Wigan
What to see
You’ll find accounts of Wigan’s tourist attractions at Wigan Events Guide and Wigan World.
‘The pier appears to be no more than a wharf or two’
Links to Wigan points of interest include:
● Haigh Woodland Park
● Leeds-Liverpool Canal
● Mab’s Cross
● Mesnes Park
● Museum of Wigan Life
● Trencherfield Mill
● Wigan Pier
Towns of Two Halves extracts:
● “It is in towns like Wigan that this form of tourism really comes into its own. On the strength of a few hours’ acquaintance, you would be sure to develop at least a sneaking regard for Wigan: its mysterious Egyptian connection, its handsome civic park, its public art, a football ground that can be approached, like that of FC Venezia, by water, and finally its unjustly overlooked cuisine.”
● “The Museum of Wigan has relatively little to say about one of the world’s foremost Rugby League clubs. If you imagine that this shortcoming will be made good at the stadium, make the most of what you see here because it’s all you’re getting. A national rugby league museum is planned for 2020… in Bradford. You can almost hear the gnashing of gum-shields in Wigan, can’t you?”
● “Trencherfield Mill (with the world’s largest working steam engine) doesn’t open on a Saturday. I imagine it did when capitalism depended on it.”
● “Something mystical happened at half-time. Through a gap between stands at a corner of the stadium, a red-brick industrial skyline with rooftops and a chimney caught the declining sun. The rosy glow briefly suggested Tuscany with town-houses and a campanile. And the temperature seemed to rise several degrees in the second half.”
These are taken from the Wigan chapter of Towns of Two Halves, published in 2018. To buy a copy, email info@townsof2halves.co.uk.