Wigan has its origins in a Roman garrison known as Coccium. With Liverpool, Lancaster and Preston it was one of the four original boroughs of Lancashire in the 1300s. Its prosperity was ensured by its inclusion on the waterway by Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company, which enabled the transport of coal, and giant cotton mills flourished.

Wigan is perhaps most famous for its pier – particularly because it is not a coastal town! The pier is in fact a wooden coal gantry on the south side of the canal basin. It was brought to fame by George Formby Senior in the early part of this century, and George Orwell ensured its longevity by writing “The Road to Wigan Pier”. The pier was restored in the 1980s, and now has attractions such as “The Way We Were” – a recreation of local life in the year 1900 – and forms a central focus for visitors to the town, housing the Tourist Information Centre in its grounds.