I guess having written so many articles about pubs around Europe it's time I did a short review of what has become my local, The Tiny Tavern in Lincoln. It opened a few days before the covid 19 lockdown of 2020 and reopened shortly after lockdown ended. They get their beers in Wednesday, open just long enough Wednesday to Sunday to get it all drunk and repeat. As the name implies it's far from the biggest pub in the area but it's quant, homely, has wooden floorboards, comfy seats and everything else you could ask for in a local pub.

The pub is open 15:00-10 Wednesday to Friday and 12-10 on a Saturday serving 5 real ales, a couple of ciders and some bottled beer all of which is enough to keep you going for a decent session.  I also enjoy that the drinks are usually local beers from quality breweries. The landlady is excellent and the beer garden is well worth a visit. You'll find The Tiny Tavern at 107 High Street Lincoln LN5 7PY as it's quite small I'll tell you now it's next door to the much easier to spot Salvation Army building. If you're walking away from Lincoln's city center the pub is on the right side of the road. If you're a real ale drinker you'll love The Tiny Tavern.

A few days ago I wrote my guide to Newark's best bars but really there's more to the small market town than just the pubs. Sure you're unlikely to go there on holiday for days on end but with two train lines Newark on Trent is an easy day trip from the likes of Lincoln, Nottingham and Sheffield or even Leeds and London. The town is littered with lovely Georgian and Tudor buildings, a gorgeous Gothic church, and a castle so battered by the civil war it's amazing any of it is still standing. The Town Hall and on Newark Brewery are both gorgeous buildings as is the Prince Rupert Pub. Plus only 20 minutes away you'll find the lovely town of Southwell with its stunning minster. 

OK I'm not going to pretend that Newark Castle hasn't seen better days, but there's something real and authentic about a castle which is only just still standing and free to wander around. There's been a castle on the site since the 12th century, but the one you're seeing when you visit is a 19th century restoration after the original was pretty much completely destroyed in the English civil war in the 17th century. The town of Newark was very much a royalist stronghold until 1646 when the castle fell. These days there's only a few walls standing but it's a lovely area to walk around especially on a sunny day looking out over the River Trent. This has to be top of any list of things to do in Newark on Trent.

This wonderful 12th century Gothic church really is the focal point of the town and you can see the 72 meter high tower from nearly every street in Newark. The building is grade 1 listed and one of the biggest parish churches in the country. It's well worth spending a little time sat on one of the pews looking up at the wonderful ceiling and ornate alter. This really is a building that just brings the whole town together, and it's in a much better state than the poor castle!! This really is the star Newark attraction.

If you enjoy your civil war history this will be the reason you come to Newark, well this and the castle. There's both temporary and permanent exhibitions telling the story of the civil war with a specific focus on Newark. You'll find plenty of period costumes, weapons and loads of information boards, ok I'll be honest it's not a period of history I'm that bothered about so I only glanced inside rather than paying the £4 entry fee, but the truth is if you like civil war history you'll be all over this if not you'll give it a miss and head to the pub.

If you get chance you'll find the Palace Theatre near the Church of Mary Magdalene puts on a pretty impressive array of shows, and you can take a nice walk down The River Trent but if you only have one day in Newark, and you probably do, then it's time to jump on the 28 bus towards Mansfield and jump off in the wonderful town of Southwell just 20 minutes away to check out Southwell's Minster.

Southwell is very much the affluent area in the middle of much more working class Newark and Mansfield, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way at all. This is just the area that the relatively well off have chosen to congregate. While Southwell is a lovely old town to wander around and there is an old 19th century workhouse you can visit (it's a bit dull really) you're really here to see the fantastic 12th century Southwell Minster. It does seem more than a little odd that a town of only 7000 residents gets its own minster while Newark on Trent with close to 30000 gets a very nice church. 

Naturally when you travel as much as I do you come across loads of weird and wonderful art galleries and museums, but few match The Devil's Museum (Žmuidzinavičius Museum) in Kaunas, Lithuania. Firstly can we all agree I'm ok to just call it The Devil's Museum from now on? Yes. Good. Right now that's established we really need to talk about this three story dedication to The Dark Lord, Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, Luis Suarez, or whatever other name you'd like to give him today as this is pretty much the entire reason I dragged my friends from Vilnius to Lithuania's second city.

The museum is located on V.Putvinskio G. 64 in Kaunas. It's pretty easy to find, but because I'm nice I've marked it on the map for you. The opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday 11:00-17:00, so don't get there too early, and there's a 5 euro entrance fee, but I think that's cheap at twice the price, after all I don't think there's another museum quite like this anywhere in the world. Please feel free to correct me if you find another.

The Devil's Museum has been exhibiting thousands of demonic paintings, sculptures, statues, toys and so on since it was opened in 1966 by Antanas Žmuidzinavičius. Each piece is unique and if you look closely enough you'll even find a Lincoln Imp in there. It was really nice to find something to remind me of home. The pieces range from the sublime, to the ridiculous, and to the downright monstrous each with their own descriptions. Meanwhile the museums red and black furnishings, mixed with the somewhat overly high thermostat setting makes for a very atmospheric, and oddly pleasant hellish experience.

You really will find every possible depiction of Lucifer in the Devil's Museum with probably the most famous piece been a sculpture picturing devil Stalin whipping devil Hitler who looks far from amused by the experience. On top of that there's erotic devil's embracing, little demonic families, musical demons, and my personal favourites a very bored looking Satan sat on a toilet and one whisking off a very British looking guy with a top hat, briefcase and nice moustache. This really is a very special museum and I'd urge everyone to go and pay it a visit if you get chance. I'll leave you with a few pictures of my favourite Devil's Museum exhibits.