I’m fed up with driving everywhere. I love my car, but this last week I’ve found the journeys tough going. When your eyes are fixed on the road ahead, you miss the scenery and you arrive at your destination exhausted from all the concentration. I love days out, but I wanted to experience a different mode of transport for a change. Enter stage left, LNER, and the opportunity for a day trip to Lincoln on their brand new Azuma high speed train.
London to Lincoln
Lincoln is a beautifully quaint historic city. For anyone spending a few days in London ‘doing the sights’, a day trip to Lincoln from London Kings Cross might just be the tonic you need to step away from all that hustle and bustle for a little while. Lincoln is full of artisan and independent shops … and there’s so many cafes you’ll be lost for choice! What’s more, the train station is right at the bottom of ‘Steep Hill’, the cobbled street that leads you into the picturesque Cathedral Quarter.
LNER’s regular London to Lincoln service takes just two hours direct, making it the perfect destination for a day out. You can book direct using their website or the LNER app. Advance fares start from £28, with Family Return fares of just £79 for up to two adults and four children. Some trains stop at Stevenage, our nearest station, and it is here where we joined our Azuma train last week. The train arrived on time, we quickly found our seats, and I sat back and – for once – let the train take the strain!
LNER’s Azuma Trains
The new fleet of Azuma trains are very modern in their exterior styling – very sleek. They actually use the same technology as the famous Japanese Bullet trains. Inside, the carriages are contemporary and high tech.
We had four seats with a shared table, so we could sit together. Between each of the seats is a pair of 3-pin plug sockets, so you can charge your devices on the go. You must remember to bring a 3-pin USB plug with you, as there are no USB charging sockets. The kids loved this, as it meant they could be online for the entire journey and not talk to us parents!
They quickly realised that the free wifi on board was really good too … Huw and I streamed the Olympics live to our phones. It didn’t glitch out once all the way to Lincoln.
Eat at your Seat
One of the things we were looking forward to trying out was LNER’s new ‘Eat at your Seat’ service. There’s a QR code beside each row of seats, which when scanned, opens the LNER Food and Drink app. This is where you can order and pay for your snacks and drinks, and it will be delivered directly to your seat.
Unfortunately, the service wasn’t operational on either our outward or return journey. We were only a carriage away from the buffet car, so it was a quick walk to get the much-needed coffees. The buffet car was open for the whole journey and the man serving was really friendly. Here you could buy hot and cold sandwiches and snacks, as well as drinks. Locally-sourced produce is used where possible … my sparkling water was from Harrogate.
Cleanliness
The train was very clean. Well, it’s very new of course, but LNER has an enhanced cleaning programme where a deep clean happens whenever the train reaches its final destination. While on this subject, after every stop a message came over the speakers asking that while seated you should wear a face mask if possible. Looking around the carriage I noticed that 90% of the travellers were honouring this request. As a passenger with reduced immunity due to having had chemo recently, I’m pleased to say that I felt very safe.
One other thing to mention, the train was incredibly smooth. When you walked down the aisle there was no swaying from side to side. It was quiet too. The only time you knew you were travelling fast was when you caught a glimpse of the outside world flying by!
I have to say I felt I was being chauffeur driven. It was a luxury to sit back and relax and plan our day in Lincoln. Our train arrived on time, and once we stepped out the carriage we were ready to explore.
Lincoln (High Street)
Leaving the station and crossing the road you instantly step into the main shopping area. Many of the major high street shops are ahead of you. Or … you could turn your back on the shops and check out the riverside, literally behind you!
Our plan was to walk up the pedestrianised High Street towards Steep Hill and climb up to the Cathedral Quarter. Along the way we spotted a Waterstones bookshop. The kids dragged us in … and they just so happened to have a nice coffee shop upstairs 😉
Once refreshed we continued our uphill walk, through The Strait (which leads to Steep Hill).
It is from here onwards that the shops take on a charm of their own. No big brands, nothing new … every building is different. And they line the very aptly named Steep Hill.
Antiques, art galleries, cheese mongers, bakers, gift shops, florists, lovely cafes – all small independent businesses are found here. In fact, you use the excuse of window shopping to catch your breath!
