Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire(/ˈlɪŋkənʃər,-ʃɪər/), abbreviatedLincs, is aceremonial countyin theEast MidlandsandYorkshire and the Humberregions of England. It is located on the eastern coast facing theNorth Seaand it is the second largest county in England by area size, afterNorth Yorkshire. Lincolnshire is bordered byNorfolk,Cambridgeshire,NorthamptonshireandRutlandto the south,Leicestershire,NottinghamshireandSouth Yorkshireto the west, and theEast Riding of Yorkshireacross theHumberestuary to the north. Thecounty townis the city ofLincoln.
The county is predominantly rural, with an area of 6,959 km(2,687 sq mi) and a population of 1,095,010. After Lincoln (104,565), the largest towns areGrimsby(85,911) andScunthorpe(81,286).Forlocal governmentpurposes Lincolnshire comprises anon-metropolitan countywith seven districts, and the unitary authority areas ofNorth LincolnshireandNorth East Lincolnshire. The last two areas are part of theYorkshire and the Humberregion, and the rest of the county is in theEast Midlands. From May 2025 the non-metropolitan county council and two unitary councils will collaborate through theGreater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority.
The county has a varied geography. The south-west contains part ofthe Fens, a naturally marshy region which has been drained for agriculture, and the south-east is an upland region.A widevaleruns north–south from the centre to the north of the county.To its east, the chalk hills of theLincolnshire Wolds,which have been designated anational landscape,occupy the north-east, with a coastal plain and theLincolnshire Marshbeyond.The west of the vale is demarcated by theLincolnshire Edge, a long escarpment; at its northern end are the Coversands, an area ofheath.Beyond the edge, the western border of the county contains the eastern part of theTrent Valleyand, in the north, part of theHumberhead Levels,with theRiver Trentitself forming part of the border.
Lincolnshire has had a comparatively quiet history, being a rural county which was not heavily industrialised and faced little threat of invasion. In the Roman era Lincoln was a major settlement, calledLindum Colonia. In the fifth century what would become the county was settled by the invadingAngles, who established theKingdom of Lindseyin the north of the region. Lincoln became the centre of adiocesein 1072, andLincoln Cathedralwas built over the following centuries. The late Middle Ages were a particularly prosperous period, when wealth fromwool tradefacilitated the building ofgrand churchessuch asSt Botolph's Church, Boston. During the Second World War the relatively flat topography of the county made it an important base for theRoyal Air Force, which built several airfields and based two bomber squadrons in the area.
During pre-Roman times, most of Lincolnshire was inhabited by theCorieltauvipeople.The language of the area at that time would have beenCommon Brittonic, the precursor to modern Welsh. The nameLincolnwas derived fromLindum Colonia.
Large numbers of Germanic speakers from continental Europe settled in the region following the withdrawal of the Romans. Though these were later identified asAngles, it is unlikely that they migrated as part of an organized tribal group.Thus, the main language of the region quickly becameOld English. However, it is possible that Brittonic continued to be spoken in some communities as late as the eighth century.
Modern-day Lincolnshire is derived from the merging of the territory of theKingdom of Lindseywith that controlled by theDanelawboroughofStamford. For some time the entire county was called "Lindsey", and it is recorded as such in the 11th-centuryDomesday Book.Later, the nameLindseywas applied to the northern core, around Lincoln. This emerged as one of the threeParts of Lincolnshire, along with the Parts ofHollandin the south-east, and the Parts ofKestevenin the south-west, which each had separateQuarter Sessionsas their county administrations. Lindsay was traditionally split between theNorth,SouthandWest Ridings of Lindsey.
The area was shaken by 27 February2008 Lincolnshire earthquake, reaching between 4.7 and 5.3 on theRichter magnitude scale; it was one of the largest earthquakes to affect Britain in recent years.
Lincolnshire is home toWoolsthorpe Manor, birthplace and home of SirIsaac Newton. He attendedThe King's School, Grantham. Its library has preserved his signature, carved into a window sill when he was a youth.
