Lincoln Christmas Market, held in Lincoln

Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, is one of the largest Christmas market

Christmas Market

A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent...

s in Europe, attracting up to 250,000 visitors over the four day event.

Held around three weeks before Christmas, the market spreads around the historic centre of Lincoln including the castle

Lincoln Castle

Lincoln Castle is a major castle constructed in Lincoln, England during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is only one of two such castles in the country, the other being at Lewes in Sussex...

 and cathedral

Lincoln Cathedral

Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...

. As well as stalls selling goods there is a funfair with Ferris wheel

Ferris wheel

A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...

, 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

Lincoln Castle

Lincoln Castle is a major castle constructed in Lincoln, England during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is only one of two such castles in the country, the other being at Lewes in Sussex...

, something not normally possible without paying an entry fee.

History

Lincoln Christmas Market was the first Christmas market in the UK.
It started in 1982, after a group of Lincoln city councillors visited Neustadt an der Weinstrasse (Lincoln's twin town) and were impressed by the Neustadt Christmas Market. When they came back to Lincoln, they set up their own Christmas market consisting of just fourteen stalls.
The market was cancelled in 2010 due to severe weather conditions both in the city of Lincoln and the surrounding region. This was the first time the market had been cancelled in over 28 years.

Train transport

During the weekend of the market, charter trains are organised from around Britain. In 2006 this included Central Trains

Central Trains

Central Trains was one of the original 25 train operating companies to emerge from the break-up of British Rail between 1994 and 1997. The company operated local, urban and secondary express services across central England and Mid Wales.-Overview:...

 hiring a Class 47

British Rail Class 47

The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...

-hauled set from the West Coast Railway Company

West Coast Railway Company

West Coast Railways, also known as West Coast Railway Company, is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator, based at Carnforth in Lancashire, on the site of the old Steamtown heritage depot...

, to provide additional and increased capacity services between Leicester

Leicester railway station

Leicester railway station serves the City of Leicester in Leicestershire, England.As of late 2009 Leicester is a Penalty fare station, a valid ticket or Permit to travel must be shown when requested.-Background:...

, Nottingham and Lincoln Central railway station

Lincoln Central railway station

Lincoln Central railway station serves the city of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England. The station is operated by East Midlands Trains, who provide services along with Northern Rail and East Coast....

s. Hertfordshire Rail Tours

Hertfordshire Rail Tours

Hertfordshire Rail Tours was a company that ran charter trains for enthusiasts, named as they were originally based in Hertfordshire. Most of its trains started from London Terminals, although most from London King's Cross. A fair proportion of charter trains used the "Pride of the Nation" dining...

 organised a charter of their Blue Pullman train up from London King's Cross. A train organised by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society

Scottish Railway Preservation Society

The Scottish Railway Preservation Society is a charity, whose principal objective is the preservation and advancement of railway heritage in Scotland. The Society was formed in 1961, and it has been actively collecting and displaying railway artifacts of Scottish significance ever since...

 (SRPS) travelled down starting from the Scottish town of Linlithgow

Linlithgow railway station

Linlithgow railway station is a railway station serving the town of Linlithgow in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line and is also served by First ScotRail services from to , and the daily train between and the Fife Circle Line.- History :Linlithgow...

, then proceeding via Edinburgh

Edinburgh Waverley railway station

Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...

 and the East Coast Main Line

East Coast Main Line

The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...

.

In previous years, Central Trains had leased the use of an HST

High Speed Train

There are three types of trains in Britain that have been traditionally viewed as high speed trains:* Advanced Passenger Train - Tilting trains which never entered into regular revenue-earning service....

 set from Midland Mainline

Midland Mainline

Midland Mainline was a British train operating company owned by the National Express Group and based in Derby. It was created after the privatisation of British Rail. Midland Mainline services operated from April 1996 to November 2007....

 for the Nottingham–Lincoln shuttle. Other rail tours for the Christmas Market, including stream-hauled trains, have set out from Blackpool

Blackpool North railway station

Blackpool North railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line from Preston....

 and the London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 stations of Finsbury Park

Finsbury Park station

Finsbury Park Station is a busy transport interchange in North London. The interchange consists of an interconnected National Rail station, London Underground station and two bus stations. The main entrances are by the eastern bus station on Station Place...

 and London Victoria. Carriages from the classic Venice-Simplon Orient Express

Venice-Simplon Orient Express

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is a private luxury train service that travels from London to Venice that is popularly referred to as the Orient Express....

train have been used on some of these services.