Wigan Pier

Today it wasn’t raining for a change, so I caught the train to Wigan to visit Wigan Pier and have a few bevvies at some of the good beer guide pubs there.

The photos on this page show some of the warehouses at the Pier.

It’s a place I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. Probably since my school days back in the early seventies or maybe the late sixties, when I first heard about George Orwell’s book, The Road to Wigan Pier.

The use of the word pier is very confusing, as Wigan is nowhere near the sea. It was originally a wooden jetty where coal from a local colliery was loaded onto canal barges. The name was brought to attention by George Formby senior, who used to tell jokes about it in the music halls of the early twentieth century. It was probably demolished in 1929. George Orwell used the name in his book, which was published in 1937.

It’s easy to get there from the town centre, just follow the Wallgate Road past Wigan Northwestern station.

I found it to be a disappointment; it’ll be a long time before I return. As you can see from the photos, there are some fine warehouses there. They’ve been refurbished and saved for prosperity, which is good (given that developers love tearing down old buildings to replace them with awful concrete ones). But there isn’t much else, like shops and bars. It’s also surrounded on both sides by main roads, which doesn’t help.

According to the Wikipedia page for Wigan Pier, a planning proposal has been approved for new homes, an artisan food hall and event spaces (and maybe a bar?). Maybe then it will be worth visiting. Maybe then I’ll return.

Today was chilly and because of my disappointment with the area I didn’t stay long. I should have taken time to walk along the canal past building four, to get some shots from the tow path back towards the pier.

The photo below shows Wigan Pier building one, the closest the canal gets to the centre of Wigan. You can make out the roads on either side; both have two lanes and are very busy.

Below is a photo of Trencherfield Mill. It’s on the Canalside across the road on the right.

The Wikipedia page for the mill, tells us that it was powered by a 2,500hp steam engine. And, that the engine has been preserved and operates as a visitor attraction on selected dates. Though, according to the Wigan Museums website, it’s currently closed while they repair the roof.

Tomorrow I’ll write about some of the pubs I visited.