Steep Hill

Description

Travelling to a talk booking in Lincolnshire last week, I was struck by the sheer pleasure of driving in the county. I suppose the closest equivalent would be driving in rural France. Once you get away from the motorways, Lincolnshire has mile upon mile of long, straight and nearly empty roads – and in the main, they’re much less riddled with potholes than almost anywhere else in the country. It was a reminder of what driving used to be like when I was young (admittedly now a very long time ago). I overnighted in Lincoln, a place I haven’t been in 20 years and was reminded what a lovely city it is, with the cathedral on the highpoint dominating not just the city but the surrounding countryside for miles. But anyone who tells you Lincolnshire is uniformly flat, clearly hasn’t tried walking up to the cathedral through the narrow twisting and characterful streets. One is named Steep Hill and you can definitely see – and feel – why it got its name. I’m back in the county this week for a talk at Woodhall Spa – home of the Dambusters Squadron – and am looking forward to more empty roads… though hopefully not an empty room when I get there.

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