Alford

Hotel choice directly in Alford is limited, in keeping with the town's small size, with a handful of pubs offering rooms above the bar and a scattering of guesthouses and B&Bs around the centre — a straightforward, no-frills option for a night or two exploring the Manor House, the windmill and the surrounding Wolds. These tend to be independently run rather than chain hotels, and booking ahead is sensible, particularly around market days and in summer.

For a wider range of hotels, including larger and more budget-oriented options, the coastal towns of Sutton-on-Sea, Mablethorpe and Skegness are all within a 20-minute drive and offer considerably more choice, from seafront hotels to family-run guesthouses geared toward holidaymakers. Louth, a similar-sized market town around nine miles north, is another useful base with its own selection of coaching inns and hotels, and a slightly larger range of restaurants. Wherever you base yourself, Alford's position near the foot of the Wolds means it works well as a day-trip destination even if you choose to stay somewhere with a bigger choice of accommodation nearby.

Alford's compact centre and surrounding lanes hold more historic interest than its size suggests, and it makes a good stopping point before heading out into the Wolds or on to the coast.

• Alford Manor House — Built in 1611 and reputed to be the largest thatched manor house in the country, this Grade II* building now houses a folk museum with a recreated Victorian schoolroom, an old pharmacy, a cobbler's shop and a police cell, set around pretty gardens with a tea room.
• Alford Five-Sailed Windmill — A Grade I listed, seven-storey tower mill built in 1837, unusual for its five sails, a design chosen for greater mechanical efficiency. It's a working mill producing stone-ground flour, and visitors can climb through the tower and buy flour from the shop.
• Alford Tuesday and Friday Market — A market has run here since the 13th century, and stalls still set up twice a week selling local bread, meat, fruit and veg in the town centre.
• Lincolnshire Wolds AONB — The gentle chalk hills west of town are a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, threaded with footpaths and quiet lanes that make for excellent walking and cycling away from the crowds.
• Alford Corn Exchange — The town's Victorian corn exchange now serves as a community theatre and cinema, hosting films, live shows and events year-round.
• Nearby coast — Sutton-on-Sea and Mablethorpe are both within eight miles, offering sandy beaches, dunes and a traditional seaside promenade, while Skegness lies about 18 miles south.

Alford's pubs lean traditional, with home-cooked food and real ale on offer at spots such as the Half Moon Inn, the Kings Head and the Plough Inn. For something more relaxed, the Manor House tea room serves light lunches and cakes in its garden setting, and a family-run café housed in an 18th-century watermill on the edge of town is a popular stop for breakfast or a light lunch. The twice-weekly market is also worth timing a visit around, with local bakers, butchers and growers setting up stalls in the town centre.

Camping around Alford means choosing between the rolling chalk hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB inland and the flatter, breezier ground closer to the coast at Sutton-on-Sea and Mablethorpe, both under eight miles away. The Wolds side tends to suit those after quiet, small farm-based sites with good walking and cycling straight from the pitch, while coastal sites put you closer to the beach and Skegness's wider range of attractions. As in the rest of England, wild camping without the landowner's permission isn't legal here, so stick to recognised campsites, caravan parks and certified sites, of which the area around Alford has a good number, from small adults-only touring pitches to family-friendly holiday parks.

The terrain is gentle rather than dramatic — this is chalk upland, not mountain country — which makes it forgiving for tents, trailer tents and caravans alike, though the coastal strip can be exposed to wind off the North Sea, so a sturdy pitch and good guy lines are worth the effort in spring and autumn. Summer (June to August) brings the most settled weather and the longest days for exploring both the Wolds footpaths and the beaches, while May and September offer a quieter, cooler alternative with fewer other visitors and lower site prices. Many local farms run small, low-key sites with basic facilities, in keeping with the area's understated character, so it's worth checking what's included — some are simple grass pitches with a standpipe and elsan point, others offer full hook-up and shower blocks.

For those who'd rather skip the tent, glamping has taken hold on a handful of Wolds farms within easy reach of Alford, with shepherd's huts, camping pods and safari tents offering a more comfortable base among the same countryside. These tend to book up well ahead for peak summer weekends, so early planning pays off if a fixed date matters. Whichever way you camp, Alford's central position means a pitch here puts both the Wolds and the coast within a short drive, without the crowds or prices of Lincolnshire's more heavily promoted holiday spots.