Louth market town

Louth is a handsome Georgian market town tucked into the eastern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its narrow streets fan out from a compact centre dominated by the soaring spire of St James's Church, which at almost 295 feet is the tallest medieval parish church spire in England. The town has held a market charter since the medieval period and still hosts traditional open-air markets several days a week, alongside one of the country's last working livestock markets.

Wandering the cobbled lanes around Cornmarket, Eastgate and Mercer Row reveals independent butchers, bakers, bookshops and tearooms, many housed in red-brick Georgian buildings. Louth Museum on Broadbank tells the story of the town, including the devastating 1920 flood, while the Riverhead area, once the terminus of the Louth Navigation canal, is a pleasant walk from the centre. The Greenwich Meridian passes through the town, marked by a plaque on Eastgate.

Louth makes a natural base for exploring the Wolds on foot or by bike, with rolling chalk hills, hidden valleys and quiet villages such as Tetford and Donington on Bain within easy reach. Regular buses connect Louth to Grimsby, Lincoln and the coast at Mablethorpe.