Hull – Coastal Road Trip

Day 33 – Hull to King’s Lynn

Despite a bright start to the morning, the weather was pretty miserable for the rest of the day, so maybe we didn’t see the coast from Hull to King’s Lynn in its best light. However, as usual we made the most of the day, rain or shine!

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Cleethorpes, Rollercoaster, Green Dragon — A dragon in its natural habitat on the beach at Cleethorpes.

New Holland

Coastal Road Trip, New Holland, Station, Railway, Jarno — After leaving Hull, we found New Holland on the map just south of the River Humber. Perfect for a quick Dutch photo opportunity at the local (very quiet) station in the middle of the docks.

Thornton Abbey

Coastal Road Trip, Thornton Abbey — After a short ten minutes drive through the North Lincolnshire countryside we arrived at the remains of the Augustinian Thornton Abbey. The fortified gatehouse, considered to be one of the finest in England.

Killingholme

Coastal Road Trip, Killingholme, Station Road, Lighthouses — Heading down a bumpy lane alongside the River Humber, trying to find the Killingholme Lighthouses, something told us we probably weren’t meant to be down here…

Coastal Road Trip, Killingholme, Killingholme North Low Lighthouse — Killingholme North Low Lighthouse, looking a little unloved.

Coastal Road Trip, Killingholme, Killingholme South Low Lighthouse — Its sister, the Killingholme South Low Lighthouse, wedged between a waterworks, coal docks and the Humber.

Coastal Road Trip, Killingholme, Killingholme High Lighthouse — And finally its big brother, Killingholme High Lighthouse in the middle of the waterworks. As we really weren’t sure if we should be here, we took some quick photos, then got back on the road to Grimsby.

Grimsby

Coastal Road Trip, Grimsby, View from Cleethorpes — The view back to Grimsby from the north end of the promenade at Cleethorpes. Not the most inviting view. Grimsby once had the largest fishing fleet in the world, but lost that crown in the Iceland cod wars. However, it still has the UK’s largest fish market.

Cleethorpes

Coastal Road Trip, Cleethorpes, Rollercoaster, Green Dragon — The view from our car as we sat eating our lunchtime sandwiches.

Coastal Road Trip, Cleethorpes Pier — Cleethorpes Pier, now the largest fish & chip shop in the country!

Saltfeetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes

Coastal Road Trip, Saltfeetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes, MOD Sign — We only stopped briefly at the dunes and mudflats, as the sign put us off a little….

Mablethorpe

Coastal Road Trip, Mablethorpe, Beach, Lifeguard — A very quiet day for the lifeguard at Mablethorpe, as we arrived he was already packing up for the day.

Coastal Road Trip, Mablethorpe, House of Terror, Haunted House, Beach, Amusements — Things that go bump in the night at Mablethorpe…

Coastal Road Trip, Mablethorpe Rock — Checking out the local delicacy…

Chapel St Leonards

Coastal Road Trip, Chapel St Leonards, Chapel Point — Stripey beach huts at Chapel Point Beach, quite a contrast to the Second World War defences that they had replaced.

Skegness

Coastal Road Trip, Skegness, Fantasy Island — We entered Skegness from the north via Fantasy Island…. which was a kind of a surreal place. Roller-coasters towering above static caravans as far as the eye could see. We’re big roller-coaster fans, but not today…

Coastal Road Trip, Skegness, Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve — Driving through Skegness we reached Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve to the south, and its sleek new information centre overlooking the dunes and marshes. The area couldn’t have felt more different than the more commercial parts of Skegness. Variety… that’s the great British seaside for you! 😉

Coastal Road Trip, Skegness, Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve, Boats — Boats moored along the very muddy (and slippery) Steeping River.

Wainfleet All Saints

Coastal Road Trip, Wainfleet All Saints, Barkham Street — Stopping briefly at the early Victorian Barkham Street in Wainfleet All Saints. A street you would expect to see in London, and probably not in a small Lincolnshire town.

Boston

Coastal Road Trip, Boston, St Botolph's Church — As we drove to King’s Lynn for the evening we decide to make our final stop of the day at Boston. As we approached through the flat fens we were drawn towards the huge 83m high St Botolph’s Church tower (AKA Boston Stump) sticking out on the horizon. Considered to be the largest parish church in England (actually we assumed it was a cathedral).

