Accrington

Its name probably means "acorns" from the oak woods that once carpeted these valleys. It grew during the industrial revolution, when the streams racing down from the Pennines powered its textile mills

It had a population of 35,000 in 2011, with a total of 80,000 in the borough of Hyndburn area. Many of its residents are Bangladeshis who came to work the mills in the 1950s. The town also produced Accrington Brick or NORI ("Iron" backwards), an exceptionally hard and acid-resistant brick, valuable for lining furnaces, chimneys and the like. The brickworks closed in 2008, were re-opened to political fanfare in 2015, and quietly closed again in 2016. The northern suburb of Ewbank gave its name to the carpet-sweeper manufacturer.

Football team:

Lots of towns have had football (soccer) teams that collapsed. But this place is unique, at least in Britain, in the way the collapse of Accrington Stanley hung like a pall over the name of the town for decades, in spite of the team's resurgence. One reason is that they collapsed in the 1960s, in an era when that was difficult to accomplish. England's Football League was a closed shop. Promotion and relegation between fourth division and the minor leagues below was rare.

From 1960 Accrington Stanley were near bankrupt, and fell like a stone through the League placings. By March 1962 their debts were unsustainable, they couldn't afford to put on games, and they had to resign from the League during the 61/62 season. It was a traumatic disorderly exit, and all their results were expunged. In the following seasons they played in the Lancashire Combination Leagues, and then they dissolved in 1966.

By air:

Manchester Airport is 27 miles (43 km) south, with excellent flight connections across the UK, Europe and beyond.

Leeds Bradford Airport is 30 miles (48 km) east of Accrington but has fewer flights and less onward transport.

By rail:

Accrington is on the East Lancashire Line. There is an hourly train (daily) from Preston via Blackburn to Accrington, continuing to Burnley, Halifax, Bradford, Leeds and York.

There's also an hourly train (daily) from Blackburn via Accrington to Manchester Victoria. (Change at Victoria for Manchester Piccadilly and Airport.) This train meanders on west via Salford and Wigan to Southport.

1 Accrington Railway Station is east side of town centre, with the main entrance on Eagle St next to Tesco.

By road:

The town is on the M65 motorway which traverses East Lancashire, and is just off the A56/M66 from Manchester.

By bus: Red Express X41 runs between Manchester, Prestwich and Accrington, taking 1 hr 50 min. It runs M-Sa every 30-40 min, on Sunday hourly.

There are two direct daytime National Express coaches and one overnight from London Victoria taking 7-8 hours (NX 540 & 422 to Accrington & Burnley). Megabus doesn't serve the town.

By bike: The town is on National Cycle Route 6 which runs from London to the Lake District.

The Leeds-Liverpool Canal runs by Accrington. It's navigable coast to coast, and its towpath is a good long-distance walking & cycling route.