Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wednesday at Lincolnshire
As I'm sitting here gazing out the window at the front entrance of Harlaxton, I can't help but be reflective of the day we experienced. From our "thrilling" dash to the town of Lincoln, to the moment we arrived back in time for the dinner meal, our day was full of excitement. We began the morning with our tour guide, Kay Lamb, who showed her love of the Lincoln Castle and the history held within its walls. Kay was very colorful in her descriptions of the beginnings of the Castle with King William of Normandy who had conquered England. Lincoln Castle built in 1068 was one of the first royal castles he built to control this new kingdom. This Castle has been used as a court and prison for more than 900 years. Unfortunately, it also served as the "hanging" location for the town of Lincoln. We scaled the stairs to the medieval tower of Cobb Hall which served as a prison, defense tower and public execution site. Kay carefully explained every purpose of the tower especially as being used as the site of hangings. These public executions were often a very anticipated social event for the community - often with 20,000 people observing the hangings. On a more cheerful note she detailed the romantic story of King Edward 1 and Eleanor whose love story surpassed none other. We had our sack lunch on the beautifully manicured lawn and enjoyed the lovely English gardens. We were also able to view an original Magna Carta document. The afternoon was enjoyed with a tour of Lincoln Cathedral built by the 12th century bishop, Saint Hugh. He was noted for protecting Jews and not be afraid to confront Kings Henry II, Richard and John. The Cathedral's stained glass windows were breathtaking. Our guide was very thorough in his explanation of the reason why the Cathedral was such an important part of the lives of pilgrims. After a quick trip to the gift shop, we head back to Harlaxton just in time for the dinner meal - Italian - to our delight. We plan to make it an early night, but since daylight lasts until almost 11:00 p.m., we often find it a little hard to turn in early. Oh well, somehow we always seem to be rested for the next day's travels.
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