Skegness & the Coast
Skegness grew from a small village into a full-blown seaside resort after the railway reached it in 1873, and it's kept that traditional English holiday-town character ever since — a wide, flat, sandy beach, an amusement-lined seafront, and a slogan, "Skegness is SO Bracing", that's been stuck to the town since a 1908 railway poster.
Billy Butlin opened one of his first three holiday camps here in 1936, and Butlin's Skegness is still operating on the same stretch of coast today, alongside the town's own pier, funfair and Natureland Seal Sanctuary. Away from the amusements, the beach itself is genuinely large — at low tide the sand stretches out a considerable distance — and the coastline either side runs through quieter dune and nature reserve areas, including Gibraltar Point to the south.
Smaller resorts further up the coast, such as Mablethorpe and Chapel St Leonards, offer a quieter version of the same traditional seaside formula for anyone wanting to base themselves slightly away from the busiest part of Skegness itself.
Where to Stay in Skegness
- Chatsworth Hotel — a long-standing hotel on the Skegness seafront.
- Best Western Vine Hotel — in the quieter Seacroft area, close to the golf course.
- North Shore Hotel — adjoining North Shore Golf Club, on the northern edge of town.
Getting there
Skegness has its own branch-line railway station with services to Nottingham and Grantham, and is reached by road via the A52 and A158 from Lincoln.