The geographical layout of Lincolnshire is quite extensive and mostly separated by many rivers and rolling countryside. The north of the county begins from where theIsle of Axholmeis located near the meeting points of the riversOuseandTrentnear to theHumber. From there, the southside of theHumberestuary forms the border between Lincolnshire and theEast Riding of Yorkshire. From there, the south bank of the Humber Estuary where theHumber Bridgecrosses the estuary atBarton upon Humber, is used primarily for theshipping portsatImmingham,New HollandandGrimsby. From there, the rest of the southern bank forms theLincolnshire CoastfromCleethorpestoMablethorpeand then ontoSkegness. From Skegness, the rest of the Lincolnshire Coastline forms the sea boundary and border withNorfolkat theWash. The coast then atBostonbecomes the meeting point of the riversWellandandHavenin an area known as the "Fosdyke Wash".
The rest of the sea boundary runs fromFosdyketo the east ofSutton Bridge, where the current land boundary withNorfolkis located in a narrow area of reclaimed farmland just to the east of theRiver Nenebut until as recently as the early 19th century there was no land border between Lincolnshire and Norfolk as it was separated from each other by the "Cross Keys Wash" a former area of estuary and marshland where the River Nene used to flow out into the Wash and could only be crossed at low tide by a causeway or ferry and was the natural boundary between the two counties. The causeway known at the time as the "Wash Way" was renowned as being particularly treacherous and the safer route was to go into Norfolk from Lincolnshire via the Cambridgeshire town ofWisbechand this element remains to the present day as theCross Keys BridgeatSutton Bridgeprovides the only direct access point to Norfolk from Lincolnshire over theRiver Nenesome nine miles north of Wisbech. The border with Lincolnshire toCambridgeshirebegins atCrowland,Market DeepingandStamfordwhich form the southern boundary of the county with bothPeterborough,Rutlandand brieflyNorthamptonshire; the county's border withNorthamptonshireis just 20 yards (19 m) long, England's shortest county boundary.From there, the border withLeicestershireandNottinghamshirebegins atSleaford,Grantham,LincolnandGainsborough. From Gainsborough, the border withSouth Yorkshirebegins atHaxeyandEpworthbefore looping back to the original north of the county nearScunthorpewith East Riding of Yorkshire at the Isle of Axholme andGoole.
Bedrock in Lincolnshire features Jurassiclimestone(near Lincoln) and Cretaceouschalk(north-east). The area aroundWoodhall SpaandKirkby on Bainis dominated by gravel and sand.For much of prehistory, Lincolnshire was under tropical seas, and most fossils found in the county are marine invertebrates. Marine vertebrates have also been found includingichthyosaurusandplesiosaur.
The highest point in Lincolnshire isWolds Top(168 m, 551 ft), atNormanby le Wold.Some parts ofthe Fensmay be below sea level. The nearest mountains are in Derbyshire.
The biggest rivers in Lincolnshire are theTrent, running northwards fromStaffordshireup the western edge of the county to theHumberestuary, and theWitham, which begins in Lincolnshire atSouth Withamand runs for 132 km (82 miles) through the middle of the county, eventually emptying into theNorth SeaatThe Wash. The Humber estuary, on Lincolnshire's northern border, is also fed by theRiver Ouse. The Wash is also the mouth of theWelland, theNeneand theGreat Ouse.
Lincolnshire's geography is fairly varied, but consists of several distinct areas:
Lincolnshire's most well-known nature reserves includeGibraltar PointNational Nature Reserve,Whisby Nature ParkLocal Nature Reserve,Donna NookNational Nature Reserve,RSPB Frampton Marshand theHumberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve. Although the Lincolnshire countryside is intensively farmed, there are many biodiverse wetland areas, as well as rarelimewood forests. Much of the county was once wet fenland (seeThe Fens).
