A former golf course on England's Lincolnshire coast has been transformed into a new wetland nature reserve, with ponds, open water, reedbeds, grassland and coastal habitats replacing much of the former golfing landscape. Sandilands, near Sutton-on-Sea and Mablethorpe, opened to the public on September 26, 2026, following a six-year programme of planning, consultation and habitat creation led by the National Trust. The National Trust's latest press release describes the reserve as covering 30 hectares, although a September 2026 opening article by Visit Lincolnshire gives the area as 38 hectares, so the exact current area is not consistent across the organisations involved. What is not in dispute is the scale of the earthworks: nearly 52,000 cubic metres of earth were moved during the transformation. The project has already produced an early wildlife milestone, with avocet chicks hatching at Sandilands for the first time in July 2026.
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