Preston Walk

Edward Kopka

04 Apr 2024 • 3 min read

In England, I was staying at a co-living place that was designed for digital nomads. The host likes to take the guests on walk and so on Saturday the 16th we went to Preston to walk through the city, its parks, and the surrounding countryside. The entire previous week there was quite a lot of rain so this was one of the few walks that wouldn't be drowned out in mud. I really appreciated the host doing this and he provided us with lots of information about the region.

Preston is the closest city to Blackpool, and I learnt a bit about its history. The county of Lancanshire, where Preston and Blackpool are located, was at the centre of the industrial revolution. The climate in this part of England was perfect for massive textile mills and this brought a huge boom to the local economy and Preston was one of the busiest ports in the country. Once the manufacturing left though Preston saw a steep decline, though elements of the historic wealth still remain. As I was talking with the host he reckoned that places like Preston may see a resurgence in popularity as the real estate here is cheap and remote working means people aren't as tied to living in the big cities.

The walk was lovely and here are a few of the pictures I took.

A Japanese garden that is over 100 years old

One of the old factories that has since been repurposed

There was this beautiful old mall that sadly had many empty lots.

There was another, smaller park, situated within the city centre itself.

We walked through an old graveyard full of the classic tombstones associated with graveyards.

The river next to Preston, we walked alongside it a couple of times out in the country.

A view looking over the river, with some swans and ducks.

Daffodils next to the river. I always loved spotting them, and there were so many in bloom.

An old Victorian bridge that still looked majestic even after many years.

During this walk we were at times in the city, literally walking through the city centre, and at times out in the countryside. There was actually a strong division point between city buildings and country farms, with no sprawling suburbs in between. Apparently a lot of old cities are like this as they were built before the advent of cars, so everything had to be built within walking distance.

The walk was nice and varied with three different terrains, the city, the parks, and the country. Most of my pictures were in the parks and the country but I still enjoyed all of it.

Thanks for reading – Edward

Written 31st of March 2024

Sign up for more like this.