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Lancashire


Here we are, my mum's fish pond. It looks like they've left some marzipan in my room for me. I don't normally stay in this room but I'm not the only visitor here this week. On the wall is a cop... I forgot to take a close-up in New Zealand to show how illusion knitting works so it's good to have ... I suppose this is a slightly unusual house... ... partly just because of the number of flights of stairs. The downstairs lounge, which is really more of a dining room. My bike. On the left are my mother and her husband. On the right are the world's fastest knitter and her husb... Being here, I get to use a proper washing machine. You may have noticed that I've been wearing the s... Another part of the house. I won't be leaving any more ducks on this trip. These were my last two and Miriam has requested at l... Colne. The red, white and blue bikes on the balcony are part of the celebrations to mark that a stage of th... This facade is all that remains of the old Prestige building. Behind it is now a supermarket. Continuing my history lesson from a few days ago, when the Football Association was formed, it was i... Turf Moor. First game 1883. Capacity 22546. Record attendance 54775.... The street name sign is in club colours. This was the site of the notable match in December 1891 where the weather was so terrible that the v... They have an "Elite Training Centre". 37. Burnley... Some fans on the other side of the road waiting for a coach. I don't know where they're going. Here's the Leeds-Liverpool Canal again, this time seen from underneath. An abandoned hotel. The view. Accrington. Playing fields in Accrington. Accrington's football history has been unusual. The original club, simply called Accrington, played ... In 1891, while Accrington were still playing in the League, another club was formed in the town. Thi... It must be disappointing for teams who have rapidly slipped from the top division to the fourth to s... 38. Accrington Stanley... Accrington Stanley played in the Football League, meaning the upper divisions of the hierarchy, from... Here they are, back in the Football League.... A garden fence. Better keep an eye on that clock. Blackburn. What a slogan! That's inspired! Don't stare, but that car in front has got a picture of the Queen on the dashboard. A brewery. I'm now entering the region where the water supply has been contaminated for the last two... Blackburn. Ewood Park, home to Blackburn Rovers. This was originally a multi-purpose sports venue. The first fo... Ewood Park, also on my list of 1995-1996 top division grounds. The club shop, on the left. 39. Blackburn Rovers... Blackburn. This road is quite steep. Look at the angle of that roof! The minarets are in Leamington Road, somewhere near the site of Blackburn Rovers' ground from the 18... Blackburn's current ground, seen from near their old one. Leamington Road. In the inagurural season of the League, Blackburn Rovers played at a ground called Leamington Road. ... An unusual-looking school. The houses on top of the hill look like the most expensive. I had planned to go that way but it doesn't look like a road at all. This stone marks Britain's first section of motorway, opened in 1958. Deepdale. No other ground that I've seen has that much support for its floodlights. 40. Preston North End... Tom Finney was a big name in Preston. He played his entire career here, except for when he came out ... Deepdale. This and Burnley's Turf Moor are the only surviving grounds from that 1888-1889 season. Fi... I think Preston North End have the cutest logo of all 116 clubs. It's pretty much the same as the em... PNE. There have been a few diagrams of cycle routes like this around Preston. Lytham Green. Looking across the Ribble Estuary. Depressingly, I think that's Southport, where I was a week ago. That's the same one that I saw from the Royal Birkdale Golf Course, isn't it? On Lytham Green. The building to the right of the windmill is the old lifeboat station. On the far right is the airfi... Lytham. A wading bird. St. Anne's. One of the first of the hotels, which will probably be almost continuous all the way to Fleetwood. A man packing up his mini golf course. My first view of Blackpool. Sand dunes. Blackpool. Wheeee! Blackpool. Blackpool. My first proper view of the sea. There's plenty of room for cycling. The beach. The South Pier. The Chimes on the Sea is my hotel. A wild game stall? It's not a sea view but at least the window does open. The room doesn't live up to the standard of the reviews but it exceeds what I would expect to get fo... The hotel. An offshore wind farm. Sunset. My bike locked up tightly enough that it can't slip onto the tramline. There's quite a lot of open space. My 41st ground, at the end of another road of hotels. In the car park of that funny little pub in Halifax, I saw a man driving a car with a huge mess of w... There's a long rivalry between the Blackpool and Preston teams because their league performances hav... Bloomfield Road. First game 1897. Capacity 42682. Record attendance 76588.... Two towers? Bloomfield Road. 41. Blackpool... Stanley Mortensen and the sunset. Under the stands. There must be some kind of event going on but it doesn't seem very lively whatever... I didn't see any of the horses. There's that wind from the West which made this afternoon hard work. The forecast shows that tomorro... Blackpool. Blackpool. Blackpool. I've come in here for some fish and chips. One of my memories of coming to Blackpool as a child was ... Blackpool. Doughnuts. The Moon. The North West is obsessed with horses. Blackpool in the morning. Blackpool in the morning. Not yet. Blackpool beach. In front of Blackpool Tower is this expanse of comedy catchphrases. This is yesterday's information. Today, the wind is coming from the South, although it's not as stro... The latest beachwear. The North Pier. I think that would look good in my office. Heading North from Blackpool. A last view of the Tower. I rather think that those buildings in the distance might be Barrow in Furness, my destination for t... Preparations for the illuminations. Illuminations. Illuminations. Looking towards Fleetwood. One of the heritage trams passing a school which apparently has its own tram stop. I hope that's not what they do to the students. A view of the top row of seats in the stand at Fleetwood Town's Highbury Stadium, not to be confused... The first game here was in 1939. The original Fleetwood club was founded in 1908 but the current inc... 42. Fleetwood Town... Cyclists. I've been fully recharging all my electrical devices every night but at this point, strange things s... First test for the new phone's camera. If you count the front and back ones on two of the phones, I ... Lancaster and the River Lune. This isn't the Globe Arena's best side. The Globe Arena, home of fourth division team Morecambe. First game 2010. Capacity 6476. Record atte... 43. Morecambe... I like that their crest is a huge prawn. This pub must be expecting strong wind. A giant packet of Polos. John Eric Bartholomew, better known as Eric Morecambe after the name of his home town, was one half ... Is he stealing my bike? Morecambe. A big sand castle. People sheltering from the light rain. A giant toposcope of the Lake District peaks which are visible from here. An artificial rock pool. I would guess that it floods every high tide.