
Scunthorpe does not arrive with theatrical fanfare. It sits on the north Lincolnshire ridge, between Lincoln, Grimsby and Doncaster, with the Humber Bridge and Hull not too far over the water. It is the largest town in North Lincolnshire, home to a little over 81,000 people, and it quietly carries the weight of being both…

Ashby Ville Nature Reserve sits just off Mortal Ash Hill on the southern edge of Scunthorpe. It looks, at first glance, like a simple lake with some scrubby banks and a few dog walkers. In other words, it hides its best features quite well. Under the surface, both literal and metaphorical, it is one of…

The Plowright Theatre sits on Laneham Street in Scunthorpe, a compact brick-fronted venue that has seen everything from Shakespeare and school concerts to touring comics and local am-dram. It is one of North Lincolnshire’s main live entertainment spaces and a core part of the town’s cultural spine, alongside The Baths Hall, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre…

A few minutes’ walk from Scunthorpe station, on Oswald Road, there’s a red-brick building with a playful mural of Victorian inventors and oddball creatures striding across its upper wall. Step through the doors and you’re not just in a local museum – you’re in a compressed version of North Lincolnshire itself: Jurassic seas, Iron Age…

Normanby Hall Country Park sits just north of Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, a Regency mansion folded into three hundred acres of parkland, woodland and deer lawn. It is large enough to feel like an escape, yet small enough that you can still find your car without a search party. The estate is run by North…