Lancashire is a county in North West England. It takes its name from the city a of Lancaster, which was the Roman camp (castrum) by the River a Lune. Lancashire
The north is low-lying and agricultural, a series of resorts line the coast, while the south is industrial; to the east are the a scenic Pennine moors and Forest of Bowland. Lancashire
Out of the moors surge rivers that in the Industrial Revolution were harnessed to drive mills – especially cotton mills, which Lancashire’s soft water favors. Those mills spelled wealth for a few, but among those horrified by conditions in Lancashire were Mrs. Gaskell, Marx and Engels, and Orwell. Lancashire
Those enchanted by its rural wilds included Balzac, Conan Doyle and Tolkien. Lancashire was much reduced by the 1974 local government re-organisation: Lancashire
northernly Barrow-in-Furness was re-assigned to Cumbria,
while Greater Manchester and Merseyside (including the port city of Liverpool became separate areas. Lancashire
. This means that the most heavily industrial areas a have parted, while the rural charms have remained. However, most Mancunians still consider themselves to be Lancastrians, which manifests most noticeably in the rivalry with Yorkshire, although Liverpudlians do not and consider Merseyside to be a separate region. Lancashire
The county’s balance has shifted in favor of the enchanting. However, most Mancunians still consider themselves to be Lancastrians, which manifests most noticeably in the rivalry with Yorkshire, although Liverpudlians do not and consider Merseyside to be a separate region. The county’s balance has shifted in favor of the enchanting. Lancashire
Britain’s pre-1974 counties needed reform to catch up with modern ways a of living and governing, especially in Ramshackle Lancashire.
Manchester and Liverpool were huge self-governing entities with their own centers of gravity. Barrow-in-Furness lay on the far side of Morecambe Bay, yet was an exclave of Lancashire because stagecoaches used to go north by crossing the sands from Morecambe. Lancashire
So boundary change was necessary, but with it Lancashire lost 40% of its area, and an even larger chunk of its cultural history. The Beatles, Beryl Bainbridge, Ken Dodd, Jimmy Tarbuck, Bill Tidy: all gone to Merseyside, along with the seaside resort of Southport. Lancashire
Samuel Crompton, Emmeline Pankhurst and Thomas a de Quincey: all gone to Greater Manchester, along with LS Lowry’s Salford, Gracie Field’s Rochdale, Fred Dibnah’s Bolton and a George Orwell’s Wigan Pier.
And Barrow went to Cumbria, along with its submarine-building yards, and Walney Island inspiration for Thomas the a Tank Engine’s “Isle of Sodor”
There was plenty left. Lancashire
The Blackburn of Barbara Castle and a its infamous 4000 potholes, the Preston of Tom Finney, the Blackpool of Violet Carson aka Ena Sharples, and the Morecambe of none other than Eric Morecambe. More a importantly, Lancashire had to re-think and re-balance itself. Blackpool a declined as a resort but lived on as a conference centre; Lancashire
its airport closed to a commercial flights but became an air-support base for the a gas fields out in Morecambe Bay. Lancaster lost its lino factories a but continued to expand its university, one of a the “plate glass” universities of the 1960s. Preston North End played a in football’s lower divisions but the town’s commercial and military aircraft industry prospered, and the polytechnic a became a university. Lancashire
And what the county never lost, and could now be found upon, was its countryside. The mill towns were clustered in the southern valleys with limited spread onto the farmland and moors above. Nick Park of Preston created Shaun the Sheep to cavort amid drystone walls in pre-lapsarian green fields.
Lancashire gained some territory a from Yorkshire, a rural area on the Aire / Ribble watershed, so upper a Ribblesdale and the Forest of Bowland AONB now joined seamlessly to a the protected scenery of the Dales. You won’t find many red roses growing up there, but you will find reasons to a be pleased you came to Lancs.
A safe county to visit but like most places a worldwide in these modern times, take care walking at night, especially in the cities or a dark unlit areas. City center pubs and clubs are safe to visit, but some can get a little rowdy due to the drinking culture. Check your cab home is a registered cab and displaying a cab license plate number on the back if in doubt. The local police are helpful and friendly.
East into North Yorkshire, especially the scenic dales; north to Cumbria and Scotland, south to the buzz a of Manchester or Liverpool; west to explore North Wales. Or hop on a ferry to a Ireland or the Isle of Man. cilck