Thursday 19 March 2026 saw the annual National Community Rail Awards ceremony held in Derby. Community Rail Lancashire were very pleased to come away with two first place awards.
The first award was ‘The Clitheroe Line: A Picturesque Railway Journey’ – Community Rail Lancashire with Arts2Heal. This was in the Community Creative Projects and Station Arts (Large Group) category – sponsored by Avanti West Coast.
CRL’s Caroline Holden on stage with CRP Chair Mike Cliffe receiving the award – photo © Paul Bigland
For ‘The Clitheroe Line: A Picturesque Railway Journey’, Caroline Holden from Community Rail Lancashire worked with Arts2Heal, a Blackburn-based charity supporting neurodiverse and disabled adults, to bring together over 50 vulnerable adults. The project aimed to combat social isolation and enhance wellbeing through activities that combined collaborative, creative expression with sustainable travel.
Over several months, participants travelled by train to all ten stations between Clitheroe and Bolton, capturing photographs of local landmarks and scenic views. Local residents provided guided tours, sharing knowledge and stories and fostering genuine inter-community connections.
Creative workshops provided the space for participants to develop personal narratives inspired by their experiences. Some crafted unique 3D picture frames using recycled materials, and others made sketches and wrote personal stories and poems. By integrating storytelling with visual arts, all participants – including those who struggled with verbal communication – felt empowered to express themselves through the creative medium of their choice.
The initiative culminated in a digital and physical exhibition which launched at Blackburn Market in March 2025 and has gone on to tour other locations. Participants’ photographs have also been included in other promotional materials for the line, including timetables, posters and banners – encouraging greener travel to the area and preserving the heritage and beauty of the Clitheroe Line for future generations.
The project achieved transformative outcomes for both individual participants and the wider community. Participants reported increased confidence in rail travel, with this individual empowerment also extending beyond mobility to reduced isolation, new friendships and skills, and a renewed sense of purpose.
The second award came in the Influencing Positive Change and Sustainability – sponsored by Northern for a project called ‘The English Queen’ – Community Rail Lancashire and Lancashire Archives.
Vicci McCann, an Archivist with Lancashire Archives and CRL’s Caroline Holden on stage to receive the award – photo © Paul Bigland
Caroline Holden from Community Rail Lancashire (CRL) identified an opportunity to harness two landmark railway anniversaries – 50 years since Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the electrification of the West Coast Main Line to Glasgow in 1974 at Preston Station, and the Railway 200 celebrations, marking two centuries since the birth of the modern passenger railway – to inspire learning and illustrate how rail education can both honour the past and shape a sustainable future, inspiring climate action and environmental responsibility among young people.
Partnerships with Lancashire Archives and Preston Station were key to providing authentic learning experiences that embedded railway heritage into education on climate action and sustainable travel. Key Stage 2 pupils from four schools experienced guided tours of Preston Station, before walking to Lancashire Archives for immersive workshops featuring role-play, period costumes and storytelling that traced railway evolution from steam to electrification and beyond.
Supporting resources were produced for long-term and future use. The Preston Station ‘I-Spy’ booklet was designed to reinforce safety and environmental messaging, while portable exhibition materials and school resource packs (including ‘Steam to Green’ posters, Railway 200 commemorative materials, and Northern Heritage publications) ensured lessons extended beyond the workshops.
The project successfully reached more than 100 pupils from diverse backgrounds, with the content proving suitable for use across the whole of Key Stage 2 – enabling broader engagement than first anticipated. Evidence of behavioural change is also emerging, with schools requesting follow-up sustainability sessions, and the workshops have been permanently embedded into Lancashire Archives’ education programme.