Cricket Club Pavillion

The Cricket Club Pavilion in Lincoln is exactly what it sounds like - a proper working sports venue rather than a tourist attraction in the traditional sense. You'll find locals in whites on summer weekends, the smell of cut grass, and the kind of unhurried English cricket that moves at its own pace. It's the sort of place that rewards turning up unannounced on a Saturday afternoon with a pint in hand rather than treating it as a scheduled stop.

This works best for cricket enthusiasts or anyone keen to watch a genuinely local match without the theatre of county cricket. Families with kids who can sit still for more than twenty minutes might enjoy an hour or two, though cricket isn't exactly a fast-paced spectacle. The actual pavilion itself - where you'll find refreshments and shelter - is functional rather than fancy, but that's rather the point. There's a timeless quality to standing on the boundary on a decent day.

It's free to watch from the ground, though buying a drink at the pavilion keeps the club ticking over. Allow two to three hours if you're settling in for a match. Summer weekends are obviously the time to visit, though you'll want to check if there's actually a fixture on.

If you're basing yourself at one of the excellent glamping spots nearby - Spire View Meadow is just 3.7 miles away, and Wigwam Holidays' Orchard Stables not much further - this could fill a lazy Saturday without feeling like a tourist tick-box. It's a local experience, nothing more, nothing less.