Grantham, Grantham, where's Grantham I hear you say!

Well Grantham is a well known place for those who traverse the A1 motorway on a regular basis, or anyone who as ever wandered into Kings Cross railway station and looked at the great big timetable board and seen the list of destinations on the East Coast main line.

Grantham is a great town, population 34 000 and increasing. It is for many the gateway to Lincolnshire - without the winding roads to get to it! A renowned market town with a long history, Grantham has been so since the doomsday book.

But Grantham is well worth the visit, with a nice selection of hotels in Grantham available, the town is a must for a night stay. Here are a couple of things you need to know about Grantham.

It is actually home to the words only "living" pub sign, which can be found at the Beehive, a pub that's dates back to 1550. Now I hear you ask -"living pub sign" what's one of them. Well the Beehive is called so, because they have a live bee hive in the wooden sign above the pub. Now that is a first!

Grantham also is home to the 6th highest spire in England, and one of Britain eldest inns, the Angel & Royal Hotel. Another not often touted fact is that King John held court there when the hotel used to be a hostel for the Knights Templar.

Now all this talk about kings and bees brings me neatly onto another famous Grantham fact!

Grantham was the birth place and home to a woman, who was certainly regarded as kingly in her mannerisms and definitely had a sting in the tail. Of course I refer to much loved and hated former prime minister of the UK Margret Thatcher!

My advice is to take the time to visit and stop the night and experience Grantham, an old UK town with much history to offer.