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35. Lancashire Valleys
• The broad valley of the River Calder and its tributaries running northeast/southwest between natural backdrops of Pendle Hill and the Southern Pennines.
• Intensely urban character derived from main towns of Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley which have developed rapidly since the industrial revolution.
• A strong industrial heritage associated with cotton weaving and textile industries producing under-utilised mill buildings, mill lodges and ponds.
• Profusion of communication routes along the valley bottom including the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the Preston-Colne rail link and M65 motorway.
• Victorian stone buildings well integrated into the landscape.
• Numerous large country houses with associated parklands particularly on northern valley side away from major urban areas.
• Remnants of agricultural land fragmented by industry and scattered development.
• Field boundaries, regular to the west, irregular to the east, and degraded round the urban areas, formed of hedges with few hedgerow trees and, at higher elevations by stone walls and post and wire fences.
• Small woodlands are limited to cloughs on valley sides.
For further details on this character area and for an introduction to the region, please see the PDF documents in the box at the top right hand side of this page.
