A fresh view of Lincolnshire’s natural coast

A new beachside cafe with floor-to-ceiling windows and a rooftop viewing platform is set to reveal more of Lincolnshire’s less well-known natural coast when it opens later this summer.

Despite delays caused by the pandemic, the new Huttoft Beach Café is now taking shape yards from the wide strip of golden sand at Huttoft Beach.

Following the success of new-builds, Gibraltar Point Visitor Centre in Skegness, and the North Sea Observatory at Chapel Point, the new Boat Shed Café aims to boost visitor facilities as part of the Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park.

A quiet rural beach backed by sand dunes, Huttoft, also known as Moggs Eye, is popular for swimming, surfing and fishing – and home to a large Car Terrace, offering a chance to park practically on the beach, with great sea views.

Less than 50 metres from the beach, the new Boat Shed Café – which was built off site – has now been installed, and hopefully set for a late July opening date. As well as inside and outside seating, it also has a rooftop platform with views across countryside in one direction, and over the beach and sea in the other.

Replacing an existing redundant boat shed – which gives the new attraction its name – it will also host ‘pop-up’ summer food and other events. The café will be run by the same operator as the very successful Seascape Café at the North Sea Observatory at Chapel Beach, just a few miles south of Huttoft.

Best known for its popular seaside resorts, the less-well-known natural coast offers some hidden gems and wildlife spectacles. With miles of clean and wide sandy beaches, Lincolnshire’s Natural Coast offers year-round attractions, from winter breeding seals to huge flocks of migrating birds and a wealth of wildflowers.

As well as coastal walking, it is also a big draw for bird watchers, with waders and hunting marsh harriers in the summer to returning brent geese in autumn and thousands of black tailed godwits in winter.

A series of access points with parking are dotted around these quieter stretches, each offering something a little different, whether a nature reserve, circular walking routes, beach huts or a cycle path.

Also new is The National Trust’s first coastal nature reserve in the Midlands, a former golf course at Sandilands, which has become a National Trust all-year nature reserve, while the North Sea Observatory – the UK’s first purpose-built marine observatory – with its café overlooking the sand dunes and sea, continues to prove popular at Chapel Point beach.

And while it may be just a 10-minute drive from bustling Skegness, Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve – a dynamic three-mile stretch of unspoilt coastline – offers impressive views, a wide variety of wildlife and a striking visitor centre with glass fronted café and viewing platform.

For the latest on the Boat Shed café, see www.facebook.com/huttoftboatshed

For more details about visiting Lincolnshire, www.visitlincolnshire.com

  • slide

  • slide