If you're ever passing through NE Lincolnshire and have an hour or two to spare, you could do a lot worse than follow the signs for Cleethorpes and enjoy a wander around the refurbished Boating Lake¹. This is the place to go when you want to escape the daily grind and reconnect with your inner self. Do yourself a favour and turn off your mobile phone. Here you can drink in the wondrous glory of wildlife in a natural setting, or just revel in the spectacular views. Be aware that it's a sun trap so take along some skin-protection cream of appropriate factor, also don't forget your sunglasses and sunhat.

While the award-winning clean beach is a magnet for tourists and Pleasure Island Theme Park is the main attraction for teenagers and families with children, the Boating Lake offers more in the way of communing with nature. Oh, and discounting the carpark fee (80p an hour, £1.50 for two hours in June 2008), it's free, and open all year. Allow at least an hour for a slow walk around the lake.

Cleethorpes Boating Lake has a long history. Trippers remember visiting Cleethorpes when there was an outdoor swimming pool where the Leisure Centre now stands, and there used to be a zoo pre-Pleasure Island days. Anyone revisiting the Boating Lake now though would get a pleasant surprise, the area underwent a total revamp in 2006-7. It's now twice the size it was originally, with some new features added:

• A sparkling new fountain in the middle of the lake. This photographs particularly well.
• A new bridge, replacing the dilapidated old wooden one which had become dangerous.
• Some saplings have been planted, and the retained old trees have had the benefit of a tree surgeon's attention.
• Refurbished sandpit complete with mock galleon.
• A new observation building (called the Discovery Centre) about two-thirds of the way round is yet to be opened.

Choose Your Path

Walking from the carpark down the grassy slope at the north end the first thing to notice is there's a new lifebelt in a red stand. Possibly your attention is attracted by the whistle of a train, but the unmistakable smell of the billowing smoke is already assailing your nostrils. People wait until the tiny one-seater engine of the Lincolnshire Light Coast Railway pulling cramped, seated passengers in carriages has passed, then cross the train line. Here you must make your first decision, possibly based on your circumstances. The outermost path is the level one, which only spasmodically reaches the edges of the Boating Lake. It does undulate, but it has no steps so it's the choice for wheelchair users, the mobility-impaired, and people pushing prams or buggies etc. From this path you'd get views over the River Humber across to Spurn Point and a much higher vantage point over the Boating Lake, but the closest you'd get to the wildlife would be minding you don't trip over the occasional sleeping goose.

The inner path takes you along the edge of the water; in some places expect to get your clothes splashed by landing, taking off or bathing fowl, and stalked by a flotilla of ducks seeking scraps of bread that they've come to expect from all visitors. Along this path you'll climb steps and pass through copses with overhanging trees which feels like you're experiencing an eclipse of the Sun on a nice weather day. Quiet, shady and cool, momentarily it's like stepping into another world. This path is marked with painted yellow webbed footprints², which means the feathered residents have right-of-way. Be aware that it's slippery, so hold hands and avoid the slimy green stuff underfoot at all costs.

Around the Lake

Denizens of the lake include Greylag and Canada Geese, coots, swans, and several duck species. In springtime, you may be lucky enough to witness a new batch of ducklings and a mother swan with her brood of cygnets. All around the grounds of the Boating Lake are sparrows and pigeons which feast on the scraps the ducks leave alone too long. Some ducks and geese venture as far as the grassy embankments unaware that they've left their allotted area; geese are quite friendly if they don't view you as a threat but beware, if they are guarding young they will defend them. The geese don't like dogs at all, they hiss and adopt a stance that suggests any closer and they will attack. For this reason dogs aren't allowed off lead, although they are welcomed to the area and the Boating Lake is a popular haunt of local dog-walkers.

The Bridge and the Sandpit

The new humpback bridge is situated approximately halfway along the lake, crossing it will bring you to above the refurbished sandpit, but you'd have to descend several steep steps to reach that³. This would entail carrying buggy and child, if you've brought along such things. The sandpit is a wonderful place for children to let off steam and use up some of their boundless energy. A new mock galleon has been built, on which the little darlings can climb and shriek and pretend to be pirates to their hearts' content, while their parents and carers sit around the outer edge trying to close their ears and converse by lip-reading.

If this isn't for you then retrace your steps over the bridge, stop halfway and look back the way you have travelled. The view is amazing. Turn 180° and see how far there still is to go, you can't see the end of the lake as it winds around the old island. To your right on the same side as the sandpit is the Discovery Centre, with stark white walls and modern design displaying its newness. You can inspect the outside of this on your way back round. By the time you alight from the bridge you'll be well out of range of the aural assault and can get back to identifying birdsong as you wander along the leaf-canopied paths.