When you reach the top of the hill, you have the Tourist Info office in front of you. There’s an alternative way to get around too …
From the top of Steep Hill, you turn left to explore Lincoln Castle, or right to head to the Cathedral. We turned left, as it was lunchtime and we wanted to find somewhere to sit and have our picnic lunch!
Lincoln Castle – A Potted History
Lincoln Castle is one of the major Norman castles constructed in the north of England by William the Conqueror to subdue the ‘northern lands’ in the late 11th century. The castle is constructed on the site of a previous Roman fortress, which commanded a strategic view over the city and surrounding lands. The castle is a motte and bailey castle. However it is unusual in that it has two mottes and is one of only two castles of such a design in England. The other is Lewes Castle in East Sussex.
Lincoln, one of the best-preserved castles in England of such an age, has been used as a prison, place of execution and assizes court. The castle still serves as the area’s ‘Crown Court’ to this day.
Lincoln Castle is the custodian of one of the four original ‘Magna Cartas’ sealed by King John at Runnymede in 1215. There is an exhibition about this at the castle. The castle grounds are open to the public to walk through on most days, and you can picnic at your leisure (like we did), visit the gift shop and the cafe. There are also free guided tours around the castle to explain its significance and the history of the area.
To visit the Victorian Prison and chapel, David P J Ross Magna Carta Vault and do the medieval wall walk you will need to purchase a day ticket or an annual pass. The castle is open every day from 10am to 5pm.
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral, or Lincoln Minster, or even the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln is a marvel of medieval building. The cathedral started construction in 1072 and was completed with the installation of its 160 metres (520 ft) high central spire in 1311. At one time it was the tallest building in the world! The central spire collapsed in the 1500’s but the building still retains a commanding presence over the city.
Cathedral Tours
You can walk around outside to admire the architecture but you must pay to enter the cathedral; there are then several interesting tours to choose from.
- The Guided Roof Tour allows you to explore the roof space of Lincoln Cathedral and sample the views across the city. This can be quite a strenuous climb so be warned!
- The Tower Tour allows you to climb the 300 steps to reach the top of the Central Tower of Lincoln Cathedral and enjoy the fabulous 360-degree views of the city and across the county.
- The Outdoor Tour provides a guided tour of the stunning architecture and fantastic carvings and provides an insight to the long history of this building.
- Finally, there is a Graffiti Tour where you can examine the carvings and little quirks of the builders and masons who worked there so many years ago and gain an insight into their sense of humour and way of life.
The cathedral is definitely worth a visit, for spiritual reasons or even if you are just a history buff.
Having visited the castle, cathedral and lots of little shops, it was time to make our way back down Steep Hill and towards the station for our return journey. The going down is more difficult than the climb up, believe me! Whatever you do, don’t go too fast or you’ll never stop!
Homeward Journey
Scheduled to depart Lincoln at 5:30pm, our train pulled up alongside the platform half an hour early. Perfect timing for us as it had just started to rain quite heavily. We were allowed to board and find our seats and settle down for the 90-minute ride back to Stevenage. After all that walking (climbing) it was nice to sit back and relax. The children read books that they’d bought from a little bookshop at the top of Steep Hill. I stared out the window at the countryside as we zoomed along. It was genuinely a really lovely family day out.
Highlights of our Day
Train:
- Having charging points at our seats, and really good wifi
- Comfortable seats
- Clean tables and arm rests
- The smooth and quiet journey
- The friendly LNER staff on board the train
Lincoln:
- The riverside – with more time we would have liked to explore this more
- Steep Hill – the effort, the quaint shops, and the rewards when you reached the top
- Lincoln Castle – on our next visit we will visit the Victorian Prison and walk the castle walls
- Lincoln Cathedral – the Guided Roof Tour and the Graffiti Tour caught our eye, and we’d love to do both of these
Disclaimer
LNER invited us to try their Azuma service between London and Lincoln. This review is an honest account of our day and hasn’t been influenced in any way.
Thanks for the tips! Definitely looking forward to checking out Lincoln on this service. We not too far from Stevenage too