Wainfleet Sand

The Sand at Wainfleet is a tidal sandbank that emerges and vanishes with the Wash's relentless rhythm - which makes it either brilliant or completely pointless depending on when you turn up. It's essentially a vast expanse of sand that appears at low tide, stretching out into the grey-brown water like something from a dream you can't quite remember. Worth seeing once if you're staying at Grange Farm Campsite or Riverside Caravan Park nearby, though you'll need to time it right with the tide tables or you'll find nothing but water where the sand should be.

The appeal is straightforward: it's unusual, genuinely wild, and free. Kids find the vast open expanse quite exciting - there's something about thousands of acres of sand to yourself that beats a crowded beach. Dog walkers love it too. But you're not talking about facilities or cafes or anything remotely comfortable. This is proper exposed Lincolnshire coastline, bracing and desolate in equal measure.

If you're based at Haven Skegness or Skegness Seaview Caravan Park a few miles south, it's a decent drive north for a change of scene but don't make it the centrepiece of your day. Pair it with a look around Wainfleet itself or keep it as a backup plan for when the beach feels too busy. Allow an hour, check the tide times obsessively beforehand, and bring a windproof. The Wash doesn't do gentle.