The Islands

Some new islands have been created and planted up with saplings, flowers and older shrubs. On one there's a waterfall, at the top of which is the 'Boy with the Leaking Boot' statue which has long been the symbol of Cleethorpes. It used to be situated as a water feature among the floral arrangements on Kings Road, but it was vandalised, repaired, then attacked again so many times that the council have finally moved it to a place where mindless morons can't reach it. Unfortunately that means the people who appreciated it have to live without it now, although a portrait of the statue does appear on the new 'Cleethorpes in Bloom' welcome sign on Kings Road.

The South End

At the extreme end of the Boating Lake you'll reach the rear of
The Jungle, which is a popular tourist attraction. If you have time this place is well worth a visit, there is a truly delightful family of meerkats living here. Watching their antics is worth the entrance fee alone. The Jungle is also a rescue centre, providing homes for exotic animals which have been donated or abandoned by previous owners, including snakes, parrots⁴ and huge bird-eating spiders like tarantulas. Close contact with some of the animals, like goats and guinea pigs, is allowed, but snakes and spiders are displayed safely behind glass.

Coming Back Around

You have two choices, really, you can either go back the way you came, which is much more scenic, or keep following the path passing the rear of The Jungle and a restaurant⁵ displaying a sign 'all you can eat buffet: £3.50' in chalk, so this will probably have changed by the time of your visit. A little further on is the bandstand, well, its nickname locally is the 'one-man bandstand', because it wouldn't hold a string quartet, never mind a band. Further on you'll pass a new bench and the remains of a once-proud castle which didn't survive the refurbishment. Part of the base and a small wall are all that's left, giving a feeling of disappointment for those with strong childhood memories of happy days spent playing there.

Boating

The old boathouse where you can hire a boat is still there. It must have been the last thing on the update list, as all it's had is a coat of paint. On the day of field research a few couples and small family groups were out on the lake, struggling with oars and rowlocks, shrieking with laughter as they tried to avoid colliding with other boaters and bemused birds. Boats are available to rent between March and October, the main tourist season. If you intend going boating it would be wise to add another hour onto your carparking ticket when you arrive. However long you spend here at the Boating Lake, you'll feel rejuvenated and hopefully feel the healing power of reconnecting slowly with the natural world, before you head back to the fast-paced, modern world.

Facilities

Dog owners are welcome to bring their pets, but dogs are not allowed off lead. Special bins are provided for the disposal of doggy poo as well as ordinary litter bins.

• Male and female toilets as well as a facility for members of the RADAR disability network.
  

• Shop which sells hot food like bacon butties and hot dogs; icecream; drinks including bottled water, tea and coffee; toys for the sandpit like beach balls, and the perfunctionary souvenirs like Cleethorpes rock.
  

• Picnic area, for those who prefer to bring their own refreshments.
  

• Public phone box.
  

• Nearest recommended pub and grub: The Wellow Hotel, directly opposite.
  

How to Get There

Cleethorpes lies on the east coast of England. The M180 is the easiest way to get there by car from most of the UK, which can be accessed from the M1 or the A1(M) via the M18. Take the M180 until it becomes the A180 and then follow the signs to Pleasure Island (border of Humberston/Cleethorpes). The Boating Lake, which is also on Kings Road, is just up the road heading north. Keep Pleasure Island to your right and then watch for the large sign 'Cleethorpes in Bloom', the turn-off for the carpark entrance is just after. There is plenty of parking space, which is free for disability badge holders. You can purchase up to a four-hourly parking ticket.

Alternatively, the train service terminates at Cleethorpes and trains depart for Manchester and Doncaster almost hourly during the day. The Boating Lake is a very long way from the train station, along the Promenade heading south. A short walk from the train station is Pier Gardens, (opposite the pier), where you can hire a taxi, ask for the Leisure Centre and walk the few hundred yards from there.

During the tourist season (Easter to the end of school summer holidays), an open-topped double-decker bus travels from Alexandra Road (at the top of Pier Gardens), all the way to Humberston and back again. This will take you along the 'scenic route' and if you manage to acquire a seat up top you'll have grand views over the river to Spurn Point. See if you can spot the wind farm off the Yorkshire coast, the now-defunct Spurn lighthouse and the old fort. Watch the ships on their way to offload cargo at Immingham docks, and passing ferries taking passengers to their European destination across the North Sea. Alight at a bus stop outside the Parkway Cinema, which is diagonally opposite the entrance to the Boating Lake.

On the way back to the train station, get off the bus at High Cliff and walk along the Pier Gardens⁶. There's a new memorial to the brave RAF crews who fought and died during wartime. Marvel at the refurbished Ross Castle with its specially-designed crab flag, and walk up the slope inside the castle if you can (it's a steep climb) but the view across the Humber and up and down the Promenade is worthwhile.