Skegness is a
seaside townA seaside resort is a resort located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- History of the seaside resort :...
and
civil parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
within the
East LindseyEast Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The council is based in Manby near Louth, and other major settlements in the district include Alford, Spilsby, Mablethorpe, Skegness, Horncastle and Chapel St Leonards....
district of
LincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It also borders Northamptonshire for just 19 metres, England's shortest county boundary...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Located on the
Lincolnshire coastThe coast of Lincolnshire runs for more than down the North Sea coast of eastern England, from the estuary of the Humber to the marshlands of the Wash, where it meets Norfolk...
of the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
, east of the city of
LincolnLincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of around 101,000 - the 2001 census gave the entire urban area of Lincoln a population of 120,779...
it has a total resident population of 18,910. Grid reference: TF564636.
Skegness is the location of the first of the
Butlins holiday resortsButlin's Holiday Camps, presently known by the trademark Butlins, were founded by Billy Butlin to provide economical holidays in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Between 1936 and 1966, nine camps were built. Three resorts remain in use by the Butlins company today in Bognor Regis, Minehead and...
, built in 1936, which remains within the area to this day, and in this capacity, remains one of the more famous
seaside resortA seaside resort is a resort located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- History of the seaside resort :...
s in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
.
Early history
The name indicates that Skegness has its origin in the
DanishThe Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon Law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
period of settlement in England. Local historians say that the town took its name from Skeggi (meaning 'bearded one'), one of the Vikings who established the original settlement which has since been washed away by the sea. However, it is much more likely to have derived from words which appear in modern
DanishDanish is one of the North Germanic languages , a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken by around 6 million people, mainly in Denmark; the language is also used by the 50,000 Danes in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany where it holds the...
as
skæg, beard and
næs, nose or in geographical terms,
headlandHeadlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found together on the same stretch of coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are...
.
Lying within the
historic county boundariesThe historic counties of England are ancient subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires. They were used for various functions for several hundred years and continue to form, albeit with considerably...
of
LincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It also borders Northamptonshire for just 19 metres, England's shortest county boundary...
from a very early time, for governance, the parish of Skegness was in the Marsh division of the ancient
CandleshoeCandleshoe is a 1977 Walt Disney Productions live action movie based on the Michael Innes novel Christmas at Candleshoe and starring Jodie Foster, Helen Hayes in her last screen appearance, David Niven and Leo McKern.-Plot:...
Wapentake in the Parts of Lindsey.
Longshore driftLongshore drift, sometimes known as drifting, longshore current, LSD or littoral drift is the movement of sediments, most often sand, along a coast parallel to its shoreline....
carries particles of sediment southwards along the
Lincolnshire coastThe coast of Lincolnshire runs for more than down the North Sea coast of eastern England, from the estuary of the Humber to the marshlands of the Wash, where it meets Norfolk...
but at Skegness, the sand settles out in banks (
tomboloA tombolo or sometimes ayre is a deposition landform in which an island is attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached the island is then known as a tied island...
s) which run at a slight angle to the coast forming the beard. The slightly elevated
duneIn physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by aeolian processes. Dunes are subject to different forms and sizes based on their interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dune are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune, and a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the...
land sheltered the small natural harbour which the Danes found behind the banks. The finer sediment drifts on to find a home in the mud of
The WashThe Wash is the square-mouthed estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
, beyond
Gibraltar PointGibraltar Point National Nature Reserve is an area of approximately 4.3 square kilometres in Lincolnshire, England.The reserve is owned by Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District Council and is administered by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust...
.
In August 1642, a consignment of arms and money, probably raised by Queen Henrietta Maria, in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
for the support of King
Charles I'sCharles I, , the second son of James VI of Scotland and I of England, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England...
campaign in the
Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
, was forced into Skegness by the ships of the Parliamentarian
Earl of WarwickRobert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick , was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and puritan.Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title in 1619...
.
