The castle was somethign I didn't get to thinking that the town itself had so much to see and do that I would definitely have to return with Jim when he comes to visit in October. You can see in the picture here one of the towers and the walls stretching in both directions.
The city has been occupied at least since the Romans were here. The castle and cathedral were both begun shortly after the Norman conquest in 1066 though they replaced existing buildings from both the Romans and the Saxons. The original front wall of Lincoln Cathedral is what remains from a Saxon one that collapsed in an earthquake. You can see that central portion in the third picture below of the Cathedral's west door.
I went on the walking tour of Roman Lincoln with one of the student groups. What you can see in the photo is Newport Arch. This has been in use since the Roman period and it was through this gate that the Roman legions marched out to put down the uprising of Boadicea, the famous Queen who tried to unite the tribal peoples of Britain to oppose the Roman occupiers in the first century!
The final picture is the view across the square between the castle and cathedral. From this vantage point you can see the slope of the hill that we are on. Down the street on the right is quite a steep hill (think Nob Hill in San Francisco) called "Steep Hill" which takes you down past many shops and houses that date from the 1300s. At the base of the hill is a river over which is High Bridge which was build in the 12th century and is the oldest in Britain to still carry buildings (shops and flats).
It was wonderful to see all the small shops carrying anything you might possibly want...from antiques to wine to chocolates to stationary to fresh meats and produce.
And I thought Ely Cathedral was huge!
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