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Bolton

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 Bolton is comparable to Preston in size, a population of 139k rather than 156k. Its proximity to Manchester makes it less important in an administrative sense - it is only a town, while Preston is a city - but as part of Greater Manchester there is a sense of it being a part of something bigger. It is notably bigger than the other towns I have visited recently. That said, like all the others, it is a mill town at heart. It was served by two stations. Great Moor Street Station was built by the Bolton & Leigh Railway in 1831, connecting Bolton to the Manchester & Liverpool Railway. It passed into the hands of the LNWR, who moved it a little northwards, in 1871. It was only ever a terminus and it closed to passengers in 1954. Nothing now remains of it, it lies under Morrisons. The second station, Trinity Street was built by the L&Y just to the east of Great Moor Street, in 1838, and was rather more successful, as it extended northwest to Preston, and northeast to Bla...
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Inglewhite

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Inglewhite is a small village 9 miles northeast of Preston. It is a pretty place that we would go through when taking the kids to or from scout camp, but today was the first time I actually stopped there. There is not much to the village; about a dozen houses around the green. It is the meeting point of four roads, and there were tollbooths on all of them. I think the white building just left of centre is the only surviving one. There was a market here at one time, and the market cross dates from 1675. On the south side is the old Smithy. It became a cafe for a while, but is now residential. It has this interesting plaque from the AA on the side. Looking at a map from 1892, there were three pubs here at one time - about a quarter of the houses! One seems to have disappeared altogether. The building in the image below with the cars outside it was the Black Bull Inn.  The Green Man on Silk Mill Lane is still operating. A short way further down the lane is Inglewhite Congregational Ch...
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Oswaldtwistle

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Oswaldtwistle is a small town east of Blackburn that has spread to merge with Accrington. Not as large as Bacup and Colne, and, frankly, rather more run down. I do not think it was ever as big, and the number of impressive Victorian buildings is considerable fewer, but there are a number of interesting ones. Twistle means a place where two brooks meet. I saw no sign of either brook, but the Leeds-Liverpool Canal passes on the north, and we can start there. This is the view looking towards Liverpool, from bridge 110.  The wall is only about a foot high, just high enough to trip you as you go over it. Here is the bridge from the canal. The remains of a basin can be seen just before the canal goes under the railway. The basin was used by Aspen Colliery. This is bridge 110a, where the railway crosses, suggesting the bridges were numbered before the railway arrived, unlike on the Lancaster Canal. The area's industrial heritage is very apparent, and not necessarily in a good way. The fac...
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