Blackburn in General

I have lived in Blackburn for almost all my life and have spent much of the last few years dreaming of escape! Maybe that's because I've been here too long and am destined for something new, or maybe that's because of the town itself. Starting with the positives: It has practically everything you need in terms of schools (with everything from Westholme Girls and QEGS Boys schools to the various state secondary schools which all seem to be called humanities and technical colleges these days), housing (all kinds are covered in Blackburn, from council houses to stately manors) and doctors and dentists. In terms of shopping, it has all the ...  Read the complete review

I moved to Blackburn from a small town in Lincolnshire about seven years ago. At first I was really impressed (bear in mind please that it was a very small town that I moved from) I thought Blackburn had everything I could possibly want. The shopping centre is great with most of the major stores all under one roof. Two markets both covered. Ice Skating Rink,McDonalds,Cinema,Pizza Hut,Big Swimming pool with slides and everything,Theatre,Kentucky Fried Chicken,Loads of pubs,Four or five night clubs,several parks,museums,easily accessible train station and even....buses on a Sunday. After living here all this time I now realise that it always rains in ...  Read the complete review

Blackburn isn't a bad place, in fact - get rid of the wind and rain and it's quite a good place! I've lived in Blackburn all of my life (except when I went to boarding school for 2 years in Manchester) and have always had a laugh. The funny thing about Blackburn is that the pubs don't seem to close...odd that. Every pub in the town centre has a licence to stay open until 1am, where-as in manchester you're lucky if they're still open at 11pm - so if you like to drink a lot, i'd say Blackburn is the place for you - although there ain't much else (apart from Blackburn Rovers who are much better than Burnley). ...  Read the complete review

It's sadly true, I'm afraid. Blackburn lives under a near-constant layer of drizzle. Not that I have anything against drizzle, the first rains after summer can often be quite invigorating, but it knaws away at you. Especially when it seems like entire months go by without a break in the rain. The town itself works on this Philosophy. It's quite nice in places, and when you've been away it's good to get back to, but you just feel like it'd be so much better if it got a break. Blackburn has this vague air of depression to it. All the Victorian buildings are either derelict and therefore depressing, or piles of dust where the council ...  Read the complete review

Think of Blackburn for a second. What comes to mind? I'd bet the football team is somewhere near the top of your list, and the more political-minded of you might recall that Jack Straw is the town's MP. Beyond that, the cliches start to come into play. Mills, flat caps and whippets, a chip shop on every street corner and enormous numbers of terraced houses, home to bitter, craggy-faced housewives with fifteen children under the age of five. I'd like to say those cliches are entirely untrue, but unfortunately there is still at least a small element of truth in some of them. It is still hard to find an area of the town without a Victorian mill visible ...  Read the complete review