Lincoln Christmas Market

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Lincoln Christmas Market, held in Lincoln. England, is one of the largest Christmas markets in Europe, attracting up to 250,000 visitors a year over the four day event.

Held for four days around three weeks before Christmas, the market spreads all the way around the historic centre of Lincoln including the castle and cathedral. As well as stalls selling all manner of goods ranging from gaudy glittery toys to more Dickensian gifts there is a funfair with ferris wheel, open air classical music and rock concerts and traditional events such as beer barrel rolling.

The number of visitors is so great that a circular one-way system for pedestrians around the streets of Lincoln is put into place. The route includes travelling through the grounds of Lincoln Castle, something not normally possible without paying an entry fee.

[edit] Transport

During the weekend of the market, a number of additional charter trains are organised from around Britain. In 2006 this included Central Trains hiring a Class 47-hauled set from the West Coast Railway Company for additional and increased capacity services between Leicester, Nottingham and Lincoln Central. Hertfordshire Rail Tours organised a charter of their Blue Pullman train up from London Kings Cross, whilst a further SRSP organised train travelled down starting from the Scottish town of Linlithgow, then proceeding via Edinburgh and the East Coast Main Line.

In previous years, Central Trains have leased the use of an HST set from Midland Mainline for the Nottingham–Lincoln shuttle. Other rail tours for the Christmas Market—including stream-hauled trains—have set out from Blackpool and the London stations of Finsbury Park and London Victoria. Carriages from the classic Venice-Simplon Orient Express train have been used on some of these services.