Alexandra Dock

The dock at Cleethorpes feels frozen in time - Victorian ironwork, weathered brick, the sort of place where you can actually picture the boats that built this town's fortune. Alexandra Dock was constructed in the 1870s and still retains that industrial charm, though it's far quieter these days than during its working heyday.

You're essentially looking at a working harbour with old buildings around it. The dock itself is free to wander around, and the walk takes maybe 45 minutes if you're properly nosing about. The best bit is the ironwork on the lock gates and the scale of the Victorian engineering - it genuinely impresses, even if you're not normally a heritage type.

Historians and anyone interested in industrial heritage will find it worthwhile. Kids might get bored unless they're into boats and old stuff, though spotting the occasional fishing vessel does add a pulse of life. The whole area has that slightly melancholic beauty of British seaside towns that have moved on from their maritime past.

Cleethorpes itself is just minutes away, so Alexandra Dock works as a half-hour detour on a coastal day out rather than a destination in itself. If you're staying at Haven Cleethorpes Beach Holiday Park, it's a short drive to the dock - combines well with the beach and the pier if you're making a proper seaside trip of it. Spring and autumn are best; summer weekends get busy with holiday traffic.