Spalding market town

Spalding is a handsome Georgian market town in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, set on the banks of the River Welland in the heart of the Fens. Long-prosperous from agriculture and the flower trade, it grew rich in the 18th and 19th centuries on the back of tulip and daffodil cultivation, and the broad riverside streets are still lined with elegant red brick merchants' houses, warehouses and white-painted iron bridges.

The town centre is compact and easy to explore on foot. The market square hosts a traditional outdoor market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, while the parish church of St Mary and St Nicolas, with its tall spire, rises above the rooftops. Independent shops, tearooms and pubs line Hall Place, New Road and the Crescent, and Ayscoughfee Hall and Gardens offers a free museum and ornamental grounds just a short walk from the centre.

Spalding remains best known for its bulb fields, which colour the surrounding flat farmland in spring, and for Springfields Festival Gardens and Outlet Shopping on the edge of town. The railway station on the Peterborough to Lincoln line makes it easy to reach by public transport.