Aim for the skies

Jonathan Manning enjoys pancake-flat roads and sweeping vistas on this inland route from Sutton-on-Sea Club Campsite

The east Lincolnshire coastline is justifiably famous for its miles of golden beaches, but here’s an alternative for anyone who fancies a break from buckets, spades and sand between their toes. Inland from Sutton-on-Sea Club Campsite, the roads are pancake-flat and astoundingly quiet, leaving you free to enjoy a peaceful pedal through the countryside.

This is a region of epic skies – with no hills and little woodland, it’s as if someone has taken a giant rubber and erased everything above the horizon. The light is gorgeous, and occasionally dramatic as weather fronts sweep over the fen-like fields. Look out for wildflowers in the roadside verges, such as oxeye daisies, cow parsley and even thistles, all offering flashes of colour to contrast with the green of the crops.

Before you saddle up, there’s just one word of caution. Just because there’s barely a bump to climb does not make this an easy ride. The plethora of wind turbines gives a clue to the strength of the breezes that blow across the level landscape, and a few miles of headwind with precious little shelter can make you feel as if you’ve pedalled up a mountain.

The effort is worth it, though, for the sense of remote tranquillity in a little explored region of the country.

Directions

Plotted OS map for the cycle route from Sutton-on-Sea Club Campsite

1. Turn left at the gates of the Club campsite and continue to a T-junction. Turn right, signposted to Sutton-on-Sea, and in about 300m turn left to Trusthorpe. Continue to a T-junction.

2. 3.5km – Turn left, passing Trusthorpe Springs on the right. Continue to a crossroads.

3. 6.3km – Turn right to Mablethorpe and Town Centre, pass the filling station on your right, then take the next left along Golf Road, signposted to Industrial Estate and Seafront. Continue to a T-junction Quebec Road turn left onto Meers Bank and follow the road as it becomes Kent Ave, eventually reaching an offset crossroads.

4. 11.5km – Go straight over the crossroads (signposted to Withern) and continue for 7km into Withern.

5. 18.8km – Take the left turn in Withern, signposted to Alford, Claythorpe Water Mill and Woodthorpe. In 650m turn right to Aby and Claythorpe Water Mill, and continue for about 3km, then take the left turn to Beesby (if you reach the turn to Claythorpe Water Mill you have gone too far). Continue to a crossroads.

6. 26.5km – Turn right at the junction to Alford, then in just under 1km turn left to Saleby. Continue along this road until it ends at a T-junction.

7. 30.4km – Turn right at the junction to Markby and Hannah, and in just over 500m when the road bends 90° to the right, turn left to Hagnaby and Trusthorpe. Continue on this road for about 1.8km and look out for a left turn (Rossa Ln).

8. 32.7km – Turn left to Trusthorpe and continue to a T-junction opposite Trusthorpe Springs. Turn right, and in 200m turn right along Brickyard Lane. Continue to a T-junction, and turn right to Alford. In 220m turn left to Sutton Ings and stay on this road to reach the Club campsite on the right.

You can download this route to your GPS device from our dedicated Strava page here.

About the route

Start/finish: Sutton-on-Sea Club Campsite, Crabtree Lane, Sutton-on-Sea, Mablethorpe LN12 2RS.
Distance: 38.5km/24m.
Time: 2hr 30min.
Level: Suitable for all cyclists. There are no hills, and only very short stretches on busier roads.
Terrain: Road all the way.
Landscape: Flat, arable fields and giant skies.
Refreshments: The Cartwheel Pub, Trusthorpe.