Lincolnshire coast facts for kids
The coast of Lincolnshire is a long stretch of land in eastern England. It runs for over 50 miles (80 km) along the North Sea. To the north, it meets the Humber estuary, which separates it from East Yorkshire. To the south, it reaches the marshlands of the Wash, where it meets Norfolk. This part of the coast has always been important for tourism, fishing, and trade.
Contents
Coastal Towns and Villages
Many towns and villages are found along the Lincolnshire coast. Some of the bigger ones include the ports of Grimsby and Immingham. There are also popular seaside resorts like Cleethorpes, Mablethorpe (which includes Sutton-on-Sea), Ingoldmells, and Skegness.
Smaller places along the coast include Saltfleet, Theddlethorpe, Trusthorpe, Sandilands, Anderby Creek, and Chapel St Leonards.
The town of Boston is about six miles (10 km) from the open sea. However, it is often thought of as a coastal town. The Boston Haven, which is a tidal part of the River Witham, made Boston a very important port in England between the 11th and 17th centuries.
Understanding Lincolnshire's Geography
The land along the Lincolnshire coast is mostly very flat. In the northern part of the county, areas like the Humberhead Levels and the Lincolnshire Marsh are almost at sea level. In the south, the Fens lead to large areas of salt marsh. To stop the sea from flooding the land, many miles of man-made earth sea banks have been built.
If you look inland from the coast between Grimsby and Boston, you can see a low line of hills called the Lincolnshire Wolds. There are more than thirty miles of sandy beaches that stretch from Cleethorpes to Gibraltar Point. In the north and south, these beaches turn into large areas of salt marsh and muddy river mouths.
Several rivers flow into the North Sea from Lincolnshire. These include the Great Eau, Lud, Nene, Steeping, Welland, and Witham. The Humber River forms the northern border of the county.
The waters off Lincolnshire often look a muddy brown. This is because of all the sediment carried by the Humber River and the rivers flowing into the Wash. The sea floor itself is also made of muddy clay.
A Look at Coastal History
From very early times, the Lincolnshire coast was a key place for making salt. In the 1950s, Grimsby was the biggest and busiest fishing port in the world.
In 1953, a huge storm tide broke through Lincolnshire's sea defences. This caused widespread flooding, reaching as far inland as Alford. Sadly, over 300 people died in Lincolnshire and nearby areas. After this event, the coastal defences (sea banks) were rebuilt much stronger. However, people living on the low-lying Lincolnshire coast are still worried about the sea rising due to global warming.
To help with this problem and protect wildlife, some parts of the sea bank are now being broken on purpose. This allows areas of the coast to become salt marsh again. This process is called "managed retreat".
From the shoreline of Sutton on Sea and other places along the coast, you can sometimes see the curve of the Earth's surface.
- See also: North Sea flood of 1953.
The Lincolnshire Coast Today
Tourism is still very important for the area around Skegness. Many thousands of holiday-makers and day-trippers from places like Mansfield, Nottingham, and South Yorkshire visit the town every year. Since 1936, Skegness has been home to Sir Billy Butlin's first Butlins holiday camp. The coast just north of Skegness has the largest number of static caravans in Europe.
Farming, which is the main part of Lincolnshire's economy, happens right next to the sea walls.
Grimsby is a major centre for the UK's frozen food industry. It is often called The UK's Food Town or Europe's Food Town. Even though the fishing industry has become smaller since the 1970s, Grimsby still has the UK's largest fish market. However, most of the fish sold there is not caught by boats landing at Grimsby Docks anymore. Despite the changes in fishing, the ports of Grimsby and Immingham are still very important for moving goods around the UK.
There is a wind farm near Mablethorpe that produces 0.6 MW of electricity.
Getting Around: Transport
Lincolnshire's only motorway, the M180, ends near Barnetby le Wold. However, the road continues as the A180 to Grimsby. This road connects the docks to Scunthorpe and other industrial towns in South Yorkshire. The A16 links Grimsby with Boston (going through Louth). The A52 connects Boston and Skegness. Skegness is also at the eastern end of the A158 to Lincoln.
The coast also has train services. These include the Grimsby branch of the Sheffield to Lincoln line, the Cleethorpes-Barton line, and the Grantham to Skegness line. There are railway stations at Barrow, Barton, Boston, Cleethorpes, Grimsby, New Holland, and Skegness.
Lincolnshire RoadCar (now part of Stagecoach) runs regular InterConnect buses. These buses connect the towns on the east coast with other big towns in Lincolnshire. The bus network is very important in this rural county. It helps people, especially the elderly, get around from scattered villages where there aren't many train lines.
Grimsby and Immingham are very busy ports. Together, they handle about 55.9 million tonnes of cargo each year. This makes them the largest port area in the UK by weight of goods. The port of Boston is not as important as it used to be, but it still handles over 1.5 million tonnes of cargo every year.
Humberside Airport is located ten miles (16 km) west of Grimsby.
Wildlife and Nature Reserves
The marshes and reedbeds of the Wash and Humber are some of the most important places in the UK for wading birds.
Lincolnshire's coastal nature reserves include:
- Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve (NNR) south of Skegness.
- The Far Ings NNR on the Humber.
- Donna Nook NNR, which is a major place where Britain's grey seals have their pups.
- Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes NNR.
All these are managed by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.
- Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore RSPB reserves are also important.
Images for kids
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Butlins Skegness.jpg
Butlin's holiday camp in Skegness.
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Grey Seal pup at Donna Nook.jpg
A grey seal pup at Donna Nook.
