This vicious activity was once a widespread pastime across industrial Lancashire and other northern mining communities, lasting roughly 200 years from the 18th century into the mid-20th century. It was especially popular among colliers and mill workers, who used it to settle grudges, prove toughness, or even as a semi-professional spectacle with promoters, pub venues, and travelling champions.
Tag Archives: #Lancashire
Whalley Abbey
The ruins of Whalley Abbey stand on the northern bank of the Calder in Lancashire’s Ribble valley and were once the second-richest in the county.
Lurking in the Canal; Perch, the Highly Adaptable Piscine Predator
The European perch, Perca fluviatilis, is a highly adaptable predatory freshwater fish native to the British isles. It is found in a wide variety of habitats from ponds and lakes to brooks and rivers but has found a particularly thriving niche in our man-made canals.
Happy New Year!
Here’s wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous 2026! From Alex and Louise Burton-Hargreaves in Lancashire Louise & Alex Burton-Hargreaves (Dec 2025)
Common Ivy
Common ivy, scientifically known as Hedera helix, is an evergreen climbing plant native to, and ubiquitous throughout the British Isles, excepting the far north and a few spots like the Isle of Man.
The Lord of Misrule and his Merry band of Mummers
“Here we stand before your door, As we stood the year before; Give us whiskey, give us gin, Open the door and let us in.”
Gallinago the Bog Drummer
If you’ve ever stood in the reeds of Chat Moss, the wet sheep-pastures of the Ribble estuary, the peat-bogs of Bowland or the rushy fields around Martin Mere on a still April evening, you might have heard a weird, somewhat spooky, sound that you couldn’t quite put your finger on; a bleating, almost goat-like humming that seemed to come from the sky itself, and you may have wondered what made it.
Flavoparmelia caperata, the Common Greenshield Lichen
A look at one of our Most Common Foliose Lichens, with some Notes about Uses for Measuring Air Pollution and Chemical ‘K, C and Pd Identification Tests