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Cleethorpes Holidays - Part 3 - Ducks at 50 mph on Cleethorpes Beach
Passing the steps up to the station was another number of arcades, shops and a
cafe. At the end of this block was the road that came down to the pier entrance. At this point there was a WW2 naval mine painted red and I think it was used to collect money in but I don't remember who for. I know
that Donkey rides were on the beach but I am unable to say where but I think that there were groups at the slipway at the pier and down towards Wonderland, so I asked for help and was informed that there were some
at the Brighton Street Slip way (between the pier and swimming pool).
I also remember that a small aircraft would land on the sands up near the open air swimming pool now gone and replaced by the Leisure
Centre and car park, and it would take people for a flight over Cleethorpes which was also confirmed and I was told that there may have been two light aircraft. Once again I was not lucky enough to be able to take
one of the flights but my Uncle and Grannie were. John Kirk was another participant of the flights, who I would like to thank for his help in jogging my memory when I could not place or remember some parts.
Another ride was by horse and cart that went up and down the beach and out to waters edge when the tide went out. These rides got shorter as the tide came back in and then part of the way out the horse and cart
would be met by a small boat and the passengers transferred to it to continue their ride. Also that several ex war department DUKWs (pronounced Ducks) a six wheeled amphibious vehicle that would take people across
the beach and into the water. Basically a water tight truck that would carry troops during the war on land and water so that they had not to change to a boat. With a speed of 50 mph on land and 6 mph when in water,
where twin propellers took over the propulsion. John also pointed out that along with the model railway under the Big Dipper, there were power boats the same as dodgems only in water.
The opposite side of
the road from the sands were gardens with displays of bright coloured flowers, a large clock inset with flowers and the hands 4ft to 5ft long. Two small buildings that sold ice cream and at one time set in and under
the bank of one of the gardens was an aquarium. Then was what we called the `Castle` that I would think was what would be called a `Folly` with a path running round inside the wall with an overhang and seat about
half way up and at the top seating where we would sit and watch the ships entering and leaving Grimsby and the Humber for the North Sea.
Back down to the promenade and heading towards the open air swimming
pool this was one large and one small pool with a fountain between them, with changing rooms and entrance between the road and swimming areas. Across the road was the Winter Gardens where dances were held. Still
following the road parallel to the beach in a southerly direction is a pair of round structures one holding sand the other water both having a form of seating round them and a safer place for small children to play.
The boating lakes included one for powered boats the other for rowing boats, along side of them ran a larger version of the model railway at Wonderland. Beyond this point you started to come into the sand
dunes where huts and bungalows that were used as holiday homes by the people who owned them towards the end of the road was the holiday camp Humberston Fitties. There was another small railway right out here that
ran from North Sea Lane to South Sea Lane, under the name of `Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway` with the track having a gauge of 1ft 11½ inches in width. This railway ran from the 1960s to 1985.
I have
managed to travel to Cleethorpes and describe the journey, spend time on the beach and tell what we did possibly not all in one days trip but a number placed together and still not told of the hotels or guest
houses. Shops, gardens with the statue of the little boy with `the leaking boot` in one of the gardens that lined `Kingsway` the road that ran through the town parallel to the promenade. At one time this road had
trams that ran up and down it but in my life time over head wires were in use not by the trams but trolley buses. These buses looked very much like the double deck buses of today but ran on electric picked up by two
poles on the top of them as they rubbed along the wires. Now they have gone leaving modern buses of today to travel the same routes.
I think the reason for not saying much about this area is that I remember
only going up there a few times and this was when we had gone with older members of the family who liked to shop there or look at the gardens.
Trains and boats and ... buses
On a sunny morning during the summer, two or possibly three private hire buses came
into Winteringham.
They were to pick up passengers for the Chapel Sunday School Trip I and my two brothers John and William being Chapel and attending Sunday School there went with our parents on the trip. Though the trip was organised by the Chapel I remember that the trip was open to people from the village and the buses were always full. I may be correct but I am not sure in thinking that the children of the Chapel Sunday School each received an envelope with an amount of money in it to spend while at Cleethorpes. Once at our destination the buses were parked in the large parking area next to the railway station. With the buses parked we then had to pass through the station to get to the sea front. As trains would be arriving every few minutes their passengers would be coming through the gates from the platforms and both rail and road visitors would mix at this point and make their way to the promenade before dispersing into the throng of people that had already built up.
On one of our trips I can't remember if it was with the Sunday School trip or one
by train my family were sat on the sands in the area of the Big Wheel playing, other families around us were doing the same with every one enjoying themselves. I had been given permission to go up onto the promenade
and across to one of the stalls that sold ice cream, with bare feet and just my trunks on I set off just after buying my ice cream I was stopped and asked by two people wearing coloured badges with printing on them
which I knew was what the pit trips wore, where my badge was? On replying that I did not have one they wanted to know what pit I was with? (On that day there were a large number of trips from the coal mines at
Cleethorpes) I said I was with my Mum and Dad and that they were on the beach, where on they asked me to show them where they were sat. The two people identified themselves as from one of the pit trips and that they
were two of the people who were for want of a better term policing their trips and on the look out for children who may be lost or lost their ID badge and to make sure that they were safe, with everything in order
they went on their way. I think that it showed how much safer we were then as I was nothing to do with their trips but they still had time to make sure who I said I was and that I was and using one of today's
sayings, `Not Pulling A Fast One`
Sadly the days of multiple trips have faded into the past along with many of the buildings like Wonderland and the places we visited as young children.