From bones, we can tell that animal species formerly found in Lincolnshire includewoolly mammoth,woolly rhinoceros,wild horse,wolf,wild boarandbeaver.Species which have recently returned to Lincolnshire afterextirpationincludelittle egret,Eurasian spoonbill,European otterandred kite.
TheLocal Government Act 1888establishedcounty councilsfor each of the parts of Lincolnshire – Lindsey, Holland and Kesteven – and came into effect on 1 April 1889. Lincoln was made an independentcounty boroughon the same date, withGrimsbyfollowing in 1891.
TheLocal Government Act 1972abolished the three county councils and the two county boroughs, effective 1 April 1974. On this date, Grimsby and the northern part of Lindsey (includingScunthorpe) were amalgamated with most of theEast Riding of Yorkshireand a part of theWest Riding of Yorkshireto form the newnon-metropolitan countyofHumberside. The rest of Lindsey, along with Holland, Kesteven and Lincoln, came under the governance of the newLincolnshire County Council.
A local government reform in 1996 abolished Humberside. The land south of the Humber Estuary was allocated to theunitary authoritiesofNorth LincolnshireandNorth East Lincolnshirewhich became part of Lincolnshire for ceremonial purposes, such as theLord-Lieutenancy, but are not covered by the Lincolnshire police; they are in theYorkshire and the Humberregion.
The remaining districts of Lincolnshire areBoston,East Lindsey, Lincoln,North Kesteven,South Holland,South Kesteven, andWest Lindsey. They are part of theEast Midlandsregion.
North East LincolnshireandNorth Lincolnshireare unitary authorities. They were districts ofHumbersidecounty from 1974.In 1996, Humberside was abolished along with its county council.Some services in those districts are shared with theEast Riding of Yorkshireceremonial county, rather than the rest of Lincolnshire includingHumberside Police,Humberside Airport,Humberside Fire Service, andBBC Radio Humberside.
Since the2024 general electionand theconstituencyreorganisation by the2023 Periodic Review, Lincolnshire is represented by tenMembers of Parliament(MPs) whose constituencies fall entirely within the county. Small areas of Lincolnshire form constituencies with parts of neighbouring counties, namely theIsle of Axholme(part ofDoncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) and the town ofStamfordand its surroundings (part ofRutland and Stamford). Of the ten constituencies entirely within Lincolnshire, six are represented by theConservative Party, three by theLabour Partyand one byReform UK.
Lincolnshire County Councilis majority controlled by the Conservative Party, and consists of 54 Conservative councillors, four Labour, fourSouth Holland Independents, fourindependents, threeLiberal Democratsand oneLincolnshire Independent.The county is made up of seven local borough and district councils and two unitary authority areas independent of the county council. TheCity of Lincoln Councilis Labour-controlled.North Kesteven,South HollandandEast Lindseyare administered by the Conservatives.South Kestevenis controlled by a coalition of independent, Labour Party, Green Party and Liberal Democrat councillors.West Lindseyis controlled by a coalition of Liberal Democrats and independents. TheBorough of Bostonis controlled by the local Boston Independent party. The unitary authorityNorth LincolnshireandNorth East Lincolnshirecouncils are administered by the Conservative Party.
A mayoral devolution deal has received approval from theSecretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. This lead to the establishment of aGreater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority, formed of the county council, the two unitary authorities and the district councils, with powers over housing, job creation and public transport, includingbus franchising.The first election for theMayor of Greater Lincolnshire, who will chair GLCCA, is expected to take place inMay 2025.
The following tables show the ethnic and religious composition of Lincolnshire in 2021:
Notable businesses based in Lincolnshire include theLincs FM Group,Young's Seafood,Openfieldand theLincolnshire Co-operative(whose membership includes about one quarter of the population of the county).
Lincolnshire has long been a primarily agricultural area, and it continues to grow large amounts ofwheat,barley,sugar beet, andoilseed rape. In south Lincolnshire, where the soil is particularly rich in nutrients, some of the most common crops includepotatoes,cabbages,cauliflowers, andonions. Lincolnshire farmers often break world records for crop yields.South Lincolnshire is also home to one of the UK's leadingagricultural experiment stations, located inSutton Bridgeand operated by thePotato Council; Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research engages in research for the British potato industry.
