Main article: Transport in Lincolnshire Transport The
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest trusts in the country, employing almost 7,000 staff and with an annual budget of over £250 million.
Lincolnshire shares the problems of elsewhere in the country when it comes to finding an NHS dentist, with waiting lists of three months not uncommon.
Some of the larger hospitals in the county include:
Since April 1994, Lincolnshire has had an Air Ambulance service
[1] which was extended to also cover Nottinghamshire in 1997. The air ambulance is stationed at RAF Waddington near Lincoln and can reach emergencies in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire within 19 minutes. From any accident in Lincolnshire an A&E hospital is only 10 minutes away by helicopter.
Grimsby's Diana Princess of Wales Hospital
Boston Pilgrim Hospital
Grantham and District Hospital
Lincoln County Hospital
Scunthorpe General Hospital
Skegness and District General Hospital
Louth County General Hospital
Health care Lincolnshire is relatively unusual in the composition of its population, being one of the least ethnically diverse counties of the United Kingdom (98.5 percent of the population describe themselves as "white"). Over recent years inward migration by people from ethnic minority communities has increased (particularly to population centres such as Lincoln) but the absolute number of non-white Lincolnshire residents remains very low.
Recently, the county has also witnessed a growing trend towards an in-migration of retired persons from other parts of the United Kingdom, particularly those from the southern counties of England attracted by the generally lower property prices and the slower and more relaxed pace of life.
Skegness was recently voted the most popular place in Britain to retire to, with
Spalding and
Mablethorpe also recommended, by a recent study
[2]. The relatively high proportion of elderly and retired people is reflected in many of the services, activities and events.
Sleaford is considered one of the fastest growing towns in the
East Midlands, with many professional people moving there in order to benefit from (relatively) low house prices, low crime rate and the
selective education offered.
Those born in Lincolnshire are sometimes given the nickname of
Yellowbellies (often spelt "Yeller Bellies", to reflect the pronunciation of the phrase by the typical Lincolnshire farmer). The origin of this term is hotly debated, but is most commonly believed to derive from the uniforms of the
10th Regiment of Foot (later the
Lincolnshire Regiment) when they wore yellow lapels on their red coats. For this reason, the
coat of arms of Lincolnshire County Council is supported by two officers of the regiment.
People The non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire is characterised by the absence of any major urban area. The principal settlements and their populations are:
Lincoln (101,000),
Boston (35,000),
Grantham (34,000),
Spalding (22,000),
Stamford (19,000), and
The Deepings (15,000). Many of the towns in the county continue to hold a weekly market, a centuries-old tradition reinvigorated recently by the growth of
farmers' markets. Most of the urbanised area of Lincolnshire is on the Humber estuary, in the unitary authorities.
Scunthorpe (including
Bottesford) in
North Lincolnshire, has a population of 72,000, and the
Cleethorpes/
Great Grimsby conurbation in
North East Lincolnshire has a population of over 120,000 (34,000 and 87,000 respectively).
For a full list of Lincolnshire towns and villages see the
List of places in Lincolnshire page.
Towns and villages Lincolnshire is a rural area where the pace of life is generally slower than much of the United Kingdom. Sunday is still largely a day of rest, with generally only shops in Lincoln, larger market towns, and resorts and industrial towns of the North Sea coast remaining open. Some towns and villages in the county still observe half-day closing on Thursdays. Due to the large distance between towns within the county many villages have remained very much contained with most still having shops, pubs, local halls and local chapels and churches all of which host a variety of social activities for residents. Fishing (because of the extensive river and drainage system in the fens) and shooting are popular activities. Lincolnshire's unofficial county anthem is the
Lincolnshire Poacher.
Language Lincolnshire has a number of interesting local dishes:
- Traditional Lincolnshire sausages are made entirely from these ingredients - Minced Pork, stale bread crumb (rusk is used nowadays) pepper, sage and salt. Nothing else! The skins should be nothing other than natural casings which are made from the intestines of either sheep or pig.
Stuffed chine - this is salted neck-chine of a pig taken from between the shoulder blades of a pig, salted for up to ten months and stuffed with
parsley stuffing (other ingredients are normally kept secret). Served cold, it's considered by many in the county to be an acquired taste
haslet - a type of pork loaf, also flavoured with sage (pronounced HAYSS-let in Lincolnshire but HAZ-let in many other parts of the county)
Lincolnshire pork
sausages - most butchers in Lincolnshire have their own secret recipe for these and a competition is held each year to judge the best sausages in the county
Traditional
Lincolnshire sausages are made entirely from these ingredients - Minced Pork, stale bread crumb (rusk is used nowadays) pepper, sage and salt. Nothing else! The skins should be nothing other than natural casings which are made from the intestines of either sheep or pig.
