Cleethorpes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cleethorpes |
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 Cleethorpes
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| Area | 9.4 km2 (3.6 sq mi) |
| Population | 38,996 (2018-06-30 Estimate) |
| • Density | 4,149/km2 (10,750/sq mi) |
| Language | English |
| OS grid reference | TA310081 |
| • London | 230 km (140 mi) South |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CLEETHORPES |
| Postcode district | DN35 |
| Dialling code | 01472 |
| Police | Humberside |
| Fire | Humberside |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament |
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Cleethorpes (/ˈkliːθɔːrps/) is a fun seaside town in Lincolnshire, England. It's located on the estuary of the Humber river. In 2021, about 29,678 people lived there.
People have lived in Cleethorpes since the 6th century. It started as a fishing village. Later, in the 1800s, it became a popular holiday spot. Before it became one town, Cleethorpes was actually three small villages: Itterby, Oole, and Thrunscoe.
Cleethorpes is special because it sits right on the Greenwich Meridian. This is the imaginary line that divides the Earth into East and West. The town also gets very little rain compared to other places in the British Isles.
In 2021, Trainline (a company that sells train tickets) said Cleethorpes beach was the second best seaside place in the UK you could reach by train! Only Margate was ranked higher.
Contents
The Story of Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes was once three small villages: Itterby, Oole, and Thrunscoe. These villages were part of a larger area called Clee. The name Clee comes from an old word for clay.
The name Cleethorpes is newer. It combines Clee with thorp, which is an old word for "village." So, Cleethorpes means "clay villages." The name Clethorpe first appeared in 1552, and Clethorpes (for all three villages) in 1588.
People lived in this area even in the Neolithic and Bronze Age times. But permanent settlements started around the 6th century. Larger communities grew when the Danes arrived in the 9th century.
Cleethorpes began as a small fishing village. By 1801, only 284 people lived there. In the 1820s, it started to become a holiday resort. People came for sea-bathing and to drink special waters for health. By 1831, the population had grown to 497.
In 1842, a law called the Clee Inclosure Act was passed. This law divided about 2,100 acres (8.5 km2) of land among landowners. It also led to the building of eight new roads. In 1848, Cleethorpes was known as a great bathing place with fresh air and good views. Many people worked in the oyster fishing industry.
The town grew even more when a railway line connected it to industrial towns in Yorkshire. Cleethorpes Pier opened in 1873, and the promenade (a walkway along the seafront) opened in 1885.
Cleethorpes became an urban district in 1894, which meant it had its own local government. Its main office, Cleethorpes Town Hall, was built in 1905. In 1916, the area was officially renamed Cleethorpes. The town's borders expanded in the 1920s. In 1936, Cleethorpes became a municipal borough, giving it more power to govern itself.
Cleethorpes managed to stay separate from the nearby town of Grimsby. In 1974, it became the Borough of Cleethorpes. Later, in 1996, Cleethorpes and Grimsby councils joined to form the unitary authority of North East Lincolnshire.
Local people from the area sometimes call Cleethorpes and its residents Meggies. It's also known as "down beach."
Changes and New Features
The Winter Gardens was a place where many events happened. It was taken down in 2007 and replaced with flats. In the 1970s, when many places wouldn't let punk bands play, the Winter Gardens was one of the few venues in the UK that welcomed groups like The Clash and AC/DC.
The mini steam railway along the seafront has been made longer and better. A cafe, taphouse, and gallery were added to the boating lake. Many ducks and geese use the boating lake for breeding, making it a lovely place to visit. A large outdoor showground was built near the boating lake. It often hosts live bands and special events, like when it hosted the London 2012 Olympic torch relay.
A new RNLI station is being built on the Central Promenade. It is expected to be finished by 2025.
Twin Town
Cleethorpes is twinned with Königswinter in Germany. This means the two towns have a special friendship and often share cultural exchanges.
Where is Cleethorpes?
Cleethorpes is on the southern side of the Humber estuary in North East Lincolnshire. The Greenwich Meridian line goes right through the town. There's a signpost that shows distances to places around the world, like the North Pole (4,051 km) and London (230 km).
Cleethorpes is connected to the nearby town of Grimsby by houses and buildings. The villages of Old Clee and Weelsby are also very close to the two towns.
