Indie Oxford Goes Travelling: Lincoln

As you’ve probably guessed by now I’m rather a fan of independent shops and to be honest, I’ve had a fascination with “knick-knack” shops as my Mum used to call them, ever since I was a little girl. Whenever we visited a new city or town, my Mum and I would head for the smaller shops and now, when I visit somewhere new, I’m berated by the other half for “peep-peeping” (shorthand for “stop constantly stopping and peeping in windows we’ve got somewhere to be!”). I love the element of pot luck when finding a new indie – will it be a cave of wondrousness that makes you want to spend every penny you have (or don’t have) on EVERYTHING, or will it, like the occasional one sadly does, make you feel terribly awkward and like you’ve stepped into someone’s bad 1980s living room.
On a trip to Lincoln recently, I’m happy to say that it was the former. The trip, three days “up North”, (to me anyway) saw us placed in an old palace right next to the Cathedral and smack bang in the heart of the old part of the city. The “Cathedral Quarter” can be found at the top of Steep Hill, a very aptly named street lined with a wonderful array of indies; finished at the peak with an even bigger flourish of my favourite kind of shop .
I naturally had to peep-peep my way around all of them, and since it was my birthday, treated myself to some of the lovely items from Lincoln’s indies….

At the top of the hill is the delightful shop Object & Line. With a background in arts and design their previously online shop is now a little treasure trove of kooky and beautifully designed items.

Next up was firm favourite Bird’s Yard – I could literally have bought everything in here! Beautiful! They had a wonderfully curated shop full of stationery, jewellery and homeware.

The other half loves a good butchers and the incredibly friendly guy at Elite Meats, the local butcher, provided us with some delicious lamb steaks for the first meal back home.

I enjoy looking around a good pottery shop so it was a joy to step into The Pot Shop and have a natter with potter Andrew MacDonald. I picked up an adorable clay cat, painted by his daughter.

I love a good-looking functional item and The Artisan Maker sells just that. The shop if full of beautifully made products with a number of them coming from designers and makers within Lincoln and Lincolnshire – local, functional and fine-looking, a good combination!

Finally, I’ve got to get food in here somehow and you cannot beat a good indie eatery. We were recommended Browns, a rather unassuming restaurant and pie shop on Steep Hill. It was the best pie I have ever eaten. And I 100%, absolutely hand on heart mean that.

And finally, I naturally had a good chin wag with a number of the owners and employees and it was wonderful to hear about the indie community they have and how it compares to Oxford. In Lincoln they have really strong local support and that seems to drive these wonderful Indies to continue doing what they love.

I hope that through Indie Oxford we can continue to foster such a strong indie business network and fan base!

Anna

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P.S. it’s not indie per se, but if you’re in Lincoln check out the incredibly huge and beautiful cathedral!