‘The Gift of Winter’ Stay in Lincoln’s finest country house hotel Enjoy the magical lead up to Christmas this year, with a cosy two-night winter stay at Washingborough Hall, a 12-bedroom boutique, Georgian country house. Combine the best of town and country ~ the hotel’s location only three miles from Lincoln, offers easy access to Lincoln’s shops, markets and heritage sites, yet with your own country house retreat only minutes away! Enjoy a warm winter’s welcome with a delicious cream tea and mince pies in front of a roaring fire. The ‘Gift of Winter’ package also includes a private car transfer to the city; three-course fine dining in the hotel’s acclaimed 2 AA rosette restaurant on both evenings and full English breakfast with fresh, local farm produce. A beautifully festive bone china mug, by leading designer Sophie Allport, is our gift to you - a lovely reminder of your stay. Make Christmas shopping a joy, take the time to explore Lincoln’s many retail outlets, including the city’s famous markets, leading high street stores in the Waterside Shopping Centre, and individual designer and artisan boutiques, book shops and galleries clustered around the famous Steep Hill (voted ‘Britain’s Best Street 2012’), The Strait and historic Bailgate area. There are plenty of lovely cafés, tearooms and restaurants to revive you. Soak up the seasonal atmosphere, with festivals to enjoy and activities to share, such as the ice skating at City Square (from 29th November to 31st December). If you can make time, world-class heritage sites include the Gothic Cathedral, Lincoln Castle (currently undergoing a two-year £22m renovation project), The Collection Museum and Usher Art Gallery. Just a short drive home from the hustle and bustle of city life, tranquility beckons, along with deep cosy sofas, roaring log fires, delicious dishes, fine wines and frosty morning walks, all to be savoured. This break is available throughout November and until 19th December for just £90 per person per night, subject to availability. For full details and terms and conditions, please see hotel website. The relaxed and intimate ambience of Washingborough Hall appeals to a variety of guests; foodies, romantics, city tourists, families, nature lovers, heritage buffs and cyclists, all of whom appreciate the qualities of the hotel and its wonderful location. Well-behaved dogs are welcome here. Reviews are consistently excellent and in 2014, the hotel was awarded a ‘Certificate of Excellence’ from Trip Advisor, placing them in the top 10% of all businesses listed on the site. www.washingboroughhall.com 01522 790340 -Ends For media information, please contact: Sarah Proctor at SP Media Relations (www.spmediarelations.co.uk) sp@spmediarelations.co.uk 01904 488422 (07808 586 512) Twitter.com/SPMediaPR Editor’s notes Washingborough Hall is a Grade II listed Georgian house, originally built around 1700 as a Rectory for the local Rector of neighboring St John’s Church, he was the son of a local wealthy landowner. It has been run as a hotel since the late 1960s and Edward & Lucy Herring bought the property and took over the business in 2008. The Herrings inherited Head Chef, Dan Wallis, who has served the hotel since 1999. In 2014 Dan won the accolade of ‘No1 Food Hero’ as voted by local diners in the Lincolnshire area, presented by local magazine, All About Food published by ‘Bailgate Independent’. Dining is a particular emphasis at this hotel, with Lucy Herring having trained at the Tante Marie Culinary Academy to gain a classical ‘Cordon Bleu’ training, and both owners’ families are farmers in Lincolnshire, so as you may expect quality local ingredients are essential. A project is underway to build a new extension to the hotel in complementary heritage style, which will be the first major adaptation of the property for 150 years. The new space will be a purpose built banqueting suite, to be known as ‘The Winston Room’, and will be ideal for the hotel’s popular wedding venue business. To the first floor another superior master suite will be created bringing the total number of bedrooms to thirteen. Private car transfers are available from the hotel giving guests wishing to visit Lincoln a convenient, more personal alternative to a taxi to journey into the nearby city. Some famous tourism attractions in the city include: Lincoln Cathedral – Dating back 1000 years this Gothic masterpiece dominates the city skyline and is renowned as being one of Europe’s finest examples of Gothic architecture. It has long been a place of worship and pilgrimage. Most revered was the saintly Bishop of Lincoln 1186-1200 (St.Hugh of Avalon) he worked tirelessly to rebuild the Cathedral following an earthquake. Until 1584, it had held the status of the Tallest Building in Europe for 300 years. Children will love looking out for stone carvings including an Imp and the resident Peregrines, who have adopted the spires as their home. (lincolncathedral.com) Lincoln Castle – The March 2015 re-opening ‘Lincoln Castle Revealed’ is much anticipated will make William the Conqueror’s Norman Keep, a world-class heritage centre. It will host the Lincoln Magna Carta in its 800th anniversary year in a special vault alongside the associated Charter of the Forest. There will be a cinema-in-the-round for information on these fascinating original documents to be shown. During the restoration the castle remains open, although naturally works will mean closure of certain areas during the process. (Lincolnshire.gov.uk) The Collection Museum and The Usher Gallery – a free of charge entry museum which is an award winning collection of regional archeology as well as a most prized collection of original art from the area. Tours, special events, exhibitions and courses are a regular feature here. (thecollectionmuseum.com)