Sand

WITH its vast skies, golden sand and rippling dunes, the Lincolnshire coastline is brimming with brilliant beaches.

Of course, you’ve got traditional seaside towns with piers, promenades and bucket-and-spade fun, such as Skegness, Mablethorpe and Cleethorpes.

These are also often the best-rated options thanks to their family-friendly touches and scenic beauty – but there’s plenty more to explore. 

If you’re looking to escape the crowds, do some birdwatching or walk your dog, there’s a beach with your name on it.

You’ll also find beachside pubs, nature reserves and quirky art installations along Lincolnshire’s more than 50-mile stretch of coast.

So the hardest question on your next £9.50 Holiday will be: which beach should you visit first? 

We’ve spoken to local experts and Sun readers who have already enjoyed a £9.50 Holiday near the Lincolnshire coastline to get their recommendations for the best beaches to visit.

We’ve also selected some of the county’s top-rated options and suggested our own pick of where not to miss.

So grab your buckets and spades, binoculars or swimsuit and head to one of these… 

Best for families

With its traditional English seaside feel, Mablethorpe Beach is a beautiful, Blue Flag award-winning beach.

Its soft golden sand stretches as far as the eye can see, offering endless sandcastle-building potential.

You’ve also got donkey rides on the sand, plus a fairground nearby and beachfront cafes like the highly-rated Snack Shack selling everything from fish and chips to ice cream.

There’s even a little land train that takes you up and down the coast for £2.

Sun reader Linda McDonnell, 71, from Lincoln, says Mablethorpe is an “unbelievable” beach, especially on a sunny day, adding that it is “nice and safe” for families.

She also says not to miss the Time and Tide Bell – a sculpture on the sand with bells that are rung by the waves at high tide. “It’s great if you’re into quirky things,” she added.

Best for wave watching – or wave riding 

Alex Trembath, creator of the Lincoln and Beyond blog, says: “The Lincolnshire coastline is one of the UK’s most underrated beach destinations.

“Skegness used to have a reputation for being a tacky resort town, but these days it has clean, Blue Flag beaches and you can always find a quieter spot if you want.

“My personal favourite beach is Huttoft (south of Mablethorpe). It’s quieter than Skegness and Mablethorpe and is great for surfing and swimming.

“It also has a large car terrace for wave watching whatever the weather.”

There have been an increasing number of wave riders in Lincolnshire since the seventies, with Sutton on Sea, Sandilands and Huttoft, being popular surf spots, especially in winter. 

Best hidden beaches

Daniel Start is the author of Hidden Beaches Britain by Wild Things Publishing (£16.99), which features over 500 hidden coastal locations.

He recommends Anderby Creek, around ten miles north of Skegness, describing it as “a perfect hidden beach with endless golden sands backed with dunes and with very few people.”

While there, you can even check out Britain’s first official cloud-spotting station, complete with parabolic mirrors, roof-top loungers and a “cloud bar” menu. 

Best for nature lovers

Nature lovers can take their pick of beaches packed with wildlife and natural attractions in Lincolnshire.

A few miles south of Skegness, Gibraltar Point is a nature reserve right on the seafront – with more wildlife than human visitors.

Daniel Start says: “There are dunes and wildflower meadows galore at the exotically-named Gibraltar Point.

“Flocks of migrating birds also gather here – up to 10,000 dunlins at a time may break from their migration, descending from the clouds.

“The sea here is shallow but when you run out through the breakers – the huge expanse of the Wash to the south, dunes and meadows behind – you’re reminded of the immensity of nature and the vast tracts of open space still left in Britain.”

Travel north for around 40 minutes up the coast, and you’ll enter the Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park, a five-mile stretch of coastline from Sandilands to Chapel St Leonards.

Sandilands is a good place to start, with coastal birds to spot, weekly walks to join and a National Trust cafe to refuel in. 

Best beach with a pub

You can’t get much closer to the beach than the Admiral Benbow, which is a quirky pub right on the sand at Chapel St Leonards.

Named after the inn in the book Treasure Island, it has a fun, nautical pirate theme that extends to the outdoor seating area – located inside a wooden boat on the beach.

Sun reader John Ellis, 72, from Sheffield, has visited, and said: “It has a fun atmosphere”.

Meanwhile, head north up the coast to Sutton on Sea, where the highly-rated Beach Bar has great sea views and serves good value food, like seafood and beef wellington. 

Best for dogs

Sarah Al-Aidi, General Manager at Southview Holiday Park, said: “There’s a dog-friendly stretch of beach with free council parking that not many people know about.

