Skegness - A Trip
To The Lincolnshire Coast
w/e 04 April
2004
In the years
after the Second World War, Skegness became a very popular holiday
resort especially with visitors from the Midland counties of
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. With the onset of foreign travel
the town lost some of its appeal but today it still attracts
many visitors during the summer months. I was surprised last
week with the number of people there at the end of March despite
the fact that the start of holiday season is still a few weeks
off. This view of Lumley Road should be familiar to ALL visitors,
whether old or new. To the left of the building towards the centre
of the picture is the much narrower High Street, probably more
commonly known, because of the number of establishments selling
one of England's favourite take away meals, as Chip Alley.
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Fish and chips
were also available at the Tower Restaurant and despite the shutters
seen here, most of the shops on Lumley Road were open for business.
Even this early in the year, seaside souvenir shops were trading
alongside the national chain stores and other local businesses.
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Almost as
traditional as fish and chips, any visit to the seaside should
also be marked by at least one stick of lettered rock and the
Skegness Rock Factory has already built up sufficient stocks
to satisfy everyone with a sweet tooth expected in the town during
the coming weeks.
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There will be plenty of ice
cream on sale too not least at the Kiddies Corner on the South
Parade.
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For the more grown up children
(and adults) there are larger and more adventurous amusements
off Grand Parade and although comparatively tame by the rollercoaster
standards of today, the Big Dipper has been a familiar feature
of the Skegness skyline for many years.
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And then of course there is
the beach. With a stiff breeze blowing in from the North Sea,
there were no takers today but preparations for the summer season
are well under way. There's a sign for donkey rides but no donkeys
yet; flag poles but no flags and a pier that is shorter now than
it used to be and almost reaches the sea which, if you look closely,
you can just see. There was a joke some time ago that you needed
two days to visit Skegness - one to get there and the other to
walk down the beach to the edge of the water. That's probably
unfair but with such a large expanse of sand there's plenty of
room for everyone and there's certainly no fighting for sun beds.
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As an alternative to the sea,
the calm waters of the boating lake are another excellent option.
Soon the lake will be a hive of activity but at the moment, all
the boats are tied up awaiting their first customers.
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No visit to the town would be
complete without a look at these two famous icons. Even on this
very brief visit - I was only there for about an hour - I had
time to see the Clock Tower and the symbol that is always associated
with Skegness, the Jolly Fisherman.
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On this visit I didn't have
time to go to the end of the pier, but in those halcyon post
war years, well before the arrival of digital cameras, Wrates
had a thriving photographic business snapping holidaymakers as
they walked along the prom. By presenting the ticket thrust into
your hand when the photograph was taken at their premises at
the pier, you could inspect, buy and order further copies of
your holiday image. In 1953, Coronation year, the photos were
presented in souvenir folders.
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The colour images on this page
are from my latest visit to Skegness but this one with the date
stamped in the top corner probably records my first visit. Yes
believe it or not, that cute child really is me!
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