Ingoldmells

Ingoldmells has relatively little in the way of conventional hotels, since the village has grown up almost entirely around caravan parks and self-catering holiday accommodation. Butlin's Skegness, on the edge of the village, offers hotel-style rooms and apartments as part of its resort, complete with pools, entertainment and direct beach access, making it the closest thing to a hotel stay in Ingoldmells itself. For a broader choice of hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts, most visitors head a few miles south to Skegness, where a good number of seafront and town-centre options range from budget-friendly family hotels to more traditional B&Bs, many within easy walking distance of the pier, beach and shops. Staying in Skegness also puts you within a short drive or bus ride of Ingoldmells itself, making it a practical base for exploring Fantasy Island, the beach and the market without needing to book a caravan. Whichever option you choose, it is worth booking well ahead for July and August, when the whole stretch of coast from Ingoldmells to Skegness fills up quickly with families drawn by the beach and the rides, and prices and availability tighten considerably during school holiday weeks.

Ingoldmells punches well above its size when it comes to family attractions, most of them within walking distance of each other along the coast road.

• Butlin's Skegness — the original Butlin's holiday camp, opened by Billy Butlin in 1936, now a huge modern resort with pools, live shows and funfair rides, still with direct access onto the beach.
• Fantasy Island — a theme park that opened in 1995 with over 35 rides and attractions including the Millennium roller coaster, sitting right by the beach and next to Europe's largest seven-day indoor and outdoor market.
• Ingoldmells beach — a broad, gently shelving sweep of golden sand that runs for miles up the coast, safe for paddling at low tide and a magnet for buckets, spades and beach football.
• Hardy's Animal Farm — a seven-acre family farm park a short walk from the seafront, with hands-on animal encounters, tractor rides and an indoor play barn for wet days.
• Fantasy Island Market — a sprawling, long-running market held alongside the theme park, selling everything from beach toys to bargain clothing and a proper flavour of old-school seaside shopping.
• Skegness seafront and pier — a short drive or bus ride south, with the Jolly Fisherman mascot, amusement arcades, crazy golf and traditional fish and chip shops.
• Natureland Seal Sanctuary — in nearby Skegness, a long-established sanctuary caring for orphaned seal pups rescued from the Lincolnshire coast, alongside penguins and a small tropical house.

Eating out in Ingoldmells leans firmly towards traditional seaside fare. Fish and chip shops are plentiful along the main road, alongside cafes serving all-day breakfasts and ice cream parlours doing brisk trade on sunny afternoons. The Skegness Road strip has a good scatter of pubs, including family-friendly chains with beer gardens, while Fantasy Island itself has a food court and several fast-food outlets aimed squarely at visiting families. For a wider choice of restaurants, cafes and pubs, Skegness town centre a short drive south offers everything from classic British caffs to Indian and Chinese takeaways, plus the seafront chippies that have fed generations of Lincolnshire holidaymakers.

Camping in England is only permitted on recognised sites or with the landowner's explicit permission; there is no general right to wild camp here as there is in Scotland, so pitching up on the beach or in a field without asking is not allowed. That said, Ingoldmells more than makes up for it with one of the densest concentrations of caravan and camping parks anywhere on the English coast. The village and the lanes around it are home to dozens of holiday parks, from small family-run touring sites to large complexes with heated pools, clubhouses and evening entertainment, many offering both static caravan hire and pitches for tourers, motorhomes and tents. The flat, sandy Lincolnshire coastal terrain makes for straightforward, well-drained pitches, though the open landscape also means sites can be breezy, so a sturdy tent and secure pegs are worth having if you are camping under canvas rather than staying in a static van. The best time to camp here runs from late spring through to early autumn, roughly May to September, when the weather is at its most reliable and the parks, market and rides are all in full swing; many smaller touring and tent pitches close over winter, when the village empties out considerably. For something a step up from a tent, glamping options have grown along this stretch of coast in recent years, with pre-erected safari tents, pods and static caravans offering a more comfortable base while keeping the same easy access to the beach, Fantasy Island and Butlin's. Given how popular the area is with families in peak season, booking ahead for July and August is strongly advised, particularly for sites close to the beach or with their own pools and clubs, as the best pitches and vans are often reserved months in advance.