Best Places to Visit Near Lincoln
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit near Lincoln are The Original Lincoln Ghost Walk, Steep Hill, The Usher Gallery, Newark Trent Weir, The Arboretum, Tank on the Beach, Ingoldmells Beach and Lumsdale Waterfall.
Lincoln crowns its hill with a great cathedral and a Norman castle, and the oldest, most atmospheric sights sit right in that uphill quarter. Start close in with the Original Lincoln Ghost Walk through the lamplit streets, the cobbled climb of Steep Hill and the paintings of the Usher Gallery just below it.
Beyond the city the gems are more scattered, so the rest of this list reads as a set of day-trips fanning out across the region. South-west toward Newark you will find the rushing Newark Trent Weir, and a longer run in that direction reaches Nottingham's leafy Arboretum.
East, out on the Lincolnshire coast, the sands hold two very different beaches: the eerie Tank on the Beach half-sunk in the dunes near Theddlethorpe, and the busy family shore at Ingoldmells. West again, on the edge of the Peak District in Derbyshire, the wooded cascades of Lumsdale Waterfall tumble past ruined mills.
Together they mix history, water, gardens and coast into one varied outing. Here are eight places to visit near Lincoln.
The Original Lincoln Ghost Walk
Photo: Richard Croft via Geograph.org.uk
The Original Lincoln Ghost Walk Right in the heart of the uphill old town, the Original Lincoln Ghost Walk is a guided evening tour around the cathedral, the castle and the streets between them. A caped guide leads the way for a little over an hour, mixing the city's history with ghost stories that reach from Roman times to the present, on a route kept to the gentler slopes.
It sets off from Castle Square several evenings a week, with no need to book; you simply pay the guide on arrival. It makes an atmospheric way to get your bearings in old Lincoln after dark.
Steep Hill
Photo: Paul Allison via Geograph.org.uk
Steep Hill Just steps away, Steep Hill is a historic, sharply graded street of stone setts running down from the cathedral and castle toward the lower city, lined with independent shops, tea rooms, galleries and pubs. Among its buildings stand two rare Norman stone houses, the Jew's House and the Norman House, both from the twelfth century, along with later timber-framed and Georgian fronts, on a line that follows the old Roman road.
It ranks among England's steepest and best-loved old streets, and it has picked up a national urbanism award. Take your time on the climb and dip into the shops as you go.
The Usher Gallery
Photo: Richard Croft via Geograph.org.uk
The Usher Gallery Works by Turner hang here beside those of the local painter Peter De Wint, along with a trove of decorative pieces from clocks and watches to enamels and miniatures. The gallery fills a neoclassical stone building of 1927, designed by Reginald Blomfield and paid for through a bequest from the Lincoln jeweller James Ward Usher.
It sits in a small hillside park just below Steep Hill, next door to the Lincoln Museum. These days the building also hosts events and ceremonies, which means the times you can drop in to see the art vary, so it is worth checking before you set off.
The building is listed.
Newark Trent Weir
Photo: Richard Croft via Geograph.org.uk
Newark Trent Weir About sixteen miles south-west, on a day-trip toward Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, Newark Trent Weir is a navigation weir on the River Trent at the town's south-western edge, a short way from Newark Castle. Split in two by a small island, the weir holds up the river's level above the town lock, and it once provided the head of water for local mills.
Kayakers use the drop as a playspot, while a small humpback bridge and a little parking sit close by. It is one of several weirs strung along this stretch of the Trent, and a pleasant reason to pair the water with a look at the town.
The Arboretum
Photo: Alan Murray-Rust via Geograph.org.uk
The Arboretum A longer day-trip of some thirty miles south-west lands you in the centre of Nottingham, where the Arboretum is the city's first public park, opened in 1852 and laid out with lawns, a lake, flower beds and a broad collection of trees. Winding paths lead past an ornate bandstand, aviaries, a rose garden and a Chinese bell tower raised to house a bell brought back from China.
A listed historic park, free and open to all, it offers a green retreat beside the city centre and the university, much used for gentle strolls and quiet afternoons.
Tank on the Beach
Photo: Simon Tomson via Geograph.org.uk
Tank on the Beach Out east on the Lincolnshire coast, a day-trip of around thirty-three miles, the Tank on the Beach is a rusting Second World War-era tank sitting on the sands at the edge of the dunes within the Saltfleetby and Theddlethorpe Dunes nature reserve, near Theddlethorpe and a few miles north of Mablethorpe. It is a Comet, a British cruiser tank of the mid-1940s, almost certainly left as a target on what was once an air-force bombing and gunnery range.
Heavily corroded and half sunk in the sand, it lies about ten minutes' walk through the dunes, and you can look inside the empty hull.
Ingoldmells Beach
Photo: Mat Fascione via Geograph.org.uk
Ingoldmells Beach A little further down the same coast, roughly thirty-seven miles from Lincoln and just north of Skegness, Ingoldmells has a wide, flat sandy beach that runs for miles along this low, open shore. A promenade backs the sands, with the usual seaside amusements, shops and cafes behind, and the rides of Fantasy Island close at hand.
It was here that Billy Butlin opened his first holiday camp in 1936, which still runs today. Through the summer it is a busy family beach, and it makes a lively contrast to the lonely tank in the dunes further north.
Lumsdale Waterfall
Photo: Kate Jewell via Geograph.org.uk
Lumsdale Waterfall West of the city, a day-trip of about forty-two miles to the edge of the Peak District, Lumsdale Waterfall is a run of cascades on the Bentley Brook in a steep, wooded gorge near Matlock in Derbyshire, threading through a chain of ruined mills and millponds. The valley is a compact and important survival of water-powered industry, its buildings once used for smelting lead, crushing bone, bleaching and making textiles from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries.
Cared for by the Arkwright Society and reached on a permissive path, a short circular walk links the falls, ponds and ruins. The whole site is a scheduled monument.
FAQs
Are there beaches within reach of Lincoln?
Yes, though they are a day-trip east on the Lincolnshire coast. Ingoldmells, north of Skegness, is a wide family beach, while the eerie Tank on the Beach sits half-sunk in the dunes near Theddlethorpe, both around thirty-five miles from Lincoln.
How steep is Steep Hill in Lincoln?
Steep Hill lives up to its name, a sharply graded street of stone setts climbing from the lower city up toward Lincoln Cathedral and the castle. It ranks among England's steepest old streets and has won a national urbanism award.
Where can you see a waterfall near Lincoln?
Two options sit at opposite ends of a day out. Newark Trent Weir on the River Trent is about sixteen miles south-west, while the wooded cascades of Lumsdale Waterfall near Matlock lie west of Lincoln on the edge of the Peak District.
Conclusion
Lincoln's own treasures cluster on its cathedral hill, so begin with the after-dark Ghost Walk, the cobbles of Steep Hill and the paintings in the Usher Gallery before the map opens out. From there the region rewards a series of day-trips: south-west to the kayakers' weir at Newark and on to Nottingham's green Arboretum, east to the Lincolnshire coast for the haunting Tank on the Beach and the bright bustle of Ingoldmells, and west to the mill-lined cascades of Lumsdale on the Peak's edge.
History, water, gardens and open sand, all within an easy drive: these are the places to visit near Lincoln.
