Tank on the Beach
Broken Down and Abandoned or Used for Target Practice?
I love planning our days out in England and often resort to Google Maps to look for quirky things to see and explore. This time, our adventure started with a day out in Lincolnshire as we had to travel to the historic market town Boston to collect a car. While it was the middle of November, the weather was on our side with light winds and sunshine predicted for the whole day. As a treat, we decided to visit the coast for a walk along the beach and a fish and chip lunch. We picked the seaside resort of Mablethorpe, but as I pored over the map I found, just a few miles away, “Tank on the Beach”, and it immediately drew my attention!
Naturally, I started searching the internet to find out why a was a tank had been left on a remote beach in a nature reserve.
It turns out that the tank is a Comet I A34 and they were used by the British Army from near the end of World War II until 1958. Who left this tank on the beach is a mystery, but there are suggestions that it broke down during a training exercise and was never recovered. Alternatively, it was placed on the beach by the RAF and used for target practice.
That latter idea isn't as outlandish as it sounds. The RAF also used the Steam Ship Sheraton for target practice and that was moored off the Lincolnshire coast until it broke its anchors in a storm and landed below the colourful stripy cliffs of Hunstanton.
The Tank on the Beach Near Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire
The Sad Remains of a Comet Tank near Mablethorpe © essentially-england.comBy the time we'd had lunch and walked along the beach at Mablethorpe the sun was starting to set. It was a short six mile drive up to the Churchill Lane Car park that serves the Saltfleet-by-Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve to start the ten-minute walk through the dunes to the tank on the beach. Use the postcode LN12 1PQ to help navigation to the car park.
The walk is easy to follow but was a bit muddy after all the recent rain. If it's dry and you're not there when it's about to grow dark, you can easily extend your walk to take in the Nature Reserve.
The Comet Tank in Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve © essentially-england.comI’m not sure if the sea washes over the tank on the beach at high tide, but in this lonely environment the Comet Tank is certainly showing signs of wear. Its great that you can walk right up to the tank and look inside to see what is left. My first impressions were that the tank looked a lot smaller than I imagined it would be. I was also so surprised to see parts of the engine just sitting there corroding away!
Inside of a Derelict Comet Tank © essentially-england.comEven looking in through the turret opening the space looked very tight. I really couldn’t see how this machine could be crewed by five people and thought of the brave soldiers who raced around in these things whilst being fired upon. The atmosphere was very moving as the day slipped into darkness!
Looking Inside of The Tank on the Beach © essentially-engand.com
The Comet 1 A34 Tank
Now this is what a Comet Tank should look like!
It was powered by a V12 Rolls Royce Meteor petrol engine and had a 77mm gun and two machine guns. The tank was 3 metres wide, 2.7 metres tall, 7.7 metres long, and weighed nearly 33 tonnes, a far cry from the sad sight we see rusting away today!
The Comet Tank © Oktober64 | depositphotos.comI’m sure there are plenty like me who would love to come and discover this remarkable machine and try to imagine the stories it could tell. It’s only a short walk from the car park and I feel that its remote location makes it even more exciting. It was certainly very eerie in the near darkness!
When we visited it was almost dark, so if you would like to see daylight photos and drone footage why not have a look at this YouTube video.
This isn’t the first tank on a beach that we’ve come across on our travels around England. Down in Devon we found an American Sherman tank that had been recovered from the sea and is part of a war memorial along Slapton Sands. I wonder how many more of these amazing, armoured machines are scattered across England…
Would you believe it, since publishing this page we've found another two tanks, and I think I've seen somewhere that there is an abandoned tank somewhere in Northumberland. Here's an updated list of what we've found.
A tank on the beach near Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire (this page).
A tank by the beach at Slapton Sands in Devon.
A tank in the moors at Upper Hulme in the Peak District, and
A tank in the forest near Mundford in Norfolk. (Coming soon).
How About These Tank Experience Gift Ideas?
Anyone who loves military hardware will love to see a tank in action. Better still, what about getting a ride, or even more betterer ;-)... a drive in one. Take a look at these great examples that you could gift to someone special, or even just treat yourself.
We regularly drive past the Tanks A Lot centre in Northamptonshire, and they always have a great display of tanks outside. I’m sure we’ll be visiting one day…
Places to Stay
There is plenty of choice of holiday accommodation in Lincolnshire from camping and caravan parks, holiday cottages, and luxury hotels. When we stayed in Lincolnshire we stayed in the very peaceful and comfortable Pheasant Cottage near Alford. It was an ideal location to explore most areas of the county.
Poplar Farm
Mablethorpe
Sleeps 8
Marlstone House
Tealby
Sleeps 10
Pheasant Cottage
Alford
Sleeps 4
Along the coast you’ll find holiday parks galore, with the Haven Golden Sands site in Mablethorpe just a few miles away from the tank on the beach.
For even more choice, why not try our Booking.com search box.
For more England days out return from our Tank on the Beach page to the England homepage.
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