Skegness was primarily a fishing village and small port until the arrival of the
railwayRail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth...
in 1875. In 1908, Great Northern Railways commissioned a poster to advertise excursions to the resort, the first being from King's Cross, London on Good Friday 1908, leaving London at 11.30 am. The 'Skegness is so Bracing' poster featuring
The Jolly FishermanThe Jolly Fisherman is a poster created by artist John Hassall in 1908 after he had been commissioned by the Great Northern Railways...
helped to put Skegness on the map and is now world famous. The poster, derived from an oil painting by
John Hassall (illustrator)John Hassall was born in Walmer, Kent on 21 May 1868, died 8 March 1948 and was an English illustrator.Hassall educated in Worthing, at Newton Abbot College and at Neuenheim College, Heidelberg. After twice failing entry to The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he emigrated to Manitoba in Canada...
, was purchased by the railway company for the 12 guineas. Paradoxically, Mr Hassall did not visit the resort until 1936. He is said to have died penniless.
Resort town and Butlins
Most of the land in what is now the downtown core formed part of the estate of the
Earl of ScarbroughEarl of Scarbrough is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1690 for Richard Lumley, 2nd Viscount Lumley. He is best remembered as one of the Immortal Seven who invited William of Orange to invade England and depose his father-in-law James II...
and he, together with his agent H.V.Tippet, realised that the extensive sandy beach could be made attractive to holidaymakers from the industrial towns of the English Midlands, a clientele already developed by
Thomas CookThomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...
. He planned the town as a resort from 1877 and it expanded rapidly, but along with many other UK resorts, especially those on the cold
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
, it lost out to the cheap
package holidayA package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided like a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country...
boom which opened up Spain (in particular) to the average holidaymaker after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
currency restrictions were lifted and travellers could leave the UK with more than 50 pounds.
IngoldmellsIngoldmells is a village on the Lincolnshire coastline in East Lindsey on the A52.-Geography:In terms of villages it is relatively large and it has a population of 3888. The receives a lot of tourism yearly due its close position to Skegness. Most housing is found in the west of the village in...
, the parish to the north of Skegness, was the site of the UK's first Holiday Camp, started by
Billy ButlinSir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin, , was the founder of Butlins Holiday Camps.-Early life:...
in 1936.
ButlinsButlin's Holiday Camps, presently known by the trademark Butlins, were founded by Billy Butlin to provide economical holidays in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Between 1936 and 1966, nine camps were built. Three resorts remain in use by the Butlins company today in Bognor Regis, Minehead and...
is still there today, in modern dress, at the north end of the town, on the road to Ingoldmells. It maintains its appeal as a popular destination for family holidays, and attracts thousands to the resort in the low season with music weekends encompassing 60s, 80s, soul and other genres.
The Wash Incident
The Wash Incident took place in the early hours of October 5, 1996 when a
strange red and green rotating light was seen by many Skegness residents and police officers to the southeast of Skegness, who then contacted the
CoastguardHer Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
at
Great YarmouthGreat Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, 20 miles east of Norwich....
. It later involved many
RAFThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
stations, including
RAF NeatisheadRoyal Air Force Station Neatishead, more commonly known as RAF Neatishead, is a Royal Air Force military radar station in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, and was established during the Second World War...
, and
GCHQThe Government Communications Headquarters is a British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the UK government and armed forces...
. The object was not an aircraft because although it could be seen on radar, it had no
transponderA transponder is an electronic device that produces a response when it receives a radio-frequency interrogation...
. The Skegness News, a local newspaper which no longer exists, investigated the incident and sought confirmation of the object from the Jodrell Bank Observatory. In their report to the RAF, the observatory said that
VenusVenus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6...
, ‘the queen of UFOs’, which had been shining with exceptional brilliance in the early morning sky to the east, probably explained the light shown on the video. However, the mystery was never completely solved.
Present day
In March 2005, Skegness took the top spot in a survey by "Yours magazine", looking at the best retirement places in the UK.
