At very low tides it is possible to view the remains of an ancient mixed forest on the beaches of Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea.

[1][2] The first scholar to publish an analysis of this submarine forest – and of any submarine forest – was the Portuguese botanist and polymath, José Francisco Correia da Serra, who surveyed it in 1796, when he visited the area in the company of the distinguished naturalist Sir Joseph Banks.

[11] Sutton le Marsh (as it was then called) was considered to be an ideal location for a new fishing harbour.

In December 1886 a fresh concern, the North Sea Fisheries Harbour & Dock Company promoted the scheme again, and it asked the Great Northern Railway for financial assistance.

The GNR was the dominant network in the area, and at that time rail conveyance of fresh fish to the centres of population was good business for railway companies.

This was a huge project, and once again the company was unable to raise the money it needed; it built a small portion of the planned railway, and did not start the harbour works.

Eventually the company became owned by the Great Central Railway, which developed Immingham Docks from 1906.

[15] The town is served by the local newspaper, Mablethorpe & Sutton Leader which publishes Wednesdays.