Inside beautiful English city which boasts one of the 'UK's prettiest streets'

27 July 2023 , 23:04

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Buildings on Lincoln's Steep Hill date back to the 12th century (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

One of the UK's prettiest streets sits at the medieval centre of an English city.

Nestled in the historic city of Lincoln in the East Midlands, a street aptly named Steep Hill is as picture postcard as it comes. Lined with shops, restaurants and tea rooms, the cobbled street looks straight out of a period drama film set.

The much photographed street leads to the famous Lincoln Cathedral and in 2012 received the Great Street Award from the Academy of Urbanism, thanks to it “adapting while respecting and enhancing its heritage”.

Halfway up Steep Hill sits a Norman House, a picturesque building dating back to around 1170, one of the oldest surviving, domestic buildings in the UK. Today, it is home to a specialist tea shop but it was originally built for Aaron of Lincoln, a Jewish moneylender who advanced large sums of money to nobility such as King Henry II.

The street is also home to some of the city’s best restaurants (James Turner)

The street is also home to what are regarded as some of the city’s best restaurants, reports the Express. Within one of the 12th-century stone buildings at the foot of Steep Hill is The Jews House, an independent restaurant offering both an a la carte and a tasting menu made up of locally sourced food.

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Steep Hill aside, there is plenty of history and impressive buildings to marvel at in Lincoln. The city’s centrepiece is the iconic Lincoln Cathedral which was the world’s tallest building for more than two centuries.

While Steep Hill definitely lives up to its name, another street in the UK is more of a contender for the steepest - with residents reporting they have to tie their cars to lamposts.

The much photographed street leads to the famous Lincoln Cathedral and in 2012 received the Great Street Award from the Academy of Urbanism (Getty Images)

Residents on Bristol's Vale Street have to park horizontally and take extra precautions when there's ice on the roads so they don't lose their motors to gravity.

The arduous hill is not one for the faint-hearted, bringing even the fittest out in a sweat just eyeing it up. With a gradient of 22 degrees, it's officially Britain's steepest street – its incline five degrees sharper than the second steepest in Great Malvern, Worcestershire.

Its dramatic slope is not its only claim to fame, however, with Bristol's own Banksy having left a signature piece on one of the walls. Vale Street's residents however describe it as a "challenge" and admit they've even see people attempt to ski past their homes, while kids roll their Easter eggs down it.

Abigail O'Leary