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An Introduction to Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire (shortened as Lincs) is a county on the eastern side of England, and the fourth-largest in England with a land area of 2,272 sq mi (5,885 sq km). Known for the flatness of the countryside (although considerable areas could not be described as flat) and the long sandy coastline where the low lying land meets the North. 
Lincolnshire, grew prosperous in the Middle Ages through the wool trade, but is mainly supported through agriculture and tourism today.

The main land use is predominantly agricultural, whether bulbs and vegetables to the south, or grain, wheat and livestock to the north.
As the county is so flat, the region was from earliest times open to invasion from the continent. Place names bear witness to early Viking and Norse settlements, and much of the architecture reflects the Dutch influence - indeed the extensive bulb fields around Spalding are known as "little Holland".

The county has bustling compact market towns, peaceful villages and hundreds of churches, mills, and other historical buildings built from the famous Ancaster building stone.

Lincolnshire has a large and varied wildlife population. Wildfowl and birds are common along the coast, and there are nature reserves at Saltfleetby and Gibraltar Point. A seal sanctuary is at Skegness, where one of the captive Harbour seals gave birth in 2003(picture of Mum on archive page).   Mablethorpe's Animal Gardens feature Lincolnshire wildlife, past and present, along visitors from warmer parts of the world.

The county town is Lincoln which was founded in 47 AD by the Romans, at the junction of the Fosse Way and Ermine Street, the Roman road from London to York via Lincoln.
It has a magnificent cathedral, described by the 19th-century writer and critic John Ruskin as "the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles", is an imposing site as you approach the city. The city also contains Newport Arch, one of the most complete Roman remains in the UK, and the 12th-century Jew's House, one of the oldest domestic buildings in England.

In the south of the county are The Fens. These have long been drained and reclaimed as fertile farmland. A windy and almost treeless region, it is crossed by drains, known as dykes. Sir Joseph Banks engineered the draining of the fens. To the east are the rolling chalk Lincolnshire Wolds, where Louth is located. The Wolds are over 500 ft (150 m) tall.

Near to Louth, the seaside resorts of Skegness and Mablethorpe which provide traditional seaside entertainment. 

In the north of the county is the fishing town of Grimsby, still struggling to survive in today’s Eec restrictions of fishing quotas.