Every summer, National Marine Week gives us the chance to celebrate the amazing wildlife and wild places found around the UK's coastline. This year it runs from 25 July to 9 August, and the 2026 theme is "Incredible Journeys." Working alongside Wildlife Trusts across the UK, Alderney and the Isle of Man, we'll be sharing the remarkable stories unfolding just beyond our shores, and right here along the Lincolnshire coast.

Although it's called National Marine Week, it actually lasts for a little over two weeks. That extra time means we can work with the tides, run more events and give more people the chance to experience the coast. It also means that, for those who cannot get to the sea in person, we can still bring it to them through stories, wildlife highlights and ocean facts shared online throughout the fortnight.

This year’s theme focuses on movement, and the extraordinary journeys made by marine life that link distant oceans with our rivers, estuaries and beaches. Some of these journeys span entire oceans, while others happen much closer to home, but they all remind us how connected our marine world really is. From plankton drifting on global currents to some of the most remarkable migrations in the natural world, these are stories of survival, change and constant movement. Along the Lincolnshire coast, these journeys are part of the rhythm of the landscape. Our rivers and seas form a connected network that provides feeding grounds, resting places and vital routes for wildlife on the move.

Similarly, one of the oldest fish in the world, the sea lamprey, has a life story that's every bit as remarkable as the European eel's. Spending much of its adult life at sea, it returns to freshwater rivers to spawn, including Lincolnshire’s rivers connected to the Humber Estuary. After hatching, young lampreys spend several years buried in soft river sediments before transforming into adults and heading out to sea. This ancient species, which has existed for more than 360 million years, relies on healthy rivers and coastal waters to complete its life cycle, making it another powerful reminder that our seas and rivers are closely linked.

If you look to the skies above the coast, you'll find even more remarkable journeys taking place. The Arctic tern undertakes the longest migration of any animal on Earth, travelling from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again each year. On this vast journey they pass along the Lincolnshire coast, feeding in our rich inshore waters. Lincolnshire’s coastal wetlands form part of the East Atlantic Flyway, one of the world's great bird migration routes, where millions of birds travel between Arctic breeding grounds and wintering sites in Africa. Places like The Wash and the Humber are vital stop-off points, giving exhausted birds a chance to rest and refuel. 

Not every incredible journey covers thousands of miles. Grey seals spend much of their lives roaming the North Sea in search of food before returning to sandbanks and sheltered shores to rest and give birth. Lincolnshire has supported breeding grey seals since the early 1970s, and today Donna Nook is one of the UK's most important seal colonies. For much of the year the seals are out at sea, but every winter they return to our coastline to raise their pups, creating one of Lincolnshire's most spectacular wildlife events.

Out in coastal waters, harbour porpoises are a more elusive presence that can be recorded off the Lincolnshire coast, usually seen alone or in small groups. Rather than making long migrations, they move around the North Sea following their food, often coming closer to shore during the summer before heading further offshore in winter. If you're lucky enough to see one, it will usually only be for a moment, surfacing briefly with its distinctive little 'chuff' before disappearing beneath the waves again.

Together, these stories remind us that our coastline is always on the move. Every tide, every season and every journey links Lincolnshire to a much bigger picture, connecting our beaches and rivers with oceans and wildlife across the globe.