During the late 1960s and still living at Winteringham and courting my wife Shirley Cleethorpes became a place that we visited most Sundays. With the sun shining and the days being warm we would catch
the service bus at Barton upon Humber to New Holland and then the 1300hr Sunday train service that took us to our destination. Over the weeks we found that there were a number of young people who were using the same
buses and trains as us. At Cleethorpes we would make our way up to the Boating Lake area and spend time there watching the world pass by followed by a walk down to Wonderland and shops for small presents plus
visiting the arcades. This would take us to tea time that would find us in one of the small cafes on the opposite corner to the Dolphin Public House for a meal of fish, chips and peas with slices of fresh buttered
bread which was washed down with cups of tea. It was then down to the station to catch a train home about 1800 hrs. One day we arrived back at the station slightly earlier than normal to find a train stood in the
platform and on a notice board was the words `HULL EXPRESS` as we stood waiting I was asked by the person manning the gate onto the platform where we were going and upon telling him New Holland he told us we could
take the train stood there or wait for the next one which would have been the one we normally caught. Joining the train that was longer than the platform it stood at we were told again that it was the train we
required and it was non-stop to Hull. At the time it seemed a strange remark and I thought well if it carries on beyond the junction that we should go down at least I knew where to get off and how to get back to
Barton. There was no cause to worry as the train sped westward it turned north and kept passing through the stations without stopping. Half way through our journey a Ticket Inspector opened the door asked for our
tickets, clipped them and said that we would be at New Holland in so many minutes time, when asked about the non-stop Express I believe his reply was it was something to do with one of the ferries and that they were
running between the normal trains and had to be clear of them at each end of the run. It was the first and last time that I saw a train the full length of the pier and to turn round the full train was backed onto
the line to Barton allowing the engine which were all diesels now to point forward. It was then put across the top of the triangle just like in the days of steam when the engine was unable to `run round` its
carriages and back to Cleethorpes the carriages that made up the train were like the ones that used to be pulled by steam engines twenty or thirty years back. A service bus was at the station which we boarded and
were back in Barton a good half to three quarters of an hour before we normally were.
One of the trips to the sea side as children started out by the short trip to Scunthorpe to catch the train, once on board
and settled in our seats we headed out of town past the steel works into the country side and through the stations previously stated along the line towards Cleethorpes but at Grimsby Town our family got off the
train and made our way onto the platform that was not under the main roof. This was a bit strange to me as we had never done this before . Within minutes a train came to a stop where we were standing and we all got
on it when seated the train steamed out of the station in the direction of Cleethorpes and then started to turn away from the other lines, being only a youngster I thought that there must be something wrong on the
line and the one we were on was to by pass it. To my surprise none of the usual land marks could be seen until the Big Dipper at the end of Wonderland could be seen behind us. This soon disappeared and we were into
the countryside and mile after mile passed by and it was time for us to get off as our destination had been reached, the sea side town of Mablethorpe where the day was spent on the beach before calling at some of
the shops for presents to bring home and a look round the arcades. This was the one and only time that I remember I travelled along this piece of railway track.
Keep the station fires burning
The last time I went to Cleethorpes was only three or four years back and the
journey also started from Scunthorpe where I now live but this was not like one of the trips that we made all those years ago as young children. The trains were more like buses that ran on the tracks, most of the
signal boxes had gone, well known stations like Appleby and Elsham too. Others only having a shelter similar to the bus stop ones on them. Many of the sidings and familiar landmarks on the railway no longer in
existence and then the line from near Grimsby Docks turned into a single line to Cleethorpes where the station still had the same look as before until a closer look was taken and you could see that most of the
platforms had only a rust coloured single line along side them and as approached there was the look of decline all around. I must state that work on two of the platforms and buildings alongside one of them had been
updated. After a day where my children had enjoyed themselves in the area that I would have called Cleethorpes as most of it is now beyond the boating lakes and many of the arcades and shops were gone, the pub
closed and what was Wonderland now stripped of all its glory has ended up as a Sunday Market. We went into the Fish and Chip shop Cafe at the top of the steps up to the station that was a shop when I was younger
where we enjoyed a Fish and Chip Tea before catching the train home. Sadly from my seat the view was down the platform and track that ran along the road separated by the iron railings and behind the buildings with
rusty rails covered in places with quite thick sand and weeds growing through it seemed to say to me that the sea side at Cleethorpes as I and countless others that spent many happy hours there as children would now
only exist in our memories.
There is one other trip that comes to my mind and it is not a trip to the sea side but one of travelling to the city of Manchester to visit the zoo at Belle Vue. I do not recall
much about the outward journey apart from the long tunnel at Woodhead where the tracks passed through the Pennines. Our day there was spent first by making our way to the gardens where we sat on the seats and ate
our packed meal then it was back over the bridge that spanned a model railway and round the bear pits. Through the day we visited all the animal enclosures and houses. After a great day our family made its way
to the railway station to make our way home. Somewhere along the way a mistake was made and we arrived in Sheffield to catch the mail train home to Scunthorpe, It was at this point that the mistake was
discovered. The train we wanted started back in Manchester and due to the kindness of the night porter and maybe the fact that Dad worked for the railway we slept most of the night in the waiting room with the
porter popping in now and again to put more coal on the fire that not only kept us warm but left a soft glow lighting up the room as we laid on the seats drifting in and out of sleep, On the wall opposite the fire
was a large diagram of a steam engine showing all the parts and names for them like the Eagle Comic for boys did at one time. Just before our train arrived the porter came in to let Dad know so we would be ready to
catch it. After that I remember getting off in Scunthorpe in the early morning and starting for home in the cold car. The end of this memory is a little hazy but I think it was into bed to catch up on our sleep!
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