225km (140 miles) N of London; 151km (94 miles) NW of Cambridge; 132km (82 miles) SE of York

The ancient city of Lincoln was the site of a Bronze Age settlement, and later, in the 3rd century, one of four provincial capitals of Roman Britain. In the Middle Ages, it was the center of Lindsey, a famous Anglo-Saxon kingdom. After the Norman Conquest, it grew increasingly important, known for its cathedral and castle. Its merchants grew rich by shipping wool directly to Flanders.

Much of the past remains in Lincoln today to delight visitors who wander past half-timbered Tudor houses, the Norman castle, and the towering Lincoln Cathedral. Medieval streets climbing the hillsides and cobblestones re-create the past. Lincoln, unlike other East Midlands towns such as Nottingham and Leicester, maintains somewhat of a country-town atmosphere. But it also extends welcoming arms to tourists, the mainstay of its economy.