanted to eat straight away, but most establishments only start serving lunch at midday. The level crossing gates closed just after we turned into that street, so we used the footbridge. I’ve been troubled recently by more-than-usual cardiac arrhythmia, but ascending and descending those steps didn’t seem to affect me adversely. Because I was unfamiliar with that part of Lincoln, and was only vaguely aware of the location, not how far it was away, we began to wonder whether I’d made a mistake; but when we saw The Ritz, we figured that that must be it, and it was. The establishment lived down to our worst expectations of Wetherspoon’s: all vacant tables full of crockery, cups and glasses, and full of uncleaned spills. We went to one table, but found that cool, unwelcome air was blowing from somewhere; went to another: the same. When someone came to clear the clutter, he wasn’t going to wipe the spills and mess from the table, till Janet asked him to. I chose a pepperoni pizza and Janet BBQ chicken (“hunter’s chicken”, it’s often called elsewhere). She went to place the order, but when she came back to say that they didn’t start doing pizzas till 12 o’clock, I’d had enough and wanted to leave. So we potentially had the problem that going to Wetherspoon’s was intended to solve: to get lunch at ca.11am. We retraced our route, then continued straight ahead along the familiar High Street. (I’ve since then discovered that The Ritz is, in fact, in High Street, so I should say, “straight ahead along the familiar part of High Street.”) On the previous occasion, we passed through the Guildhall arch, and found the eating establishments there either unacceptable or heaving with folk. So we turned right and had a look down Saltergate. Or rather Janet did: I was lagging behind “with my tail between my legs”. She suggested we try a pub there: a basic, traditional-looking pub called The Still. The staff were friendly and welcoming.   On the menu, Janet noticed, in the “Grazers” section, “Halloumi fries”. “Would that be enough as a main meal, with a side order of chips?” she asked the server. “I’ll go and ask the chef,” she replied. The chef came, and reckoned that it wouldn’t.  It was only after he’d gone that Janet noticed, in the “Mains” section, that they would do “slices of halloumi, freshly battered in-house. Served with chips, a choice of garden or mushy peas & tartare sauce.” She hadn’t seen that, when she asked, because this menu item was headed “NOT Fish ’n’ Chips”. You’d have thought that the chef would have mentioned it, but he didn’t. Anyway, that’s what she had. I had “Hunter’s Chicken”. I placed the order, and also bought a pint of San Miguel for me and a lemonade with blackcurrant cordial for Janet. She enjoyed hers; my chicken was a bit tough and chewy, as one sometimes finds in pubs. Nevertheless, we decided that this is where we’d come on a subsequent visit.  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 12:10:18 The Still, 18–20 Saltergate, Lincoln  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 12:10:18 (detail) The Still, 18–20 Saltergate, Lincoln From there, we proceeded through the arch, and went to the nearby Caffè Nero, where I had a tolerable americano coffee, and Janet had a hot chocolate, an oat-and-raisin cookie and a lemon-curd muffin.  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 12:36:36 Caffè Nero, 292–293 High St, Lincoln Given my aforementioned concerns about cardiac arrhythmia, I was pleased to note that when we got to the top of Steep Hill I was perhaps not as “puffed” as Janet was.  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 12:47:00 Lincoln Castle  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 12:47:00 (detail) Lincoln Castle: East Gate We bought “concession”, “day” tickets at the Castle Shop in the former Georgian Prison,—   Two tickets issued together in a strip  
One of the individual tickets   Maps of Lincoln Castle and its Victorian Prison —then waited for the 1 o’clock guided tour, expertly done by someone called “Brenda” with a Czech-looking surname on her badge. She took us walking, with information and explanations, within the castle grounds, and briefly out of the West Gate and later the East Gate.  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:16:02 Lincoln Castle: Lucy Tower  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:16:28 Lincoln Castle: Heritage Skills Centre and (background) Court House  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:16:54 Lincoln Castle: Victorian Prison  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:17:16 Lincoln Castle: Victorian and Georgian Prisons  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:19:04 Lincoln Castle: Lucy Tower  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:27:24 Lincoln Castle: Observatory Tower  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:36:58 Lincoln Castle: East Gate, within  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:38:38 Lincoln Castle: East Gate, without  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:49:30 Lincoln Castle: East Gate, guard house with barred upper windows  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:49:42 Lincoln Castle: East Gate, oriel window moved from Sutton Hall  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:51:24 Lincoln Castle: East Gate, within  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 13:55:14 Lincoln Castle: mural corner tower Cobb Hall  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:00:14 Lincoln Castle: West Gate, within  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:02:04 Lincoln Castle: West Gate, without  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:02:12 Lincoln Castle: West Gate and ditch  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:04:40 Lincoln Castle: West Gate and ditch When the guided tour ended, Janet and I went up for a walk around the Medieval Wall. Janet didn’t like the look of the spiral stairs, so used the adjacent lift. (She used the stairs on the way down, though.) There was a very strong, chilling wind blowing.  