One place that I have never been until the end of July is Skegness, a seaside town on the Lincolnshire coast (east coast of England). Due to coronavirus, I have been steering clear of towns and villages. Normally, I'd schedule a visit to a new city, town, or village on my travels. I've been avoiding them and sticking to places that are away from groups of people. However, I rode through the town of Skegness, and although the main street was busy, it was not too crowded. I kept my distance, avoided the high street, and I did not stay long at all. Generally, I think most people were not out or not visiting at this stage. At some point, when it is safe, I shall return to Skegness and enjoy the seaside town.
Skegness is actually a really old town and was most likely a Viking town and named after a Viking ruler; "Skeggi" is a Scandanavian word that means "bearded". Skegness became a seaside resort in the mid-1800s, although it starting to get popular to visit seaside towns and enjoy the sea in the 1700s. The introduction of the railway meant that people could visit it from the midlands. Its heyday was in the 1890s-1945.
The attraction that brought me to Skegness, besides a quick drive around and to see what the town was like at a glance, was the Skegness Model Village. However, down the road along the coast is a Butlins and also several caravan and camping sites, so I think this area would normally attract many visitors.
Skegness has many attractions along the waterfront to make it an ultimate English seaside town. A fairground with rides and a boating lake is popular. (The rides were shut when I visited due to coronavirus.)
Gardens are also laid out near the beach with the boating lake and paddling pool with fountains. Due to coronavirus, some of the attractions, such as the paddling pool, were not in operation. Visitors could also enjoy other attractions or buy beach items.
The weather was hot when I visited; it was perfect beach weather. Had it not been for coronavirus, I may have sat on the beach awhile. I was tempted by the slushies. Slushies are perfect for a hot summer's day. A kiosk on the beach was selling them in different flavours; you could even buy alcoholic ones.
Most people seemed to be adhering to social distancing.
The donkeys are a popular seaside attraction. Children can ride a donkey on the beach for a fee. They were actually quite popular.
The gardens along the seaside were lovely too.
The clocktower dates from the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1899.
The Great Northern Railway Company created a character for its marketing of the town. It is known as "The Jolly Fisherman", nicknamed "Jolly". He is still an important identity of the town.
On the road that follows the seafront were many touristy shops and arcades, ice cream shops, bars, cafes, restaurants, and various entertainment venues.
Further down the road is Mapledurham, a lovely town with a quieter beach. There are other attractions here, such as another boating lake (for children), and this is one of the few places where beach huts can be rented for a day.
I enjoyed my visit to Skegness and plan to return once it is safe to do so. There are quite a lot of attractions in the town.
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