Blackburn 5.5 miles. Walkers Jim Anthony vic and Danny

The town of Blackburn, sitting on higher ground than  Preston, it's near neighbour to the west. Although only 10 miles distant, usually gets more snow. Your author, when his kids were younger often used to bring them sledging here, However, today there is very little difference.

                                      Here we are, entering Corporation Park.

At this time of year. the leafless trees allow a better view of the town below and across the valley. Anthony informed us that the Panopticon has undergone a name change. It is now called the Cannons, but none of us could remember what it was called originally. Answers on a postcard please.

                                     Careful chaps, those steps are a bit slippy.

                        A sudden flurry of snow made the park look quite magical. 

Passing the lake, the roman god Flora whilst looking quite cute in her skimpy dress, is not really suitably dressed for British winter weather.

                      There is less snow on the ground as we head towards the town centre.

There was a young lady, busking in the town centre, She had quite a good voice, so we sat on a nearby bench in the sun and listened to her whilst eating our dinner.

         

Across from where we were sitting was Blackburn's iconic tower. When we were younger, there was a nightclub at the top of the tower, but none of us could remember the name of it.Can you?? Answer at the end of the blog,

After getting lost inside the shopping mal, and not being able to find our way out.😡 Vic asked one of the attendants. The whole trouble was, the lack of signage. Do they do it on purpose? Our next destination was Eanham Wharf, on the side of the Leeds -Liverpool canal. On the way we stopped to read this plaque. Was the author referring to the --------- night club on top of the tower?

                                 On reaching the canal we find it frozen over

On previous visits here, we have sometimes had our dinner under the shelter of the wharf, but today the gate was shut. Not just shut but welded shut. The pub / bar that used to be housed in the wharf building must have shut up shop. Luckily its a nice sunny day.

The  swans the geese and the ducks, as well as all the sea gulls flying overhead, have to wait patiently for the ice to melt before they get their dinner.

Dinner over we set off westward along the canal tow path, before dropping down to the road and making our way back to the town centre.

  This is Blackburn Cathedral. We stopped here for our afternoon brew in the cathedral cafe.

This is a statue of William Gladstone. Some black lives matter campaigners have been pushing for the statue to be removed.

Leaving the town centre to start the long climb up East Park Road, past all the large houses once belonging to rich mill owners and the like, we passed this information board, but where is the church? We couldn't see anything around that looked like a church.

                                                                 The End
                                          

                              The nightclub on top of the tower was the Cavendish Club.

                                                                          DK