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:17:54 Lincoln Castle: staircase to the Medieval Wall Walk  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:19:26 Lincoln Castle: staircase to the Medieval Wall Walk  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:20:08 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Lincoln Cathedral  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:20:30 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:21:04 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Georgian Prison  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:21:14 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Court House  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:21:56 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Cobb Hall  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:22:54 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: roof of Cobb Hall; (background) Lincoln Cathedral  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:23:58 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: middle storey of Cobb Hall  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:24:36 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: middle storey of Cobb Hall  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:25:12 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: steps up from the middle storey of Cobb Hall  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:26:52 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Westgate Water Tower  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:27:50 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: (ahead and left) West Gate  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:28:56 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Ellis Mill  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:29:34 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Lincoln Cathedral  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:30:44 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Court House  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:31:34 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:32:54 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:33:42 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Lucy Tower  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:34:22 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Lucy Tower  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:35:06 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Lucy Tower — graves with footstone markers  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:36:02 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Lucy Tower — graves with footstone markers  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:36:26 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Victorian Prison; Lincoln Cathedral; Observatory Tower  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:37:00 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: looking back at Lucy Tower  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:37:40 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Observatory Tower  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:39:02 Medieval Wall Walk, Lincoln Castle: Observatory Tower We only had an hour before our bus would leave Lincoln Bus Station, but we had a quick look around the Victorian Prison.  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:42:38 Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:44:20 Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle: Chapel  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:45:10 Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle: Chapel — cubicle for one prisoner, with a sloping seat making it impossible to relax while seated  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:46:40 Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle: Chapel, viewed from the pulpit  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:48:52 Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:50:14 Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle: warder’s quarters  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:51:06 Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:52:16 Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle: cell I didn’t photograph the “dark cell”, which was like the above one but without any window.  Saturday 1 February 2020 — 14:54:30 Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle We went to the bus station café — Grand Coffee House — where I had a very acceptable double-shot americano, and Janet had a pink Fanta Fruit Twist soda-pop and a couple of ginger biscuits. She asked where there was an ATM, and was pointed to one just on the opposite side of the walkway from the café. This presented me with a bit of trouble. We wanted to withdraw £60 (Casper’s in Grimsby is cash-only), and Janet wanted a printed transaction receipt. But a message came up that one couldn’t be printed, and the card was returned without any money. So I tried again, and this time got the £60. Then we went upstairs in the bus station to use the 20p coin-operated toilets. I was a bit anxious as I was waiting for Janet, because it was almost time for the 15:40 №53 bus to depart (boarded, 15:39).  On arrival at the Riverhead Exchange, we went to the corner shop where luckily they had just one 660ml bottle of San Miguel on the top shelf of the refrigerated display. Thence to Casper’s. I had doner kebab in a pita wrap, with chips and salad. When it came, most of the long, coiled shavings of meat were piled outside the wrap; it was a huge portion. I was able to eat perhaps half of it. Janet had fusilli with chicken pieces in a tomato sauce. She was unable to eat it all. She had dessert, with strawberry ice, ice-cream and cream in a tall conical glass vessel. When we left and crossed the road, a №10 bus was shown as “Due”; and indeed it came a minute or so later (boarded, 18:36).… [2020] |
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