Regional Information for Lancashire

Lancashire

Holiday cottages in Lancashire provide an ideal base to explore this popular region.

Blackpool, with its long beaches, is the largest holiday centre in the north of England; Blackpool Tower and the Golden Mile are among the most celebrated of tourist attractions in the entire country. The season in Blackpool extends well into the autumn, because visitors come especially at that time of year to see the famous illuminations. Morecambe, which has 4 miles of sands, is also very popular as a seaside resort.

Lancaster has grown on the site of a Roman fort, and the City Museum contains a variety of Roman remains. More relics of the Roman occupation are to be found at Ribchester, a short distance north-west of Blackburn, where there is a Roman museum and the remains of a Roman bathhouse and Roman granaries. In Ribble Valley the ruins of two Cistercian abbeys, Sawley and Whalley, built in the 12th and 13th centuries respectively, can be seen. The keep of Clitheroe Castle, built some time in the early 12th century by Robert de Lacy, survives and the history of the castle is detailed in the nearby Clitheroe Castle Museum. The Anglican cathedral church of St Mary the Virgin is in Blackburn. Built in the early 19th century, it was considerably enlarged between 1950 and 1967. The 19th-century Roman Catholic cathedral church of St Peter is in Lancaster.

Chingle Hall, north-west of Preston, is the oldest brick-built house in Britain, constructed in 1260 to enclose the 8th-century Viking hall. At Heysham, the visitor can move from a tour of the 20th-century nuclear power station back in time to view the ruined St Patrick's Chapel, which dates from the 5th century, where there are graves that have been hewn out of the rock, and the Saxon church of St Peter.

As an area of outstanding natural beauty, the Forest of Bowland is second to none. Straddling the borders of Lancashire and North Yorkshire, the area offers mile upon mile of open countryside just waiting to be explored. Walking, riding and cycling are favourite sports around here. First port of call for cycle hire and guiding should be our partners over at Cycle Adventure. See the panel on the left.

The Lewis Museum of Textile Machinery in Blackburn has working models of the flying shuttle, the spinning mule, and the spinning jenny. Part of Burnley is preserved as an historic industrial site; the area includes textile mills and other buildings standing beside the canal. The Steamtown Railway Centre at Carnforth houses over 30 engines, including the Flying Scotsman.

The Easter Maritime Festival takes place annually and is a four-day event in Lancaster that celebrates all things nautical. The Annual Rushbearing in Pendle is a traditional festival that takes place in August. “Rushbearing” is an old regional custom, dating back to when church floors were covered each year with freshly cut rushes; today children laden with flowers process to the sounds of local bands. Lancaster Jazz Festival has been held around September each year since 1999, while the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival, the largest of its kind in the country, has been held in August at Colne since 1990.

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