Mums Adventures in the Uk: My visit to Skegness with Sarah & Simon

Well today I went to Skegness, this is a town that is on the east coast the sea no longer comes in right to the promenade. Today there are still sand dues with the usual grasses, going back to Victorian times part of these that were marshy as well were reclaimed and built on. It is strange seeing normal sand on the beach, most beaches I go to in New Zealand have black sand and I tell you something it is bloody hot to walk on in the summer, talk about burn your feet.

We meet up at Johnsons garden centre again to have a bite to eat first, they have scrummy food in this restaurant, if I had been feeling better the last time I was there then I would have eaten all the soup I ordered.......never mind.

The weather was certainly frosty and cold, I think we had a high of 4 c all day. The bright sun and clear blue sky you wouldn't think that in other areas of the Uk that they had been flooded.

Skegness is said to have taken its name from the Vikings. Skeggi's headland is where the name could originate. The village is not in the doomsday book and the original Skegness was washed away by the sea in the early 16th century. During the Civil War with King Charles I, queen Henrietta Maria had raised some funds for him were forced into Skegness harbour by the Earl of Warwick who was a parliamentarian.

Skegness stayed a fishing village until the railway's arrived in 1875. It wasn't until 1908 that Skegness was advertised as a place to holiday, the statue of the Jolly Fisherman helped the town get onto the world map due to him been part of many of the adverts. Today his statue stands on the promenade on top of a fountain for all to view.

Had my camera ready, here are some of the photographs I took.

The clock tower was built in 1898 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee . It's official name is The Diamond Jubilee Clock Tower, however it is better known to locals as The Clock Tower.

The Jolly Fisherman who helped to make Skegness a famous holiday resort.

The fairground.....

The ferris wheel.....hang on coz there are no seats during the winter.......lol

To show how cold it was, this log flume that is open during the summer months was frozen over.

From the beach walkway.

Sadly I didn't get a good shot of the pier. Though it was once one of the longest piers in England it is now only 387 feet long. Originally it was 1,843 foot long. It was opened on Whit Sunday in 1881.

Most of the pier was damaged either by shipping and then by a fire, The pier head was demolished by 1986 due to the state of repair and prohibitive cost.

Memories of buy hot donuts at the beach.

At the sea front

Strange to take a photo of some seating, though this is the sort of thing I remember from my childhood holiday in North Wales

No it isn't a Tudor building

One of the local churches which is situated behind the Hildred's Centre. In Victorian times Hildred's was a hotel, sadly it burnt down.

Christmas is most certainly on the way

I noted the date of 1838 on this building, I have not discovered any history to go with it though.

This building is a replacement for an old Victoria building that burnt down. The owner of this arcade had this built in it's place as you can see if is designed on the 1930s art deco style like in Napier New Zealand.

Do you like my invisible wind turbines.............lol. Just 5 miles off the coast to be clearly seen by all are some massive wind turbines that produce electricity. If you want to know what they look like then google the wind turbines on the Tararua Ranges in New Zealand.