{"id":48972,"date":"2025-04-25T09:06:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T09:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48972\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T09:06:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T09:06:20","slug":"britains-worst-seaside-town-getting-23-million-upgrade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48972\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain’s ‘worst’ seaside town getting \u00a323 million upgrade"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Lincolnshire town – once labelled the ‘worst’ seaside hotspot in the UK – is set for a major transformation as part of a \u00a323 million investment aimed at drawing in more tourists.<\/p>\n

Skegness, which has been described as a ‘vulgar hellhole’ with a ‘brown sea,’ ranked bottom in Which? Magazine’s 2023 poll of seaside resorts in Britain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The following year, the once-popular holiday destination placed fifth in the survey which featured 120 UK seaside towns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Visitors gave Skegness just one star for its scenery and noise levels, and two stars for its food, drink, shopping and attractions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite its low scores in a number of categories, one area where Skegness consistently rated well was parking – an unlikely silver lining for visiting drivers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Skegness, <\/p>\n

Skegness, which has been described as a ‘vulgar hellhole’ with a ‘brown sea,’ ranked bottom in Which? Magazine’s 2023 poll of seaside resorts in Britain<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In recent decades, a lack of investment in tourism services and infrastructure in Skegness has seen its appeal decline<\/p>\n

\"Aerial <\/p>\n

Aerial photo of the town centre of Skegness showing the pier, beach and fairground rides<\/p>\n

\"Visitors <\/p>\n

Visitors gave Skegness just one star for its scenery and noise levels, and two stars for its food, drink, shopping and attractions<\/p>\n

\"EMR <\/p>\n

EMR unveiled its first fully refurbished Class 170 train, part of a wider \u00a360 million investment into its fleet, which is set to increase travel to Skegness on the Nottingham to Skegness via Grantham line<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The refurbished trains come with a range of modern features, including brand-new seating, updated flooring and refurbished toilets<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In addition to the new trains, the town’s own railway station is receiving a \u00a33.3 million redevelopment, due to be completed by May 25<\/p>\n

\"Pictured:\u00a0Fair <\/p>\n

Pictured:\u00a0Fair ground rides on a sea front in Skegness in 2022\u00a0<\/p>\n

The town once thrived in the 19th century when railways first made it a popular escape for working-class families – but\u00a0in recent decades, a lack of investment in tourism services and infrastructure has seen its appeal decline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the town’s luck might be about to change, as a new rail upgrade by East Midlands Railway (EMR) is expected to bring a wave of improvements to the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On April 15, EMR unveiled its first fully refurbished Class 170 train, part of a wider \u00a360 million investment into its fleet, according to Lincolnshire World<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These upgrades are set to enhance and increase travel to Skegness on the Nottingham to Skegness via Grantham line – a journey that takes just under two hours and can cost as little as \u00a34.05 if booked in advance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The refurbished trains come with a range of modern features, including brand-new seating, updated flooring and refurbished toilets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The picture above shows Skegness Pier in 1900. It was built in 1881 and was England’s fourth longest at the time, stretching to 1,844ft\/562m. <\/a>Skegness<\/a> Town Council explains: ‘It was not until the railway reached Skegness in 1873 that visitors began arriving in large numbers’<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This image captured Skegness Parade seafront in 1900. Skegness Town Council <\/a>reveals: ‘Work began in the late 1870s building wide, tree-lined streets, promenades and gardens.’ It adds that the town’s population had swelled to over 2,000 in 1900, growing from just over 400 in 1850<\/p>\n

\"Young <\/p>\n

Young women are photographed playing cricket on the beach in 1926. Seasidehistory.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0reveals that ‘there was a huge jump in the number of people able to take a holiday by the sea’ in the 1920s\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Bathers <\/p>\n

Bathers are captured using parasols to shade themselves from the sun at Skegness beach in 1926. Cotswold Outdoor explains<\/a>: ‘One of the most striking features of Skegness Beach is its expansive stretch of soft, golden sand’<\/p>\n

\"Three <\/p>\n

Three elephants from the renowned Power’s Dancing Elephants troupe entertain holidaymakers in 1936 with a game of cricket on Skegness Beach. The elephants performed at the now-demolished Hippodrome Theater in New York from 1905 to 1923 and came to Skegness as part of an 11-year European tour<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Butlin’s in Skegness was the first of Billy Butlin’s iconic holiday camps. It opened in 1936 – and pictured above is its open-air pool.\u00a0An advertisement from the time<\/a> says tourists could ‘meet the sun on the east coast’ at the ‘luxury’ camp<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This image depicts beauty queens from nine countries arriving at Butlin’s for a carnival event in 1937. They travelled on a special train dubbed the ‘Beauty Queen Express’<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In this photo, taken in 1938, a Butlin’s worker delivers a cup of morning tea to a chalet guest. The morning tea service was an optional paid extra for guests. An advert for Butlin’s<\/a> describes the chalets as ‘cosy’ with ‘electric light, carpeted floors, running water, bath and first-class sanitary arrangements’<\/p>\n

Each carriage also includes a mix of 230V power sockets, Type-C and dual USB charging points, plus a dedicated bike storage area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The interiors have been redesigned to match the sleek aesthetic of EMR’s upcoming Aurora trains, which are expected to enter service later this year.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Class 170 trains were formerly operated by West Midlands Railway and are now managed by the UK’s leading rolling stock financier, Porterbrook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Will Rogers, managing director of EMR, called the upgrades ‘just the beginning,’ adding that visitors should expect to see more noticeable improvements across the network over the coming year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Holidaymakers <\/p>\n

Holidaymakers are captured enjoying the Butlin’s boating pond in 1939 in this image. The camp was marketed as being affordable for working people<\/p>\n

\"Butlins <\/p>\n

Butlins Holiday Camp at Skegness showing holidaymakers and Redcoats in\u00a01970<\/p>\n

\"One <\/p>\n

One of the famous old London & North Eastern Railway posters advertising trains to Skegness<\/p>\n

\"An <\/p>\n

An aerial view of Butlins Holiday Camp at Skegness in\u00a01970<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The famous poster featuring the jolly fisherman, encouraging tourists to travel to Skegness<\/p>\n

\"Butlins <\/p>\n

Butlins Holiday Camp at Skegness showing children at the start of a wheel-barrow race in\u00a01970<\/p>\n

In addition to the new trains, the town’s own railway station is receiving a \u00a33.3 million redevelopment, due to be completed by May 25.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Editor of Which? travel, Rory Boland, said following the 2023 poll: ‘Clacton, Skegness, and Southend all received one star from visitors for the lack of peace and quiet, and some visitors complain that the boisterous atmosphere can tip into feeling unsafe.<\/p>\n

‘That’s a shame, because what Clacton, Skegness, and Southend offer is exactly the sort of seaside break many of us want.<\/p>\n

‘Big beaches, big entertainment, and small prices. More should be done to help them level up and become first-class holiday resorts.’<\/p>\n

In 2023, locals in Skegness defended their hometown<\/a>, although families said a day out had rocketed in price.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Lincolnshire town – once labelled the ‘worst’ seaside hotspot in the UK – is set for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5018,3,4],"tags":[748,92,393,4884,1144,1404,712,183,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-48972","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"category-uk","9":"category-united-kingdom","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-dailymail","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-northern-ireland","15":"tag-nottingham","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-travel","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}