Overview of Colne

Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 20,118. It lies at the eastern end of the M65, 6 miles north-east of Burnley, with Nelson immediately adjacent, in the Aire Gap with two main roads leading into the Yorkshire towns of Skipton and Keighley. It is 25 miles east of Preston, 25 miles north of Manchester and 30 miles west of Leeds. There is beautiful countryside around Colne and many old villages close by, including the Bronte Country and Haworth to the south east and Pendle Hill, Newchurch and Barley and Clitheroe to the north west. Nearby villages include Barrowford, Foulridge, Winewall, Cottontree, Trawden and Laneshaw Bridge and the hamlet of Wycoller with its historic pack horse bridge and clam bridge said to date back to the Iron Age. Wycoller Hall is a ruin there. There are narrow roads to the south over the moors to Hardcastle Crags and Hebden Bridge. The attractive Forest of Bowland lies near Pendle. It is sometimes confused with the unrelated Colne Valley around the River Colne near Huddersfield in Yorkshire which includes the towns and villages of Marsden, Slaithwaite, Linthwaite and Golcar. There is another River Colne and Colne Valley around Earls Colne and Colchester in Essex.