Hometown Interviews – Leah and Declan from Lincoln, U.K.
First of all, could you give us a short introduction about yourself?
Hey, we’re Leah and Declan, creators of Officer Travels. We grew up in England but have since moved to the other side of the world to travel Australia.
What can you tell us about your hometown?
Lincoln is one of the smaller cities in England, it’s very popular with students as the university there is good. It’s got a really rich history too so some of the old buildings a beautiful! We didn’t realize how much we liked Lincoln until we moved away.
How does the quality of life in Lincoln compare to the larger U.K. cities?
I think it’s a lot less stressful. It doesn’t really have a big business feel to it like parts of London or Manchester do, so it isn’t full of people rushing to work. It feels more like a big English town than a city really, a lot more welcoming and friendly. House prices are still expensive though which is partly why we chose to travel instead of settle there.
How do locals tend to spend their evenings and weekends?
With it having a big student community, it has a big pub culture. Thursday to Saturday nights will be filled with partying in the centre etc. Normal nights for those that aren’t students are pretty average really. We used to spend our week evenings watching films or visiting friends/family, if we were lucky to have weekends off work, they were spent camping or exploring the peak district.
Do many foreign tourists visit the city?
Yea some, especially if there’s an event on. Our Christmas market draws in huge crowds of international visitors. I think it’s a city that often gets overlooked when people are touring England, which is a shame really. It’s a Beautiful city.
If someone wanted to visit Lincoln what would be the best way to get there? (plane, bus, etc.)
Lincoln doesn’t have an airport but it does have a pretty decent train service. You can access most places by train so if someone was visiting England and wanted to stop by, the train would definitely be the easiest. Our part of England doesn’t really have an amazing bus service so while you’re here it’s best to walk instead of relying on the buses.
What is one of the main reasons for people to visit Lincoln?
For the Cathedral and Castle. The whole city was built around the cathedral, ensuring it can be seen from pretty much anywhere in the city. We also have some pretty good coffee too! If you’re in the area, definitely check out stoke coffee shop by the castle!
Lincoln is a city with an ancient history, is there any building or monument that you consider particularly impressive?
Besides the Cathedral and Castle, I really like the old Victorian buildings that are on High Bridge. High Bridge is the oldest bridge in the UK to still have buildings on it and they’re pretty impressive. Old Victorian style black beamed buildings. They’re beautiful! The houses date back to 1550 and are now a coffee shop and a Pastry shop, but the bridge is a lot older.
If people want to learn more about Lincoln are they able to check your blog?
I’m in the process of doing a home city series, it isn’t published yet but hopefully will be soon. We haven’t been back in almost a year so the inspiration isn’t quite on fire haha.
Finally, do you have any tips for visitors to your city?
Take a walk up Steep Hill, trust me, it’s worth it. The Cathedral is at the top, along with the castle but there are also some really unique stores on the walk up. You could drive and park at the top but then you’re missing out on the tiny cobbled streets and the cake to celebrate making it to the top.
Visit the Lincoln museum. It celebrates our local history and even has a fossilised poop! If you like looking back on how humans developed, this is a great little museum and it’s FREE.
There’s a really nice cafe that does amazing cakes and sandwiches called Thomas2, we highly recommend them!
We definitely think you should visit around Christmas time. Ok the weather isn’t great, it might not snow (more likely to rain) but the Christmas period is the best time to visit because of the markets and overall atmosphere. It’s the only time I’ve felt the pull back to home too!
If you liked learning about life in Lincoln, England and would like to know more about Leah and Declan you can check them out and follow them here!
Website: www.officertravels.com
Instagram: @officertravels
And if you’re interested in being interviewed please send us a message at [email protected]