Burgh Le Marsh

Burgh le Marsh itself is a small market town rather than a hotel destination, so options for a traditional hotel stay in the town are limited, mostly amounting to rooms above one or two of its pubs. Most visitors wanting a proper choice of hotels base themselves instead in Skegness, just five miles down the road, which has a good spread of seafront hotels, guest houses and budget chains geared towards families and coastal breaks, or look slightly further afield towards Boston or the market towns of the Lincolnshire Wolds.

That trade-off is part of the appeal for some visitors: staying in or near Burgh le Marsh means quieter surroundings and easy access to the A158, while still being close enough to Skegness for an evening out or a day on the beach. Guest houses and bed and breakfasts in the surrounding villages offer a more rural alternative, often set on working farms or in converted outbuildings, and can be good value outside the busiest summer weeks. Whichever base you choose, the short distance between Burgh le Marsh and the coast means you're never far from a wider choice of places to stay, eat and spend the day.

Burgh le Marsh is a small town, so its attractions are modest, but it makes a good stopping point for a wander before or after a day on the coast.

• Dobson's Windmill — Built in 1813 and restored after the Second World War, this is an unusually configured five-sailed tower mill, one of very few of its kind left in the country. The mill and its adjoining heritage centre are open to visitors on selected days through the season.
• Hanson's Mill — A second, brick-built tower mill on the edge of town, raised in the 1800s on the site of an earlier post mill. It worked commercially into the 20th century before its sails were removed in 1938, and it remains a distinctive landmark on the approach into Burgh.
• Church of St Peter and St Paul — The parish church's tower carries an eye-catching painted clock face, installed by public subscription in the late 19th century, warning passers-by to "watch and pray for ye know not when the time is." The building itself has medieval origins and is a Grade I listed structure.
• Burgh le Marsh Old Station — The town's former railway station, closed to passengers in 1970, survives as a well-kept reminder of the branch line that once linked this part of the coast to the wider rail network.
• Skegness seafront — Around five miles east, Skegness offers wide sandy beaches, a traditional pier, funfairs, Natureland Seal Sanctuary and plenty of family-friendly seaside entertainment, all an easy drive or bus ride from Burgh.
• Snipe Dales Country Park and Nature Reserve — A short drive inland near Hagworthingham, this Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust reserve combines steep, stream-cut valleys, heathland and woodland walking trails, and is a good spot to escape the coastal crowds.
• Gunby Hall and Gardens — A National Trust-owned William and Mary house with walled gardens, orchards and parkland, a short drive from Burgh le Marsh and a pleasant contrast to the flat marsh scenery closer to town.

Burgh le Marsh has a small but decent spread of places to eat. The Bell Hotel on the High Street is a long-standing coaching inn serving pub food and real ale, and The Half Moon is another traditional local pub in the town centre. For something more formal, The Windmill Restaurant has built a reputation locally for its food, and there are a handful of cafes and takeaways serving the town's everyday needs. As with accommodation, the choice widens considerably in Skegness, five miles away, which has a much larger selection of restaurants, cafes and fish-and-chip shops geared towards holidaymakers.

Burgh le Marsh's flat, low-lying position between the Lincolnshire Wolds and the coast makes it decent camping country, provided you plan around a genuine site rather than pitching informally. Wild camping without the landowner's permission is illegal in England, so any camping trip here needs to be based at an established campsite or caravan park — of which there are several dotted around this stretch of coast, from small farm-based sites to larger holiday parks nearer Skegness. Many combine grass touring pitches with static caravans and glamping options such as pods or safari tents for those who want fewer of the logistics.

The terrain around Burgh le Marsh is classic reclaimed marshland: flat, well-drained farmland criss-crossed by drainage dykes, giving way to sandy coastline a few miles east. It's not dramatic scenery, but it's peaceful, easy walking and cycling country, and sites here tend to be quieter and less pricey than those directly on the Skegness seafront. Because the land is so flat and exposed, wind off the North Sea can be a factor even in summer, so a sturdy tent and decent pegs are worth having, and it's sensible to check a site's flood history given the area's marshland past and the drainage systems that keep it usable today.

The camping season here runs broadly from Easter through to the end of September, in line with most Lincolnshire coast sites, with July and August the busiest and warmest months, particularly around school holidays when Skegness draws large numbers of family campers. Spring and early autumn offer a calmer alternative, with mild weather, fewer midges than you'd find on more sheltered inland sites, and easier access to local attractions like Dobson's Windmill and Snipe Dales without the summer crowds. Glamping has grown steadily in popularity around this part of Lincolnshire, and pre-erected safari tents, shepherd's huts and pods are increasingly common on sites within a few miles of Burgh le Marsh, giving campers who want to avoid pitching a tent an easy way to enjoy the same rural, marshland setting.