Walking routes taking in the green parks and spaces around North Cleethorpes. The routes include a short loop and a longer loop, both of which cover North Cleethorpes green spaces but do not go further than Pier Gardens in the centre of Cleethorpes. Other walks cover the sea front area and down towards the Cleethorpes Country Park or even to the nature reserve, but our North Cleethorpes circular routes give people a chance to explore North Cleethorpes green spaces much more.
These walking routes have been ‘sponsored’ by Big Local North Cleethorpes who are interested in helping people living, working and visiting Cleethorpes to discover hidden green spaces within the North Cleethorpes area and to enjoy the outside world
Green Spaces to see
Following the routes means you will visit or see:
Sidney Park
Carr Lane Allotments
Sidney Sussex Recreation Ground
Cleethorpes Memorial Hall Gardens
Chapmans Pond
North Beach and the Pocket Park open space
taking in some tree lined avenues and streets and green planted roundabouts along the way.
And passing by Blundell Park football grounds and the site of the long gone Clee Park Gardens.
The longer route also takes in residential green spaces as well as:
Cleethorpes Municipal Cemetery
Trinity Open Space
St Peters’ Church gardens
Pier Gardens
Dolphin Gardens
North Promenade
Starting point
Our starting point is Sidney Park (1). One of the oldest parks in Cleethorpes, it was opened in 1904, was later extended and has been a community resource for over a century. There is a car park off Park View Street if you are visiting by car. Start by exploring the park at your leisure – there is plenty to enjoy.
Exit Sidney Park at the corner onto Elliston Street and head to Queen Mary Avenue.
Follow Queen Mary around to Lestrange Street and onto Brereton Avenue then double back onto the crescent street of Campden Crescent. Here you are following around just outside the large Carr Lane allotments site (2). Pop down one of the side streets along the crescent to take a closer look. Access is restricted from this side of Cleethorpes, but there are over 100 allotment holders on this space. Maybe an encouragement to get growing?
Rejoin Brereton Avenue which is an example of a partially tree lined street. Probably in the past there were more trees along here but at least a few remain.
When you reach Sussex Recreation Ground (3) explore the area on your right hand side first. Here there is a community Pavilion which was completely refurbished back in 2015 as the first major project for Big Local North Cleethorpes bringing it back into community use. The recreation ground has many other sports facilities and spaces for community use.
There is an exit from the other side of Sussex Rec between the houses and out onto Grimsby Road. But if you carry on instead to the end of Brereton Avenue where it meets the A46 (A) you can then choose whether to continue the short walk or join a longer one.
The Short Walk
Turn left down Clee Road towards Issacs Hill roundabout and the small gardens on the corner of the roundabout in the grounds of Cleethorpes Memorial Hall (4). The roundabout is a small patch of planting with some owl carvings and sits opposite an Art Deco building which was once the Electricity Board showroom when it opened in the 1930’s. Issacs Hill roundabout will be replanted during 2021 thanks to some investment by Big Local North Cleethorpes and should look even more splendid during 2021/22.
You can return now back along Grimsby Road. This main route between Grimsby and Cleethorpes once included tramlines and many large trees. The trees are still there to some degree and during 2021 Operation Gateway is underway to help improve the look of the street, so keep an eye out for any green planting on route.
Beaconthorpe Church on the corner of Tennyson Road is now out of use, but for a while a few years ago there was a community led, edible garden planted here on the street front. An example of a local green project which could be resurrected somewhere if the opportunity arises.
Turn down Suggitts Lane towards the sea. On your right is Chapmans Pond. This is private land with a lake (reputed to be ‘bottomless’ for many years). This can be seen better from the promenade and options are being slowly explored on how this space can be brought back into use.
At the bottom of Suggitts Lane is a railway crossing. This has been closed (for safety) since 2018, so you can currently not cross there. Later in 2021 a new pedestrian footbridge will be opened here at which point you will be able to cross to behind North Beach at this point. Until that time you will need to continue down Oliver Street instead and cross to North Beach area using the Fuller Street pedestrian bridge (C).
Either way you are now at the back of North Beach and on a piece of rough ground known as the ‘dog leg’ or, more hopefully, the ‘pocket park’ (6). This is an area popular with dog walkers but a resident led group is now exploring ideas to improve the appearance of this area, improve planting and growth here and trying to make it more appealing to more visitors.
Cross back over Fuller Street bridge and proceed along Harrington Street past the back of Blundell Park football stadium. There has been football played on this site for over a hundred years, but it used to be part of Clee Park Gardens. The football pitch became Blundell Park; some green space was retained as a bowling green, but most became developed as residential housing over the years.
Finish your walk by heading straight down Blundell Avenue and returning to Sidney Park.
The Longer Walk
This route misses out Grimsby Road only. Turn right along Clee Road and turn down St Hugh’s Avenue where there is an example of a residential green space set amongst the residential area (8).
Turn down Bentley Street and enter the Cleethorpes Municipal Cemetery (9). This 31 acre site opened in 1877. There’s plenty of interest to explore here.
Exit back onto Beacon Avenue and head down past the Trin Youth Centre and Thrunscoe Primary School. There is a road/path that will now take you up into the enclosed Trinity Open Space (10) which is a free use, recreation ground for local people.
Return to the street and head all the way down Highgate back towards the centre of Cleethorpes.
You end up at one end of St Peter’s Avenue which was once a large, tree-lined residential street but is now a main shopping parade, but which does retain many of the trees.
St Peter’s Church has its own little secluded gardens (11) which can be visited at this point.
Various streets will take you down towards the sea front, so, for example, take Albert Road which will bring you down to Alexandra Road opposite Pier Gardens (12). There is much to explore here within the gardens including the Ross Castle folly. These Pier gardens were originally constructed to consolidate and protect the fragile cliff edge and began life as early as 1842.
At the Pier end of the gardens, Sea Road used to have flower beds, but these have gone now, but other centre of the road flower beds can now be found up around High Street instead after the recent highways redevelopment work during 2019/20.
Opposite Pier Gardens on the other side of Sea Road are the small Dolphin Gardens (13). You can then head down towards the Pier and onto North Promenade.
North Promenade (14) passes Cleethorpes Railway Station and a number of local businesses. Since 2018 Big Local North Cleethorpes has invested in planters along North Promenade and in 2021, potted palm trees return each summer season to brighten up the area. There are also a number of more fixed, brick wall planted beds along here to add a little more natural planting.
It’s then a long stretch along North Promenade all the way back to Suggitts Lane with a good view of Chapmans Pond (5) as you pass by. At this point (B) you rejoin the shorter walk taking you back to the heart of North Cleethorpes and back to the starting point at Sidney Park.
Of course please don’t stick rigidly to this walk. The beauty of urban walking is to explore. Hopefully these routes can allow you to join together these areas of green interest in your own way.
And if you explore further afield in Cleethorpes there is plenty more to see outside of the North Cleethorpes area too.
A map of the area and the routes has been prepared as part of the Heritage Funded project “A Green Route for Cleethorpes”. A copy can be downloaded here (as a large .pdf) but printed copies of the map can be obtained from VANEL or Big Local North Cleethorpes at 82 Grimsby Road. Email karl@vanel.org.uk if you would like a copy and if you live in Cleethorpes one of the team will pop a copy through your letterbox.
Enjoy your walk.