Coastal Road Trip, Boston, Old town streets, Goodbarns Yard, Pub — A lovely cozy market town feel to the cobbled lanes around the church.

Daily video

Day 32 – Scarborough to Hull

Another day of varied coastlines as we drove south from Scarborough to Hull on day thirty-two. As always, some nice little surprises along the way.

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Scarborough, Beach Huts, Brightly Coloured — Freshly painted beach huts along the promenade at Scarborough’s north bay. A nice bright start to the day 🙂

Scarborough

Coastal Road Trip, Scarborough, Sea Front, The Grand Hotel — The Grand Hotel sitting proud above Scarborough’s south bay promenade and beach.

Coastal Road Trip, Scarborough, Sea Front, Lighthouse, Pier, Lunar Park — The lighthouse along the pier with the Lunar Park funfair in the background.

Hunmanby Gap

Coastal Road Trip, Hunmanby Gap, Beach, Dog — Wide open sands at Hunmanby Gap.

Coastal Road Trip, Hunmanby Gap, Berries — Juicy berries on the bushes surrounding the fields above Hunmanby Gap.

Bempton Cliffs

Coastal Road Trip, Bempton Cliffs, RSPB, Gannetts, Birds — Great views of Bempton Cliffs at the nature reserve managed by the RSPB.

Coastal Road Trip, Bempton Cliffs, RSPB, Gannetts, Birds — Hundreds of Gannetts clinging to the cliffs.

Coastal Road Trip, Bempton Cliffs, RSPB, Gannetts, Sign, Jarno — Learning about Gannetts.

Coastal Road Trip, Bempton Cliffs, RSPB, Gannetts, Birds — Magnificent cliff views.

Flamborough Head

Coastal Road Trip, Flamborough Head, Lighthouse — The current lighthouse, built in 1806.

Coastal Road Trip, Flamborough Head, Cliffs. Coast — The view over Selwicks Bay at Flamborough Head.

Coastal Road Trip, Flamborough Head, Old Lighthouse — The Old Lighthouse at Flamborough Head, constructed from chalk in 1673, considered to be the oldest building of its type in England.

Bridlington

Coastal Road Trip, Bridlington, View from Sewerby, Wind Turbines — The view down to Bridlington from Sewerby, and again the now familiar sight of wind turbines along the coast.

Coastal Road Trip, Bridlington, Harbour, Lighthouse in grass — OK OK, not a real lighthouse, but they made an attempt on the grass banks of Bridlington Harbour.

Hornsea

Coastal Road Trip, Hornsea, Telescope, Beach, Promenade — Hornsea Beach, not a huge amount to see on this grey afternoon. So we just had a quick coffee pick-me-up… and got on our way.

Tunstall

Coastal Road Trip, Tunstall, All Saints Parish Church — Trying to navigate our way to the coast at Tunstall, we got as far as the All Saints Parish Church.

Withernsea

Coastal Road Trip, Withernsea, Castle, Promenade — Withernsea Castle (if you can call it that), previously the entrance to the pier before it got washed away.

Coastal Road Trip, Withernsea, Lighthouse, Museum — Withernsea Lighthouse curiously sitting inland in the middle of a row of houses.

Spurn Point

Coastal Road Trip, Spurn Point, Kilnsea — The Holderness coastline is the fastest eroding in Europe, at 2.1m each year! The beach at Kilnsea was littered with bits of road and buildings that had collapsed into the sea.

Coastal Road Trip, Spurn Point, High Tide, Warning Sign, Julian, Jarno — Another high tide warning, so we decided not to proceed along the road to the tip of Spurn Point….

Coastal Road Trip, Spurn Point, Spurn National Nature Reserve, Lighthouse — … instead we viewed the Lighthouse from a safe distance.

Hull

Coastal Road Trip, Hull, Phone Box, Cream, Jarno, Queens Dock Avenue — A quick walk around Hull before dinner, and Jarno got very excited about spotting a cream coloured phone box.

Coastal Road Trip, Hull, Hull City Hall, Queen Victoria Square — The grand Hull City Hall in Queen Victoria Square. From the little we saw of Hull we were surprisingly impressed. We’ll have to come back when we have more time.

Daily video