CRL - Community Rail Lancashire

Community Rail Week 2025 – Community Rail Lancashire will be supporting National Community Rail Week during the week Monday 19 May to Sunday 25 May 2025 – with a full programme of events – see the programme here CRWeek Programme May 2025.

Regular updates and any changes will be displayed here and other parts of the CRL website and via the Community Rail Lancashire Facebook Page.

REGULAR EVENTS

Every Saturday – Yorkshire Dales Explorer, a twice a day Saturday’s only service between Rochdale, Manchester, Bolton, Blackburn, the Ribble Valley and Ribblehead. Full details on Yorkshire Dales Explorer or via a weekly news item on the website.

Every Tuesday – Clitheroe Country Market, in the Church Hall on Moor Lane, Clitheroe BB7 1AZ, 09:30 – 12:00 – a country market with quality home-baked, hand-made and home grown produce. A wide selection of goods from a co-operative of local producers. Home-made cakes, pies and jams also handicraft items such as cards, knits and textile gifts. More details on https://www.facebook.com/Clitheroe-Country-Market-307301586087846/

First Thursday of every month – St. Anne’s Farmers Market, in the main square in St. Anne’s a monthly farmers market with locally and regionally produced food and drink on sale. Meet the people who grow, rear, make and bake your food. More details on www.visitlancashire.com/

Third Saturday of every month – Clitheroe Piano Meet Up, would you like to meet fellow players, share knowledge and develop your performance skills on a Bechstein grand? Then get along to Clitheroe Library on the third Saturday of the month 12:45 – 15:30 for more details contact Janet or Liz on clitheroepiano@gmail.com or download the poster on this link Clitheroe Piano Meet Up

Last Saturday of the month until October – Darwen Artisan Market – a celebration of creativity and community on the last Saturday of the month, at Darwen’s Monthly Artisan Market on the vibrant Darwen Market Square. Immerse yourself in the charm of this lively town and experience a delightful event that celebrates local creativity and craftsmanship.

Fourth Weekend of each month – Whalley Monthly Artisan Market, located in the heart of Whalley, this weekend market brings together art, design, fashion, vintage and much more from over 35 local North West creators, makers and curators. 10:00 – 16:00. Full details on this link: Whalley Artisan Market

Clitheroe Castle Museum. Opening hours are 11:00 to 16:00 daily. Details of this over 800 year old castle can be found on this link: lancashire.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/museums/clitheroe-castle-museum/

Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday 12:00 – 16:45 with free admission. Please visit blackburnmuseum.org.uk/plan-your-visit/ for details.

OTHER EVENTS

Now and until further notice – Blackburn Market Hall is hosting an exhibition called ‘The Clitheroe Line – A Picturesque Journey’ which showcases photographs, poetry and drawings created through an Arts 2 Heal community-led project. Just five minutes from the station it is open 09:00 – 17:30 Monday to Saturday.

Monday 19 May to Sunday 25 May 2025 – Community Rail Week – Community Rail Lancashire will be supporting National Community Rail Week with a full programme of events – see the programme here CRWeek Programme May 2025. 

Wednesday 21 May 2025 – Notable Residents of Winckley Square – famous & infamous – Join the Friends of Winckley Square, Preston and Peter Wilkinson to hear the stories of the Former Residents. Winckley Square is more than the gardens and the buildings that surround them. It’s also about the lives of the people who populated this area for over 200 years. Men and women who had a profound impact on Preston and far beyond. Tickets £5 book here https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/78264?

Now and until Friday 30 May 2025 – Sunshine, Soca and Spice – 50 years of Preston Caribbean Carnival and exhibition at the Lancashire Archives, Bow Lane, Preston PR1 2RE. Monday to Friday 09:30 – 17:00 – free and no need to book.

Saturday 31 May 2025 – Yorkshire Dales Explorer Guided Walks –  two guided walks led by volunteers from t he Lancashire Rail Ramblers. Walk 1 – a moderately strenuous C walk of 12 miles – Alight Garsdale and return Ribblehead. Walk 2 – a moderately easy D walk of 8 miles – Alight & return Kirkby Stephen – for full details of this and other guided walks see Yorkshire Dales Explorer Summer 2025 or communityraillancashire.co.uk/walks/guided-walks/

Thursday 5 June 2025 – Lancashire Sight Loss Try The Train Event – are you blind or partially sighted (BPS) and want to gain more confidence using the rail network in the North West region? Discover the joys of independent rail travel with Lancashire Sight Loss Council’s ‘Try the Train’ event funded by Community Rail Lancashire at Preston train station on Thursday, 5 June 2025. See details on this link https://www.sightlosscouncils.org.uk/events/lancashire-slcs-try-a-train-event/. Booking is essential and you can book your place here Book your place for Thursday, 5 June 

Tuesday 10 June 2025 – A CRL Guided Walk – a guided walk led by volunteers from the Lancashire Rail Ramblers, the walk is a moderately easy 6 miles starting (10:55) and finishing at Todmorden (Towpath & Trail). Full details of this and other guided walks can be found on CRL Guided Walks Spring 2025

Explore Lancashire By Rail

A series of films is being made for Community Rail Lancashire by a local creative film company Huckleberry Films which are designed to encourage people to Explore Lancashire by Rail. Details of this exciting project that covers the four CRPs across Lancashire can be seen on this page Lancashire-by-Rail/

Places to Visit

Click on the link here communityraillancashire.co.uk/local-places-to-visit/ to see a host of interesting places to visit that are close to CRL’s community rail stations.

Destinations

Click on the link here communityraillancashire.co.uk/destinations/ for a page of suggestions for places and towns to visit – all suggestions and content considered.

Make a Beeline for the Station

‘Make a Beeline for the Station!’ is a community marketing project, that combined the vital elements of local education and wider group engagement with tourism attractions and professional marketing. The project, funded by a Northern Seedcorn Grant and by the Community Rail Development Fund is designed to encourage use of Northern’s hourly weekday service from Preston to Ormskirk and then on into Liverpool using Merseyrail services.

The project is supported by a video that can be seen on this page: Make a Beeline for West Lancashire and a leaflet that can be downloaded here: Make A Bee Line

Discover the South Fylde Line

Discover the South Fylde Line is a brand-new line guide launched by the South Fylde Line Community Rail Partnership (SFLCRP) and Community Rail Lancashire (CRL) during Community Rail Week 2022. The leaflet takes you along the South Fylde Line from Preston to Blackpool South highlighting many things you can do along the line. The full leaflet can be viewed by clicking on this link: Discover the South Fylde Line.

Discover Amazing Women by Rail

Discover Amazing Women by Rail is a project initiated by the Mid Cheshire Line CRP and invites people to leave their car at home and use the train (along with buses and trams) to explore the fascinating, and often hidden, histories of women who lived and worked in areas along the Mid Cheshire and Calder Valley railway lines, including the Blackburn to Manchester via Todmorden route.

The project is supported with a website (www.amazingwomenbyrail.org.uk) by an A5 booklet available from local stations, tourist information offices and libraries. The booklet can also be downloaded using this link: Amazing Women by Rail

DEFINITELY DON’T GO HERE