Cotty wrote: > > Seriously, I'm up for a jaunt. Don't mind further north. > > How about the coast half way between Sunderland and London? Great > Grimsby! Skegness! We could take over a bed and breakfast hotel and > huddle together in a bus shelter on the promenade and skoff fish and > chips! > > I love the sea.
Hi Cotty, Cleethorpes, which is cheek-by-jowl with Great Grimsby (you are clearly a man "in the know" about this "Great" place!), is an ideal base for photographing the seals at Donna Nook, just south of the mouth of the Humber estuary. Doona Nook gets busy at weekends but it is the #1 seal photo site in the UK. Now that the North Sea seal distemper virus outbreak appears to be over, restrictions on access to Donna Nook will soon be withdrawn, if they haven't already. Cleethorpes is also a good base for photographing the local fens and "Dutch houses". The Fens of North East Lincolnshire differ substantially from those in East Anglia because they remain much as they were when built in the 17th century. If I recall correctly, the builder of the Dutch-style fen drainage system, with it field drains, carrier drains and man-made "rivers" and dykes (clay embankments) was Vermuyden, who settled in the area with many of the Dutch workers after the system was complete. This explains the existence of the enchanting "Dutch houses", a surprising number of which still remain despite the tendency for the land to subside, taking the foundations with it. The East Anglian fens have lost the vast majority of 17th and 18th century features because of the vast changes to the landscape that have taken place in the succeeding centuries. Not so the North East Lincolnshire fens, where many (photographically) charming, nay enticing, features remain. Not a lot of people know that! Of course Cleethorpes is a traditional and fairly downmarket bucket-and-spade, kiss-me-quick and fish-and-chips seaside resort, but it is actually quite refreshing to "slum it" every now and again <g>. Skegness is actually slightly more refined but it lacks the sheer wealth of photo opportunities that the area around Cleethorpes boasts. B&B in Cleethorpes is cheap, with top quality local bacon, eggs and tomatoes forming the "Full English" breakfast. John