Cleethorpes Weather
Cleethorpes has a maritime climate, which means it's influenced by the sea. Summers are mild, and winters are cool. It's one of the driest places in the British Isles, meaning it gets less rain than many other areas.
| Climate data for Cleethorpes, elevation: 0 m (0 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959–2004 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) |
17.8 (64.0) |
23.3 (73.9) |
22.7 (72.9) |
26.4 (79.5) |
32.5 (90.5) |
32.8 (91.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
27.2 (81.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
17.2 (63.0) |
15.1 (59.2) |
32.8 (91.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) |
8.5 (47.3) |
10.5 (50.9) |
13.1 (55.6) |
15.9 (60.6) |
18.6 (65.5) |
21.1 (70.0) |
21.1 (70.0) |
18.6 (65.5) |
14.7 (58.5) |
10.6 (51.1) |
8.1 (46.6) |
14.1 (57.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.8 (40.6) |
5.3 (41.5) |
6.9 (44.4) |
9.2 (48.6) |
11.7 (53.1) |
14.5 (58.1) |
17.0 (62.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
14.6 (58.3) |
11.4 (52.5) |
7.7 (45.9) |
5.1 (41.2) |
10.4 (50.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.0 (35.6) |
2.2 (36.0) |
3.3 (37.9) |
5.2 (41.4) |
7.5 (45.5) |
10.4 (50.7) |
12.9 (55.2) |
12.8 (55.0) |
10.7 (51.3) |
8.0 (46.4) |
4.7 (40.5) |
2.2 (36.0) |
6.9 (44.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −10.5 (13.1) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
1.0 (33.8) |
5.2 (41.4) |
5.6 (42.1) |
3.0 (37.4) |
−3.6 (25.5) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−10.5 (13.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 48.5 (1.91) |
39.9 (1.57) |
34.5 (1.36) |
39.2 (1.54) |
46.7 (1.84) |
55.2 (2.17) |
55.2 (2.17) |
55.8 (2.20) |
50.2 (1.98) |
58.4 (2.30) |
63.4 (2.50) |
53.9 (2.12) |
600.7 (23.65) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.5 | 9.8 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 9.9 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 8.9 | 10.2 | 12.8 | 11.3 | 118.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 60.4 | 85.1 | 121.1 | 160.3 | 209.8 | 190.1 | 205.9 | 187.8 | 142.2 | 105.5 | 66.8 | 56.8 | 1,591.8 |
| Source: Met Office | |||||||||||||
Getting Around Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes railway station has trains run by two companies.
- TransPennine Express has hourly trains to places like Doncaster, Sheffield, and Liverpool Lime Street. They also manage the station.
- East Midlands Railway runs trains every two hours to Barton upon Humber. You can connect to a bus for Hull from Grimsby Town.
If you want to go to London King's Cross, Leeds, or Waverley, you can change trains at Doncaster. For Lincoln or Nottingham, you can change at Grimsby Town.
Bus services connect Cleethorpes to Grimsby, Immingham, and nearby villages. These are run by Stagecoach East Midlands. There's also a bus to Skegness that runs once a day on summer weekends.
Major roads serving the Cleethorpes area include:
- A16 (between Grimsby and Peterborough)
- A46 (to Bath)
- A180 (to Barnetby-le-Wold)
Schools in Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes has several secondary schools. These include Cleethorpes Academy and Beacon Academy.
Churches in Cleethorpes
The main church for the area is St Peter's, built in 1866. Other churches include St Francis of Assisi and Holy Trinity and St Mary's Church in Old Clee. Holy Trinity and St Mary's is the oldest building in Grimsby, built around 950 AD. Christ Church of Cleethorpes is also a large church in the area.
Sports and Fun Activities
Cleethorpes is home to Blundell Park. This is the home stadium for Grimsby Town, a professional football club. It's interesting because their home ground is in Cleethorpes, not Grimsby!
There's an athletics club and a Rugby Union Football club in Cleethorpes.
The Cleethorpes cricket ground, called Cleethorpes Sports Ground, is on Chichester Road. It hosts professional games and matches for Lincolnshire County Cricket Club.
