Gareth Dowson is a radio host on Lincoln’s community station LCR FM. The 44-year-old also works in the haulage industry.
Q: What’s your favourite thing about living in Lincoln?
A: Lincoln has changed an awful lot in the 34 years I’ve been here, particularly because of the university.
The amount of choice that you now have available in Lincoln, no matter what your interests are – I think we’re spoilt for choice. A lot of that has come from the investment that the university has brought into Lincoln.
Q: What’s your favourite place to go in Lincoln? And why?
A: The Bailgate area. That’s where we like to go, with the Cathedral and the Castle, there’s so much to do up there. You’ve got the independent shops on Steep Hill, and all the restaurants, the pubs, and for our friends it’s the meeting spot. It’s where we continue to go.
Q: What would be your perfect Saturday in Lincoln?
A: As an outsider looking in, or even a local, you’ve got to go to the historical part of the city. To the castle, to the cathedral. You’re spoilt for choice up there, especially during the summer. A day in the north of the city: learn a bit of history, and have a bite to eat and a drink.
Q: If you could change one thing about Lincoln, what would it be?
A: One thing that hasn’t kept up with the speed that Lincoln has changed is the transport links. They just haven’t kept pace. It’s horrendous to drive through, a simple ten-minute drive sometimes takes up to 35 minutes.
And, public transport is a big issue as well. Transport is the biggest thing that has to change.