At the end of July, I wrote about our plans to visit Kilnsea, staying in a caravan for the first time in 25 years (read the article here). As regular visitors to the village, we have stayed in several places in the locality, but we haven’t returned to the Sandy Beaches Holiday Village since the kids were toddlers.
Sandy Beaches Caravan Park sign
We, that’s my wife Sandra and I, decided that we would spend a few days at the caravan park at a time of the year when the tides were high, this happened to be August 11th to 15th. The tides were high at this time due to spring tides and a full moon, but the winds were westerly meaning that any over-topping of the sea defences would be on the River Humber side of the village, as opposed to the North Sea side.
Waves over-topping the bank outside the Crown and Anchor
We arrived at the park and booked into our holiday home for the next four nights. At only £240, and in the peak holiday weeks, this was excellent value. The caravan was new and spotlessly clean and would make for a comfortable stay. We knew what the park was like as we had visited a couple of weeks earlier to make the booking.
Kilnsea as a holiday destination isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but we enjoy the peace and tranquility and we were eagerly looking forward to a few days of relaxation. We weren’t disappointed. Even though it was early August, the park was quiet. This is not the place you see hoards of holidaymakers.
High tide warning sign with the breach behind.
Kilnsea has changed a lot in the 25 or so years that we’ve visited. This is one of the fastest eroding coastlines in the country and the sea is constantly reclaiming land from the soft clay cliffs. In December 2013, a huge tidal surge flooded the area, destroying several caravans on the park and forcing a three-quarter mile breach in the Spurn Peninsular. The surge washed away the road to Spurn Point and now the only way to reach the Point is on foot. We decided the three and a half mile each way walk was too far for us, but we did walk to the breach on a couple of occasions while we were there.
We visited the local nature reserves at Spurn and Kilnsea Wetlands and took a drive up the coast to see other communities threatened by the rampant North Sea. We visited Hornsea Mere, the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire, a place we hadn’t visited for over 15 years.
A parent swallow feeds the youngsters.
Highlights for me were seeing a pair of swallows feeding their young inside the bird hide at Canal Scrape in Kilnsea. Despite being only three feet in front of me, the birds were happily flying in and out of the nest with food for the young. We have swallows around our home in summer, so it was a great thrill to see these beautiful birds close up.
We dined at the Crown and Anchor, Kilnsea’s only pub, which has always been one of my favourites. The view from the window seat, watching the ferries and tankers travelling up and down the Humber, is somewhere I never tire of. What a stunning place to dine and enjoy a drink after a day’s walking.
Crown and Anchor from the road.
Although we didn’t get wet, it did rain a couple of times while we were there, but not enough to spoil the holiday. In fact, I spent a couple of hours watching the storms develop over the Humber and drifting out into the North Sea. Watching lightning flashes far out at sea as the full moon rose over the horizon was a very special moment.
If you want a nice quiet holiday, you could do far worse than Kilnsea, but don’t expect nightlife and amusement arcades, and don’t all rush at once, crowds would spoil the area.