TheLincoln Longwoolis a rare breed of sheep, named after the region, which was developed both for wool and mutton, at least 500 years ago, and has the longest fleece of any sheep breed.TheLincoln Redis an old breed of beef cattle, originating from the county. In the mid 20th century most farms in Lincolnshire moved away from mixed farming to specialise in arable cropping, partly due to cheap wool imports, partly to take advantage of efficiencies of scale and partly because the drier land on the eastern side of England is particularly suitable for arable cropping.
Mechanizationaround 1900 greatly diminished the number of workers required to operate the county's relatively large farms, and the proportion of workers in the agricultural sector dropped substantially during this period.Several major engineering companies developed in Lincoln,GainsboroughandGranthamto support those changes. Among these wasFosters of Lincoln, which built the firsttank, andRichard Hornsby & Sonsof Grantham. Most such industrial companies left during late 20th-century restructuring.
Today,immigrantworkers, mainly fromnew member states of the European Unionin Central and Eastern Europe, form a large component of the seasonal agricultural workforce, particularly in the south of the county. Here more labour-intensive crops are produced, such as small vegetables and cut flowers. This seasonal influx of migrant labour occasionally causes tension between the migrant workforce and local people, in a county which had been relatively unaccustomed to large-scale immigration.Agricultural training is provided atRiseholme Collegeand in 2016 theUniversity of Lincolnopened the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology.
TheCentral Lincolnshirearea coversNorth Kesteven,LincolnandWest Lindsey. It helps with development and economic planning around the three districts.
According to an Intra-governmental Group on Geographic Information (IGGI) study in 2000,the town centres were ranked by area thus (including North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire areas):
Lincolnshire is one of the few counties in the UK that still uses theeleven-plusto decide who may attendgrammar school. As a result, many towns in Lincolnshire have both a grammar school and asecondary modern school. Lincolnshire's rural character means that some larger villages also have primary schools and are served by buses to nearby high schools.
Lincoln itself, however, is primarily non-selective, as is the area within a radius of about seven miles. In this area, almost all children attendcomprehensive schools, though it is still possible to opt into the eleven-plus system. This gives rise to the unusual result that those who pass the eleven-plus can attend a grammar school outside the Lincoln comprehensive area, but those who do not pass still attend a (partly non-selective) comprehensive school.
Lincolnshire is also home ofUniversity of Lincoln.
TheUnited Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trustis one of the largest trusts in the country, employing almost 4,000 staff and with an annual budget of over £200 million. The north of the county is served by theNorthern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Some of the larger hospitals in the county include:
Since April 1994, Lincolnshire has had anair ambulance service.The air ambulance is stationed atRAF Waddingtonnear Lincoln and can reach emergencies in Lincolnshire within 25 minutes. An A&E hospital is only 10 minutes away by helicopter from any accident in Lincolnshire.
Separately to the commercial water companies the low-lying parts of the county are drained by variousinternal drainage boards, such as theBlack Sluice Internal Drainage Board,Witham 4th District IDB,Lindsey Marsh Drainage BoardArchived18 April 2009 at theWayback Machine,or theWelland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board.
Being on the economic periphery of England, Lincolnshire's transport links are poorly developed compared with many other parts of the United Kingdom. The road network in the county is dominated bysingle carriagewayA roadsand local roads (B roads) as opposed tomotorwaysanddual carriageways. The administrative county of Lincolnshire is one of the few UK counties without a motorway, and until several years ago, it was said that there was only about 35 km (22 mi) of dual carriageway in the whole of Lincolnshire. However theM180 motorwaypasses throughNorth Lincolnshire, splitting into two dual carriageway trunk roads to theHumber BridgeandGrimsby, and theA46is now dual carriageway betweenNewark-on-Trentand Lincoln.
