As the industrialization of Northern England progressed people looked for an escape from the everyday grind of working life. Somewhere they could go where the air was clean and the cares of their daily routine could be forgotten for a while.
Of course, the railway and charabancs could take people to the seaside or far away beauty spots but these had to be reserved for special occasions due to the cost. So it was that during Victorian and Edwardian times there developed a fashion for weekend picnics in the countryside just out of town.
Certain places became very popular and enterprising people set up facilities such as refreshments and entertainment for the visitors. Close to Burnley there was Pendle Bottoms where Jack Moores had swing boats, refreshments and a monkey in a cage. (A very bad-tempered monkey as I recall)!
There was Roughlee where a mill lodge was given over to rowing boats. In Dean Clough, Cliviger, a farmhouse served as a tea shop. There were the outlying villages such as Hurstwood, Newchurch and Barley, all set up to attract visitors mainly at weekends and these could be accessed on foot or bicycle. These places continued to attract visitors into the 1950s and early 60s.
One such honey spot was Ightenhill. On many a weekend, after work on Saturday lunchtime and Church on Sundays, hoards of Burnley people could be seen walking to the stepping stones and picnicking by the river. Of course, this walk is still popular today but the numbers are nothing like they were.
The two photographs show Ightenhill in Edwardian times (Probably about 1910). In the picture below, three well-dressed ladies with a boy walk along the lane toward the river. You will note that the surface is well maintained and the surroundings are very tidy.
The picture below shows a crowd of people on the river bank and crossing the stepping stones and the caption says that it is a Good Friday scene. Judging by the numbers and the attire, it looks like a Sunday School or Church outing. I wonder how many of the group walked home wet through!
In 1924 an iron bridge was built over the river and walkers could cross without the fear of an unwanted paddle. The stones were later removed. Sometime during the late 70s this bridge, being in poor repair, was breached during a period of torrential rain and flooding. It was replaced about 1981 with an aluminum single track bridge using the existing supports and this, in turn, was superseded by the current wide wooden bridge to accommodate the Mary Towneley Bridle Way.
The river continues to flow, The wildlife is still there for all to see and the countryside is still very attractive, but crossing the river is not as exciting (or exacting) as it was when the children jumped from stone to stone and got a bit wet.
Comments