Old Leake Leisure Park

Even reluctant shoppers should be convinced to go along to the open-air market in historic Boston, a mere eight miles from the caravan park – and should then be persuaded to climb the seven floors for the views at Maud Foster’s Windmill, one of the oldest in the country. Also for determined shoppers, the market at Ingoldmells is open seven days a week, with car boot sales on most days during the summer to bag that Antiques-Roadshow-worthy bargain. Walkwise, there are several strolls in the countryside around Old Leake village, and a ramble around the Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve is also recommended, with hundreds of acres of unspoilt habitats to stroll around. Budding naturalists (or big ones) should take in some time at Freiston Shore to see water birds on the saltwater lagoon at all times of year, while visitors who want to behave in a birdlike way and catch some fish for their supper are only a short drive from some of Lincolnshire’s sea fishing hotspots: Huttoft, Moggs Eye, Anderby Creek and Chapel Point, with trout fisheries also in abundance nearby. Visitors who wish they could fly can check out the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Museum, based on a 1940s RAF Lancaster Bomber airfield; aviation enthusiasts will also be able to see most of the RAF’s history over the past 70 years in flight from Royal Air Force Coningsby at Lincoln, which uses Spitfires, Hurricanes, a Dakota and a Lancaster in its Battle of Britain Memorial Flights. This area of Lincolnshire is noted for its wildlife too and there are several beastie-type attractions about – kids usually love trying to outsquawk the parrots at the National Parrot Sanctuary/The Parrot Zoo, which has the biggest collection of parrots in England as well as other critters such as marmosets and monkeys. The biggest draw of this part of the coast is of course Skegness, with its historic pier, Natureland Seal Sanctuary and Blue Flag Central Beach where donkey rides can still be had in the 21st century and there’s still a funfair. Just as it should be.