The low population density of the county means there are few railway stations and train services, considering the county's large area. Many of the county's railway stations were permanently closed following theBeeching Reportof 1963. The most notable reopening has been the line and two stations between Lincoln andSleaford, which reopened within months of the Beeching closure. Most other closed lines in the county were lifted long ago and much of the trackbed has returned to agricultural use.
Prior to 1970, a through train service operated betweenCleethorpesandLondon King's CrossviaLouth,BostonandPeterborough. The part of this line in Grimsby is now theA16 road, preventing reinstatement as a railway line, and a small section of the line is now theLincolnshire Wolds Railway, with an extension towards Louth in progress.
A daily through train service operated between Cleethorpes and London King's Cross viaGrimsby,Market RasenandLincoln Centraluntil the late 1980s. TheHumberlincs Executive, as the service was known, was operated by anInterCity 125, but was discontinued following the electrification of theEast Coast Main Line. Passengers to/from London now have to change trains atNewark North Gate. However, the East Coast Main Line passes through the western edge of the county and one can catch direct trains to London fromGrantham.
Most rail services are currently operated byEast Midlands RailwayandNorthern Trains.London North Eastern Railway(LNER),Hull TrainsandCrossCountryhave services which pass through the county, with LNER trains frequently passing and stopping at Grantham, on the East Coast Main Line and a service every other hour toLincoln, while CrossCountry trains stop at Stamford on their way betweenBirminghamandStansted Airport. Stations along the Humber are served byTransPennine Expressservices betweenManchester Airportand Cleethorpes. One of the most infrequent services in the UK is in Lincolnshire: theSheffield-Gainsborough Central-Cleethorpes line has passenger trains only on a Saturday, with three trains in both directions. This line is, however, used for freight. Hull Trains also stops at Grantham before continuing its journey to either Kings Cross or Hull.
On 22 May 2011,East Coaststarted a Lincoln-London service, initially one train a day each way, and there is a northbound service on a Sunday. This was increased in 2019 to a service every two hours. East Midlands Railway also run a daily (Mon-Sat) service each way between Lincoln andLondon St Pancras, though this is a stopping service which takes around three hours viaNottingham, compared to LNER's service to London King's Cross which takes around 1 hour 50 minutes.
The only airport in Lincolnshire isHumberside Airport, near Brigg.East Midlands Airport, the main airport servicing the East Midlands, is within travelling distanceof the county. Until its closure in 2022,Doncaster Sheffield AirportnearDoncasterwas within travelling distance of much of Lincolnshire.
The county's biggest bus companies areStagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes(formerly Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport) andStagecoach in Lincolnshire(formerly Lincolnshire Road Car). There are several smaller bus companies, including Brylaine of Boston,Delaine Busesand Hornsby's of Scunthorpe.
In terms of population, the 12 biggest settlements in the county by population are:
A small part of theThorne Wastearea of the town ofThornein South Yorkshire, known as the Yorkshire Triangle, currently falls under North Lincolnshire.
The majority of tourism in Lincolnshire relies on the coastal resorts and towns to the east of theLincolnshire Wolds. The county has some of the best-known seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, which are a major attraction to visitors from across England, especially theEast Midlandsand parts ofYorkshire. There are three main coastal resorts in Lincolnshire and several smaller village resorts:
Nature is an attraction for many tourists: the south-east of the county is mainlyfenlandthat attracts many species of birds, as do thenational nature reservesatGibraltar Point,Saltfleetby-TheddlethorpeandDonna Nook, which also contains a largegrey sealcolony which is popular with visitors.
The market towns of the Lincolnshire Wolds,Louth,Alford,Horncastle,CaistorandSpilsbyare also attractive, with several having historically important buildings, such asAlford Manor House,St James' Church, LouthandBolingbroke Castle. The Wolds are popular for cycling and walking, with regular events such as the Lincolnshire Wolds Walking Festival.
The city ofLincolnis home to many tourist attractions includingLincoln Castle,Lincoln Cathedral,The Engine Shed,Steep Hill,International Bomber Command CentreandGuildhall and Stonebowamong other historical landmarks and listed buildings. The city is one of the many tourist centres in the East Midlands Region.
