Skegness

Before I go anywhere I like to learn something about the place I will see.

I had been to Skegness many times as a girl as my parents liked the place so we would often go there.Later on when I lived in Sleaford Lincolnshire I would go for a day out to Skegness and enjoyed the day on the beach.

The pier in the 1990's as I recall it when I would go out for the day when I lived in Sleaford.


Colin had never been  to Skegness but wanted to see what it was like as part of family came from Lincolshire. His Grandfather on his Mother's side was born and lived in Spilsby Lincolnshire, a distance of just over 12 miles, so would probably have been to Skegness with his family. As a young man he may even have courted a girl friend or two along the pier.


I was surprised to learn that the railway only got to Skegness in 1873 offering people accommodation in the four hotels and refreshments along the sea front.
 History of Skegness

This is the Clock Tower in 1889

Skegness 1950's

 Postcards of Skegness and Mablethorope

This is the Skegness I recall from being a child.

Around 1962

Skegness in the 1960's t0 1970's

 Skegness has been known for years by the famous character the Jolly fisherman and this is his story

The Jolly Fisherman

So how much will have changed and how much has remained the same? We will see and it will be interesting to find out.

The day begins

Wednesday 11th June 2014

We were up early as the coach was to leave at 08:30 from the  Coach park behind John Lewis.
Drury Holidays are always good and the coaches arrive and leave on time.

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Their coaches are comfortable and the drivers are friendly and helpful our driver was Martin.

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 The only draw back to the pick up point is there is nothing in way of protection from the weather so if it is raining you get very wet. Thankfully it was dry and sunny and we hoped it would stay that way all day.

We stopped off at Peterborough Services for a 30 minute break and we got a cold drink each and a newspaper. As usual  prices in the services along the motorway is greater than anywhere else but it was nice and clean and offered a variety of places to eat and get drink.

Peterborough Services

We headed off to Skegness again and was surprised to see that we were taken along the country roads rather than the main roads. It made for an interesting journey as we went through villages and small towns.

We arrived later than stated but not by much.

Arriving in Skegness

We arrived at 12:00 (noon) and ready for lunch not wanting to wait too long as places soon get full we headed off to find a place to eat.

Where we had lunch I took this using my mobile phone

The Clock is a lovely clean place and the food is really good with large portions that is all cooked fresh. This means you have to wait a while but your food is piping hot and worth the wait.
 If you want a faster service then go to any Fish and Chip place along the front where you can get food fast and eat it walking along the front.
The restaurant gets its name as it is by the Clock Tower.
I had Haddock and chips ( fries) and Colin had the Sea food platter with chips ( fries), neither of us could finish the meal as the portions are so big.

My Picture of the Clock tower

We walked around the town and then headed for the seafront.

I found this on YouTube to give an idea of what the town centre is like is was taken in 2012

Skegness Town Centre

This is the Seafront
Skegness sea front

Boating Lake

My photo of the boating lake

The boating lake offers pedalos and rowing boats plus a tiny section for remote control boats. You can just see the geese swimming .

I took this photo as the Drake looked so sweet

Here you can see one rather lonely Drake as he was trying to find his mate. The seats around the boating lake need updating they are metal and very uncomfortable.

The Beach

My photo taken June 11th 2014

It was lovely to see that Donkey rides are still part of the seaside experience for children. I loved donkey rides as a child and would look out for a particular donkey and wait for her to be free so that I could have my ride. I can still recall her name 'Molly' a love white faced donkey similar in looks to this one

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No, all donkey's do not look alike they are all different and all have their own personality. There has always been something about donkey's that I have loved. It is lovely to see them giving children rides and to see how well cared for they all are.

I took this from the grassy dune

From the beach looking out to see you will find the wind farm some hate them others like them. Personally I think they look graceful and we do need a clean energy source for the future.

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The beach goes on for miles

I took this photo from the Pier

 I took this photo to show the beach as tide goes out

Long and flat you can enjoy a leisurely walk paddle in the sea

Here you can see the  amusemnets. 

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This is North end of the beach

The pier is still in use and offers fun and games but we prefered to sit outside on the pier and enjoy the veiw.

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This is the entance to the pier from the front.

This is the pier behind the amusments and offers lovely views

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I took this close up of the decor

The old Victorian Ironwork is still there and the craftmenship is beautiful.

This is just by the Donkey rides ( my photo)

You are never far from a place to get food and take it onto the beach to enjoy.

Clock Tower and Gardens

I took this phot as we sat enjoying a cold drink

Along the sea front you will find a lovely spot that has rose gardens and places to sit and enjoy a cup of tea, coffee or cold drink along with an ice cream or simple meal.

Colin enjoying the sun.

Red roses ( my photo)

The gardens are lovely and there are rose beds all around

In the centre you will find the Jolly Fisherman

My picture of the Jolly Fisherman

He greets everyone to Skegness and brings a smile to people as they see him on top of the fountain.

Heading Home

The sun shined most of the day and we enjoyed our visit to Skegness.

Me on June 11th 2014

That is me waiting for the coach home after a beautiful day at the sea, Colin took the photo.

The journey home did not take as long as the journey to Skegness we set off at 17:00 and arrived at Milton Keynes 19:45.

So had Skegness changed?

Yes it had, some things for the better and some not, but not all change is for the better after all.  One thing they do need to work on is the over powering smell of old cooking oil from the many fish and chip restaurants, cafes and vendor's. I have never seen so many places selling fish and chips as in Skegness. 

The gardens around the Jolly Fisherman have changed and are not as colourful as they used to be but I suppose cost of keeping them looking nice has gone up so they have changed them.

Access to buildings is good and they seem to have worked hard to make it possible for everyone with a disability to get in and out of buildings easily.
It was nice to see Skegness again but we won't be returning as we like places that are bit quieter these days. 

The experience with Drury Holidays was up to it's usual standard and we look forward to our next day out with them to Brighton.