Donna Nook

I went to see the seal pups this weekend (16th November) - and it was the best day out ever! Such an amazing sight.

There’s plenty of car parking - and it costs £1 to park all day long. Wear old trainers/walking boots because it’s quite muddy underfoot.

A trip to Donna Nook to see the seals is a regular winter event for most people round here. It’s a long drive from Louth - every year I forget just how far! - but it’s worth it, and it’s easy to park once you get there. There are loos available and also a hot dog trailer these days - it’s all become much more organised than it was when I was a youngster!

There’s a trail along the edge of the dunes which forms a sort of viewing platform, from which you can get a clear view of the seals themselves. An amazing sight.

I had totally forgotten about this place until I saw it on here! It’s fabulous. During the autumn there is a huge amount of seals and baby seals that come to the area for a few weeks. Everyone heads down there with the family to see them, its really quite special. The kids love it!
Its a great way to spend a Sunday and get some exercise and fresh air. I would definitely recommend going to see the seals, they are so cute.
There isn’t much else in the area to do or see and facilities are limited but if you want to get back to nature and enjoy some time outside then this won’t disappoint.

Its main attraction is during the Autum time, when the seals are there. This is the most popular time for the beach and really is a time when everyone should go and visit. However the rest of the year is lovely for a walk, a paddle or a play. Set away from the main area of North Somercotes, its quite a long drive to get to. However it has good parking and is pretty easy to fine.

Parish: North Somercotes and Skidbrooke-with-Saltfleet Haven

I used to live near here and it was a favourite winter walk..seal spotting.

RAF Donna Nook closed in 1945 but reopened as a NATO bombing range and is still in regular use. It had also served as a prisoner of war camp. It is now known as the Donna Nook / East Coast bombing range
A few buildings and a section of perimeter track / runway are all that survive of the former RAF Donna Nook. The name lives on in the “new” RAF Donna Nook which uses the adjacent sandflats as a NATO air weapons range.

RAF Donna Nook was the first National Nature Reserve on Ministry of Defence land in the UK, formally opened in Jul 2002
It boasts one of the largest and most accessible breeding colonies of Grey Seals in the UK.
An encounter with a seal at Donna Nook is almost guaranteed because this is effectively a seal maternity hospital.

Do not underestimate the size of the seal colony at Donna Nook and its importance to wildlife watchers around UK and Europe. The Seals at Donna Nook are VERY VERY close to the shore line and can be photographed quite easily with a simple camera. The seals attract 40,000 visitors to the Lincolnshire coast from end October to end of December every year

Visitors should be made aware that the Ministry of Defence still maintains part of the area as a bombing target range and under no circumstances should anyone enter the bombing area when red flags are flying. However, most of the dune area is accessible at all times.

The reserve consists of dunes, slacks and inter-tidal areas. Coastal processes, particularly sand and mud accretion, alter the natural features from year to year, and sand from the beach and offshore sandbanks is blown inland by easterly winds to form dune ridges. Deposition of material from the River Humber has resulted in mudflats and saltings. The advancing dunes have trapped areas of saltmarsh behind them, and these areas have gradually become less saline, allowing an interesting plant community to develop. On the landward side, the reserve is bounded by a sea bank erected after the floods of 1953. The reserve is rich in bird life: 47 species of bird breed regularly and the area is famous for more uncommon passage migrants and rarities; over 250 species have been recorded in total.

For much of the year the seals are at sea or hauled out on distant sandbanks, but during the winter they come to breed near the dunes at Donna Nook. The RAF Bombing Range at Donna Nook provides the seals with a relatively disturbance-free site for hauling out. The seals are not the least bit concerned by the planes. Staff at RAF Donna Nook make every effort to make sure that no harm comes to any animal because of military activity.

The seals are present on the beach between mid-November to mid-December.
Sometimes the beach is covered in them..a really worthwhile place to go if you like seals.