Lincolnshire has arusticculture. Due to the large distances between the towns, many villages have remained very self-contained, with many still having shops, pubs, local halls and local chapels and churches, offering a variety of social activities for residents. Fishing (in the extensive river and drainage system in the fens) and shooting are popular activities. A lot of the culture in Lincoln itself is based upon its history.The Collectionis an archaeological museum and art gallery in Lincoln. Lincoln Cathedral also plays a large part in Lincoln's culture, hosting many events throughout the year, from concert recitals to indoor food markets.
A Lincolnshire tradition was that front doors were used for only three things: a new baby, a bride, and a coffin.
While Lincolnshire maintains a rural setting, certain parts of the county formurban areasaround its larger settlements or growing centres. Such as,Grimsby-Cleethorpesform the largest urban area in the county with a population of 137,021.The second largest urban area isLincolnwhich incorporates the town ofNorth Hykehamand villages ofBracebridge HeathandWaddington. The population of the urban area was recorded at 129,305.Other urban areas includeScunthorpewhich includes the town ofBottesfordand had a population of 81,286.Other urban areas include:Grantham(46,778)Boston(45,339),Spalding(35,064),Skegness(26,065)andGainsborough(22,913).
Those born in Lincolnshire are sometimes given the nickname ofYellowbellies(often spelt "Yeller Bellies", to reflect the pronunciation of the phrase by the typical Lincolnshire farmer). The origin of this term is debated but is most commonly believed to derive from the uniform of the10th Regiment of Foot(later theLincolnshire Regiment) which featured yellow facings. For this reason, thecoat of armsof Lincolnshire County Council is supported by two officers of the regiment.
In common with most otherNorthernandMidlands dialectsin England, "flat"ais preferred, i.e./bæθ/over/bɑːθ/, and also traditionally in words like 'water', pronounced/ˈwætər/watter(though such a pronunciation is rarely heard nowadays). Similarly,/ʌ/is usually replaced by/ʊ/. Features rather more confined to Lincolnshire include:
Lincolnshire has its own dialect "champion", a farmer from the village ofMintingcalled Farmer Wink (real name Robert Carlton), who has produced videos about rural life, narrated in his broad Lincolnshire accent. A resident ofWoodhall Spahas published a dictionary of words once prevalent in parts of the county.
"The Lincolnshire Poacher", a folksong, is the country's best-known melody and almost its unofficial anthem. It describes the delights of nocturnal poaching. It was the regimental quick march of the10th Regiment of Footand its successors theRoyal Lincolnshire Regimentand the 2nd BattalionRoyal Anglian Regiment,who are known as "the Poachers".
Lincolnshire was historically associated with theLincolnshire bagpipes, instruments derided as coarse and unpleasant in contemporary literature, but noted as very popular in the county. The last player,John Hunsleyof Middle Manton,died in 1851,and since then the instrument has been extinct.
The Australian composerPercy Graingermade what are thought to be the first recordings of British Folksongs between 1906 and 1908 in Lincolnshire using a waxPhonograph Cylinder. These are now housed in theBritish Library.They included songs sung byJoseph Taylorof Saxby-All-Saints who became the first folk singer to be commercially recorded and whose rendition ofBrigg Fairinspired classical works by Grainger andFrederick Delius. In 1937, Grainger wrote hisLincolnshire Posyfor wind band. The piece is a compilation of folk songs ("bunch of wildflowers") collected by the composer in and around the county of Lincolnshire.Ralph Vaughan Williamswas a frequent guest atGunby Hall. The manuscript of his collected folksong "Daffodils" is in their collection.
