Longridge – Why I love my Village

When people ask me why I love Longridge, I say what’s not to love! I am a little biased being Longridge born and bred but I really do love living there and I am not alone thinking this, we regularly appear in the ‘Best Places to Live’ polls.

We have a good range of properties for all ages and those include some character stone cottages, the first to be built with the aid of a mortgage. We have  1 bed flats and 2 bed terraces for those just getting on the property ladder, right up to Gentlemen’s residences and farm houses on the outskirts, steeped in history. Mixed into this we have a good mix of modern and newly built properties to accommodate people wanting to move into the area.

Longridge is reputed to be named by Oliver Cromwell when he was passing through the district heading to the Battle of Preston in the 1600’s. He pointed to the fells and said ‘Look at that long ridge’ and the name stuck! Back then the beauty of the hills was recognised as it is today, sandwiched between the Bowland Forest and the desirable Ribble Valley. Given this, we are spoilt for places to socialise over a meal or a few drinks with several public houses and micro pubs and a couple of wine bars due to open over the Summer. You don’t have to go far for a good meal or an afternoon tea either with many of the restaurants serving award winning produce like Goosnargh Duck, Ann Forshaw Yoghurts or beer from Bowland breweries to name a few.

There are plenty of amenities too with nurseries, three primary schools, and two secondary schools in the town along with a selection of medical professional surgeries, places of worship, supermarkets and boutique shops selling high end merchandise. A market is held weekly in the Civic Hall which also is home to one of the many gyms. The Civic Hall plays host to many concerts and events throughout the year, including one of the most popular from Championship Longridge Brass Band. If you want to venture further out of town, it is just 8 miles into Preston city centre and the railway, or very convenient for the M6 meaning the coast, the Lakes or cities such as Manchester or Liverpool are all only an hour or so away.

Having sold houses in Longridge for many years, once people find Longridge they tend to fall in love with the place as well. When you skirt the edges it looks like a sleepy little town but, scratch the surface and you realise how much is going on.  If you haven’t visited Longridge before, come along for a walk around, you never know what you might find.

If you would like to find out more about ‘life’ in Longridge, please don’t hesitate to call me – I’ll be more than happy to share with you why I love Longridge.

Wendy Smyth
North Lancashire office: 01995 603180