Two hundred years ago, Scunthorpe was five small rural villages in the middle of nowhere. Then iron ore was discovered and with the opening of an iron works, the population grew exponentially. The five villages gradually merged and Scunthorpe became a municipal borough in 1936. The then town planners were foresighted enough to realise the importance of green spaces and nowhere in Scunthorpe is far from a park.
Scunthonians are justifiably proud of their parks. During current Coronavirus restrictions they have been even more important than ever. We don’t need to travel by car to access open countryside. It is walkable distance from most of our houses.
Central Park is the flagship park between Scunthorpe and Ashby. Those with long memories remember it as a rough rather wet wilderness and favourite play area of generations of local children. It was opened as a ‘Park’ in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain and for many years the seats had the Festival of Britain logo on their base.
Central Park is now a large area of grassland with mature specimen trees and shrubs. It has changed over the years. The greenhouses and aviary which were a popular Sunday afternoon destination, are long gone. There are fewer formal areas of Victorian style bedding. but the fountain is still there.
Council employees no longer work in the Civic Centre and this opened as “The University Campus, North Lincolnshire”:https://northlindsey.ac.uk/higher-education in September 2019, Adjacent is “The Pods,”:http:// https://www.northlincs.gov.uk/leisure/the-pods with its cafe. There is also a very good children’s playground and splash pad as well as football fields.
Dropping down the slope, the park gives access to “Brumby Woods,”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/attraction/203727 an attractive area of semi natural woodland and “Ridge Walk.”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/attraction/203729
The Park is always busy. Students from the nearby College congregate at lunchtime. Dog walkers and joggers use it daily and it is popular with families. Others, like me, walk along the well made network of paths enjoying the fresh air, bird song and attractive surroundings.
Central Park is very easy to find and is accessed on foot either from Ashby Road or the A18. The large car park is accessed off the A18 (Kingsway). Avoid on Saturday mornings as this is the time of the 5km Park Run with hundreds of runners!
