Share our Lives - Unique things about where you live!

It's time for me to share some of my life, linking up and joining in with the Share Our Lives bloggers! This months thing to talk about is unique things about where you live! I wouldn't say these are all unique things but they are interesting!

I live in Scunthorpe which I imagine not many people outside of the UK have heard of. It is a town in the north of England, in a region called North Lincolnshire. If you're looking at a map of England, it's sort of in the middle upper part, not far from the east coast. It’s about a 40 minute drive from the historic city of Lincoln and roughly an hour from the bigger cities of Sheffield, Leeds and Hull. Scunthorpe sits in a mostly flat, rural part of the country surrounded by countryside, farms, and small villages.

Scunthorpe is best known for its steel industry. For over 100 years, it has been home to some of the biggest steelworks in the UK! During World War II the steelworks in Scunthorpe played a critical role in supplying steel for the war effort, producing materials for tanks, aircraft and other military hardware. Scunthorpe steel has been used in projects across the world, from Canary Wharf to parts of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There has recently been concern about plans to replace its traditional blast furnaces with two electric arc furnaces which could have led to a lot of job losses but the government stepped in and even got themselves together on a Saturday which never happens to sort things out.

Scunthorpe is greener than you might expect. Central Park is a lovely spot for a stroll with open green spaces, flowerbeds, a cafe and even a splash park for the kids. Normanby Hall Country Park just on the outskirts, is another gem. It’s got beautiful gardens, woodland walks, a working farming museum and a stately home that’s steeped in history.

Scunthorpe is nicknamed “The Industrial Garden Town”, famous for its steel industry but it also prides itself on its green spaces. Making it a bit of a yin-yang town!

Scunthorpe’s name actually comes from Old Norse! “Scun” likely comes from a personal name, and “thorpe” means village or hamlet. So it might have started as “Skuma’s village” or something similar. Makes it feel quite ancient, doesn’t it!

Scunthorpe United FC are the “Iron”. The town’s football club is nicknamed "The Iron" in tribute to its steelmaking roots. Their stadium, Glanford Park which is now known as the The Attis Arena was the first purpose built football stadium in England after WWII.

Rumour has it Scunthorpe was one of the first towns in the UK to get broadband internet, because of a trial by BT in the early 2000s.

Another quirky bit of history: during the early days of the internet, Scunthorpe found itself accidentally banned from some online platforms because of an unfortunately placed set of letters in the middle of its name. lol

Scunthorpe has produced its fair share of famous names:

Kevin Keegan - The football legend and former England manager, spent some of his early years in Scunthorpe and even played for Scunthorpe United at the start of his career.

Ian Botham - Cricketing royalty! While born in Cheshire, Botham spent some of his childhood in Scunthorpe, and he’s often associated with the area.

Liz Smith - The late, great actress best known for her roles in The Royle Family and The Vicar of Dibley was born in Scunthorpe.

Kaya Scodelario - Known for Skins, The Maze Runner, and Pirates of the Caribbean has family links to Scunthorpe proof that you never know who’s connected to the town.

The Beatles played in Scunthorpe at the Baths Hall on December 20, 1963, just before they truly exploded into global superstardom. Imagine seeing them just before they became The Beatles!

I actually learned lots about Scunthorpe writing this blog post! What is something interesting about where you live?

I am linking up with:

Adrienne from Mom Life with Adrienne.

Dara from Not In Jersey.

Jen from Show me & Sweet tea.

Joanne from Slices of Life.

Sarah from Toronto Sam.