Yours researchers visited sixty likely towns, and factors involved in judging included house prices, hospital waiting lists, the crime rate, council tax rates, activities and attractions, weather patterns and ease of transport. It has also been described by
Lonely PlanetLonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. Originally called Lonely Planet Publications, the company changed its name to Lonely Planet in July 2009 to reflect its broad travel industry offering and the emphasis on digital products...
's Great Britain guide as "everything you could want" in a seaside resort. On July 22, 2008 the newly elected
Mayor of LondonThe Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London . Since 4 May 2008, Conservative Boris Johnson holds the position...
,
Boris JohnsonAlexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British politician and journalist. The current Mayor of London, he previously served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Henley-on-Thames and as editor of The Spectator magazine....
, caused controversy in an article in the Daily Telegraph where he declared "Stuff Skegness, my trunks and I are off to the sun" in his desire to have a foreign holiday this year.
Tourist industry
Today the town's tourist industry mainly caters for working-class holiday-makers and day-trippers.
Skegness has been dubbed "the
BlackpoolBlackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. Situated along the coast of the Irish Sea, it has a population of 142,900, making it the fourth-largest settlement in North West England behind Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington...
of the East Coast" or "Skeggy", and has a famous mascot, the
Jolly Fisherman (designed by
John HassallJohn Hassall was born in Walmer, Kent on 21 May 1868, died 8 March 1948 and was an English illustrator.Hassall educated in Worthing, at Newton Abbot College and at Neuenheim College, Heidelberg. After twice failing entry to The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he emigrated to Manitoba in Canada...
in 1908 for the
Great Northern RailwayThe Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the London & York Railway Act of 1846.The main line ran from London via Hitchin, Peterborough, and Grantham, to York, with a loop line from Peterborough to Bawtry via Boston and Lincoln, and branch lines to Sheffield and...
), and a slogan - "Skegness is
so bracing" - a reference to the chilly prevailing north-easterly winds that can and frequently do blow off the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
.
The town is popularly known as
Skeg,
Skeggy,
Costa del Skeg or
Skegvegas. Further up the coast are the other holiday resorts of
MablethorpeMablethorpe is a small seaside town in East Lindsey on the coast of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Several small caravan parks exist around Mablethorpe. The town is administered with Sutton-on-Sea and Trusthorpe, as the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton...
,
Sutton-on-SeaSutton-on-Sea is a small seaside village in East Lindsey on the coast of Lincolnshire, England. It is close to the town of Mablethorpe, and is part of the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton....
,
IngoldmellsIngoldmells is a village on the Lincolnshire coastline in East Lindsey on the A52.-Geography:In terms of villages it is relatively large and it has a population of 3888. The receives a lot of tourism yearly due its close position to Skegness. Most housing is found in the west of the village in...
and
Chapel St LeonardsChapel St. Leonards is a village in Lincolnshire on the east coast of England and is situated just 5 miles to the north of the resort of Skegness...
.
Many of the hotels, guest-houses, self catering apartments and bed & breakfast establishments in and around the Skegness area are members of the "Skegness East Coast and Wolds Hospitality Association" or SECWHA for short. An association formed in April 2008 after the merging of two previous associations known as "The Skegness Hoteliers Association", consisting of Hotel, bed and breakfast and guest house accommodation providers and the "Skegness Self Catering Association", consisting of holiday flats, chalet and caravan parks.
However, Skegness, like many UK resorts, has suffered in recent years due to the increase in cheap foreign package holidays over staying at home. Its past two summer seasons have been marred by rain, and in the 18 months leading up to the end of 2008, the resort had suffered the destruction by fire of three of its most popular attractions - The Dunes pub at Winthorpe, the Parade Complex which housed a nightclub, bar and amusement arcade, and most recently a seafront building housing two bars and a chip shop.
Landmarks
At the end of
Lumley Road is the town's prominent clock tower, its most well-recognised landmark, built in 1898-99 and funded through public subscription. The clock tower became the subject of a hoax in the
Skegness Standard on 1 April 2009, when the newspaper claimed that it was about to be dismantled and moved to a museum.
