h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Eeeh by gum! Home to Blackpool, Burnley, Bury, Bolton and a load of other towns beginning with 'B', Lancashire has a long and noble tradition of feeling slightly superior to that other Northern county on the other side of the Pennines. But what else is there to know about the Red Rose county? Why not help us write this entry?

Paully

It mus be important as I was born here... especially Burnley

hmmmm, when I think of the east of the county I always think of the cotton mills (Both my Nanna and Dad worked in the mills, other relatives did but I never met them)

textiles is definately a big part of a lot of the towns being here, along the old canals that travel through them.

errr err me dad would be better at this...

MAin city traditionally would be Lancaster with the old main road this end of the country to Scotland(I can't believe that road was a main anything)

okay if I go according to what Jimster put (a brief summery)

- where is it?
It used to be the county that bordered with Scotland, but now ends just north of Lancaster just as it meets Cumbria


- what are the main towns and cities there?

Lancaster, Preston, Burnley, Blackpool etc

- overall geographical feel (if distinctive enough)

On the east of the county it has an old fashioned stone built feel, based in the hills as the towns meet the pennines. This feel also includes Lancaster

Over here on the west it is much newer most of it only spanning back 100 years so it is very new though the houses are all very different from when they didn't build whole estates under the same builder. It is very different to what I consider as the old country (the east)

- links to other related entries

I would have to look through the entries, I know there is the blackpool ones...

- any other details

errr

how could I forget Morecambe with good old Eric

And my old stomping ground of West Lancashire was historically marshy wetlands until it was developed for agriculture. Because of all of the organic matter in the soil, it's now one of the most productive and fertile parts of the UK. The market in Ormskirk was founded in 1286 by the monks of Burscough Priory after having been given assent by King Edward I.

The few remaining bits of marshy wetlands in West Lancashire are now home to millions of migrating birds every year, who stop off on their way North or South at The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's Centre, Martin Mere, Burscough.

Paully

*Arhh that brings back memories, I went to Burscough Priory High School.!

There is St. Annes where they play the Golf Open near the coast which neighbours Blackpool. But one of the Oldest places around Wyre is Poulton Le Fylde, which supposedly appeared in the Doomsday book(or so I was told, I can't remember what name it was in there under)

House Wise also in the west of the county the(ie near the coast) the buildings are mainly Brick built, more especially with red bricks (except on the newer estates)

We have lots of Entries on geographical areas, such as Carnforth, Preston, Skelmersdale, Appley Bridge, Ormskirk, St Anne's, Wigan, RSPB Leighton Moss, as well as Lancaster University (memories...) but I think there should also be some mention should be made of the county's sporting heritage - the cricket team, obviously, but lots of rugby and football teams that can be linked to as well - we have an Entry on Blackburn Rovers at the very least!

And then there are so many other things...the Eric Morecambe link has been mentioned, but there's also Master B's Entry on Wallace and Gromit. (Nick Park is from Lancashire...Wendolene's dog is called Preston...)

I was born in Lancashire North-of-the-Sands, which became Cumbria following the 1974 Local Government Act (when its geographical area took a bit of a hammering from all sides)...though that doesn't mean you can't link on any Entry that might involve Barrow-in-Furness of course.

Unlike most sporting organisations which are based in London, the headquarters of the Football League (www.football-league.co.uk/) were in Lytham St Annes for most of its existence. They're now in Preston, although there is a commercial office in London. They've been a bit marginalised since the creation of the Premiership (the power struggle between the Football League and the FA is exactly why the FA sanctioned the creation of the Premiership, by the way, because they wanted to stick it up the league) but they are still responsible for what's currently known as the Coca-Cola Championship, League One and League Two.

Apparently Lancashire is 75 miles in length and 30 in breadth, if you wanted to know that!

Don't forget to put about how Morecambe bay is the second largest sandy bay in the Uk (after the Wash) at 310 square km and about all the birds that live there.

You could also mention that Lancaster is traditionally the county town but the administrative centre moved to Preston in... does anyone know? I want to say 1969 for some reason.

I don't know when

but I do know that Morecambe originally became popular becase the train line from Leeds(I think it was Leeds... it was either that or York) ended in Morecambe. The particular event that drove them all there was to see the new jetty that was errected.

Lots of really good stuff here. Does anyone fancy taking this one on and drafting an entry for us? Hmm?

Paully

If I wrote it it would be too incoherant *looks at someone else to write it*

I'm delighted to announce that we already have two County entries in Peer Review, waiting to receive any bouquets or brickbats that people might lob in their general direction! If you're currently either working on or contributing to a County entry of your own right now, you might like to have a quick look to see how some other researchers have tackled this challenge. They are: County Fermanagh (A6092606) and Norfolk (A6108473).

Hope you enjoy reading them!

Paully

Unfortunately for your list of towns beginning with B
Bolton is no longer in Lancashire. They moved it into Gtr
Mcr some time ago. Also moved out of Lancs I believe were
Warrington, Oldham, Southport and Wigan. Oh, and Barrow-
in-Furness too! Mind you, I don't suppose Barrow was ever
properly in Lancs to begin with.

Lancs had Britain's first motorway. A short stretch of M6
near Preston. Drivers in Austin 7s and Ford 8s tried to
touch the magic 70. Many failed, just getting to 68 mph or
thereabouts before running out of road.

There used to be a slogan. "No Litter in Lancs Thanks!"
In those days Lancs prided itself on being tidy. There
were litter baskets everywhere. It was in the days before
"Take your Litter home!" became the national countryside
slogan.

It was on Pendle Hill that George Fox had his vision which
led to him to found the Quakers. He was luckier than the
Pendle Witches who were executed near Lancaster. There's
a book called 'Mist over Pendle' that's worth a read.

Queen Mary once stood on the steps of the Church at Dunsop
Bridge and gazing towards Pendle Hill pronounced it as the
most beautiful view in England - or so the locals say.

Constable once painted a picture of Whalley Nab, a hill
sometimes usedfor Tour of Lancashire cycle racing, but the
artist moved landmarks around to such effect that nobody
realised what the finished painting was supposed to be.

There used to be an annual swimming race across Morecambe Bay
that always finished at the stone jetty in Morecambe. Do they
still do it I wonder?

According to an old local I met recently you can find radioactive
damaged fish in Morecambe Bay. Grandads used to put out a long
lines at Heysham and catch flatties for the family teas; mainly
plaice and dabs. Nobody's grandad does it now I'd hazard a guess.

Traditional Lancashire food includes -

Black pudding (often eaten for breakfast), Lancashire Cheese (can be hard or crumbly, tasty or mild),
Tripe (the lining of a sheep's stomach often eaten with onions)
Lancashire Hot Pot (this contains lamb, carrots, onion and potatoes topped with a baked crust)

Morecambe Bay prawns, dabs and cockles may be radioactive and should carry a Government Health Warning.

It's probably not a good idea to go swimming in Morecambe either.

Lancashire real ale is generally excellent. Pendle Witch is highly recommended.

lucky

Do we have any Lancastrians willing to have a go at writing this one up? I'm shocked and appalled that my fellow county-men are letting the side down - there's a Yorkshire entry just about to enter Peer Review...





Paully

who let one through about Yorkshire...

I still don't have the confidance to write this...

Well could you, perhaps, write maybe a brief paragraph on the major towns of Lancashire, or on the big things to see and do in the county for tourists? That'd be a cracking good start!

Paully

Any takers for this one? We're offering official h2g2 merchandise - ie a T-shirt for the lucky Researcher who can get this into the Edited Guide.