The Clitheroe Line – A Picturesque Journey is a joint project between Arts2Heal,a Blackburn-based charity which works with vulnerable adults, and Community Rail Lancashire.
The Picturesque Journey Exhibition in Blackburn Market
Ats2Heal work with vulnerable adults who work through art to improve mental health and combat social isolation through undertaking art-based projects. A group of 20 members visited the Clitheroe Line’s10 stations between Clitheroe and Bolton, explored the area and photographed the features unique to each of the station locations.
At Clitheroe Castle – photo © Banu Adam
These images will be displayed across Lancashire to promote places of interest that can be reached from the Clitheroe Line including Pendle Hill, Whalley Abbey, Blackburn Cathedral, Entwistle’s reservoirs, Bolton Museum and the many other notable railway and industrial features.
One of the workshops
Through this work the participants have grown in confidence to travel by train and to take small groups out by train as well. They have learned a lot about photography and also how to write poetry that captures their insights into the area.
The photographs have formed part of a mobile exhibition, with the inaugural display taking place in Blackburn Market Place in March 2025. The exhibition then moved on to the Platform 5 Gallery on Bolton station and will be soon installed in Blackburn Library.
Opening Day in the Platform 5 Gallery on Bolton station
Two of the participants in the project also wrote some poetry about the project and these can be seen on the YouTube links below:
https://youtube.com/shorts/kW4f0T8KrMc?feature=share by David Tebb
https://youtube.com/shorts/xd8QBcG7ZE4?feature=share by Patrick Bonner