Blue is the new gold for England’s top beaches

Three Lincolnshire beaches have been named among the best in the UK, two of them picking up the prestigious Blue Flag award for the 10th year running.

Skegness, Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea beaches have all once again been awarded Blue Flag status, widely considered to be the gold standard for beaches.

Skegness and Sutton on Sea have been awarded the top title every year for the last decade, with Mablethorpe only missing out on the status once, in 2019.

An internationally recognised honour, The Blue Flag Award is managed in England by Keep Britain Tidy and internationally, by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), and only given to beaches that have excellent facilities, are litter free and have achieved a high standard of water quality.

For 2022, 80 beaches in England were awarded Blue Flag status, with another 128 receiving Seaside Awards, which recognise beaches with the highest standards of beach management.

For the three Lincolnshire beaches, this year’s awards maintain a long winning streak, and was warmly welcomed by East Lindsey District Council which manages the beaches.

One of the UK’s most popular seaside resorts, Skegness central beach is a spacious family-friendly stretch of sand, close to traditional seaside attractions, including Skegness Pier, which has been a landmark since opening in 1881, and is now home to a host of family fun attractions.

Since Victorian times, Skegness has been attracting visitors, and the destination’s iconic mascot, the Jolly Fisherman – whose statue stands proudly in Tower Gardens close to the beach – is the result of perhaps the most famous holiday advertisement ever drawn.

The 1908 Great Northern Railway Company poster – drawn by John Hassall, one of Britain’s best-known artists of the early 20th century – and the “so bracing” slogan has become an advertising classic.

Central Beach in Mablethorpe has golden sands stretching for miles in both directions, backed by a popular promenade, with a seaside fairground and a seal sanctuary right next to the beach.

For a much quieter coastal destination in comparison to its neighbours, Sutton on Sea is a small coastal village with a vast beach alongside attractive gardens and a children’s paddling pool.

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