Butlins Skegness
Butlins Skegness, now known as Butlins Resort Skegness, is a holiday camp in Ingoldmells near Skegness, Lincolnshire, England. It was created by Billy Butlin, inspired by a Canadian summer camp. Construction began in 1935 and it opened on 11 April 1936. The camp offered meals, dancing, sports, and other entertainment, and it grew quickly.
The first Redcoat entertainers, led by Norman Bradford, helped make the camp lively and popular. In 1939 World War II interrupted the fun: the site was taken over by the Royal Navy and used as HMS Royal Arthur. It reopened to the public on 11 May 1946.
After the war, the camp kept growing. In 1947 it began hosting air services, with BEA flights bringing visitors to join the fun. The Ingoldmells Hotel opened nearby in 1948, and the area later got its own TV service in the hotel in 1949. The camp also expanded its transport links, adding a miniature railway in 1962 and a chairlift at the same time, followed by the UK’s first commercial monorail in 1965.
In 1974 a kitchen fire at the Princes building led to an evacuation, but the resort continued to run with other venues used for entertainment. A major investment in 1987 transformed the site and it was renamed Funcoast World. The 1990s brought more changes, including the Skyline Pavilion opened in 1998 and a large timber-frame building project that added many new chalets.
Around this time the resort dropped the apostrophe in its name and became Butlins Resort Skegness. Today the 200-acre site has over 1,000 residences and welcomes more than 400,000 visitors each year (about 350,000 staying overnight and 70,000 visiting for the day). It is one of the area’s biggest employers, along with nearby Fantasy Island, employing around 1,200 staff annually, including a Redcoat team of about 40.
The camp still has the classic Butlins features: a funfair, multiple swimming pools, a theatre, and gardens, plus sport and leisure spaces like tennis courts, a boating lake, and a sports field. Guests enjoy a wide range of activities, from rock climbing and archery to fencing and water sports. The resort also partners with well-known brands for entertainment, such as Britain’s Got Talent, Thomas & Friends, and The Masked Singer.
A famous moment in Butlins history happened in 1962 when Paul McCartney and John Lennon visited to meet Ringo Starr, who was playing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes at the time. Ringo would soon join The Beatles. Over the years, many artists, including Laurel and Hardy and Suzi Quatro, have performed at the camp.
Today, Butlins Skegness continues to offer entertainment, live shows, and a range of activities for families, making it a lasting holiday destination in the region.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:53 (CET).