Beyond the clock tower, Tower Esplanade leads to the beach, with a statue of the Jolly Fisherman in the Compass Gardens to one side and the entrance to the once-popular boating lake on the other. The name Lumley comes from the surname of the
Earl of ScarbroughEarl of Scarbrough is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1690 for Richard Lumley, 2nd Viscount Lumley. He is best remembered as one of the Immortal Seven who invited William of Orange to invade England and depose his father-in-law James II...
's family. St Matthew's church of
Early English GothicThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement which began in the 1740s in England. Its popularity grew rapidly in the early nineteenth century, when increasingly serious and learned admirers of neo-Gothic styles sought to revive medieval forms in contrast to the classical styles prevalent at the...
style is on
Lumley Avenue, being built by the Earl of Scarbrough in 1879, and [St Clement's] is on
Church Road North. Tower Gardens, previously known as the Pleasure Gardens, opened in 1878 after being generously donated by the Earl of Scarbrough. The gardens have events during the summer.
Skegness had a 1,843 foot (562 m) long pier which was opened on
Whit MondayWhit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....
1881, at that time it was the fourth longest in England. Steamboat trips ran from the pier to The Wash and
HunstantonHunstanton, often pronounced by locals as and known colloquially as 'Sunny Hunny', is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, facing The Wash....
in
NorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast, including The Wash. The county town is Norwich...
from 1882 until 1910. In 1919, it was damaged by a drifting ship, the schooner
Europa, and it took twenty years to raise the money to fully repair it. In 1978 the pier was badly damaged and considerably shortened; this time by severe
galesA storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
. The pier has since undergone major refurbishment and is now once again a thriving tourist attraction, although it no longer extends far seaward of the high tide line.
Well-known hotels include the
Lumley, the
Vine,
Southview Park Hotel (west along the A158), the
Crown, the
County, the
Links, and the
Royal Rennaisance Hotel, which was previously known as the Seacroft.
The RNLI has a station in Skegness. It is manned by a crew who are all volunteers except for the coxswain, and equipped with two
lifeboatLifeboat may refer to:* Lifeboat , a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape* Lifeboat , a boat designed for sea rescues...
s - the all-weather
Lincolnshire Poacher and a smaller dinghy-style inshore boat. The town has a long and rich lifeboat history. The
CoastguardHer Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
have a base on the town's industrial estate.
Two miles out to sea is an
offshore drillingOffshore drilling typically refers to the discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well. Most commonly, the term is used to describe oil extraction off the coasts of continents, though the term can also apply to drilling in lakes and inland...
platform for gas, and clearly visible from the beach - and indeed several miles further inland - is a large
wind farmA wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used for production of electric power. Individual turbines are interconnected with a medium voltage power collection system and communications network...
operated by
CentricaCentrica plc is a large multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America and Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
.
Shopping
Lumley Road,
High Street and
Roman Bank are the main shopping areas, with plenty of fish and chip shops and pubs. There are large Lidl,
MorrisonsWm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
and
TescoTesco plc is a UK-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, with profits exceeding £3 billion. It is currently the third largest global retailer based on revenue, behind Wal-Mart and...
supermarkets and a smaller Iceland store all located in the centre of the town near the railway station. There are two
Co-opThe Co-operative Group is a United Kingdom consumers' co-operative, and, after the acquisition of Somerfield supermarkets, is the world's largest consumer-owned business, with over 4.5 million members and 87,000 employees across all its businesses...
stores in Skegness, the larger store of the two is located in the Hildreds Shopping Centre and the smaller of the two located on High Street . There are also seasonal shops for ways to entertain oneself, such as kites, buckets and spades.
Leisure
The main strip of road along the beach is a
kaleidoscopeA kaleidoscope is a tube of mirrors containing loose coloured beads, pebbles, or other small coloured objects. The viewer looks in one end and light enters the other end, reflecting off the mirrors. Typically there are two rectangular lengthwise mirrors. Setting of the mirrors at 45° creates eight...
of neon and flashing lights advertising arcade machines, slot machines, fairground rides, crazy golf, fish-and-chip shops and various bars.
