Within a few minutes of unlocking my rented Bathing Beauty and unfolding the two deckchairs I find inside, I am approached by the first of a succession of curious passersby.
"What is that exactly?" they ask. Even their dog appears to be waiting for an answer.
"It's a beach hut," I say.
"A beach hut?" They stand there a little longer, their eyes travelling up and down the so-called hut. A steel cylinder clad in mirrors and glassy green tiles, it's shaped like a giant gin and tonic complete with lemon slice and cocktail-straw air vents. "It's different, innit?" they say, before shuffling off towards Mablethorpe's central promenade. Yup, I agree, it's different all right.
Between Mablethorpe and neighbouring Sutton-on-Sea there are roughly 300 beach huts: traditional wooden, 1950s concrete, or brightly painted ones with curtains and little kitchens. And then there are the Bathing Beauties. There are only five of them at the moment – five alien creatures spread along as many miles of promenade – but enough to cause a bit of a stir in this ultra-traditional corner of the north Lincolnshire coast.
The idea was to kick a bit of life into the tired little resort the locals call "the village of the Daleks" (thanks to an unusually high number of motability scooters knocking around). The "Mablethorpe's got it all" line wasn't really making much sense for some visitors, or those who wanted more than the Vegas amusements arcade, the Mr Whippy, the Mrs Chips. What was needed was something to draw attention to the region's 10 miles of lovely Blue Flag beach. The answer lay in a competition, dreamed up by artist Michael Trainor, in which designers were invited to "reimagine the beach hut for the 21st century".
Entries rolled in from over the world. When the winning huts were launched in 2007, they formed the centrepiece of a new annual Bathing Beauties beach hut festival. And now they are available to rent by the day.
My first choice is Jabba the Hut, an onion of laminated plywood, glass and aluminium stripes, and set in glorious isolation among the grassy dunes to the north of Mablethorpe's prom. Inspired by a cave, it was designed by London-based i-am associates to "age gracefully in the winds and weather of the North Sea coast". Sadly, it was unavailable during my visit. Ditto Feix and Merlin's "Eyes Wide sHut", designed to look like an oversized picture frame, with mirrored facade that reflects the sea view. Peering through the mirror I can just make out the hut's woodland-scene mural and a hint of mini-chandelier.
I do, however, spend some time in Michael Trainor's Come Up and See Me, the aforementioned gin-and-tonic number. I also check out its neighbour, Willett Patterson's red-and-white Camera Obscura hut (furnished with a Victorian-style camera obscura lens, a round table to reflect the image and a blackout curtain). Right in the thick of things, both huts are handy for public loos and Mablethorpe's Queens Park, with its boating lake, a putting green, a paddling pool and an elevated row of retro huts. Each rentable hut, I note, is equipped with an electric kettle and cold running water, which makes me feel slightly short-changed because 21st-century Come Up and See Me has nothing in the way of mod cons.
Still, there's a friendly beach cafe a few yards away, so I take a cup of decaf back to my deckchair and settle down for a bit of serious people-watching. Mablethorpe seafront on a summer's day is a carnival of kids, dogs, bikes, swimmers, lifeguards, and a lady in a straw hat doing the motability-vehicle equivalent of speeding.
Later, I decamp to Halcyon Days, designed by Atelier Nu from Canada. Made of red cedar, inlaid with light-giving plexiglass, it's built into a row of bog-standard huts at Sutton-on-Sea's quieter south prom, and it really is a beauty. There's nothing in it but a single hammock, but when a couple of walkers stop to admire it, I find myself showing them how the doors swivel open back and front. The Bathing Beauties are eye-catching, novel and fun, but be prepared to be part of the show.
Bathing Beauties festival, 18–20 September (bathingbeauties.org.uk). Huts are available to rent at Mablethorpe (01507 473641) or Sutton-on-Sea (01507 443765), £20 a day (10am–9pm), £65 a week
Mablethorpe in a nutshell
10 minutes
Climb aboard Mablethorpe's "famous" Sand Train, a jolly, red-painted steam engine lookalike which travels up and down the beach between the promenade and the seal sanctuary at North End (a 10-minute journey). There are collection points along the beach at signposted points – including one at Jabba the Hut. Daily Mar-Oct, 10am-4pm (depending on tides); round-trip tickets £1.40; 07940 270133
Lunchtime treat
Order a "Taste of Lincolnshire" picnic hamper from Poplar Farm at Sandilands, near Sutton-on-Sea. Sourced from a county that produces 20% of the nation's fresh food, the ploughman's-style picnic may include a selection of Lincolnshire cheeses and local plum bread, served with Poplar Farm Shop's own Wild Coast Pantry chutneys (try the sticky rhubarb and honey), fruit, vegetables and homemade cakes, scones and jams. 01507 443112, poplar-farm.org.uk
Evening treat
Tucked away in a leafy corner of Woodhall Spa, 15 miles from Mablethorpe, the quaint Kinema in the Woods is billed as "England's unique cinema", being the only one still screening films using a back-projection system. Housed in a half-timbered Edwardian cricket pavilion, it's furnished with original tip-up seats (the front-row deck chairs were replaced in 1953), a Compton Kinestra Organ and a resident organist who churns out a couple of tunes during intervals on a Saturday night. The Kinema's two screens show a mix of new releases and classics. Film tickets £5.90/£4.50; 01526 352166, thekinemainthewoods.co.uk
