Summary of Attractions
In the 15th century, Boston was the most affluent port outside of London.
Located in the Fens, an area of farmland reclaimed from coastal marshes by the Wash, Boston served as a key point for loading English wool onto ships for trade with Hanseatic league cities.
The wealth of that era is evident in the impressive Perpendicular tower of St Botolph’s Church, which rises majestically over the Fens, alongside the well-preserved Guildhall that houses Boston’s museum.
You can venture to the Wash, a vast estuary in Lincolnshire and East Anglia characterized by expansive skies and an abundance of wading birds.
This low-lying landscape is also home to windmills, with two splendid heritage mills from the 19th century still operating and offering flour for sale.
Let us explore the best things to do in Boston:
1. St Botolph’s Church
As one of the UK’s largest parish churches, St Botolph’s is the first sight as you approach the town, dominating the flat landscape for miles around.
The Perpendicular Gothic tower reaches 83 metres and is often referred to as ‘the Stump.’
Completed in the 1510s, during Boston’s prosperous era, visitors can ascend the 209 steps to an open walkway positioned two-thirds of the way up the tower, offering panoramic views of The Fens and The Wash.
Be sure to examine the 62 misericords in the choir stalls, carved around 1390, depicting heraldic symbols, animals, mythological creatures, and whimsical everyday scenes.
One scene illustrates a master birching a boy, who is attempting to defend himself with a book, while another features two jesters, each holding a cat and playfully biting its tail.
2. Boston Guildhall
The town’s Guildhall signifies Boston’s trading prestige in the 14th century. Constructed for the Guild of St Mary in the 1390s, work commenced alongside the royal sanction for guilds to own assets, utilizing bricks made from local clay by brickmakers imported from Flanders.
As a religious guild, St Mary’s faced suppression during King Henry VIII’s reign, transforming the building into Boston’s town hall and courthouse.
From Wednesdays to Saturdays, visitors can explore the free museum that illuminates various periods in Boston’s history, including its role as a Hanseatic trading port and the trial of the Pilgrim Fathers, who were briefly detained on the lower floor.
The building itself is a historical exhibit, showcasing numerous original features in the kitchens, banqueting hall, and council chambers, each labelled with informative signage. Interactive exhibits are also available to engage younger visitors.
3. Maud Foster Mill
Like the Stump, Maud Foster Mill’s sails can be seen from a significant distance.
This heritage windmill ranks as one of the tallest operational windmills in the UK, reaching seven stories and nearly 25 metres in height.
Established in 1819, it is situated on the Maud Foster Drain, which was historically used to transport corn and flour.
With its stunning architecture, featuring five sails and topped with a whitewashed ogee, the mill also boasts a cantilevered wooden balcony on the third floor.
Notably, much of the original 1819 machinery remains intact despite the mill’s closure in 1948. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, guests can observe the cogs, grinding stones, wallower, spur wheel, and brake wheel while purchasing organic flour or porridge oats, produced using traditional methods from two centuries ago.
4. Bubblecar Museum
Boston hosts the only museum in the UK dedicated to vehicles under 700cc.
While it may initially seem a specialized attraction, visitors often find themselves enamored with this collection of delightful, eccentric cars.
The Bubblecar Museum, located in the surrounding countryside, features over 50 car models, including the Isetta, Bond, Bamby, Frisky, and Reliant, primarily from the bubblecar era of the 1950s and 60s.
In addition, the museum showcases a variety of memorabilia and includes a terrace of reconstructed shops, dioramas, a gift shop, and a café.
This museum is situated on Clover Farm, on the outskirts of the town, and is open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays.
5. Hussey Tower
A captivating remnant of Boston’s grandeur during the late Middle Ages, Hussey Tower is all that remains of a brick fortified house built in the mid-15th century.
Subsequently, it was owned by the courtier Sir John Hussey during King Henry VIII’s reign.
Having lost favor with the King following England’s separation from the Catholic Church, Hussey was executed for treason due to his support of the Pilgrimage of Grace (a Catholic uprising during the Reformation). After nearly 500 years of decay, the preserved tower remains in good condition, retaining several crenellations and mullioned window openings.
This monument opens occasionally during heritage days, so remain vigilant if you wish to visit.
6. RSPB Frampton Marsh
Located approximately four miles south of Boston is an RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) site situated on a marsh region formed by the Witham and Welland Rivers.
Within this compact area adjacent to the Wash, Frampton Marsh boasts a rich diversity of wetland environments, including reed beds, wet grassland, salt marsh, and river scrapes where numerous bird species such as whimbrels, skylarks, redshanks, and avocets reside during the summer.
The marsh features a visitor centre that educates visitors about its ecosystems, along with nature trails comprising wooden walkways and bird hides offering 360° views.
Binoculars can be rented, and refreshments like tea and coffee are available.
7. Marketplace
For at least 900 years, this vast and irregular marketplace has been a hub for commerce, making it one of the largest market squares in England.
The marketplace features 120 stalls operating on Wednesdays and Saturdays, providing a variety of goods including vegetables, fruit, cheese, cakes, confectionery, plants, fabrics, homewares, and much more.
