‘Isolated’ beach with little-known WW2 relic makes a perfect September daytrip from Nottinghamshire
The relic has been rusting on the beach for decades
A day at the beach is about as quintessentially English as it gets.
Building sandcastles, wasting a tonne of 2ps in the arcades and fish and chips for dinner made the ultimate seaside experience.
We usually associate these types of daytrips with seaside towns such as Blackpool and Skegness, but the diverse English coastline has so much more to offer.
The Lincolnshire coast, for instance, is packed with little-known beaches that are well worth a daytrip from Nottinghamshire.
Many of these aren’t much more than a vast expanse of sand and a few dunes, but that only adds to their charm.
One such beach is just over an hour’s drive from Nottinghamshire, making it ideal for a September daytrip.
Visitors can even get up close and personal to a genuine WW2 relic.
Sounds good? Allow us to explain.
The ‘isolated’ Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve
A couple of miles north of Mablethorpe is the Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve.
The internationally important site consists of several rare habitats shaped by the sea, the tide and the winds.
With sand dunes, ponds and dykes, the nature reserve is a truly beautiful part of the coast whatever time of year you choose to visit.
Home to many types of birds and wildfowl, Theddlethorpe Dunes showcase the very best of the Lincolnshire coast.
At just an hour-and-a-half’s drive from Nottinghamshire, the beach is ideal for a September daytrip.
The reserve’s main selling point, however, lies on the beach.
The ‘mysterious’ WW2 relic on Theddlethorpe Beach
Those familiar with the Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve will know that the beach contains a mysterious link to the Second World War.
Just a short walk from the Churchill Lane Car Park, amongst the mudflats, sits a rusting tank.
The mystery of how the tank - a Comet I A34 - ended up on the beach has never been solved.
Comet I A34 tanks were used by the British Army between 1944 and 1958, although the history of the tank in question is not known.
The most likely theory is that the tank broke down during a training exercise on the beach and was never removed.
In the years following its abandonment it’s likely to have been used for target practice by troops from the nearby RAF Theddlethorpe.
The tank has now become a popular tourist attraction, even receiving positive reviews online.
Visitors are advised to check tide times before visiting the beach to ensure that they don’t get cut-off.