A Weekend Trip To The Lincolnshire Wolds

I'll be honest; the thought of taking a weekend trip to Lincolnshire had never even entered my mind. However, when East Lindsey District council invited me to spend a couple of days exploring the area, I did some hasty Google-searching to discover an abundance of photos that depicted rolling hills, endless countryside and quaint little villages in between – I couldn't wait to pack my bags and get out of the city as soon as I could. 
Where to stay near the Lincolnshire Wolds:

We stayed at a traditional, family-run B&B just a stone's throw from Wragby. Goltho House is situated within Goltho Gardens, a gorgeous 4.5 acre garden, blooming with flowers and wildlife. Whilst you can visit the gardens as a member of the public for a small fee, you're encouraged to explore them as a guest of Goltho House.

It had been a long time since I had stayed in a traditional B&B – in fact, the last time I stayed in one, I was a teenager and I booked a last minute B&B with a friend in Brighton. Nowadays, I'm a repeat Airbnb offender and don't even consider sussing out alternative accommodation. Our time at Goltho House was hosted by the wonderfully welcoming Debbie and her even more wonderfully welcoming dog, Hunter, who was ready to greet us with an extremely waggy tail at breakfast every morning.
Goltho House has three rooms available, ranging between £60 - £90 per night depending on whether you're staying solo or as a couple. We were staying in the 'Yellow Room', which is the twin room set up in a farmhouse style with traditional wooden beams and classic decor touches. The room also came with an en-suite and a television in the room, which was perfect for whiling away the evening. 

As with most B&Bs, your stay includes a complimentary breakfast every morning. Goltho House's breakfast option includes a lot of their own produce, including the bread, tomatoes and preserves. Although there aren't usually many vegan options on their menu, Debbie went above and beyond to make sure that we had vegan butter and milk available for our stay, which was truly appreciated. If you're booking to stay at Goltho House as a vegan, just be sure to mention it when you're booking and they'll ensure you're well catered to.

Explore Goltho Gardens

Whether you're staying at Goltho House or not, you should definitely swing by to explore the tranquil and serene Goltho Gardens, especially in the spring to summer when the garden is in full bloom. As someone who enjoys plants and flowers, Goltho Gardens is truly an oasis of floral delights. 

The garden has been dubbed "one of the great gardens of the future" by Lincolnshire Life and boasts a network of paths that meander through beautifully vibrant shrubbery and blooms making every corner a picture perfect opportunity. If you look carefully, you may even capture fluffy bumblebees pollinating the plants around the fairytale-esque garden. Entry is just £5 for the public and there's a small tea rooms situated on site to grab a drink after exploring.

An antiques haven in Horncastle

Our initial plan was to hit the coast on our first day but unfortunately I woke up feeling pretty sick that morning and couldn't even bear the thought of spending an hour in the car to drive to the coast. Plus, the winds that weekend were pretty ridiculous so it's likely a day at the coast would have been spoilt by the high-speed gales. Instead, our B&B host suggested that we should visit Horncastle for the day, which was a small town just twenty minutes away by car and filled with an unfathomable amount of antique shops – a day spent rummaging around secondhand shops is my idea of a dream day so we hopped in the car and headed to Horncastle.
It definitely wasn't an exaggeration when we were told that the town is filled to the brim with antique shops; pretty much every other shop is some sort of antique or secondhand store overflowing with vintage treasures. Our favourite store had to be the antique emporium that is Great Expectations though.

Upon entering, you'll find knick-knacks stacked to the ceilings in such a precarious positioning that you almost don't want to rummage through too hastily in the fear of being avalanched by a mountain of china goods. It's truly a fascinating place and you'll find yourself getting lost amongst the endless maze of trinkets and curiosities of a bygone era.  
If you wander through to the back of the store, you'll find that the store spills out into an open courtyard and tables are piled with even more treasures for you to root through. Needless to say, we lost ourselves in there for quite a while and actually ended up losing track of time.

Wander the market town of Louth

After exploring Horncastle, we hopped back into the car with a boot filled with antiques and drove through the beautiful Wolds countryside to the town of Louth. Louth is situated just at the foot of the Wolds and is the principal town for the rural countryside that surrounds it. It's a little bigger than Horncastle and has a few more chain stores but still possesses a copious amount of charm. Incredibly over 70% of the businesses and retailers in Louth are in fact independently owned with its department store, Eve and Ranshaw, dating back to 1781.

Louth holds market days on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, plus there is a farmers' market on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Despite the frequency of the markets, typically we happened to miss the Saturday one as we arrived at around 4pm and it seemed as if everyone had packed up for the weekend. Luckily there were still a few boutique shops and charity shops still open for us to explore and I cannot rave about the charity shops that we went to during our trip enough! The charity shops are often spread over two floors or multiple rooms due to the architecture of the buildings and I had to refrain from buying more than we could bring back! 

Where to eat & drink (vegan):

We were warned before we headed to the Wolds that vegan options were few and far between, but we had a really great pub meal that was worth raving about. "The Splash" at the Royal Oak Inn has at least three vegan main courses available, including a vegan nut roast, which we pretty much pounced on. To get to "The Splash", you have to drive via a shallow ford in the village of Little Cawthorpe (just ten minutes outside of Louth) and I'm going to take a wild guess that the splash you create as you drive through the ford to reach the pub is how they gained their loving nickname.

As well as the nut roast, The Splash also offer a vegan burger and a bean casserole for plant-based punters like myself. The pub itself is gorgeous inside with exposed brickwork, beamed ceilings and a conservatory restaurant space that is bright and welcoming. Like all good traditional pubs, the bar also features an open log fireplace too.  In the summer, customers can enjoy the huge lawned gardens that look over the ford.
Walk or drive through the Wolds

The Wolds themselves are a huge stretch of countryside with rolling green and golden hills that stretch for miles upon miles. It's actually been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and if you take a drive through the hills, you'll see exactly why.
If you're more of a hiker, there are plenty of hikes and beautiful walks that will take you through the Wolds from village-to-village. However, I throughly recommend a walking route that takes you to one of the oldest thatched roof pubs in the UK, The King's Head, which is located in the quaint, residential village of Tealby. After all, the best way to reward yourself after a long slog through the Wolds is with a crispy cold pint!

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Dislcaimer: My trip was funded by the East Lindsey District Council but all words and opinions are my own.