Just two hours from London: the hidden European gem most Australians miss

Street names in the Middle Ages tended to be functional and descriptive. Across England, it's still common to find yourself on the likes of Tanners Lane, Brewer Street and Butcher Row, and not having to think too hard about which trades used to flourish on those. Likewise, it won't come as a shock that a Steep Hill promises your lungs and leg muscles a good workout. Ranked as the fourth steepest street in England, this cobbled beauty rises through the heart of Lincoln, which was one of Europe's wealthiest medieval cities, but is now a relatively unsung gem, two hours north-east of London by rail.

Located between Cambridge and York - a duo that feature more regularly on Australians' travel itineraries - Lincoln usually leaves visitors pleasantly surprised and enchanted. And occasionally - and I speak from experience - a little out of breath, especially when scaling that calf-testing hill, which stretches over 400 metres, reaching a maximum gradient of 20 per cent.

For medieval pilgrims, it was the last gruelling schlep to Lincoln Cathedral, a gothic wonder lording over the city from Uphill Lincoln, an uber-quaint quarter that is mercifully pretty flat to walk around once you're up there. Today's hill climbers have several options to pause for a rest and refreshments, with cute cafes, tearooms, pubs, wine stores and boutiques enticing you en route.

You don't have to trudge up Steep Hill (and I'd not recommend it if you're weighed down with luggage). Shuttle buses and taxis swerve around this lofty old thoroughfare from Downhill Lincoln, which is home to the city's train station, high street and a handful of notable districts, including the swan-graced Brayford Pool, billed as England's oldest inland harbour. Fringed by the city's university, the pool links the River Witham - which ferried traders and invaders here from the North Sea (including Vikings on their longships) - and the Foss Dyke, a canal built in 120CE by the Romans, who knew Lincoln as Lindum Colonia, establishing a clifftop fortress here.

To appreciate that strategic vantage point, take a walk on the walls of Lincoln Castle, which dates from 1068, commissioned by William the Conqueror. This Norman castle was later extended and repurposed as a prison and courthouse for the Georgians and Victorians. One of its vaults contains a rare original Magna Carta, the ground-breaking 1215 document that limited the powers of English monarchs.

Roaming the fortifications, you'll feel like a king (or queen), getting a lay of the mostly flat, agricultural land that prevails in Lincolnshire. It was this topography that helped dozens of airfields sprout here in World War II, when this was dubbed "Bomber Country". Some airfields outside the city welcome visitors with aviation museums charting the bombing missions and displaying iconic aircraft like Spitfires and Avro Lancasters.

Paintings and photographs of wartime planes adorn the walls of my Uphill Lincoln base, the White Hart Hotel, a cannonball's shot from the castle on Bailgate. Lined with independent shops and watering holes, this street roughly follows an ancient Roman road between the Newport Arch, a 2nd-century stone gateway that cars still drive through, and Lincoln Cathedral, which is claimed to have been the world's tallest building between 1311 and 1549, when its spire collapsed during a storm.

The cathedral remains a mesmerising spectacle inside and out, serving as a filming location for movies like The Da Vinci Code and Napoleon. Included in your entrance ticket, a guided tour reveals the site's absorbing history and the symbolism hidden in its stained-glass windows and elaborate stonework (look out for the carving of the "Imp", a half-human, half-animal grotesque that's something of an emblem for Lincoln and also appears in shop and business signs across the city).

I admire the cathedral's epic west front from my suite - one of the 49 guestrooms at the White Hart, an old coaching inn stylishly revamped in 2023. It has an inviting restaurant, Antlers, serving dishes brimming with seasonal ingredients from the local coast and countryside. I enjoy a juicy hand-picked white crab followed by a flavoursome plate of Lincolnshire pork - braised cheek, belly, tenderloin and a potato and black pudding terrine - with a side of tenderstem broccoli, toasted almonds and garden herb pesto. For breakfast, there's an appetising continental buffet and a la carte choices, notably a full English starring Lincolnshire's acclaimed sausages.

Another fine way to sample the region's goodies - while meeting some cheerful Lincoln characters - is on a food walking tour. Featuring six stops over four leisurely hours, it starts with a caffeine hit at Seven Districts, a hip cafe nestled between the castle and the site of the ancient Roman forum. Affable guide Matt Hall shares episodes from more than 2000 years of Lincoln history as we stroll between renowned city ventures. These include Sign of the Fish, one of England's oldest "chippies" - they've been frying fish here since 1899 - and The Cheese Society, a family-run cheesemonger where the air is gloriously pungent as we munch locally-crafted offerings like Lincolnshire Poacher, which is like a cross between a cheddar and a Swiss mountain cheese. Talking of mountains, there's another satisfying aspect of this tour. We walk down - not up - Steep Hill. Phew!

The writer was a guest of Visit Britain