AnglOrony

Before we enter the kingdom of Leyland proper, you are encouraged to bow to the humble force of the horse . Before the invention of the mechanical horsepower and vehicles powered by all kinds of engines, nothing could be done on a larger scale without those noble creatures. Leyland's Bobby the Iron Horse is a   sculpture of a draught horse and cart, created by David Palmer and his team.  All this - is in the seemingly quiet and unassuming little town of Leyland in Lancashire , North West England. It goes back to the Anglo-Saxons , you know. But the Normans had built the first churches here, around thousand years ago. At least they build it so good that some of the remains are still in use as part of the whole church.  United Reformed Church  (top left) - originally a Congregational Church designed in High Victorian Gothic style, inspired by the medieval cathedral builders. St Andrew's Church (top right and bottom left) - an active Anglican parish church, Grade II l...

It is a misconception that small little towns, like Chorley, have nothing to offer for a tourist visit. There are treasures scattered around the country waiting to be discovered. We believe in it and we believed that  Chorley would reveal one for us as well.  Squeezed between M61 and M6, one of the little towns of the North-West , with populations of around 35,000, Chorley can be walked through the main street and its area pretty much in half an hour.  Up until the 1970s, the skyline here was dominated by many  factory chimneys,  now demolished.  There are some remnants of the industrial past but we could not spot a single one. It is a shame that towns like this lose their unique character.  Instead, we found some peculiar figures near Chorley bus station . They won't be here for long, as well, hopefully, in this case. Located on the edge of the  Lancashire Coalfield , Chorley had been immersed in coal mining for decades. There had been a nu...

After so many years living in the North West , we finally decided to visit the marvel of British seaside resorts . We parked our car a few minutes walk from the town centre, in the vicinity of Hornby Road, to explore it from the 'backyard'.   It looked promising. The streets are filled with semidetached villas which normally would be residential; in Blackpool, many of them are small hotels or Bed & Breakfasts .  Our first good impression turned a bit sour when we stepped into Central Drive, the main road leading to the town attractions, near the Casino at Coral Island.  The Cigarette Waste Art Gallery - something to make your jaw dropped. The very thought of an invention of such an idea! What a bafflement. The whole vicinity is run down, many businesses closed. Suppose, the cigarettes' ends are dropped nearby, quickly collected and made into an art. The pavements were quite clean. Few steps away we already could see the famous landmark, the Blackpool Tower;  pas...

  We had so much fun with this tiny village we even didn't know we had. Appley Bridge is just off Junction 27 of the M6, nestled north of the River  Douglas and  the Leeds and Liverpool Canal , running parallel to each other from Wigan to a little place called Parbold.  The name of the village sounds tasty and the canal location promises interesting features. We were not disappointed.   Finch Mill swing bridge (above, left) caught our attention - it is a man-handle operating system. We approached it slowly and wondered if it worked and it clearly did. The lock was unlocked to our surprise and joy.  We stopped there for quite a while, having fun swinging the bridge back and forth, back and forth. Then, some guy on a bike came and wanted to pass across the canal. Killjoy ;) We spotted a few canal boats which is usually a sign of tender care of the boat people who may receive it in the area.  The Boathouse Pub (above right) was in full swing, havin...