On August 16 2007, a huge fire hit an entertainment complex on the Skegness front, wiping out the town's main nightclub and a large amusement arcade. No-one was injured but the severity of the fire meant that the complex had to be demolished. There are now plans to build a hotel on the site.
In the latter part of 2008, another fire broke out at a building a little further along the seafront. This time, pubs and a fish-and-chip shop were gutted.
Skegness has an annual carnival in August, along with a week-long programme of events throughout the town.
East LindseyEast Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The council is based in Manby near Louth, and other major settlements in the district include Alford, Spilsby, Mablethorpe, Skegness, Horncastle and Chapel St Leonards....
District Council used to operate the carnival procession, but they handed over control of the event to a group of volunteers who now run it on a smaller scale.
Health
Skegness Hospital has two entrances - accident and emergency on
Dorothy Avenue and the main entrance on
Lincoln Road. In October 2005, the East Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust closed the Scarbrough Ward as part of a package of money-saving measures. Locals were outraged by the decision, because the ward represented about a third of the hospital's entire capacity and also provided
palliative carePalliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than striving to halt, delay, or reverse progression of the disease itself or provide a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life...
. Campaigners including doctors, nurses, business people, journalists and councillors marched through the streets and held up the traffic, then later called for the resignations of the PCT board members after they turned down a £100,000 donation offered by East Lindsey District Council to enable the ward to remain open through the winter. The PCT said the donation would "impinge" on its duties, and could be considered "unlawful" if accepted. The ward re-opened in 2006 and began operating to its previous capacity again.
The town also has two large
GPA general practitioner or GP is a medical practitioner who provides primary care and specializes in family medicine. A general practitioner treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes...
practices, a nurse-lead community mental health team, providing long-term and short-term care and a PCT health centre; the latter being on
Cecil Avenue.
Primary education establishments
- Richmond Primary School
- Seathorne Primary School
- Skegness Infant School
- Skegness Junior School
- The Viking School (independent)
Secondary education establishments
- St Clement's College (formerly known as the Earl of Scarbrough High School) is a secondary modern on Burgh
Burgh le Marsh is a town to the west of Skegness in East Lindsey, England, with a population is 2,016. The A158 used to run through from west to east but this was rerouted when a new bypass opened in late 2007.-Geography:...
Road.
- Skegness Grammar School
Skegness Grammar School is a selective grammar school, a sixth form centre and a specialist school with two disciplines, firstly as a sport college and since 2006 also a mathematics and computing college, located in Skegness Lincolnshire for children aged between eleven and eighteen...
on Vernon Road.
Tertiary education establishments
- Skegness College of Vocational Training on Wilford Grove and Grosvenor Road.
- Skegness Academy on Briar Way, run by Grimsby Institute
The Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education is a further and higher education college in North East Lincolnshire, England.-Main site:...
and Boston CollegeBoston College is a predominantly further education college in Boston in Lincolnshire, England. It is a Centre of Vocational Excellence for Early Years Care....
(opened in 2006).
Places of interest
Beach
The long and wide sandy beach features a fine herd of
donkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E. africanus. Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of...
s for riding, and has several times won the
Blue Flag beachThe Blue Flag is an award that is given to beaches and marinas that have met stringent standards. The exclusive ‘eco-label’ is awarded on an annual basis to beaches and marinas around the world....
award for cleanliness, though it failed the test in 2008.
The shape of the beach itself has changed considerably in the last decade. In the mid-1990s an extensive programme of enhancement to the sea defences was carried out, with the installation of rock armour along the length of
Lagoon Walk. This provided a very effective barrier against the sea's tremendous power, but consequently the highest
tideTides are the rises and falls of sea level caused by the combined effect of rotation of the Earth and the gravitation of the Moon and the Sun. The tides occur with a period of approximately 12 and a half hours and are influenced by the shape of the near-shore bottom.Most coastal areas experience...
s were forced southwards. The Environment Agency predicted that the sea would destroy Skegness Boating Club's boat compound and possibly wipe out a grassed picnic area just behind it. As the tides shifted, the boat compound was indeed flattened by the sea. Sand dunes were washed away and significant new creeks were carved into the beach, but so far the picnic area remains intact. The boating club now has a new compound just off the
Princes Parade car park.
