Burnley & Nelson Tourism Blues Festival Towneley Gawthorpe Leeds Liverpool Canal

Weavers' Triangle Visitor Centre & Burnley Wharf Canalside Heritage

The Weavers' Triangle alongside the Leeds Liverpool Canal at Burnley Wharf is where to head to discover the comprehensive story of cotton cloth production in the town. Burnley's weaving sheds and its distinctive straight mile stretch of the canal were at the very centre of the industrial revolution, producing textiles up until the late 1970s. The Weavers' Triangle, so named in the 1970s as this textile heartland area in Burnley is roughly triangle shaped, is aptly placed here along the Leeds Liverpool Canal. The centre includes the canal's old Toll Office which collected tolls from canal boats passing through. Numerous warehouses and heritage textile buildings have been preserved within this triangle and alongside the canal including the adjacent inn and warehouse now offices, making it one of the UK's particular hotspots for heritage industrial buildings.

The visitor centre is interactive, bringing alive how cotton was made for children who can even try a spot of weaving. Exhibits explore particular themes in the town including the famous Wakes Weeks and Fairs (a fairground model is on-site), working conditions in the mills and the history of the Leeds Liverpool canal. You can explore historic buildings along the canal towpath at your leisure (guided walks are available). The Burnley stretch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal opened first in 1801 and included the Straight Mile stretch where the canal moves 60ft above the town - an internationally acclaimed engineering marvel when it first opened. A short walk along the canal towpath sees you at Queen Mount Mill which dates from 1830. This mill started life as a woollen mill, but later shifted to cotton spinning with a weaving shed added in 1840. Oak Mount Mill suffered several fires during the 1870s and 80s so much of the remaining mill you see today dates from after the fire in 1876. The weaving shed however dates from the 1840s. Oak Mount continuted production right up to 1979 and was one of the last to close in Burnley. Inside the engine house sits one of Burnley's industrial heritage treasures - the steam engine installed after a fire in 1886. On several special days during the year you can view the mighty horizontal cross-compound steam engine in action. See the Weavers' Triangle weblink right for opending days and view the Oak Mount Mill Gallery detailing the mill's fascinating history.

The Weavers' Triangle, 85 Manchester Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 1JZ. Tel. 01282 452403.

The Weavers' Triangle is open from Easter to the end of September on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays and in October on Saturdays and Sundays (also open Good Friday). Opening hours are from 2pm to 4pm. Checkout the webguide for details on Oak Mount Mill Engine House opening times and guided walk dates along the canal. A detailed history of Burnley's Cotton Industry Heritage is also on the website. Entrance is free, donations welcome.

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Towneley Hall & Park & Burnley Wakes Weeks Fun Fair

Burnley's famous stately home, Towneley Hall was home to the Towneley family for over 500 years. Surrounded by the extensive grounds of Towneley Park, the Hall is now a museum with numerous exhibits on natural history, local history and textiles, decorative arts and regional furniture. Period rooms and an art gallery are on-site. The Towneley Room explores the history of the Towneley family in Burnley stretching back to the mid-13th century. The Local History Room interestingly takes a close look at the period from the 1960s when Burnley's textile industry was in decline. Other exhibits within the Hall reflect further back on the town's cotton industry heritage. The collection of art held at Towneley contains some treasures indeed. With a particular edge on 19th century British artists, work featured includes paintings by Landseer and Burne-Jones. Two stunning nudes by William Etty are on display as well as the most popular of the Victorian painters - a Cooper cow painting is here and John Philip's 'Scotch Fair' too.

Towneley Park which surrounds the Hall is Burnley's largest park and popular site for local events and festivals including the annual Burnley Balloon Festival weekend in late July and Burnley May Day events which include musical events and funfair. Just behind the hall sits a woodland trail which is well marked (suitable for families with small children) and has numerous wooden carvings along the way. Towneley Park also boasts a very popular children's playground with sandpits and rides galore. An 18 hole golf course is also on-site.

Towneley Hall Museum, Towneley Park, Burnley, BB11 3RQ. Tel. 01282 424213. Towneley Hall is open from Saturday to Thursday 12noon until 5pm. Closed on Fridays. Entry is free to schools, children and local residents.

Download an events guide for Towneley via the Towneley Park website and see details on the Balloon festival on Visit Lancashire. Burnley Wakes Weeks Fun Fairs take place in July at the Fulledge Recreation Ground, Culshaw Street Burnley Lancashire BB11 3RQ. See details and dates via Visit Lancashire - the Fair usually runs for one week in early July (around the 9th to the 13th July) from 9am to 5pm.

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Burnley Mechanics, Burnley Blues Festival, Arts & Events

The mighty Mechanics buildings are a feature of the industrial towns of the North, and Burnley has a particularly stunning one. Dating from 1855, the original Burnley Mechanics evolved out of the Mechanics Insitute which was at its peak during the 19th century. The Mechanics buildings were the main education, cultural and social centres for workers in the community. Today Burnley Mechanics is the town's main entertainment venue and main host for the annual famous Burnley Blues Festival.

The Burnley National Blues Festival runs annually over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend in March. Events and performances spread across several Burnley venues including local pubs and the Mechanics serves as main host venue with its large hall and two on-site bars. This is one of the most acclaimed Blues Fesitvals in the country. Browse the latest Blues Festival programme on the Mechanic's weblink right for details. An eclectic mix of comedy, drama, concerts (including regulars Fairport Convention) and musical extravaganzas run throughout the year.

