Need advice on side visit to Blackburn
 

My wife & I are making our first visit to Europe this May with a week in London.
Her Mother came from a town up North called Blackburn & I'd like to take her to see her Mom's old house. I don't want to drive a car in England.
I've been thinking that at the end of our time in London we could train up & stay a night in Manchester & visit Blackburn from there. We could then fly back to the States from Manchester. Any advice/suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

This is all perfectly do-able. It's about 3h to 4h from London to Blackburn by train, depending on connexions. You may even want to consider overnighting in Blackburn; it is only about 1h 30m from Blackburn to Manchester Airport by train.

You can look at schedules and fares at www.qjump.co.uk.

Assuming you mean Blackburn Lancashire and not Blackburn, West Lothian (not to mention Blackburn Aberdeenshire):)

Yes, to me, it seems like it must be Lancashire, the Manchester bit gives it away.
It is very doable - Blackburn can be reached easily by bus or train from Manchester.
There are plenty of nice places near Blackburn to visit. For instance, Stonyhurst College where both Conan Doyle and Tolkein were schooled. Pendle Hill with its witch/Quaker/methodism associations is nearby and the charming village of Downham where they filmed 'Whistle Down the Wind' is near. West Yorkshire is only miles away where it is easy to reach Bronte's Haworth, and charming and not much visited Heptonstall (where Sylvia Plath is buried) is nearby. Let me know if you need any detail on travel arrangements etc.
ps pity you are not going this weekend as it is the start of the 'Blackpudding throwing championships' in Lancashire.

stevelyon,

isn't it wonderful to learn something everyday?

I didn't know Sylvia Plath was buried in Heptonstall!

I was born in Shipley and I still miss the countryside :-(

Alya
I know what you mean - my job as a nurse tutor involves me going round West Yorkshire and visiting students in what i consider a most beautiful part of England. One of the clinics I visit is in a delightful spot called Luddendenfoot- its where Branwell Bronte worked and not far from Heptonstall. Heptonstall is also asociated with Ted Hughes whose parents lived there, and of course you know the connection with Sylvia Plath.

Every time I read a question re Blackburn I'm reminded of the Beatle song "A Day in the Life" which has these lyrics:

"I read the news today oh, boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes
it takes to fill the Albert Hall
I'd love to turn you on"

Just in case you do get turned on you may want to travel to Darwen and act out your fantasies in Bold Venture Park.

Lots of interesting trivia about Blackburn. But stevelyon topped a thread from Jan. 2004. The trip was in May 2004 - sorta doubt JJ863 is still looking for info . . . . . .

whoops - too much steak and ale pie without the steak and pie! And anyway, the trains are pretty slow around here. But keeping on the theme of trivia - did you know that Butch Cassidy has roots in Blackburn?

stevelyon - haven't lived in Yorkshire since the 80's but when visiting family our first meal was always Fish & Chips.

We didn't tend to eat them in the south - just not as nice.

So, 2001 we move to the US and I know I'll never had good F&C again :-(

Until... we find a 'Chippie' in RI whose owners are descended from a Yorkshire family and brought the recipe with them. The aroma when we opened the door was wonderful. Now instead of the 200 miles we had to travel to Yorkshire we only have to travel 15 miles!

We do have to take our own mushy peas though :-D

Alya
Absolutely the ‘bestest’ fish and chips are found in West Yorkshire, and you should know Shipley isn’t far from where Harry Ramsden’s started out before it got corporate and spoilt. I can never get over how all the fish and chip shops in West Yorks are all in separate little igloos. Isn’t Shipley where they have the famous ‘Idle Working Mens Club’?

I caught the worst cold of my life in Blackburn. I should have known not to sleep in a hotel where there was mold growing on the walls of the hallways.