If you’re interested in history and democracy then Lincoln Castle is a good place to visit. If you arrive by train, you’ll enjoy a strenuous walk up to the castle and cathedral. The street called Steep Hill is accurately named.

The castle is the only place in the world where visitors can see an original Magna Carta and an original Charter of the Forest together in the same room.

Magna Carta was the first document to state that the king and his government were not above the law. Amongst many other conditions, the document also said that all free men have the right to justice and a fair trial with a jury.  

The Charter of the Forest is almost a companion piece to Magna Carta. Forest to the Normans meant an enclosed area where an overlord had exclusive rights to hunt animals. Forest not only consisted of trees, but also common land such as heathland and grassland. This charter provided some economic protection for free men who used the forest to forage for food, to graze their animals, and to obtain wood for fires.

Down by the train station there’s a statue of George Boole who created the field of Boolean algebra.