Burnley Mechanics, Manchester Road, Burnley BB11 1BH. Ticket office Tel. 01282 664400.

Just round the corner from the Mechanics sits the Mid Pennine Arts Centre which hosts six contemporary exhibitions annually. Find out details here on Burnley's Panopticon sculpture. The mammoth 'Singing Ringing Tree' sits high on Crown Point a short drive from the town towards Bacup, Made out of pipes, the tree hums when the wind blows (the pipes have been suitably tuned so as not to disturb wildlife). The views up here towards Burnley, Bowland, Pendle Hill and the Yorkshire Dales beyond on a clear day are spectacular. See the Panopticons weblink right for directions or ask in the gallery. Mid Pennine Arts, Yorke St, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 1HD. Tel. 01282 421986.

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Gawthorpe Hall, Padiham

Gawthorpe Hall sits within Padiham just outside Burnley. The house is an Elizabethan architectural treasure, with links to the Brontes and the 17th century trial of the Pendle Witches. Exhibitions inside include a stunning collection of textiles and costumes and some acclaimed paintings too, usually on-loan from the National Portrait Gallery.

The house is surrounded by stunning grounds with woodland walks and trails. The original architectural design is thought to be that of Robert Smythson who also designed the similar Hardwick Hall in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. In the 19th century Sir Charles Barry was commissioned to revamp Gawthorpe and his touch can be seen particularly in the ornate interior for example in the Long Gallery. The house was most famously the home of the Shuttleworth Family for over 300 years and the nationally renowned collection of costumes and needwork bequethed by the Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth, the last of the family to live here, is on-show inside.

Charlotte Bronte was a friend of the Shuttleworth family and made frequent visits to Gawthorpe. The Hall is one of the key historic sights on the Bronte Way which commences from Gawthorpe heading up towards Wycoller and Haworth beyond. Other features of interest include Civil War re-enactments (the Shuttleworths supported Parliament during the Civil War as the portraits within illustrate) and the mighty Great Barn (an aisled threshing barn) within the grounds has now been restored to its former glory. A tea room and shop are on-site and the Great Barn can now be hired for weddings. For more information see the National Trust and Visit Burnley weblinks right.

Gawthorpe Hall (NT), Padiham, nr Burnley, Lancashire BB12 8UA. Tel. 01282 771004. (open Easter to October except Mondays and Fridays from 1pm to 5pm).

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Queen Street Mill Textile Museum

Alongside the Helmshore Textile Museum in Rossendale, Queen Street Mill in Burnley is where to head to see working looms and heritage steam engines. Queen Street Mill started as a workers' cooperative in 1894/5 and the mill saw further expansion in 1901 with the steam engine improved in 1913. This mill continued production right up to 1982.

The famous steam engine 'Peace' is here, a particular favourite of Fred Dibnah who featured it on his documentary series. From Boiler Room to Warehouse and Weighing Area, the Queen Street Mill experience takes you through all the processes involved in weaving cotton cloth.

Each process is demonstrated from the stoked coal boilers to the operation of the steam engine to Shuttle diplays and on to the weaving shed where 300 Lancashire looms clatter, making an incredible noise.

Queen Street Mill Textile Museum, Harle Syke, Burnley BB10 2HX. Tel. 01282 412555. For up-to-date opening times see the Queen Street Mill weblink right.

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Burnley Factory Shops

Barden Mill Shop, Barden Lane, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0DX. Tel. 01282 420333 (see weblink right for details).

J&M Sherry Textiles, Stockbridge Mill, Stockbridge Rd, Padiham, Lancashire. BB12 7HA. Tel. 01282 778416 (weblink right for details).

For complete listings on Burnley's many factory bargain shops see the Visit Burnley weblink right.

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Nelson Guilded Walks & History

A selection of heritage guided walks are offered around Pendle featuring famous locals and innovators including one of Nelson and Burnley's greatest activists Selina Cooper (1864-1946). A famous suffragist campaigning for votes for women, a Trade Unionist and a member of the Independent Labour Party, Selina Cooper's Nelson home near St Mary's Church features in the Weavers' Walk. For details contact Pendle Heritage Centre.

For an account of Selina Cooper's life of activism and detail on the radical history of Nelson and Burnley see Jill Liddington's 'The Life and Times of a Respectable Rebel', (1984), Virago. Also see 'One Hand Tied Behind Us. The Rise of the Women's Suffrage Movement', by Jill Liddington & Jill Norris, republished by Rivers Oram Press, 2000. The last copies of 'Nelson. Politics, Economy, Community' by Jeffrey Hill (Town & City Histories, Keele University Press, 1997) may be available at Pendle Heritage Centre. Sadly, this definitive short history of Nelson focusing on the town's industrial growth period between 1860 and 1930 is to go out of print.

Nelson town centre contains a host of heritage buildings including Valley Mills buildings on Southfield Street, the ILP (Independent Labour Party) Socialist Centre on Vernon Street dating from 1907 with first stone laid by Selina Cooper, the public free library which opened in 1908 and the Weavers' Institute now Silverman Hall which first opened in 1905. The latter building was indicative of the power of Nelson's Weavers' Institute which peaked in the early 1920s.

Pendle Heritage Centre, Park Hill, Barrowford, Nelson, Lancashire BB9 6JQ. Tel. 01282 661704. Barnoldswick Tourist Information Centre, Fern Lea Avenue, Barnoldswick, Colne BB18 5DW. Tel. 01282 666704.

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