Coastwalk

Mablethorpe → Saltfleet

Distance: 8.40 miles
Ascent: 223 metres
Duration: 2 hours 54 minutes

Behind the dunes
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Mablethorpe is the last of the band of Lincolnshire coastal resorts for a while. To confirm this fact, buses don't stray any further north along the coast so a taxi was the order of the day. These resorts have generally got less and less tacky as we have made our way north, but even Mablethorpe carries a few vestiges of guilt.

Today's walking once again started on wide open beaches, but thankfully the wind has been calmer.

There's another military firing range south of Saltfleet, and with a beach that extends over a kilometre away from the dunes we chose to cross back to field paths on the landward side of the dunes at the first opportunity. Carrying a GPS receiver made all the difference here since there were scant few landmarks to navigate by. Straying onto the range, or wandering in the dunes forever isn't my idea of fun.

On the approach to Saltfleet, the Environment Agency are busy building up embankments to protect against coastal flooding. With the mean high water still a good kilometre beyond the dunes, it's horrifying to consider the events that they are protecting against.