Fairy Dell
On the southern foreshore sits a popular family attraction, the
Fairy DellA popular seafront facility in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England - a paddling pool which for years has been enjoyed by many. The local district council's decision in 2004 to close it over health and safety fears prompted a wave of outrage from people both locally and elsewhere in the country and...
paddling pool. Closed by the district council because of health and safety fears in 2004, the pool soon became the centre of controversy as people from Skegness, elsewhere in the country and as far afield as
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
voiced their dismay at the loss of such a time-honoured free facility. Taxpayers and town councillors joined forces with the local press to campaign for the Fairy Dell to be reopened, and the district council gave way to public pressure and promised to have it back in operation by summer 2006.
On May 22, 2006 the Fairy Dell re-opened following a major refurbishment during which many improvements were made to the pool such as clean-filtered water and extra water features.
Other
- To the south of the town is Gibraltar Point
Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve is an area of approximately 4.3 square kilometres in Lincolnshire, England.The reserve is owned by Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District Council and is administered by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust...
National Nature Reserve, on the northern limit of The WashThe Wash is the square-mouthed estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
.
- Church Farm Museum
Church Farm Museum is a museum of local and agricultural history near Skegness, Lincolnshire, England.There are a number of traditional indigenous buildings, including:* A thatched "mud and Stud" cottage, moved from the nearby village of Withern....
is a museum of agriclutual life covering the 17th to 20th Centuries.
- The town is also a major centre for bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the goal is to roll slightly asymmetric balls, called bowls, closest to a smaller—normally white—bowl called the "jack" or "kitty". Bowls, either flat- or crown-green, is usually played outdoors, on grass and synthetic surfaces. Flat-green bowls can also be...
.
- Annual world's premier Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....
exhibition is staged in the Embassy Theatre, on the Grand Parade by the seafront.
- Botton's Pleasure Beach, featuring roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
s, mini merry-go-roundA carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
(the Gallopers), dodgems and many traditional and modern rides as well as its spectacular annual end-of-season firework display.
- Seals
Seals, or Seales, may refer to:Surname:*Seals Sports teams:* California Golden Seals, American ice hockey team 1967-1976* Columbus Golden Seals, American ice hockey team 1971-1973* Den Helder Seals, Dutch basketball club...
, crocodiles, penguins, tarantulas, tropical birds and butterflies and many other animals at Natureland Seal Sanctuary.
Roads
The
A52The A52 is a major road in the East Midlands, England. It runs east from the junction with the A53 at Newcastle-under-Lyme near Stoke-on-Trent via Ashbourne, Derby, Stapleford, Nottingham, West Bridgford, Bingham, Grantham, Boston and Skegness before terminating on the east Lincolnshire coast at...
passes through the town from Boston to Mablethorpe and the
A158The A158 road is a major tourist route that heads from Lincoln in the west to Skegness on the east coast. The road is located entirely in the county of Lincolnshire and is single carriageway for almost its entirety. The road is approximately long...
connects
LincolnLincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of around 101,000 - the 2001 census gave the entire urban area of Lincoln a population of 120,779...
to Skegness.
Railway
The town is served by
Skegness railway stationSkegness railway station serves the seaside resort of Skegness in Lincolnshire, England.Services are operated by East Midlands Trains which run to and from Nottingham, where services originate or terminate.-History:...
, which is the terminus for the
Grantham to Skegness LineThe Grantham to Skegness Line, also known as the Poacher Line, runs for between Grantham and Skegness in Lincolnshire, England.It used to diverge from the East Coast Main Line north of Grantham. Many trains on this route originate from the East Midlands via the Nottingham to Grantham Line...
