Horncastle named in top five market towns in UK

Holiday home rental company HomeToGo, has released a list of the 15 top market towns in the UK to visit this spring, aiming to provide spend-savvy travellers with plenty of fresh inspiration for scenic places to stay ahead of the bank holiday season.

Horncastle came in at number five in the ranking, beating the likes of Malton in North Yorkshire and Okehampton in Devon, which came in seventh and eight respectively.

The rankings, complied using HomeToGo’s data, is based on the location’s affordability – looking at the median nightly price for holiday accommodation in the area – its scenic setting, which takes into account each town’s proximity to a National Park, AONB or Heritage Coast, and its climate - factoring in average hours of sunshine and average maximum temperatures during spring.

In it citation, Horncastle was described as “a picturesque destination close to the Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with 193.3 hours of sunshine a month and a maximum temperature of 16.68°C on average in Spring”

The citation also praised Horncastle’s well-known high quality antique shops, and its median nightly price per person for a holiday rental is a mere £38.77

​A Horncastle Town Council spokesman said: “This is great news for Horncastle to be recognised as one of the top 5 Best Market Town’s to visit this Spring.

"The Town Council and East Lindsey District Council have been working closely with the local businesses and other organisations in the town to improve the appearance and visitor experience, and this recognition demonstrates that our hard work is being noticed.

"We really hope that being in the top five on this list will attract more visitors to Horncastle so they can see what our great small Market Town has to offer.”

Kay Burge, of the Horncastle Trade Association, said: “It’s fantastic that Horncastle has been given the recognition it deserves.

"We have such a lovely hidden gem here in Horncastle, set in the stunning Lincolnshire Wolds, and it’s great that it is being recognised as such.”

​An East Lindsey District Council spokesperson said it was “fantastic” to see Horncastle getting some “much-deserved national recognition as one of the best market towns to visit in the UK”:

“A huge amount of work has gone into making Horncastle a great place to live, work and visit, with the volunteers and local community who work tirelessly within the town on various projects and events and the proactive and supportive work of the Town Council and Horncastle Together.

“We are pleased to be working with many of these groups to encourage pride of place and community led town centre regeneration through our Vital and Viable Market Towns scheme, supporting businesses through the High Street Task Force, and holding unique and well-supported events like the Teenage Market.”

Topping the list was Coleford in Gloucestershire, with Blandford Forum, Dorset in second place, and Bovey Tracey in Devon coming in third.