Inside Cleethorpes – Blackpool’s east coast rival that’s home to ‘the smallest pub on the planet’ and traditional seaside fun. Is it on YOUR bucket (and spade) list?
A sign on a building near the barrier at Cleethorpes station reads: ‘Number 2 Pub’.
This has the perverse effect of sending me in search of Number 1 Pub, which, it turns out, is housed in a former ticket office and now serves as an informal museum.
Inside, sipping an excellent IPA, I look at framed photographs of large groups of Edwardian trippers walking from the terminus to the adjacent beach. Above an alcove of memorabilia, I see a sign that reads: Watkin Room.
“A great guy, Watkin,” says Ray, who works at Number 1. “He saw all the potential of Cleethorpes and he just went for it.”
Sir Edward Watkin brought the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincoln Railway (MSLR) from Grimsby to Cleethorpes in 1863.
Seaside attraction: Andrew Martin travels to Cleethorpes, a seaside town in Lincolnshire, to explore pubs, the promenade and ‘delicious’ fish and chips. Above is the central promenade
Sir Edward Watkin helped transform Cleethorpes (above) into a holiday resort in the 19th century, Andrew reveals. Under Watkins’ chairmanship, the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincoln Railway built a promenade and invested in the pier and attractions to rival Blackpool in the northern holiday areas
Under his chairmanship the MSLR built a promenade and invested in the pier and attractions to rival Blackpool as a northern holiday destination.
Outside on the promenade, the scent of candy floss mingles with the milder smell of warm waffles. Meanwhile, past donkeys carrying children across the soft sand, another procession is moving through the haze of the Humber Estuary – a line of cargo ships.
South of the station, Cleethorpes becomes more upmarket. Manicured gardens begin along the promenade and this increasing healthiness culminates in the Kingsway Hotel, with an Art Deco interior reminiscent of an old ocean liner.
Inland you will find pretty Victorian streets lined with independent shops and bars.
Exciting fairground rides on the coast, pictured here, are where ‘the smell of candy floss mingles with the softer smell of warm waffles,’ says Andrew
Andrew enjoys a ride on the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, pictured here, which has been running since 1947
The Signal Box Inn, above, is a tiny pub on the site of the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway and the smallest pub in the world
On Cambridge Street I go to the cosy Folk Wine Bar and speak to Pat. Did he think Cleethorpes was being gentrified? His answer was slightly different: ‘A lot of young locals are starting their own businesses and it usually does very well.’
At the Ocean Fish Bar on St Peter’s Avenue, however, it’s like stepping back in time with a long lounge and tables served by waiters in black. The haddock and chips are delicious.
Since 1947, the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway has run over a viaduct over a rowing lake, before running along the beach.
On board, about 80 per cent of the people we pass wave at us, and I celebrate the journey with Sunday lunch on the Kingsway – a ‘thing’ in Cleethorpes for a century. I keep it traditional, with a juicy steak and ale pie.
After a walk along the beach, the richly decorated station tower tells me that my train will be back soon.
But it was time for a pint in Number 1 and a toast to Sir Edward Watkin.
Where to stay
The Art Deco Kingsway Hotel is decorated throughout with wood panelling, thick blue carpets and polished brass, with double rooms from £125 B&B (kingswayhotel.co.ukFor more information visit northeastlincolnshire.co.uk.