“It’s at the end of Skegness – about a good five-mile stretch all the way past Ingoldmells and up to Chapel St Leonards, which is all dog-friendly all year long.

“The rest of the beaches are all restricted for dogs in the summer.”

Joanne Green, General Manager at Sunnydale Holiday Park also has a lesser-known dog-walking route to suggest.

She said: “As you come out of our park, turn left and you’re on the salt marshes, which are brilliant for walking dogs.

“People don’t tend to go there because they get to the top of the ramp and they see just salt marshes.

“But if they walk for ten minutes towards the water, there’s a stunning beach with white sand called Saltfleet.

“There are usually not many people there and you can walk all the way to Mablethorpe along the beach from here if you want.”

PLODDING down the steep cobbled ramp, I was already starting to believe that I was stepping into a fairytale.

The boat, bobbing on the water, was the start of my journey to another world.

And, as I drew closer to my destination — a small, mist-shrouded island that was the inspiration for Neverland in JM Barrie’s Peter Pan stories — the storybook setting felt even more real.

Eilean Shona is a rugged tidal island in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides.

“Hidden gem” is an apt description of the place, with visitors having to drive down a long and winding road on the mainland before they even reach the boat taxi that will ferry them to the island.

Boats aren’t on a regular schedule either — the island, and its manor house, Eilean Shona House, is privately owned by Sir Richard Branson’s sister Vanessa, who transformed the destination into a luxury eco-friendly retreat in the 1990s.

BLUE SKYE THINKING

Explore the scenic wonderland of the Hebrides on a personalised cruise

PEX APPEAL

Escape the crowds and take a dip in basement pool of Edinburgh’s Apex Hotel

I really did feel like Wendy when I spotted Neverland for the first time, hidden beneath the clouds.

Just like JM Barrie’s mythical land, the island is covered in thick green woodland.

But this is far from your typical island retreat. Don’t expect speedy wifi, shops and roads, because Eilean Shona is completely car-free, has no shops and only nine people live here.

Instead, you can expect whimsical walks, white sand beaches and a cosy Scottish atmosphere.

The best way to get your bearings is with a refreshing walk to the summit of the island, 265 metres above sea level, which boasts spectacular views over Loch Moidart and the small isles of Rum and Eigg, as well as the Isle of Skye.

You can reward your hiking efforts with a slurp of vodka, because while whisky is the spirit more typically associated with Scotland, this island is where the premium spirits brand Sapling began.

Sat on a bench near the water’s edge in 2018, the brand’s founders, Ed Faulkner and Ivo Devereux, came up with the idea for a climate-positive spirit.

Sapling vodka and gin was formed — spirits that didn’t mess with the environment. In fact the firm gives back to it, by planting a tree each time a bottle is sold.

It was the perfect tipple to accompany me as I sat back and took in the calm of the starlit sky overhead, after retreating back to the manor house where I was staying.

Roaring fireplaces

There are a number of smaller cabins and cottages for those who are travelling solo or in a smaller group, but the manor house offers a more grand experience.

It’s a bit like a miniature version of The Traitors castle, with roaring fireplaces, ornate bathtubs, high ceilings and a grand staircase.

The 19th-century property was originally owned by Captain Swinburne, a Royal Navy seafarer, and it started out as a hunting lodge.

Swinburne went on to develop a great love for the pine trees that he saw on his travels and ended up transforming the landscape of Eilean Shona into one of the most diverse pine collections in Europe.

However these spectacular trees are only part of what makes the island’s surrounding so breathtaking.

My mornings consisted of refreshing plunges off the manor’s pontoon into chilly water, followed by dashes into the sauna afterwards.

You can follow it up with a hike or kayaking, or head to the other end of the island to see a gorgeous beach, which is like nowhere else in the UK, where soft, sugar-like sand meets serenely calm waters.

Eilean Shona House is the island’s main accommodation, sleeping up to 18 people, with a dining room that can host up to 20.

There is a library as well, with a full-sized billiards table, dartboard and a large collection of board games, while in the drawing room sits a grand piano, a cosy seated alcove and views of the loch.

The house can be booked either self-catering or fully catered, with a minimum stay of three nights.

Other options include the Shepherd’s Cottage, which sleeps two people, and the Old Schoolhouse, which sleeps four.

On Eilean Shona I could exchange the real world for Captain Hook’s imaginary version — and for a short time, I didn’t need to worry about growing up.