Photos of our towns

[lavamat_jon]

Hey guys,

Seeming as the self-photo thread has succeeded well, I thought seeming as we all come from various parts of the world it would be interesting to post pictures of where we all lived. The town where I live (North Hykeham) is large village which has more or less become the south-west suburb of the Roman town Lincoln. Lincoln has all the interesting remains such as a Roman well, and a castle and cathedral both dating from the 1000's. (The castle was built in 1066, after William the Conqueror's invasion of England).

Here's a pic of the southern end of the main shopping street (High Street), with the view of the cathedral perched on the hill above keeping an eye on all the shoppers

Jon

 

[lavamat_jon]

Shopping Street

This is further north along the High Street, in the pedestrianised zone, which starts just behind the railway crossing barriers in the first pic (at the end of the road). If you look at the back of this picture, you can see the Stonebow, which is the county council offices, and this building dates from the 1600s.

The first shop on the right with the green sign is an import from the other side of the pond (Starbucks :-D)

 

[lavamat_jon]

The Hill

Here's a picture of the hill that the castle & cathedral sit on. You can see the towers of the cathedral poking above Toys 'R' Us. The castle is just left of the Toys 'R' Us roof (about a 1/3 in from the right), and the castle walls (although not visible in the pic) go all the way to the tower in the centre of the pic on the hill. At the bottom of the hill, you can see the university to the centre left, the red brick building along from that is the Marriott Hotel. Then there's the bird-wing shaped petrol station roof. Although it's now the forecourt to the library nowadays, it is the first roof of it's kind in the world. It is said to be very strong in it's structure, and when looking at it, it still looks as if it was built yesterday. (I believe it was built in the 1950s). However, I'm sure it won't beat the castle or cathedral in it's lifespan!! Along from that, is half of the new 10 screen Odeon cinema (which then gets cut off by the Toys 'R' Us building). Not visible in the pic, but in front of the Marriot Hotel/the bird wing forecourt/Odeon, is the Brayford Pool which is the main marina in Lincoln. You can actually see a few masts of sailing boats. Each year a water festival is held there, and although I haven't been, I've heard it's very good.

 

[lavamat_jon]

The River Witham

This is the River Witham which runs through the centre of Lincoln. It also flows in and out of the Brayford Pool mentioned in the previous post, this part of the river flows east out to the North Sea. On the left you can see the Waterside Shopping Mall, which is a petite little shopping mall, but has some nice shops in there. The red brick building on the right was the old C&A department store, however since C&A closed down it is now Wilkinsons (a cheap and cheerful DIY/homewares store). Behind Wilkinsons is the city square where the Christmas Tree sits every Christmas time, and carols are sung around there. It is really quite a nice setting and atmosphere at Christmas. That awful statue over the river is supposed to be art, but nobody in Lincoln likes it at all, despite the council's denial. But then, after spending £50k on it, I'm sure they want to think it's good and has a use . BTW Lincoln also has a high population of swans.

 

[lavamat_jon]

And finally...

This ends the series for now. This pic is a snapshot of the cathedral out of my bedroom window (although you do have to stick your head out and look north lol). BTW it was zoomed in with optical zoom, as it is a good 4 miles away from me, hence the blurry picture. But it shows just how much the cathedral dominates the skyline around here... you can see it from 30 miles away. All part of the plan, as in the middle ages the church was to be obeyed, and from local history we've done at school the cathedral was designed to be intimidating and to remind people that God was watching them everywhere.

Hope you enjoyed the pics, will post more later, and also looking forward to photos of towns where all you lot also live!!!

Take care all,

Jon

 

[retromom]

Heavenly Hykeham!

Jon:

What a beautiful town you live in! How far is it from London? I know you told me before, but due to old age, I have forgotten. ;-)

I had to chuckle about the "art". I thought it was a construction crane. Oops, guess I have no taste in art.

Venus

 

[scott55405]

England is so cool. Must get back there, once I get moved.

 

[foraloysius]

Nice pictures Jon!

Here is the link to an album with pictures of my town. Groningen is in the northern part of the Netherlands, about 2.5 hours away from Amsterdam.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~bgordijn/Groningen/index2engels.htm

 

[scott55405]

Another very pretty place!

 

[lavamat_jon]

Lincoln

All the photos I took of were Lincoln... Hykeham where I live is actually a separate village but it's kinda merged in with Lincoln. I've attached a map below .

Venus - Lincoln is about 150 miles north of London, an hours train journey from the mainline station 10 miles away in Newark on Trent. However it's about a good 4/5 hours drive. Oh, and don't worry - nobody at all that I know likes the "art" above the river, LOL!

Scott - If I had my own place, you'd be welcome to come visit any time! (and that goes for you as well Venus, and Louis too!) Maybe in a few years time .

Louis - Groningen is a very beautiful town!! I think you're on the same latitude as us - if I judge correctly your "only" about 200 miles away from me?

Hope to see some pics of other places too!

BTW the A46 coming out of the south-west of Lincoln (near North Hykeham - where I live), and the A15 coming out the north of Lincoln, both follow Roman roads - the A46 follows the Fosse Way, and the A15 follows the Ermine Road. Oooh, and a bit of trivia for you - some of you may not believe this, but Lincoln was actually a far more important city in Roman times than London was, and there's even rumours that Lincoln was once the capital. How times have changed!!!

Take care all,

Jon

 

[lavamat_jon]

Here's Lincoln in relation to London

Jon

 

[david]

beautiful shots!

Love it, Jon. Simply love it! Thanks for sharing your photos of your town

 

[rickr]

Thank you Jon!

Wow, those photos are so nice! It sure looks cleaner and better maintained than any town or city I have seen in the U.S. No litter anywhere. Some people here just throw garbage out the window of their cars when they are through with it. Or even walking down the street. They just drop it wherever. You have to wonder what their homes must look like...
It really looks like a very nice place to live. Thanks so much for posting those interesting photos,and taking the time to do the detailed descriptions.

Rick

 

[foraloysius]

200 miles

Yes Jon, we're only 200 miles away from eachother. Here's the route. I hate that boat journey though.

 

[foraloysius]

Icon

The Icon of our town is the 'Martinitoren' or Martinitower that belongs to the church at the Grand Market.

 

[rocky2]

Thanks Jon

Very nice pics, I just love the old historical architecture. Some year I hope to make the trek to the other side of the "pond" and experience it for myself.

 

[drmitch]

Beautiful places to live! I also love the history and the old buildings. Jon I found a book Historic Britan from the air and it has a great shot of Lincoln. Below, Bradford,after a recent paint job!The buzz here? The new mayor got into it with the police dept, fired part of them laid off the rest and closed it. Then got mad and resigned, then the police chief got a lawer and had the mayor and two board members arrested! Were just a bunch of outlaws I guess!

 

[jdinstl]

St. Louis, MO

...here's some pics of St. Louis for you....

Of course, The Arch, here shown behind The Courthouse...

 

[jdinstl]

More St. Louis....

the clocktower at the A-B Brewery....