Lancashire

I

Introduction

Lancashire (abbreviation Lancs), county, north-western England, bounded by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. It was formerly one of the most heavily populated counties in England, with the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in the south. The local government reforms of 1974 took away some 38 per cent of the county: Manchester, Liverpool, and many of the other major towns in the south were allocated to the new counties of Merseyside and Greater Manchester; Furness, separated from the rest of Lancashire by Morecambe Bay, was transferred to Cumbria. In 1998, Blackburn (renamed Blackburn with Darwen) and Blackpool were made unitary authorities, separate from Lancashire but still part of the county geographically and ceremonially. Lancashire has an area of 2,896 sq km (1,118 sq mi).

II

Land and Resources

In the east, high plateaux of gritstones and shales form part of the Pennine Hills, the highest points being Wards Stone at 560 m (1,836 ft), Pendle Hill at 558 m (1,831 ft), and Fair Snape at 518 m (1,701 ft). In the north, the Forest of Bowland presents rounded hills separated by the valleys of the rivers, with some outcrops in the form of limestone hillocks and gritstone crags. The land to the west and south is generally low, mostly based on marls, and the coast, especially in Morecambe Bay and at the Ribble estuary, is very flat. The Ribble Way, a footpath that follows the Ribble valley, enters the county just north of Gisburn, and runs through to Preston and the Ribble estuary.

Virtually the whole coast is sandy, and is studded with holiday resorts from Lytham St Anne's in the south to Silverdale in the north. Arnside and Silverdale, including part of Morecambe Bay and the estuary of the River Kent, and the Forest of Bowland have both been designated by the Countryside Agency as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Forest of Bowland presents moorlands, woods, river valleys with waterfalls, and views that can be wild, charming, or spectacular.

The principal river is the Ribble, which rises in the Pennines and flows into the Irish Sea at Preston. It used to divide the county almost in half, but is now near to the southern border. The Wyre and the Lune are the main rivers north of the Ribble, the former having its mouth at Fleetwood, and the latter near Lancaster. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal enters the county just east of Nelson, and continues through Burnley and Blackburn before turning south towards Greater Manchester.

Annual average rainfall for the county rises from a range of 760 to 1,000 mm (30 to 40 in) on the coast to as high as 1,520 to 2,540 mm (60 to 100 in) inland.

III

Wildlife

At Martin Mere, just west of Rufford, is a wildfowl park where thousands of birds are to be seen, including both Bewick's and Whooper swans. The Forest of Bowland is particularly noted for the prevalence of red campion, and is home to many moorland and woodland birds, such as curlew, green plover, whinchat, red grouse, and willow warbler. The whole coast is the haunt of seabirds, which are especially to be seen in Morecambe Bay, now designated a Special Protection Area by the European Union because of its importance as a wildlife habitat.

IV

Population

The population of the county was estimated in 2001 to be 1,134,976. The main settlements are: the cities of Lancaster (2001, 133,914) and Preston (2001, 129,642), and the towns of Blackpool (2001, 142,283); Blackburn (1996 estimate, 139,491); Chorley (1991, 33,536); and Burnley (2001, 89,541). Other towns of note include Accrington (1991, 36,466), Colne (1991, 18,776), Fleetwood (1991, 27,227), Heysham, Leyland (1991, 37,331), Lytham St Anne's (1991, 40,866), Morecambe (1991, 46,657), Nelson (1991, 29,120), Ormskirk (1991, 23,425), Skelmersdale (1991, 42,104), and Thornton. The county has a relatively large South Asian community, especially in Blackburn with Darwen.