Blackburn
The largest town on the Lancashire section, and the one with enough beds to matter when every country inn in the Ribble Valley has gone.
Blackburn is named by Lancashire County Council on the Stage 2 corridor, on the stretch between the Ribble Valley and Chorley. It is the biggest urban centre the race meets in the county, and a town-centre crowd is a different animal from a moorland one: more people, more noise, more places to get a coffee while you wait.
Its real argument, though, is arithmetic. The Ribble Valley and Bowland hold country inns and farmhouses in small numbers, and they will sell out first. Blackburn has town-centre hotels and budget chains, which means availability and a price that is not set by scarcity, plus reasonable reach of several viewing points on the Whalley, Langho and Blackburn stretch.
The cathedral, with its lantern tower and one of the finest modern cathedral interiors in the north, and King George's Hall are the landmarks worth an hour either side of the race. As everywhere else on this route, the closure list and the timings are set by the police and the councils and have not been published.
Nearby
- Blackburn Cathedral and its lantern tower
- King George's Hall
- Town-centre hotels with genuine race-weekend availability
What is not confirmed
- The exact roads through Blackburn
- Road closure times, and when they reopen
- Official fan zones, parking and park-and-ride
- The timetable for the caravan and the peloton
The organisers, the police and the local councils publish these closer to the race. This page says what is known and nothing more.
Plan the day around Blackburn
The full corridor, the practical guidance for race day, and where to put your head down afterwards.