Several composers have lived and worked in the county.William Byrdwas organist and master of the choristers atLincoln Cathedralfrom 1563 to 1572.John Tavernerwas listed as a lay clerk atTattershallCollegiate Church in 1525 and also sang atSt Botolph's Church, Bostonunder whose famous "stump" he is presumed to be buried.Thomas Linley, composer, a friend ofMozart, drowned in the lake atGrimsthorpe Castlenear Bourne in 1778.Nicholas Mawwas born inGranthamandPeter Seabournelives inEast Kirkby.
Lincolnshire has a number of local dishes:
Craft Chocolatiers can be found throughoutthe county, such as Hansensin Folkingham.In 2013 Redstar Chocolate'sDuffy's Venezuela Ocumare Milkwon a gold medal as best bean-to-bar.The factory is in Cleethorpes.
Every year theLincolnshire Agricultural Society, founded in 1869, stages theLincolnshire Agricultural Show.It is held on the Wednesday and Thursday of the last whole week of June at its showground atGrange de Lings, a few miles north of Lincoln on theA15. The show was first held here in 1958. First held around the year 1884, it is one of the largest agricultural shows in the country, and is attended by around 100,000 people over its two days. The showground is in regular use throughout the year for a wide range of other events and functions.
Smaller local agricultural shows, such as theHeckingtonShowcan still be found.Corby Glensheep fairhas been held since 1238.
Each yearRAF Waddingtonis the home to the RAF International Waddington Air Show. The two-day event attracts around 150,000 people and usually takes place during the first weekend of July. Since its inception over 35 countries have participated, with aircraft from around the globe attending the Lincolnshire Base. Beginning 2017, the event will be held at nearby RAF Scampton.
On the Monday before Easter, an unusual auction takes place inBourneto let the grazing rights of the Whitebread Meadow.Bidding takes place while two boys race toward the Queen's Bridge in Eastgate, the end of which dash is equivalent to the falling of the gavel. The whole affair dates back to the 1742 will of William Clay.
TheHaxey Hoodvillage competition takes place every January, as it has for over 700 years.
Stamford's Mid-Lent fair sees showmen converge on the town the week afterMothering Sunday, with rides and sideshows filling Broad Street, the Sheepmarket and the Meadows for a week. Stalls selling Grantham gingerbread and nougat are a traditional feature. The following week sees them in Grantham, on the way north for the Summer.Roger Tubybrings a small funfair to Bourne and then to Spalding in Spring and returns in Autumn at the end of the season.
The villages ofTetfordandSalmonbyhold an annual Scarecrow Festival in May every year.
TheBelchfordDownhill Challenge which is held every two years: soapbox racers race down the hill at up to 30 km/h. The turnout has been up to 1,000.
Lincoln Christmas Market, was a street market held throughout the historic area of the city at the start of December, it was one of the largestChristmas marketsin Europe, attracting over 250,000 peopleover the four-day event. Around the same time, Christmas lights are turned on in Bourne, Sleaford, Skegness, and other towns.
Throughout the summer theStamford Shakespeare Companypresents the Bard's plays in the open-air theatre atTolethorpe Hall, which is actually inRutland.
TheSpaldingFlower Parade was held in late spring every year between 1959 and 2013. Colourful floats decorated with tulip heads competed for a cup.
The main sports played in the county arefootball,cricketandrugby union. Lincolnshire does not have a high sporting profile, mainly due to the lack of facilities and high-profile football teams. Probably the most well-known sporting venues in Lincolnshire areCadwell Parknear Louth, where a round of the British Motorbike Championship is held on the last Monday of August every year and the racecourse atMarket Rasen
The unofficial anthem of the county is the traditional folk song, "The Lincolnshire Poacher", which dates from around 1776. A version of the song was the theme forBBC Radio Lincolnshirefor many years.
According to a 2002 marketing campaign by the charityPlantlife, thecounty flowerof Lincolnshire is thecommon dog-violet.
In August 2005,BBC Radio LincolnshireandLincolnshire Lifemagazine launched a vote for aflag of Lincolnshireto represent the county. Six competing designs were voted upon by locals and the winning submission was unveiled in October 2005.Lincoln has its own flag – St George's flag with a Fleur-de-Lys.
