Lincoln Rest Day: E2 Day 81

My first rest day of this trip in the historic town of Lincoln.

In the morning I visited the cathedral for which Lincoln was famous. Dating from the 11th century it was for hundreds of years the tallest building in the world. However the stained glass windows with their deep blue colours impressed me more when I first visited the cathedral on a school trip as a child. Maybe the sun was shining through them then. The windows looked better in the evening light when I returned for the choral evensong. More choir members than congregation the service was held in the choir stalls. I suspect most of the attendees were visitors like myself as they did not seem to know when to leave as the organ music continued after the benediction, the final prayer.

The cathedral stood on a hill, a sharp contrast to the flat lands I was walking over yesterday. To reach it from my hotel by the railway, I climbed up a steep, cobbled stone road, passing many historic buildings. On returning I was worried I would slip on the wet cobbles. I looked around the city centre at the base of the hill, busy with weekend shoppers. Once a busy inland port, the area around Brayford Pool, where barges once unloaded, has been redeveloped with cafes and restaurants. 

As with any rest day there were a few chores: items to buy, hair to be cut, clothes to rinse. However I also spent time actually resting on my bed. The last two days had been long, and although I was pleased that my left knee had managed it well there was a small amount of fluid build up and it would not bend to its full extent. During the day I wore a compression sleeve to encourage the fluid to go away. Saturday night in town looked as if it could be rowdy with bouncers at the busy pub doors even in the early evening. Groups of men and women, the latter showing more skin than the temperature justified, were getting noisy, so I decided on some fast food (in a place that could have been cleaner) and an early night with the TV.

Lincoln Cathedral rising up behind a Saturday market.