A Nostalgia Trip

Yesterday was Sunday, whooooo what a difference to last weeks snowy Sunday, Easter day. This Sunday dawned a bright clear and sunny day. Not too cold either. We made a quick decision to go out and enjoy it. Usually we would head towards Norfolk but we rashly decided to go north instead.

The traffic on the winding road to the coast was minimal and we arrived in Skegness at about lunch time. Should we find a pub serving Sunday roasts? Nah we're at the seaside - lets have fish and chips. We veered away from the sea front to a chip shop called Salts and had lunch. In Victorian times the land around the coastal fishing village of Skegness belonged to the Earl of Scarbrough. His Agent saw the potential of the long stretch of sandy beach and the arrival of the railway to the area and in 1877 drew up what was one of the first town plans of Skegness, renowned for its tree-lined avenues.
Between the 1880's and 90's the Pier, the first development of the gardens at the seafront, the Clock Tower, the Parade and seafront hotels were developed In the early 1900's Skegness emerged as a primary destination for the East Midlands "Day Tripper". This peaked in 1921 with the railway carrying over 450,000 day trippers on special day excursions.
In the 1930's the foreshore was laid out with formal gardens, swimming baths and boating lakes and in 1936 saw the opening of the first of the highly successful Butlin's Holiday Camps.
The 1930's, 40's, 50's and 60's were the heyday of Skegness seaside resort

A rapid increase in static caravans occurred, rising from 12,500 in 1962 to a peak of 21,066 by 1974. This led to the development of Chapel St. Leonards and Ingoldmells as holiday centres. With the increase of the caravan trade came the rise of 'Penny arcade games' and all the shops selling all manor of cheap 'tat', well that's what I call it!
In 1978 the Skegness Pier was devastated by storms, leaving the pier head isolated from the shore and unusable. This section was eventually demolished.

Much of the sea front parade fell into decline during this period and in the last ten years much improvement had been attempted.
When we were small kids we both came to Skegness several times each summer. Me with my family in my Grandfathers little car, crammed in like sardines. Braving the long queues of traffic along the winding road into Skegness. Dave and his family flying in their Cessna plane up from the small airfield in Spalding marsh to the little airfield north of Skegness before Ingollmells.
Off on a jaunt to Skeg. above and a donkey ride for young Dave below.

A very young Monica on the beach in 1947 The 'Jolly Fisherman' and the slogan - 'Skegness is so Bracing' Symbolised Skegness for me during my childhood. Someone has vandalise this statue of him. They've pinched his pipe! Or is it another 'PC' atrocity!

The Jolly Fisherman is 100 years old this year and the 'Worthy's' in the town council decided to 'Disneyfy' him to be less 'threatening to the children!

Well, the donkeys still give children their first taste of 'riding' along this stretch of beach. They've been banned in many placed as a health and safety hazard.

Much of the beach has altered since the hurricane in 1985 when the Sandbanks out to sea in the Wash shifted and altered their shape and therefore the the way the tides sweeps in and out of the beach. When we were children the sea was nearly a mile from the front promenade and never came close to it when the tide was in. The sea now comes inshore much closer than before so the beach sand had been heaped up and dune grass has been encouraged to grow.

The amusement have now spread along the front into the former Pleasure Gardens. The Amusement park on the North Shore with it's massive wooden big dipper roller coaster has disappeared.
The sand now covers the old concrete steps down to the beach along this stretch of the promenade and to the right of the prom is a massive car park. Not a garden in sight. There's a better beach to the north.

On the advertising board we found this poster. PJ Proby!!! In the 1960's he was Britain answer to Elvis! and we thought he was dead!!!!

Couldn't resist an ice cream. Well we were at the seaside!

It had been about seven year since we were at Skegness. I can't say it's been a great visit and I don't think we'll be rushing ti visit there again. Best remember it as our childhood memories.

.....and so to Boston.

...........leaving Skegness we decided stop in Boston instead of driving straight round the ring road around the town center. We hadn't been there for a few years either. Bostons another 'Old Town' but it's manage to modernise it town center without destroying allot of its historical buildings.

The Boston Stump, the tower of St Boltoph's church, is a landmark that can be seen for many miles around the Fens. It's reputed to be the tallest Parish church in England. On a clear day it can be seen from Hunstanton on the other side of the Wash.

Boston dates back to Saxon times and is a port on the river Witham. Today fairly large ship still come in and out of her port.

The Towns claim to Fame

In 1620 a group of pilgrims from Nottinghamshire set sail to the America's from Boston's Port in the Mayflower. These were the Pilgrim Fathers who settled on the east coast of America

This old building originally called Shodfriars Hall a beautiful old 15th century timber framed building. A theatre created during a 19 century remodelling was the place where Arthur Lucan who became 'Old Mother Riley' made his debut
Boston has retained so many interesting buildings quaint little lanes and it celebrates its history

The River Witham runs through the center of the town.
Georgian Edwardian and Victorian terrace houses still line the streets

The Old Customs House with it's Flemish design faces the quay side

We had a lovely couple of hours wandering around and admiring the architecture and old building in Boston. As it was five o'clock on a Sunday afternoon it was quite and peaceful.

Surfleet Seas End Or The Res.
Travelling on we made another nostalgic detour to The Surfleet reservoir where the sluice gates separate the river Glen from the tidal side of the river.

This is where Dave's family had a summer holiday home and where the eight children with no adults spent their idyllic summer holidays. Swimming, fishing and playing.

The view along the Glen from the sluice gate above and below the sluice gate on the tidal side below.

This is the side of the their holiday home. At the time it was the best site there, commanded a view straight down the river. There were no barriers along the lock sides then and there was a diving board on the river edge

On the bank this side of the river was a small concreted paddling pool fed by the river water.

When Dave was small and before he learnt to swim he often fell in the river and was fished out by his elder step sister. He has such fond memories of this place and liken it to a 'Swallows and Amazons' childhood.