Snighole is a local beauty spot situated in the valley of the
River Ogden in the
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
village of
Helmshore
Helmshore is a village in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, England, south of Haslingden between the A56 and the B6235, north of Manchester. The population at the 2011 census was 5,805. The housing in Helmshore is mixed, with some two-up, two- ...
, near
Haslingden in the
Rossendale Valley
The Rossendale Valley is in the Rossendale area of Lancashire, England, between the West Pennine Moors and the main range of the Pennines. The area includes the steep-sided valleys of the River Irwell and its tributaries (between Rawtenstall a ...
. In the local dialect it is pronounced 'snig 'ole'.
The Ravenshore viaduct by Snighole is locally known as 'Little
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
', and was particularly popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as a bathing place when people had neither the time or resources to travel far for their leisure. In the later part of the twentieth century the river suffered from serious pollution from local industry, although this is now very much improved. In the river close to the viaduct there are scratched drawings in the rocks dating back to the time when the area was much used by local bathers. The word snig is a local dialect term for
eel
Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
. (Snig can also be a word for
grass snake in parts of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
.)
External links
Snig Hole Park, Rossendale Online{dead link, date=May 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Environment of Lancashire