A brief guide to...Lancashire
Activities & Events | Average House Prices | Schools & Education| Transport | Trusts in the Area
Lancashire has a population of almost 1.5 million according to the 2001 Census. Over the centuries, the territory of Lancashire has changed as county boundaries have been re-drawn and councils re-organised. However the symbol of Lancashire remains the red rose. We've come up with this brief guide to Lancashire and hope that it will entice you into applying for a training programme with the North Western Deanery.
Lancashire has a lot going on. For those who are nostalgic for the good old days of British seaside holidays, Blackpool will be just the ticket. The Pleasure Beach's Grand National Rollercoaster has been open since 1935 and has been voted one of the best in the world.
There are also plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. The Forest of Bowland, just north of Blackburn, is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and an excellent location for many activities - you can fish in Stocks Reservoir or cycle through Gisburn Forest to name but a few. Children and adults alike will enjoy the Bowland Wild Boar Park at Chipping. Preston and Lancaster both have marinas and the Lancaster Canal runs from Preston via Lancaster to Carnforth. To the east, Burnley sits amongst the Pennines providing another great setting for outdoor activities.
Lancashire has a strong sporting presence; from Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Preston North End in the English championship (2015/2016 season) to Lancashire County Cricket Club. There are also lots of opportunities for you to get involved at a more local level.
Lancashire has brought the world some notable dishes including Lancashire Hotpot, a casserole dish usually made with lamb. Today Lancashire is a great location to enjoy both fine dining, for example the Michelin starred Northcote outside Blackburn, and browsing through local farmers markets and shops. Blackburn, Burnley and Rossendale are just some of the hosts of the Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food & Culture, which included the World Gravy Wrestling Championships. Every May Preston holds a Caribbean Carnival which showcases the city's Caribbean links and cuisine.
There are plenty of ways to spend a night out in Lancashire. Both Preston and Lancaster have large student populations and there are many bars and clubs to cater for them. Lancaster Library runs a scheme called "Get it Loud in Libraries" which sees popular music acts take over local libraries for evenings of entertainment. There are some well thought of theatres; if contemporary performances are your thing, then you might enjoy the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts.
Lancashire compares very favourably with the rest of the UK with average house prices being significantly lower than in other areas. Details of house prices can be found via the Land Registry.
Lancashire has a range of excellent schools for children of every age. If you want to find out more about primary schools in the area, a good place to start would be by having a look at the league tables. Click here for more information. Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Cardinal Newman College, Preston feature in the top schools by A-level results for 2008. See here for more information. Once you have decided upon a school, you can make an application to a school on your child's behalf by clicking here.
There are also 4 universities in the area: the University of Central Lancashire; Edge Hill; Lancaster University and the Lancaster campus of the University of Cumbria.
Lancashire is well connected to the outside world. Most places in Lancashire are within easy reach of the M6 which runs from Rugby via Birmingham in the South to Scotland. Trains run through the region and from Lancaster, London is just over 2 and a half hours away. From Blackpool, you can fly to over 20 European destinations and for longer haul flights; Manchester Airport is easily accessible by both road and rail.
You can find out more about how trainees see Trusts in Lancashire by using the GMC survey
reporting tool, which can be accessed via this link.
- Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- The Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was established on 1st December 2007 and became Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2010. The Trust serves a population of approximately 330,000 residents of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre and the 12 million holidaymakers who visit the area every year.
- Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Calderstones Partnership is the first learning disability NHS Foundation Trust to be authorised. They are based in the Ribble Valley near the village of Whalley in Lancashire and provide a specialist service to people with a learning disability including in-patient assessment and treatment and community based services across the North West.
- East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
- East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust provides a high quality services for over half a million people across Burnley, Blackburn and the wider East Lancashire area.
- Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust was established in April 2002 and became a Foundation Trust on 1st December 2007. We provide mental health services for adults and older people and substance misuse services for a population of around 1.4 million people in Lancashire. We also provide a range of other services such as psychological therapies, low and medium secure care, forensic services and child and adolescent services.
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was established on 1 April 2005. It was the first in the county to be awarded "teaching hospitals" status. The Trust offers a wide range of services to 370,000 local people at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital and Royal Preston Hospital. The Trust also serves around 1 and a half million people in Lancashire and South Cumbria with specialist services such as neurosurgery, oncology and complex cancer surgery and burns and plastic surgery.
- University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (See also Cumbria)
- The Trust operates from three main hospital sites - Furness General Hospital in Barrow, the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal and two centres - Queen Victoria Hospital in Morecambe and Ulverston Community Health Centre and serves a population of approximately 363, 000 people.
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Last reviewed: 11th August 2015