Accrington's name will always be linked with it's football club, Accrington Stanley, and its famous red engineering bricks, NORI.  It will also forever be linked with the Accrington Pals, who fought at the Battle of the Somme and suffered heavy losses during the First World War.  A town at the heart of Lancashire's hill country, Accrington is Hyndburn's principal shopping town.  Built on wealth from local industry and innovation, much of the town centre is in a conservation area.  The vivid combination of Victorian architecture coupled with a sensitive approach to modern retail and leisure development ensures a warm welcome.

Accrington is home to Lancashire's oldest market hall, the Haworth Art Gallery and its famous collection of Tiffany Glass.

Altham dates back to Saxon times.  The picturesque Parish Church of St James is mainly 16th century with a 19th century tower.  In the churchyard can be found the gravestone of James Hacking, and a memorial to over one hundred miners who were killed in November 1883 by an explosion at the nearby Moorfield Colliery.

Church was the site of a temporary church built by Oswald, King of Northumbria, as he travelled south to battle.  A community later grew up at the site of that settlement.

The oldest part of Church Kirk today dates back to the latter half of the fourteenth century and the massive masonary of the tower bears witness to its use as a watch tower.  The church also features two art nouveau windows, designed by the renowned Edward Burns-Jones.

Clayton le Moors lies between Accrington and Great Harwood, and as the name suggests it is situated in an area rich in clay.  Marshall's Clay Products still manufacture the Accrington red brick in nearby Altham.

Other industries that contributed to the growth of Clayton were calico printing and soap manufacture, including Dr Lovelace's floating soap.

Green Haworth is nestled in the West Pennine Moors.  Part of the village is known as Bedlam, and was recorded by the monks of Kirkstall when defining their boundaries in the 12th century.

In the 17th century, stone quarries flourished here providing stone for the restoration of Whalley and Clitheroe churches.  Coal mining took place in the 18th century and most of the cottages in Green Haworth date from this period.  Hand loom weaving was also practised and a few weaver's cottages can also still be seen.

Great Harwood is set amidst beautiful rolling countryside and there are many fine walks to enjoy in the area. John Mercer (1791-1866) is the town's most famous son, inventing not only cotton mercerisation but also many new chemical dyes.  The Mercer memorial clock in the centre of town was erected in his memory in 1903, and in 1913 his daughter, Maria, made a bequest to the town which was used to build Mercer Hall.

Huncoat was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1085 and was a village quite seperate from Accrington.  Today, Huncoat forms the outser edge of Accrington, but the centre of the original village can still be seen at Town Gate - complete with stocks!

John and Ellen Hacking invented the cotton carding engine at Huncoat in 1772.

There are many theories on how Oswaldtwislte came about its unusual name.  Most of them involve a man by the name of Oswald, possibly King of Northumbria, possibly not.  Today the town is well worth a visit to explore Oswaldtwistle Mills and Stockley's Sweets Visitor Centre, a real Aladdin's cave for the family.