Lancashire
Lancashire in North West England was established in Norman times, it then included the now major cities of Manchester and Liverpool as well as the Furness Peninsulas isolated from the rest of the county by Morecambe Bay. The county today is smaller than before the 1974 reorganization of Local Government. It use to go further south, to the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, as well as further west to the Furness on the western side of Morecambe Bay. Today the largest place is Blackpool, whilst the county now contains just 2 cities the historic city and county town of Lancaster and the recent additions to the cities that of Preston, the industrial and county administration in what is now the south of the county. Other major towns are Blackburn, Burnley, Morecambe and Fleetwood.
Geography
Lancashire in North West England stretches from Morecambe Bay in the north to Rossendale Forest in the south from the shores of the Irish Sea in the west to the Pennine Fells in the east is a county of contrast, from the flat plains of the Fylde to the rugged Bowland fells, from the tranquility of Whitewell to the hustle and bustle of Preston. The A6 and M6 enter the county near each other at the northern edge pass the counties two cities Lancaster and Preston then part company in the south of the county
Cities and Towns
The county now boasts two cities, Lancaster the county town and England's newest city, Preston almost twice the size of Lancaster. Two towns are actually larger than Preston, Blackburn and larger still the famous seaside resort of Blackpool. Other coastal towns are the resorts of Morecambe, Thornton-Cleveley s& Lytham St Anns, the ports of Fleetwood and Heysham. industrial towns include Burnley, Darwin, Haslingdon, Accrington, Leyland & Chorley. Other towns are Carnforth, Garstang, Kirkham, Poulton le Flyle, & Clitheroe.
The A6 and M6 in Lancashire
The A6 enters the county just north of the town of Carnforth, continues south through the villages of Bolton le Sands and Slyne before entering the city of Lancaster. It continues south through the villages of Galgate, Forton and Cabus to the town of Garstang. From there it heads through the villages of Brock, Barton and Broughton before entering the city of Preston. Continuing southwards it bypasses Walton le Dale and Bamber bridge, before turning more to a south easterly direction through the village of Whittle le Woods to the town of Chorley. The road leaves the county just after the town of Adlington. The two oldest sections of the M6 are in Lancashire, the motorway enters the county about 1/2 way between junctions 36 and 35 just south of Burton Services. It continues southward the junction 35 where it joins the second oldest section the Lancaster Bypass. It continues passing Carnforth and Lancaster to the east leaving the old bypass at junction 33. It continues past Forton Services to junction 32 where it joins the oldest motorway in Britain the Preston bypass, this finishes at junction 29, the motorway continuing south to just past junction 27 where it enters Greater Manchester .
