Chapel St Leonards

Chapel St Leonards has very little in the way of conventional hotels, so anyone wanting a hotel-style stay is usually better looking a short drive away in Skegness, which has a wider range of seafront hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs, or inland towards Alford and Spilsby for smaller independent inns. What Chapel St Leonards does offer within the village itself tends to be pub accommodation, self-catering holiday cottages and lodges rather than a traditional hotel sector, reflecting its identity as a caravan-park village first and foremost. A handful of holiday cottages sit around the older part of the settlement near The Green and the church, giving a quieter base than the seafront strip while still being within easy walking distance of the beach and the shops.

For visitors who do want proper hotel facilities — a restaurant, bar and leisure amenities on site — Skegness is the obvious choice, with its concentration of larger seafront hotels and its own train station making it a practical base for exploring this stretch of the Lincolnshire coast, with Chapel St Leonards an easy day-trip or short drive north. Those happy to trade a hotel for a lodge or holiday cottage will find more choice actually in and around Chapel St Leonards, often with sea views and direct access to the beach and Coastal Country Park walking routes that make this part of the coast worth visiting in the first place.

Chapel St Leonards is not a destination for big-ticket attractions, but there is a good spread of low-key seaside and outdoor activities within easy reach of the beach.

• Chapel St Leonards beach — a broad sandy beach with beach huts, deckchair hire in summer and enough space to escape the crowds even on a busy bank holiday.
• North Sea Observatory — a striking modern building at Chapel Point with an observation deck and gallery giving panoramic views along the coast, plus the Seascape Café for breakfast and lunch.
• Chapel Point Nature Area — a small reserve with a central pond, good for a short wander and some birdwatching between the village and the sea defences.
• Coastal Country Park walks — waymarked routes running from Chapel St Leonards north to Anderby Creek and Wolla Bank reedbed nature reserve, and south towards Sandilands, taking in dunes, marsh and farmland.
• Lakeside Leisure — a family activity park with motorboats, quad bikes, crazy golf and coarse fishing lakes, popular with holidaymakers staying on the local caravan parks.
• The Green — the historic heart of the older village, hosting markets and community events through the summer season.
• Wolla Bank reedbed — a short walk north of the village, home to nesting reed and sedge warblers and, in season, marsh harriers.

Millers, a combined pub, café and amusement arcade on the seafront, is one of the best-known spots in the village and a popular stop for family meals. Marina Fish and Chips has built a strong local reputation and has picked up national quality accreditation for its fish and chips. Beyond that, the village has a scattering of independent cafés, takeaways and a bookshop-cum-café near the beach, plus further choice a short drive away in Ingoldmells and Skegness for anyone wanting a wider range of restaurants.

Chapel St Leonards is very much a caravan and holiday-park village, and this is where most overnight stays happen rather than in tents pitched wild along the coast. Wild camping is not legal in England without the landowner's permission, and that applies just as much to the dunes and country park land around Chapel St Leonards as anywhere else, so anyone wanting to camp needs to book onto one of the established sites. Fortunately there is no shortage of them: touring and camping pitches can be found on several parks in and around the village, alongside the much larger static caravan operations that dominate the local holiday trade, run by operators including Laver Leisure, Coastfields and Golden Palm Resort.

The terrain here is flat coastal marsh and farmland behind a sandy beach and low dunes, so camping tends to mean level, well-drained pitches rather than anything rugged — this is gentle, family-friendly ground rather than wild countryside camping. Many touring sites sit within walking distance of the beach and the Coastal Country Park trails that run north towards Anderby Creek and Wolla Bank reedbed, making it easy to combine a camping stay with some proper coastal walking and birdwatching. For those who want the coastal setting without the tent, glamping options such as static caravans, lodges and the occasional pod or safari tent are widely available on the bigger parks, usually with access to on-site pools, bars and entertainment thrown in.

Late spring through to early autumn is the best window for camping here, when the sites are fully open and the weather is at its most reliable; many touring pitches close for winter along with the rest of the village's seasonal facilities. Given how exposed this stretch of coast can be to wind off the North Sea, a sturdy tent or an awning on a caravan pitch is worth having even in high summer.