Cleethorpes Town F.C. is another football club that plays in the Northern Premier League. Their home games are at the Linden Homes Club.
The old Cleethorpes bathing pool was replaced in the 1980s with a modern leisure centre. It has a big indoor wave pool, courts for badminton and squash, a gym, and a sports hall. The local badminton club meets there.
A greyhound racing track used to be here, opening in 1981. It was built around a stock car racing track. The greyhound racing stopped in 1986, and the stock car racing closed in the mid-1990s.
How Cleethorpes is Governed
Cleethorpes is part of the Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes area for the UK Parliament. This area also includes towns like Immingham.
Since 1996, Cleethorpes has been part of the unitary authority of North East Lincolnshire. Cleethorpes itself is divided into three council wards: Croft Baker, Haverstoe, and Sidney Sussex. Each ward elects three councillors. These nine councillors form the Charter Trustees of the Town of Cleethorpes.
Local Media
Local news and TV shows for Cleethorpes come from BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire.
The town's local radio stations include BBC Radio Humberside (95.9 FM), Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire (96.9 FM), Hits Radio Lincolnshire, and Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire (96.4 FM).
Local newspapers are the Grimsby Telegraph and the Grimsby & Cleethorpes Advertiser.
Famous Places in Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes is a seaside resort on the Humber Estuary. At low tide, there are hundreds of meters of sand on the beach.
From the seafront, you can watch ships going in and out of the Humber river. These ships are heading to ports like Grimsby, Immingham, Hull, and Goole.
You can also see two large forts, the Humber Forts, in the mouth of the river. On a clear day, you might even spot the lighthouse on Spurn Point from the North Beach.
There's a Royal National Lifeboat Institution station near the pier, next to the Coastguard office. Cleethorpes Rescue also helps keep the beach safe.
Cleethorpes has a big boating lake with many kinds of ducks, swans, and geese. There's also a 62.01-hectare (153.2-acre) local nature reserve called Cleethorpes Country Park. It's located between the resort and the village of Humberston. South of Cleethorpes, near Humberston, you'll find a yacht club.
The Cleethorpes Leisure Centre opened in 1983. It replaced an old outdoor bathing pool that was damaged by storms in 1978. The leisure centre has a 33-meter pool with a water slide and a wave machine. It also has a gym and a sports hall.
Ross Castle is a mock castle ruin built in 1885 by a railway company. It was named after Edward Ross, who worked for the company. It sits on the highest point of the cliffs. The castle was fixed up and reopened in June 2008.
In 2007, Cleethorpes won an award in the coastal category of the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom competition.
A statue called the Boy with the Leaking Boot was given to the town in 1918. It was a gift from John Carlborn, a Swedish immigrant who had a successful shipping business in Cleethorpes. The statue is now in a pond in the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Gardens. It has been stolen and replaced a couple of times, and also damaged. A new statue was put in place with better security in September 2012.
In 2019, a community alleyway on Kew Road was damaged. This alley is famous for winning awards in the Cleethorpes In Bloom competition.
Other Fun Places to Visit
- Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway
- The Signal Box Inn (known as The Smallest Pub on the Planet)
- Cleethorpes Pier
- Discovery Centre
- Floyd the Dragon (Cleethorpes' friendly mascot)
- Meridian Point
- Pleasure Island Family Theme Park (closed in October 2016)
- The Jungle Zoo (closed in November 2022)
- The Magical Castle
- Classic Home Cinema (a rare shop for old film formats)
There used to be a special list of names, a roll of honour, at Matthew Humberston Foundation School. It remembered 42 former students who died in World War I. When the school closed in 2010, the list was put into storage. As of November 2019, the council was still storing it, hoping to display it in a new town museum.
UFO Sighting
On September 22, 1956, at 3 PM, a UFO was seen for over an hour off the Cleethorpes coast. Radar at RAF Manby also picked it up. It was described as a large, round object that looked like glass.
Images for kids
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Cleethorpes town centre
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Cleethorpes Beach
See also
In Spanish: Cleethorpes para niños
- Compass FM
- Humber Coast & City Railway
- Orpheus Male Voice Choir, Grimsby & Cleethorpes
- Trolleybuses in Cleethorpes
- Yellowbelly (Lincolnshire)