TheLincoln Imphas symbolised cathedral, city and county for many years.In 2006 it was replaced as the brand of Lincolnshire County Council by the stylised version seen on the header here[1]which has lost even the unique pose of the carving.
The county is home to one daily newspaper, theGrimsby Telegraphwhich as the name suggests, is published in the town and whose circulation area ostensibly covers North East Lincolnshire, although it reaches as far south as Louth and Alford and as west asBrigg.
There are two further weekly papers which used to be published daily until 2011; theLincolnshire Echois published weekly from Lincoln and covers the majority of the county reaching as far north as Louth, and theScunthorpe Telegraphwhich covers northern Lincolnshire. All three are ultimately owned byReach plc.
There are also a number of weekly papers serving individual towns published in the county byIliffe Media. One of these, theStamford Mercury, claims to be Britain's oldest newspaper, although it is now a typical local weekly and no longer covers stories from the whole East Midlands as the archived copies did.
With the exception of a small area to the south-west of the county,Lincolnshire is served from theBelmont transmitting station,receivingITV YorkshireandBBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshireregions. The BBC covers the county in "Look North" news fromHull, with input from studios in Lincoln and Grimsby. ITV provides coverage through "Calendar" news.
From 1959 to July 1974ITVprogrammes were provided byAnglia Television, based inNorwichwith news offices in Grimsby.Following a transmitter change, ITV services were provided byYorkshire Television. This company kept open the offices in Grimsby and opened further facilities in Lincoln, although both of these closed in the mid-1990s.
South-west Lincolnshire receivesBBC East MidlandsandITV Centralwhich are broadcast from theWaltham transmitting station. Many villages just west of theLincoln Cliffcannot get a signal from Belmont due toshadowingand instead get their TV fromEmley Moor transmitting stationnear Huddersfield.
BBC local radio is provided byBBC Radio Lincolnshireand, in the north of the county,BBC Radio Humberside. Commercial local radio serving the county includesGreatest Hits Radio Yorkshire,Heart East,Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire,Hits Radio Lincolnshire,Capital Yorkshire(in the north of the county) andSmooth East Midlands. Thecommunity radiostations in the county areEndeavour FMin Boston;TMCR 95.3coveringEpworthandIsle of Axholme; and LCR 103.6 in Lincoln.
Because of its flat geography and low population density, Lincolnshire is an ideal place for airfields, and theAir Ministrybuilt prolifically with the county hosting nearly seventy separate air bases. It became known as "bomber county".Since the end of theSecond World Warmost of these airfields or stations were decommissioned, but the RAF retains a significant footprint in Lincolnshire for the air defence of the United Kingdom and aircrew training. For more information on former bases, seeList of former RAF stations.
Two major front-line bases located in Lincolnshire areRAF Coningsby, which is one of only two RAFQuick Reaction Alert(QRA) Stations in the United Kingdom and home to theEurofighter Typhoonjet fighters, andRAF Waddington, where most of the RAF's Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance aircraft are based. TheRed ArrowsAerobatic Team has also been based at Waddington since October 2022 after their previous base,RAF Scampton, was closed down.Other stations in Lincolnshire includeRAF Cranwell, home to all Air Force Basic Officer Training for the Royal Air Force;RAF Barkston Heath, a training airfield; and minor bases such asRAF Donna NookandRAF Digby.
Lincolnshire is also home to two active RAF and NATO-allied air weapons trainingbombing ranges, located alongThe Washand north Lincolnshire coastline—RAF Holbeachactive since 1926 (originally part of the formerRAF Sutton Bridgestation) andDonna Nook. TheRAF Wainfleetrange was decommissioned in 2010.
The Army runsSobraon Barracks, home of 160 (Lincoln) Squadron,Royal Logistic Corps(RLC), as well asPrince William of Gloucester Barracks, Grantham, home to the national specialist logistics units. In November 2016 theMinistry of Defenceannounced that the Grantham site would close in 2020but the timescale has twice been extended, latterly to 2028.