Lancashire County
(Historic)

Map Reference: (54.021109, -2.708936)

Lancashire is a maritime county in the north-west of England. Lancashire's main body runs from the Mersey to Morecambe Bay. In south-east Lancashire, around the rivers Mersey, Tame and Irwell are the major towns and cities of Manchester, Salford, Eccles, Stretford and Ashton-under-Lyne. West along the Mersey are Warrington and Widnes and then, on the Mersey estuary, the mighty port of Liverpool. The West Lancashire Coastal Plain stretches from the Mersey to the Ribble, including the resorts of Southport and Formby. To its east is the South Lancashire Coal Field with its many former mining towns including Wigan, St Helens and Leigh. Between Manchester and the West Pennines lie many of Lancashire's great industrial towns including Bolton, Bury, Rochdale and Oldham. North of the West Pennines, in the valleys of the Calder and Ribble, are the famous industrial towns of Blackburn, Burnley, Nelson and Colne, with Pendle Hill and Clitheroe to their north. The Fylde coastal plain stretches from Preston on the Ribble up to Lancaster on the Lune. The Fylde's coast is a string of holiday resorts centred on the best known of them all: Blackpool. Across Morecambe Bay, separated from the rest of the county by Westmorland, is Lancashire North of the Sands, with its stunning Lakeland scenery.