Bridge Church Lincoln

The Bridge Church in Lincoln is essentially what it sounds like - a medieval church quite literally built over a river. It's one of those oddities that stops you mid-walk through the city centre and makes you do a double take. The building straddles the River Witham, which is genuinely unusual for a place of worship, and the whole structure feels crammed in amongst the urban sprawl in a way that's oddly charming.

What you're actually looking at is a 12th-century construction that's survived centuries of Lincoln's ups and downs. The river runs directly beneath it, and there's something rather brilliant about approaching it from different angles - the architectural perspective shifts depending on which side you're viewing from. It's not vast, and it won't take you hours to explore, but if you're already in Lincoln city centre (which you should be), it's absolutely worth the five-minute detour.

History enthusiasts will find it genuinely interesting; kids might get restless fairly quickly unless they're genuinely keen on medieval buildings. The fact it's free and accessible makes it a natural stop between other Lincoln attractions rather than a destination in itself.

If you're basing yourself at one of the nearby parks - Hartsholme Country Park is closest at just over two miles out - you can easily combine this with a proper Lincoln city walk. The cathedral is right there too, so you can make an afternoon of it. Go midweek if you can; weekends get unnecessarily crowded in the city centre.