Day 29 Skegvegas is Caravan World

Monday 4 May 2015 (Bank Holiday)

Skegness to Chapel St Leonards
6.5 miles
Seasgate Guest House

After my 2 days at home I decided to catch the train to Skegness (referred to as Skegvegas by Gareth, who comes from Lincolnshire so I’m taking his word for it). This was in preference to starting back in Boston; the route between the 2 towns did not look overly appealing as a good portion would again be away from the coast. I did consider walking South to Gibraltar Point at the mouth of the Steeping River, which boasts great views across The Wash. However, after negotiating my way from Skegness train station to the sea front I didn’t have the will to walk through Skegness twice. There were a lot of people, well I suppose it was a Bank Holiday and it was sunny. There were also a lot of fish and chip restaurants, cafes and kiosks, and there were queues at nearly all of them. I was tempted but I’d eaten my chicken sandwiches on the train so really ought to do some walking before my next meal. 

I’m now expecting the stares when I walk through big seaside towns and Skegness was no exception to my rule. An interesting place, very noisy and colourful with lots of funfairs, cafes and tattoos. I saw my first donkeys.   

Donkeys and funfairs at Skegness beach

 I avoided the clamour in the town and walked along the beach instead. The tide was out and the North Sea was back to the usual dirty brown colour I associate with it. (It seems to me that wherever the East coast actually faces East the sea is brown and where it faces North, the sea is blue.) It was a pleasant walk up the beach, past Ingoldmells, to Chapel St Leonards. With the tide out there was plenty of golden sand and quite a lot of people taking advantage of it. Chapel St Leonards was the start of ongoing work to improve the sea defences, and the beach, by increasing the amount of sand at the beach. Diggers were in operation and the beach closed.  

Adding sand to the beach at Chapel St Leonards

 The main thing about this stretch of coastline was the number of static caravans. I thought I saw lots on Mersea and in Norfolk, but the parks here are incredible. Huge. There are even funfairs and supermarkets dotted about amongst them. My accommodation for the night feels like a lone building in a sea of caravans. Strange.  

How do you know which one’s yours?