Huttoft

Hotels in and immediately around Huttoft are limited, since this is a small village rather than a resort, but its position on the A52 puts a good range of accommodation within easy reach. Sutton-on-Sea and Mablethorpe, both a short drive away, offer guest houses, B&Bs, self-catering cottages and seafront hotels geared towards traditional Lincolnshire coast holidays, while Skegness to the south has the widest choice of larger hotels and family-friendly resorts on this stretch of coastline. Staying in one of these neighbouring towns gives easy access to the beaches, the Seal Sanctuary at Mablethorpe and the Pleasure Gardens at Sutton-on-Sea, while keeping Huttoft's quieter countryside and the Huttoft Bank Pit nature reserve within a few minutes' drive for a walk or some birdwatching. Booking ahead is worthwhile in the summer months, when the Lincolnshire coast resorts fill up with holidaymakers, and rooms with sea views or easy beach access tend to go first. Out of season, availability is generally much better and rates lower, making it a good time for a quieter break centred on walking and wildlife rather than the beach itself. Whichever base you choose, the flat coast road makes getting around this part of Lincolnshire straightforward, so a hotel in Sutton-on-Sea or Mablethorpe still leaves Huttoft and its nature reserve very much within reach for a day trip.

Huttoft itself is tiny, but it sits within easy reach of some genuinely good days out along the Lincolnshire coast.

• Huttoft Bank Pit Nature Reserve — a Site of Special Scientific Interest run by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, this flooded former clay pit has open water and reedbeds that attract fifteen recorded species of duck plus nesting reed and sedge warblers, water rail and reed bunting, with rarer visitors such as spoonbill recorded over the years.
• Sutton-on-Sea and Sandilands beach — a wide, largely uncommercial stretch of sand and promenade lined with traditional beach huts, good for a long walk, a picnic or simply watching the sea; you can walk the beach north all the way to Mablethorpe.
• Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary and Wildlife Centre — a well-known rescue centre and small zoo housing rescued seals alongside primates, birds of prey and reptiles, with daily seal and meerkat feeding sessions and a dinosaur-themed Time Walk for children.
• Mablethorpe seafront — the area's liveliest resort, with amusements, a promenade and a much busier beach than Sutton-on-Sea, useful for a change of pace on a family holiday.
• Alford — the nearest market town, with a five-sailed working windmill, a Tuesday market and a manor house, and the natural place to stock up or explore some Lincolnshire Wolds heritage inland.

The village's own Axe & Cleaver pub is the local option for a meal in Huttoft itself. For more choice, Sutton-on-Sea has cafes and takeaways along its seafront, including the well-known Fat Seagull by the beach, while Mablethorpe offers a fuller run of fish and chip shops, cafes and restaurants geared towards holidaymakers.

Huttoft's appeal for campers lies in its position on the Lincolnshire coast, close to Huttoft Bank Pit nature reserve and within easy reach of the beaches at Sutton-on-Sea and Mablethorpe, while remaining a quiet village rather than a busy resort. As with anywhere else in England, wild camping is not permitted without the express permission of the landowner, so a pitch on a proper site is the way to enjoy this stretch of coast responsibly. The area around Huttoft has a number of established caravan and camping parks that take advantage of the flat, open coastal landscape, offering both touring pitches and static options.

The terrain here is low-lying farmland giving way to dunes, saltmarsh and shingle along the coast, so pitches tend to be well-sheltered and level rather than dramatic, and the appeal is more about wide skies, birdlife and a sense of space than rugged scenery. Huttoft Bank Pit itself, a flooded former clay pit and Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, is a genuine draw for campers with an interest in wildlife, with reedbeds and open water that attract nesting warblers, wildfowl and occasional rarer migrants.

Summer is the most popular and most reliable season for camping here, with warm enough evenings to make the most of an evening walk along the beach at Sutton-on-Sea, though the flat, exposed landscape means it can be breezy even in good weather, so a sturdy tent and decent pegging are worth the effort. Spring and autumn suit campers more interested in birdwatching than beach time, when migration brings extra interest to the nature reserve, while winter camping on this coast is a proposition for the well-prepared only.

For those who would rather not pitch a tent, glamping options on the Lincolnshire coast have grown in recent years, with pods, static caravans and safari-style tents available at parks around Sutton-on-Sea and Mablethorpe offering a more comfortable way to enjoy the same coastline without compromising on the essentials of a proper camping trip.