About Wigan

Situated in the midst of what was once one of the most intensively mined regions of the country, Wigan has had to re-invent itself as a town since the decline in the industry and now it is this very history that is one of its major appeals.

Among its myriad listed structures, one of the oldest and most interesting is Mab's Cross, a thirteenth century stone cross which is the subject of a local legend that involves a powerful landowner's wife walking barefoot to the cross every week as penance for supposed bigamy.

One of Wigan's most visited attractions is its pier, made famous by author George Orwell in the book 'The Road to Wigan Pier', which lies on the Leeds and Liverpool canal. The regenerated industrial area around the pier has become the town's cultural quarter playing host to a number of small museums and theatres.

At the forefront of the Northern Soul movement in the 1970's, the town has a long historical attachment to popular music, with a number of influential bands hailing from Wigan - a link which survives to this day.

Many of Wigan's pubs and clubs have links with the alternative music scene and there are several much-loved music venues that, to this day, host regular gigs for established and up-and-coming bands.

Wigan also boasts several important sporting venues, from its olympic-standard swimming pool and two ever-popular speedway circuits to the imposing JJB stadium, home to Premiership football club Wigan FC.