At the northern end, the unmistakable outline of St Botolph’s Church is visible, while the prominent cream building to the south is the Neoclassical Assembly Rooms (1822), featuring a pediment and currently housing a nightclub.
8. Fydell House
Adjacent to the Guildhall, Fydell House, the most elegant structure in Boston, was constructed at the beginning of the 18th century, named after the well-off wool merchants, the Fydell Family, who took residence there in 1720. This townhouse exemplifies the Classical style, framed by an iron gate and fence featuring a balustrade with four pilasters on its façade along with stone urns in the front yard.
Since 1935, the house has been managed by the Boston Preservation Trust and serves multiple community functions.
While the building accommodates classes, seminars, and events, visitors are allowed to explore its Georgian features and the walled garden at the rear.
9. Pilgrim Fathers Memorial
Situated at Fishtoft on the Haven, just a ten-minute journey downstream from Boston, lies a modest monument commemorating a fascinating moment in European and American history.
In 1607, the Puritan Scrooby Congregation attempted to journey to the Netherlands from this location.
At that time, unauthorized emigration was deemed illegal, and their efforts were thwarted when the captain informed the local authorities, resulting in their imprisonment.
However, a later attempt in 1609 was successful, enabling the separatists to eventually depart from Plymouth towards the New World after residing in Leiden for 11 years.
The memorial features a small granite obelisk set upon a granite base.
10. Boston Wood
On the west bank of the Witham, just before it flows into Boston, you can explore a 100-acre park characterized by woodland and meadow, first designated by a non-profit trust in 2001. The Boston Wood is gradually evolving, with plantings of hornbeam, beech, oaks, hawthorn, haze, and field maple.
This area is in the process of transformation into a park, featuring ponds, wildflower meadows, and an arboretum dedicated to Joseph Wright, the Lincolnshire botanist who accompanied Captain Cook on his First Voyage in the 18th century.
The scenic oak avenue aligns with the Stump, creating a picturesque walk.
11. Sibsey Trader Mill
The Grade I listed Sibsey Trader Mill ranks among the last six-sailed windmills in the UK, standing at 23 metres in height.
Constructed in 1877, the mill closed for business in 1954; however, its fantail, sails, and gears remain well-preserved, allowing it to continue grinding flour.
On weekend afternoons (and Tuesdays during the summer), visitors can discover how the mill operates and purchase genuine stone-ground organic flour.
Delicious cakes and biscuits at the tearoom are also made using this flour.
12. Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre
Military aviation enthusiasts should not overlook this museum located in East Kirkby, a short drive north of Boston.
The centre promotes itself as the sole location in the UK where visitors can experience a ride in an Avro Lancaster bomber.
This aircraft, manufactured in April 1945, was intended for deployment against Japan but ultimately did not see combat.
Following this, it served with French Naval Aviation and has been undergoing restoration since 1992. The Rolls-Royce engines are operational, allowing visitors to experience what it would have been like to taxi in this aircraft.
Additional exhibits include a Percival Proctor radio trainer, a Handley Page Hampden bomber currently being restored, the cockpit of an English Electric Canberra, and wreckage from a Spitfire that crashed in 1943.
13. Witham Way Country Park
A delightful stroll along the Witham for a mile leads you to this country park, adorned with a mix of grassland, scrub, and forest.
In late spring, the park buzzes with activity, particularly at the bug park, a sanctuary for butterflies, and within the designated wildflower meadow.
A community orchard established in 2012 honors the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
Bird boxes have also been installed for owls that hunt along the Witham, and the tree-lined riverbank provides a tranquil pathway for observing the surrounding arable farmland and the Boston Woods across the river.
Looking south, you may occasionally glimpse the Stump above the trees.
14. The Wash
South of Boston, the River Witham transitions into the Haven, a tidal river and vital shipping route, which ultimately flows into the Wash, the broadest estuary in the UK. The Wash holds great ecological importance as a habitat for mussels, cockles, shrimp, and a variety of other shellfish.
Bird species such as oystercatchers are known to feed on these shellfish, while extensive salt marshes and mudflats serve as breeding grounds for common terns and feeding areas for marsh harriers and numerous migratory species.
This environment is critical for 17 bird species, ranging from redshanks to pink-footed geese.
For the best land access from Boston, Freiston Shore offers excellent opportunities to observe large flocks of waders at high tide.
Brent geese and hunting harriers frequent the area in winter, while ringed plovers appear in summer, and skylarks and yellowhammers are present year-round.
15. Boston Belle
Departing from the Boston Gateway Marina, the Boston Belle offers cruises along the Witham between April and October.
This vessel features an open foredeck with benches, a licensed bar, and a retractable canopy over the stern that can be adjusted for sunny days.
As you glide out of the town, you will gently pass arable farms, while in the town, you will gain a unique perspective of the Stump, the historical port, and the town’s fishing fleet.
Lunch and dinner cruises are available, and the Boston Belle also organizes excursions into the Wash in conjunction with the RSPB to search for seals and wading birds.
