A sign on a building by the barrier at Cleethorpes station announces ‘Number 2 Pub’.

This has the perverse effect of making me seek out Number 1 Pub, which, it turns out, occupies a former booking office and acts as an informal museum.

Inside, sipping an excellent IPA, I survey framed photos of massed Edwardian trippers flowing from the terminus to the adjacent beach and notice a sign over a memorabilia-stuffed alcove that reads: Watkin Room.

‘Amazing fella, Watkin,’ says Ray, who works in Number 1. ‘He saw all the possibilities of Cleethorpes and he just did it.’

What Sir Edward Watkin did was bring the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincoln Railway (MSLR) from Grimsby to Cleethorpes in 1863. 

Seaside draw: Andrew Martin travels to Cleethorpes, a coastal town in Lincolnshire, to discover pubs, the promenade and ‘delicious’ fish and chips. Above is the central promenade

Sir Edward Watkin helped turn Cleethorpes (above) into a holiday resort in the 19th century, reveals Andrew. Under Watkins’ chairmanship, the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincoln Railway built a promenade while investing in the pier and attractions to rival Blackpool in the northern holiday stakes

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Under his chairmanship, the MSLR then built a promenade while investing in the pier and attractions to rival Blackpool in the northern holiday stakes.

Out on the promenade, the aroma of candy floss mingles with the mellower smell of hot waffles. Meanwhile, beyond donkeys carrying children across the soft sand, there is another procession out in haze of the Humber Estuary – a line of cargo ships.

South of the station, Cleethorpes becomes posher. Manicured gardens begin beside the promenade and this mounting salubrity culminates in the Kingsway Hotel, with an Art Deco interior suggesting an old-fashioned ocean liner.

Inland, pretty Victorian streets accommodate independent shops and bars. 

Thrilling fairground rides on the seafront, pictured here, are where the ‘the aroma of candy floss mingles with the mellower smell of hot waffles’, says Andrew

Andrew enjoys a ride on the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, pictured here, which has been running since 1947

The Signal Box Inn, above, is a tiny pub on the site of the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway and the smallest pub on the planet

On Cambridge Street, I call at the cosy Folk Wine Bar and speak to Pat. Did he think Cleethorpes is being gentrified? His reply put the matter slightly differently: ‘A lot of young locals are setting up their own businesses and they’re mostly doing quite well.’

At the Ocean Fish Bar on St Peter’s Avenue, though, it’s as if you have stepped back in time with a long lounge and tables attended by black-clad waiters. The haddock and chips is delicious.

Since 1947, the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway has traversed a viaduct over a boating lake before skirting the beach. 

On board, approximately 80 per cent of the people we pass wave at us, and I celebrate the ride with Sunday lunch at the Kingsway – a ‘thing’ in Cleethorpes for a century. I keep it traditional, with succulent steak and ale pie.

After a wander along the beach, the ornate station clocktower informs me that my train back is soon.

Just time, though, for a pint in Number 1, and a toast to Sir Edward Watkin.

Where to stay

The Art Deco Kingsway Hotel is all wood panelling, thick blue carpets and polished brass, with doubles from £125 B&B (kingswayhotel.co.uk). For more information visit northeastlincolnshire.co.uk.