Pork pies - the same pork butchers will take a pride in their unique recipe for pork pies.
Plum bread - as with
plum pudding, plum refers to dried fruit in this context, namely currants, raisins and sultanas sometimes soaked in tea.
Grantham Gingerbread- a hard white ginger biscuit no longer commercially available.
Batemans ales - a
beer brewed in
Wainfleet and served in many pubs in the county and further afield
Grimsby is renowned for its fishing industry and historically
Grimsby Fish has carried a premium price. Sadly, since the decline of the fishing industry in the 1970s this is no longer the case, with the majority of fish sold at the town's fish market being brought overland from other ports. However
Grimsby Fish is still a recognised
product, one associated with a particular area that specialises in and is knowledgable of a particular trade (such as
Sheffield steel or
Nottingham lace).
Food Every year the
Lincolnshire Agricultural Society which was founded in 1869 stages the
Lincolnshire Agricultural Show. It is held on the Wednesday and Thursday of the last whole week of June at its Showground at
Grange de Lings, a few miles north of
Lincoln on the
A15, which first held the show at this site in 1958. First held around the year 1884, it is one of the largest agricultural shows in the country, and is attended by around 100,000 people over its two days. The Showground is in regular use throughout the year for a wide range of other events and functions.
Each year
RAF Waddington is the home to the
Waddington International Air Show. The two day event attracts around 100,000 people and usually takes place during the last weekend of June.
On the Monday before Easter, an unusual auction takes place in
Bourne to let the grazing rights of the
Whitebread Meadow|| . Bidding takes place while two boys race toward the Queen's Bridge in Eastgate, the end of which dash is equivalent to the falling of the gavel. The whole affair dates back to the 1742 will of William Clay.
Corby Glen sheep fair has been held every year since 1238.
The
Haxey Hood village competition takes place every January, as it has for over 700 years.
Stamford Mid-Lent fair sees showmen converge on the town the week after Mothering Sunday, rides and sideshows filling Broad Street and Sheepmarket for a week. The following week sees them in
Grantham.
Also there is a popular Belchford Downhill Challenge which is held every year where soapbox racers race down the hill at up to 50Kmph. The turnout have been up to 3,000.
In recent years
Lincoln Christmas Market, a candlelit street market throughout the town, has been held at the start of December. Around the same time Christmas lights are turned on in
Bourne,
Sleaford,
Skegness, and many other towns.
Throughout the summer The Stamford Shakespeare Company presents the Bard's plays in the open air theatre at
Tolethorpe Hall, which is actually in
Rutland.
Spalding Flower Parade is held in late spring every year. Colourful floats decorated with tulip heads compete for a cup. The tradition was started in 1959, and draws coach tours from across Britain.
Events The unofficial anthem of the county is the traditional folk song, '
The Lincolnshire Poacher', which dates from around 1776. A version of the song was the theme to
BBC Radio Lincolnshire for many years.
According to a 2002 marketing campaign by the charity
Plantlife, the
county flower of Lincolnshire is the
Common Dog-violet.
In August 2005,
BBC Radio Lincolnshire and
Lincolnshire Life magazine launched a vote for an official flag to represent the county. Six competing designs were voted upon by locals. The winning submission was unveiled in October 2005 -
see here. Lincoln has its own flag - St George's flag with a Fleur-de-Lys.
The
Lincoln Imp has symbolised Cathedral, City, and county for many years. In 2006 it was replaced as the 'brand' of Lincolnshire County Council by the stylised version seen on the header
here which has lost even the unique pose of the carving.
Radio Alford Manor House Alford Windmill Alkborough Turf Maze Ayscoughfee Hall Belmont mast (tallest construction in the European Union)
Belton House Bolingbroke Castle Boston Stump Bourne Abbey Boultham Park Branston Hall Burghley House Cogglesford Watermill Crowland Abbey Doddington Hall Donna Nook Dunston Pillar East Lighthouse, Sutton Bridge Ellis Mill (Windmill) Gainsborough Old Hall Gainsthorpe Gibraltar Point Grimsby Dock Tower Grimsthorpe Castle Harlaxton Manor Heckington Windmill Hartsholme Country Park Lincoln Castle Lincoln Cathedral Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre Metheringham Windmill St James Church, Louth National Fishing Heritage Centre Natureland Seal Sanctuary Normanby Hall Gibraltar Point River Ancholme Stow Minster Tattershall Castle The Collection The Humber Bridge The Lincolnshire Wolds The Museum of Lincolnshire Life The South Common (Lincoln) The Wash The West Common (Lincoln) The Usher Art Gallery Whisby Nature Park Woolsthorpe Manor
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