Friday 6 May 2011

Steep Hill,steep hill

Some road names are highly inaccurate: many High Roads are not actually high, plenty of Groves are devoid of greenery, and there are Orchards in London with not a fruit tree left. By contrast, Steep Hill in Lincoln is most definitely a steep hill. Even the lamp post appears to have vertigo.

So, is this a pleasing example of accuracy in naming? Or should we prefer a more imaginative approach?


3 comments:

Hels said...

cute! High streets were not geographically elevated; rather they were supposed to be the "main" streets in towns. Otherwise all citizens would be suing their local councils for lying :)

But Steep Hill in Lincoln IS steep, even more than your image shows. I am seriously middle aged now and not as fit as I used to be, but I was a bit surpised by my puffing at the top.

I said the same thing to students this week about another site: Alhambra in Granada. If you plan to walk up the hill, wear solid shoes!

Philip Wilkinson said...

Ah, Lincoln, the city of my ancestors. The hill-top setting of the cathedral is stunning, and from the top of the central cathedral tower you can see for miles - medieval monastic sites ranged in line to the south, power station cooling towers spread out over the Midland plain.

CarolineLD said...

Hels, I agree that it's very steep - one of those climbs that are actually worse on the way down!

Philip, the view is indeed amazing. I also enjoyed it from halfway up, and again from three-quarters of the way up...