My Lancashire - My accounts of the local area

The Delph in the River Ribble by Avenham Park Over the years, I have always been slightly confused when people mention the the necessity of 'divers' when investigating things in the River Ribble by Avenham Park, adjacent to the Old Tram Road bridge.  However, after being momentarily perplexed by it, my train of thought often moved onto something else.  More recently, when researching the history of the Lancaster Canal, I was led to an account of divers (again) fishing something out of the River Ribble in the same location.  This time, I decided to figure out why they would be needed. The answer is that there is a significantly deep 'Delph' in the River Ribble.  Strangely, whilst I thought that word was generally part of everyone's vocabulary, it turn out not to be.  I didn't pop up in online dictionaries when I did a web search.  Relatively locally, I have had conversations with people about 'Eccy Delph' (Eccleston Delph).  It turns out that Delph  comes

The History of Brockholes - Before and After the Preston Bypass The area of Brockholes, to the east of Preston along the Ribble Valley, is relatively well-known these days for its now well-established Nature reserve.  It is somewhere I visit relatively often these days.  Strangely, it tends to be more frequent during the winter months.  There are generally more things demanding my attention when the weather is warmer, hopefully drier and the days are longer.  The main attraction for me during the late autumn and winter for me are the Starling Murmurations .    Brockholes in December 2018 During the winter months, large numbers of starlings visit Britain from the continent, seeking out the relative warmth of our island climate.  As dusk arrives, the starlings set off for their communal roost in one of the most staggering natural spectacles of all.  Flocks arrive from all directions, gathering in the skies above their roost sites.  As the numbers reach into the tens and hundreds of thou

  The Remains of Preston's Third Town Hall A journey to Howick Cross In January 2023, on a pleasant but very cold day, I went for a walk along the Ribble Way on the section from Penwortham Holme towards the western end of the route that ultimately ends at the Dolphin Inn pub in the marshes of Longton village. The river has a lot of reinforcement around that area, I presume to help prevent erosion.  This includes rubble that I think came from the old Penwortham Power Station and a section of more formal gabions (wire mesh crates with rubble inside them stack upon each other like bricks) to protect the feet of the electricity pylons that take the high tension cable across the River Ribble.  The remains mainly consist of reinforced concrete sections and red brick as you first leave Holme Road toward the marshes.  This led me to speculate that it was from a relatively modern structure.  A View of Preston from Howick Cross However, when I reach the point where Mill Brook flows into the