Greestone Stairs is a stepped pathway connecting the bottom of busy Lindum Road with Greestone Place and the Minster Yard at the back of Lincoln Cathedral. It goes through a late medieval archway in a section of the Cathedral Close wall. Several ghost stories are associated with the location, including that of a nun who allegedly lays a baby in a flowerbed, the stolen head of St Hugh bouncing down the steps after being dropped by a thief, and a cleric standing under a lamppost, where it is said he had hanged himself. More information is available on the Visit Lincoln website. Daniel Codd discusses other ghostly tales associated with this location in Haunted Lincolnshire (2006). Organised ghost walks around Lincoln almost always include a stop at Greestone Stairs.

Words by RORY WATERMAN