Colne

Colne is at the east end of the M65; it is also on the end of a railway from Preston. I guess that makes it the last frontier of civilisation before you get to Yorkshire.

The town is strung out along the A56, which rises up from Colne Water in the west to Commercial Hotel in the east. It was surprisingly vibrant. Unlike Accrington and Burnley, it did not have the feel of somewhere trying to pull itself out of depression. And a lot less closed shops than Preston.

There is an old foundry on the river still in good condition.

Looking the other way, you can see the viaduct that brings the railway into the town. The river is to the left, behind the trees.

The road goes under the railway, and the station is set back on the left.

This was a sizeable station at one time, double track, going on to Skipton. There was a goods yard with over twenty sidings, and a turntable to the north and further facilities, including an engine shed and a second turntable to the south. This was where the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway, later the Midland Railway joined to the East Lancashire Railway, later the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, which is probably why there were such extensive facilities. Now just a single track that terminates here.

A little way beyond is the Crown Hotel.

And on the right...

Colne's big claim to fame is that this is where the bandmaster on the Titanic lives, Wallace Hartley. He lived in a house on the left, and there is a blue plaque to mark it.

And a bit further up there is even a statue of the guy!

This stands by a fine old house, originally called the Gables, that has the war memorial in front of it. The house was built in 1869, for Nicholas England Junior according to here, though the date on the front is 1907. For a while it was Providence Independent Methodist Church.

The municipal hall was built in 1901 as  Colne Technical School and Evening Institute. It is now home to Muni Theatre.

Just beyond is a very fancy pizza restaurant. This was the co-operative stores, part of Norway House, and opened in 1907.

The A56 runs up a ridge, with a steep drop on either side.

Further up is the Town Hall, built in 1894.

Next door, this  was Barclays, and previously Martins Bank. I do not think any banks are still open in Colne.

Looking down New Market Street, to the left of the Bank.

Shackleton Hall is at the other end of the block the bank is in.

Inside you can see it is a Victorian arcade. It was built in 1888, and has been recently renovated.

The oldest building in Colne is the church, St Bartholomew's. It was mostly built in the early sixteenth century, though a church had been on the site for at least four centuries by then.

The Duke of Lancaster is on the right. From here onwards, the A56 is one-way.

On the other side:

A bit further along, on the right, a pub that used to be the Kings Head Hotel. Now a Wetherspoons celebrating Colne's one famous man - Wallace Hartley.

Another bank.

A little way off the A56, there is a building that used to be an ambulance hall, which I have not seen before.

The old market cross.

The local library.

The old fire station was down that side street.

The last building of note is the Commercial Hotel.

One final note about the car park I used, behind the Union. It was free, which was great. It had a time limit of two and a half hours, which was odd. The other thing was it required you to display a disk, that you set to the time you arrived. The disks are free, and you can get them from the local council or nearby shops... The shops I saw at first glance were a tanning salon and a closed charity shop. I asked a lady as she was getting into her car where to go and she happened to have a spare.