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City in Lancashire, England
Photo: Bruce Lamberton, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Preston is a city in the county of Lancashire in North West England, with a population in 2021 of 148,000. It's a former textile and engineering town; it still makes aircraft, hosts the county local government, and has a university. It became a "city" in 2002 but this is purely ceremonial.
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Collections of fine and decorative art, costumes, textiles, photography with displays about the history of Preston, in an impressive 19th-century Grade I listed building in the centre of the city. Includes a new gallery dedicated to ceramics and glass.
Dedicated to the county's military history, with memorabilia, archive and library. You must bring photo ID (and non-UK visitors phone in advance) as this remains an active army base. The Ministry of Defence are in the process of quitting the barracks but the museum for the time being remains.
This is a preserved standard-gauge 1½ mile stretch of line in the docklands, running since 2005 when a Southport heritage railway collection moved here.
Family-friendly nature reserve and wetland in a bend of the River Ribble.
Britain once made the buses, trucks, farm and military vehicles for not just itself but for all the "pink bits" on the world map; many were built right here, by Leyland Motors. That firm folded in 1968 and the site is now this museum of the British road transport industry, "the big story of big vehicles" as they put it, with a great collection. The original building was too cold in winter but it was rebuilt in 2018 and now opens year-round.
The Lilywhites, founded in 1880, play football in the EFL Championship, the country's second tier. Their home ground Deepdale (capacity 23,000) is a mile north of town centre up A6063. "The Splash" is a sculpture outside the stadium of Tom Finney (1922-2014) skidding to belt the ball up a sodden pitch. Preston North End won the inaugural 1888-89 of season the Football League, going through the entire season unbeaten, a feat that would not be replicated until Arsenal did so in the 2003-04 Premier League season.
Entertainment complex with bowling alleys, cinema, curling rink and golf simulator.
Public park with a Georgian walled garden, hedge maze and adventure playground. The park was created in 1951 in the grounds of Worden Hall which was destroyed by fire in 1941. Worden Hall had been a family home with history going back to 1230.
JD Wetherspoon's pub in the Edwardian Baroque former Preston Savings Bank — twelve tellers lined its long counter. Good reviews for food, drink and service. There's another Spoons at Grey Friar on Friargate, below.
Trad central pub with decent grub.
Remarkable pub in Arts & Crafts style.
Family-friendly Marston's pub with food.
Reliable chain hotel right in town centre. But no hotel parking (use St Wilfred's Street, £8 for 24 hr), and some street noise.
Comfy central budget hotel.
Charming central hotel, great value.
Decent mid-priced hotel, very central, limited parking, some street noise.
Budget hotel in a converted red-brick mill east side of centre, okay for what you pay. Car park very tight. Pet friendly.
Comfy value hotel south of town, a good motorway break-of-journey. Pet-friendly.
Clean spacious mid-price hotel with restaurant, bar and leisure facilities.
Chain hotel in a Victorian manor house, set in gardens and woodland near M6 / M55. Good reviews for service, but many facilities are tired.
Barton Grange
Large mid-price hotel in a cotton baron's mansion, with restaurants, swimming pool with spa and good cuisine. Often hosts weddings. No dogs.
Best Western
Country house chain hotel and golf course. Spacious but some facilities dowdy, and catering variable.
Best Western
This mid-range chain hotel gets very mixed reviews.
By train
From London Euston, Avanti West Coast trains run hourly, taking 3 hours via Stafford, Crewe, Warrington and Wigan.
By bus
Megabus has the most convenient coach from London Victoria via Birmingham and Manchester Airport and the city centre. They run daily at 8AM, taking six hours for a fare of £16.
By road
From north or south use M6. From east of the country (eg Leeds) A65 / A59 is a scenic route across the Pennines via Skipton, but congested on summer weekends.
EV charging
Extensive EV charging in urban area and on major routes; use Apple Maps and Google Maps, as well as car infotainment/sat navigation.
Stagecoach operate the out-of-town buses and Preston Bus operate routes in town.
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