A picture postcard view

A picture postcard view from Whisby Nature Park, Lincoln.
This is one of the former gravel pits that have been flooded to make lakes. It's a pretty scene that I enjoyed giving a painterly look with some texture.

Spring at Whisby

Whilst at my sister's, we also visited Whisby Nature Park. It's a reserve, run by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, that was once land quarried for sand and gravel and has now been reclaimed. The quarries are now lakes and there is grassland, marsh and willow scrub as well as fragments of the heathland, hedgerows and woodland that were there originally. There are some well-marked trails - although my sister and I did manage to overshoot the return path and were blithely walking around the circuit a second time, until we came to a stick that we recognised, stuck in the path. Oops! We might have carried on walking round and round until nightfall!

It was blissfully beautiful, with the spring flowers and colours at their height - cowslips (above), frothy cow parsley, orchids, fresh green leaves and the air fragrant with the honeyed scent of hawthorn blossom. My favourite time of year, by a long way.

The Spire Memorial

The centrepiece of the International Bomber Command Centre is the Spire Memorial and Walls. The Spire stands on a hill above the city of Lincoln and is aligned so that you can see Lincoln Cathedral through its heart. Made of weathering steel, it is 102ft high, the height of a Lancaster bomber's wing, and as wide at the base as a Lancaster wing. It represents not only a wing but also a church steeple. Air crew returning from raids used to navigate by church spires, as the blackout and other measures made it difficult to know exactly where they were.

The surrounding walls are laser cut with the names of almost 58,000 men and women who lost their lives serving or supporting Bomber Command during the Second World War. (Women did not fly as aircrew but some were ground crew or, for example, scientists who were killed on test flights.) Of the 125,000 aircrew who served, 72% were killed, seriously injured or taken prisoner of war. More than 44% were killed, with an average age of just 23 years. The centre really helps one to grasp the scale of the sacrifices made but also the key role Bomber Command played in the outcome of the war.

There is a great deal more information on the website HERE.

Because we remember

Visiting my sister last month, we went to the recently opened International Bomber Command Centre near Lincoln. It has been built 'to acknowledge the efforts, sacrifices and commitment of the men and women, from 62 different nations, who came together in Bomber Command during World War II'. Lincolnshire was home to 27 airfields from which bombing missions were flown, and there were many other stations in the east of England too.

The centre holds interactive educational displays, extensive records, artefacts and the personal testimonies of veterans and is a resource where people can research their family history through the Command records, online or in person. The memorial came about largely through the efforts of one man: a former Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, Tony Worth CVO. It aims to serve as a point of recognition, remembrance and reconciliation for those who served, supported or suffered during the bombing campaigns of WWII.

It is sensitively done, recognising both the sacrifices of those involved and the damage and suffering caused by the bombardment of cities like Dresden.

There are ten acres of landscaped grounds, holding two areas planted as peace gardens. The planting is immature as yet, but it will look good when it has all grown a bit.

The International Peace Garden holds plants from five continents and recognises the contribution of people from 62 nations who served in or supported the Command.

The Lincolnshire Peace Garden has 27 lime trees, one for each of the Lincolnshire airfields. They are planted to simulate the geographical location of each airfield in relation to the others and each has a plaque with the name of the station, the squadrons that flew from there and the number of lives lost.

The memorial panel (top photo) is made of aluminium recovered from a Halifax bomber aircraft.

Lincoln Cathedral

We didn't go into Lincoln Cathedral this time. See HERE for a photo I took on a previous visit. 

There were a few Knight sculptures in the Cathedral precincts. 'The Lincoln City Knight' by Leah Goldberg celebrates the local football club's promotion to Sky Bet League Two at the end of the 2016-17 season. The Knight's shield is signed by the team's players. It is, perhaps, a rather incongruous choice to place at the front of the Cathedral but then football is, for many, a religion. The creature on the front of the horse is the Lincoln Imp, a carving that can be found in the Cathedral (see HERE).

'Inside Out', by Erin Fleming, is sited behind the Cathedral near the Chapter House. It has references to the pillars and vaulting inside the building, which are likened to trees. 

Below is the full glory of Lincoln's octagonal Chapter House, with its wonderful flying buttresses. Built between 1220 and 1235, the Chapter House was an annex to the Cathedral, where the cathedral chapter (clerics appointed to advise the bishop) would have met. King Edward II held a parliament here in 1316. 

Lincoln

When I visited my sister recently, we went into the city of Lincoln for the day. It really is a beautiful old place, set on a steep hill so that the cathedral, in the oldest part of the city, towers above the more modern shopping areas. It also has a thriving and developing university, which is lower down, by the river.

The cobbled street leading up to the castle and cathedral is called Steep Hill, for obvious reasons!