Boston

Boston's hotels and guesthouses cluster mainly around the town centre and the Market Place, within easy reach of St Botolph's Church, the Guildhall Museum and the riverside walks along the Haven. Options here tend to be traditional coaching inns and small independent hotels rather than large chains, reflecting the town's character as a working market town rather than a tourist resort. A handful of budget and mid-range hotels sit just outside the centre along the main approach roads, convenient for anyone arriving by car on the A16 or A52.

Because Boston is not a seaside resort in its own right, it makes a useful, less crowded base for exploring the Lincolnshire coast, with Skegness, Butlin's and the beaches around Ingoldmells all under half an hour away by road or rail. It is equally well placed for the RSPB reserves at Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore, and for day trips into the wider Fens towards Spalding and its bulb fields, or north to the cathedral city of Lincoln. Staying in Boston itself tends to be more affordable than the coastal towns, particularly outside the summer peak, and puts you within walking distance of the historic core, the market, and a good spread of pubs and restaurants for the evening.

Boston rewards a slow wander, with most of its historic sights within easy walking distance of the Market Place.

• St Botolph's Church (the Stump) — the tallest parish church tower in England without a spire, rising 272 feet above the town. Climb the 209 steps for panoramic views across the Fens and out towards The Wash.
• Boston Guildhall Museum — a Grade I listed medieval hall on South Street where the Pilgrim Fathers were tried and held in 1607 after their failed escape attempt; you can still see the original cells.
• Pilgrim Fathers Memorial — a monument on the bank of the Haven, a few miles from town, marking the spot where the group tried to board their ship before being intercepted.
• Maud Foster Windmill — the tallest working windmill in Britain and the last survivor of the fifteen windmills that once stood in Boston, still milling flour today.
• Boston Market — one of the largest outdoor markets in Lincolnshire, held on the historic Market Place every Wednesday and Saturday, with a monthly Makers & Farmers Market between March and October.
• Fydell House — a fine Queen Anne townhouse with links to early American history, used today as a community and heritage venue near the church.
• Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore — RSPB nature reserves on the edge of The Wash, a short drive from town, where huge numbers of wading birds and wildfowl gather across the saltmarsh.

The Market Place and its surrounding streets hold most of the town's cafes, pubs and restaurants. The Moon Under Water and the Ostrich Inn are well-known Wetherspoons and traditional pub options in the centre, while smaller independent cafes around Strait Bait and the Market Place serve the fenland's produce, from locally grown vegetables to fresh fish landed along the coast. Boston's large Eastern European community, drawn by the area's agricultural industry, has also brought a good spread of Polish and Portuguese delis and restaurants to the town, adding an unusual variety to the food scene for a market town of its size.

Camping around Boston means trading dramatic scenery for the huge skies and quiet, flat expanses of the Lincolnshire Fens, a landscape shaped almost entirely by centuries of land drainage. As with the rest of England, wild camping is not legal here without the landowner's permission, so visitors should stick to registered sites, of which there are a reasonable number scattered through the fen villages surrounding the town. Long Acres Touring Park, an adults-only site to the south of Boston, and the Thatched Cottage Caravan Park are among the established options in the area, typically offering touring pitches with hard standing and full hook-up alongside space for tents.

The flat, well-drained terrain of the Fens makes for straightforward, easy-going camping and touring by caravan or motorhome, with quiet lanes ideal for cycling between sites and the coast. Its position inland of The Wash also means Boston's campsites tend to be a little more sheltered than those directly on the coast at Skegness or Ingoldmells, while still being within a short drive of the beaches, the RSPB reserves at Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore, and the bulb fields around Spalding in spring. Many of the region's farms also supply small-scale campsites and glamping pods as a sideline to arable and market-garden farming, so it is worth checking for seasonal or farm-based sites in addition to the established touring parks.

Spring through early autumn is the most comfortable season to camp here, when the Fens are driest and the surrounding market gardens and tulip fields are at their most colourful; the flat ground can become waterlogged after heavy winter rain, so many sites operate on a seasonal basis. For those who prefer fixed accommodation with a similar sense of open-sky remoteness, a small number of glamping options in the area offer pods, shepherd's huts or safari tents as an alternative to bringing your own tent or tourer.