COAST WITH THE MOST
Sooner or later, everywhere has its moment. A poll for Which? magazine in 2020 named Cleethorpes as one of the worst seaside destinations in the UK; the survey’s respondents were resolutely unmoved by the charms of the Lincolnshire town. This didn’t go down well with local MP Martin Vickers. “Going by the thousands of visitors who come to Cleethorpes and keep returning, they have a different judgement,” he said. Vickers wasn’t the town’s only cheerleader. In February 2022, it was revealed that big-name designer Wayne Hemingway had a plan to turn the town into a fashionable resort. “Cleethorpes,” he said, “has probably got more opportunity than any other place I’ve worked before.”
Is opportunity what comes to mind when you think of the British seaside? Or is it a 99 Flake ice cream dripping down your fingers as you seek a spot on a deckchair-rammed beach? Perhaps a remote bay where the open sands and Atlantic wind are yours alone? An age-old harbour full of lobster pots and fishing boats? End-of-pier amusements? Edge-of-the-world campsites? There’s a lot to picture. According to Ordnance Survey, which
