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Ignore southern stereotypes, Lancashire is the most underrated county in England
From moors to music and mills, this vibrant corner of the North offers depth and delight in equal measure
HappyLancashire Day!
Inaugurated in 1996, November 27 is the date chosen by the Friends of Real Lancashire to draw attention to the UK’s most underrated county. On this day in 1295, the first elected representatives from Lancashire were called to Westminster by King Edward I to attend what became known as the “Model Parliament”.
I’m not a huge fan of special days or months, especially those related to moustaches, booze and veganism. But Lancashire deserves its dedicated day, as it really does get overlooked.
Competition in domestic tourism is fiercer than ever. Clichés about clogs and flat caps linger up here like sooty smoke. The Dales and Lakes exert a powerful pull away from Lancashire’s moody moorlands. Then there’s neighbouring Yorkshire’s tendency to self-aggrandise and out-brag. How can the likes of Accrington, Oldham or St Helens nick tourists from tea-sipping Harrogate and Jorvik-boasting York – or, for that matter, Cornwall and the Highlands?
Coming home to the county in 2021 after almost four decades away, I made it my mission to discover how, and have put my findings into an upcoming travel book/memoir. Lancashire has had an impact on British culture and global history that belies its humble “brand”.
Here are ten reasons to give it a go...
The best food scene outside London
The tiny village of Aughton near Ormskirk has become a mini Basque Country, a petit Provence. Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall scooped him a third Michelin star last February. The Barn, his slightly less formal restaurant next door, has one. Nearby sō-lō, helmed by Tim Allen, has a star too. Beyond Aughton, Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume in Cartmel, near Grange-over-Sands, has three stars. All the other triple-starred dining is in London and Bray.
Many more superb Lancashire restaurants have raised the game, with Northcote, Freemasons at Wiswell, the White Swan at Fence and the Parkers Arms turning the Ribble Valley into aculinary hotspot.
World-class history and heritage
I recently attended an event at Queen Street Mill, near Burnley. This Grade I-listed museum is the world’s last remaining working steam-powered weaving mill. When they turn on the looms, it is extraordinary. For fans of industrial history, former cotton mills, coal mines, mega-warehouses, canals, railways (the world’s oldest inter-city line) and even motorways (the UK’s oldest) make Lancashire a real thrill.
Those seeking more genteel heritage can swoon at Towneley Hall (also in Burnley), Gawthorpe Hall (Padiham), Samlesbury Hall and Hoghton Tower (nearPreston), and Rufford Old Hall (near Southport), where Pevsner found “an exuberance of decoration matched nowhere else in England”.
Moorland hiking at its best
TheForest of Bowland National Landscape (formerly AONB) ranges from the edge of Lancaster toPendle Hill, where the ghosts of witches, Quakers, Chartists and many others connive. The latter now links up with the Pennine Way via the new Two Toms Trail.
The West Pennine Moors around Bolton are a spur of the main Northern England mountain spine, with vast views of the two big cities, coasts and distant peaks from Winter Hill.
Greater Manchester’s new GM Ringway and the Steel Cotton Rail Trail makehiking using public transport easy to plan.
High culture, edgy entertainment
Lancashire has produced many of the most famous pop and rock artists on earth. The Beatles provide an enlightening way into Merseyside and Liverpool, thanks to well-honed bus tours.Manchester boasts a burgeoning punk-Factory-Oasis tourism trail. Live music scenes in both cities continue to kick.
Shakespeare North in Prescot has added a suburban powerhouse to a flourishing theatre scene. The English National Opera (ENO) is already up and running in classical-music-loving Manchester.
The UK’s best seaside resorts
Blackpool is still the nation’s favourite beach town, with more than 20 million visitors every year. The Tower Ballroom was once again the highlight ofStrictly. Showtown, the bespoke museum of Blackpool popular entertainment that opened in 2024, is a showcase of seaside traditions.
Southport has its Victorian arcades, Lytham is great for food and drink, and Morecambe offers the perfect blend of prom-strolling and picturesque views.
Ancient and modern towns
Lancashire wasn’t named in the Domesday Book, but it was already defined by the 12th century. Ancient towns like Clitheroe, Lancaster, Ribchester and Whalley have a different feel from the industrial centres. They have pretty period buildings, castles and abbeys, and old markets.
But it’s well worth adding a less obvious town to your itinerary. Wigan has redbrick warehouses, canals and flashes. St Helens has excellent glass and transport museums, and the Dream, atop a former slagheap at Sutton Manor colliery. Warrington has Cromwell connections and wire- and soap-making stories. Birkenhead opens its new Battle of the Atlantic museum next spring. Barrow’s revamped Dock Museum tells a deep story connecting steel, shipbuilding and defence. The modern world was forged in the crucible that is north-west England.
A favourite fell – and one and a half lakes
The 1974 border carve-up that made Liverpool and Manchester separate administrative areas also tried to pinch Coniston Water and the Old Man. If you dig out an old map, you’ll notice that the west bank of Windermere is also in Lancashire.
It took a Lancastrian – Blackburner Alfred Wainwright – to make the Lakes less about posh houses and Romantic poets and more about boots and backpacks.
The UK’s two greatest cities
Sorry, Leeds. Not on, Newcastle. Excuse me, Edinburgh. Bye-bye, Birmingham. The only two cities that challenge London for energy, ambition, culture, gastronomy, historical heft and civic architecture – and leave it behind for attitude – are Liverpool and Manchester. Both are more walkable. Both boastproper pubs the capital only knows as past glories.
The Marble Arch Inn, Whitworth Gallery and Higher Ground in Manchester, and the Philharmonic Dining Rooms, Walker Gallery and dockside walking trail in Liverpool, are six of my favourite places on the planet.
Recommended
Sports and stadia
Association football, county cricket, both rugby codes, crown green bowls and darts are all top-class in Lancashire. It’s not easy to secure inexpensive match-day tickets, but a guided tour of Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock affords real insight into the modern game. A Saints-Wigan derby in either town is a massive event and totally family-friendly. Luke Littler, born in Warrington, is a superstar; you can still get tickets to see him in April 2026 at Manchester’s AO Arena.
Birding heaven – by bus and train
Clamour and commotion, traffic and terraced houses… Lancashire’s stock associations derive from a dense population. But peace and escape, with birdsong thrown in, are readily available at the wetlands of Martin Mere, where thousands of waders overwinter, and on Bowland’s remote fells, which provide precious habitats for peregrine falcon, merlin, ring ouzel and hen harrier. The new number 11 bus from Clitheroe makes accessing Bowland easier than ever. Martin Mere is close to three railway stations.
RSPB Leighton Moss is another birding wonderland, with Silverdale railway station just next door. The Furness Line, which also stops at Carnforth – whereBrief Encounter was filmed – would be one of the UK’s most beautiful rides, were it not prone to carrying people out of Lancashire and away from the UK’s most underrated, overlooked, sublimely intriguing historic county.
Lancashire: Exploring the Historic County that Made the Modern World by Chris Moss will be published by Old Street on February 17 2026