. Trains run the full lengh of this and the
Nottingham to Grantham LineThe Nottingham to Grantham Line is a branch line between the towns of Nottingham and Grantham in the East Midlands of England. It follows the A52.The following places are served by the line.* Nottingham* Netherfield* Radcliffe on Trent* Bingham...
to give connections to the
East MidlandsThe East Midlands is one of the regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and most of Lincolnshire, although people often speak of...
.
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England and is one of only eight members of the English Core Cities Group....
,
GranthamGrantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It stands athwart the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of...
,
BostonBoston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and has a total population of 35,124...
and
SleafordSleaford is a town within the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time of...
have direct connections, while popular places such as
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England. It is the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
,
DerbyDerby is a city in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
and
KetteringKettering is a town in the north of Northamptonshire, England. It is the main town within the Borough of Kettering.Kettering is on the River Ise, a tributary of the Nene and is twinned with Lahnstein, Germany and Kettering, Ohio, in the United States....
require a change.
Airfield
Fine beaches link the coastal towns, and there are many large caravan parks in the surrounding countryside. One caravan park a short distance to the north of the town near Ingoldmells has its own
airfieldAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
, with a 755 metre grass runway. Visiting pilots can call the airfield on 132.425 MHz, although PPR (Prior Permission Required) is stated for landing. A number of years ago, pleasure flights used to operate from the aerodrome.
Sport
Skegness Stadium, just outside the town, hosts
stock car racingStock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain and Brazil. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately ¼ mile to 2.66 miles in length, but are also raced on road courses...
throughout the year, with special events such as truck racing, stunt shows, firework displays and caravan racing. Speedway racing was staged at the stadium in 1997. The Skegness Braves failed in both of their attempts to operate there for a full season.
Skegness also has a football club and a rugby club, as well as various martial arts and other groups.
News and media
The resort is served primarily by three local newspapers - the
Skegness Standard,
Skegness Citizen and
Skegness Target. It also has a web-only news service at
Skegness.net, and a news and events text message service provided through
AQA 63336.
- The Skegness Target is a free newspaper when copies are delivered to homes, which they are each week, but it is a paid-for newspaper when copies are bought from retail outlets such as newsagents and petrol stations.
- The Skegness Standard is always a paid-for newspaper and the Skegness Citizen is a free newspaper which is delivered to homes and is produced by the team which publishes the Standard. Neil Wallis, ex-editor of The Sun
The Sun may refer to -* The Sun a tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and Ireland* Sun, the star at the center of the Solar System...
, and PeopleThe People, previously known as the Sunday People, is a British tabloid Sunday-only newspaper, owned by the Trinity Mirror Group. The paper was founded on 16 October 1881....
, currently deputy editor of the News of the WorldThe News of the World is a British tabloid newspaper published every Sunday. It is published by News Group Newspapers of News International, itself a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and can be considered the Sunday sister paper of The Sun. The newspaper concentrates on...
, an ex-resident of Tarran Way, and pupil at Skegness Grammar School, started his journalistic career in the 1960s on the Skegness Standard
- TV-wise, Skegness is covered by BBC Look North/YTV Calander, though it overlaps with BBC Yorkshire/ITV Yorkshire
- Skegness.net now provides news coverage
Skegness 2020 Vision
During 2008 and 2009, Skegness residents are taking part in the
Skegness 2020 Vision initiative to draw up a Local Plan for the town.
Under this scheme, a group of volunteers from a cross-section of the community are leading efforts to find out exactly what the people of the town want to see change, and indeed the things they want to remain. This is being done through surveys and public consultations at a number of different venues.
The aim is to produce a 'blueprint' for the development of Skegness by the end of 2009. It will cover the next ten to twelve years and be a 'vision' for the future, hence the name
Skegness 2020 Vision, and will then be used as a guide for developers and councillors when it comes to submitting and granting applications for
planning permissionPlanning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
.
Improvement to hospital facilities, a relief road, a redevelopment of the railway station and the setting up of a community centre are among the issues which Skegness people have so far highlighted as important.
External links