Widnes Walk: Town Centre【4K】

Описание: Located in the county of Cheshire (although historically in Lancashire), and around 12 miles east, and slightly south, of central Liverpool, is the town of Widnes.

Up until the mid 19th century, the area we now know as Widnes was little more than a collection of scattered hamlets situated on marsh and moorland. This all began to change in 1847, when chemist and industrialist John Hutchinson established a chemical factory at Spike Island. This is an artificial island between the Mersey Estuary and the Sankey Canal, which was England's first ever canal, having opened in 1757.

The location of the factory on Spike Island meant that all the raw materials could be transported via the canal and railway, and the finished products could be transported via the same means. Further chemical factories were soon built nearby and the town grew rapidly. The demand for labour led to large-scale immigration to the area from Wales, Ireland, Poland and Lithuania. The substances being produced included soap, borax, soda ash, salt cake and bleaching powder. Other industries including iron and copper works soon developed.

In 1873 the railway arrived in Widnes, and was initially named Farnworth for Widnes. Farnworth at the time was a village just north of the town, which has since been absorbed to become a suburb. Today the station provides direct links to Liverpool in the west and Manchester and further afield to the east. It is believed that Paul Simon wrote the song Homeward Bound at Widnes station.

During the 1890s the chemical industry in Widnes went into decline as more efficient methods of making alkali were developed elsewhere.

In 1905 the Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge opened, providing the town with its first direct link south of the Mersey via road traffic. In 1961 this was replaced by the Runcorn–Widnes Bridge, which was renamed the Silver Jubilee Bridge in 1977.

Historically the River Mersey has acted as the boundary between the counties of Cheshire to the south and Lancashire to the north. Up until 1974, Widnes belonged to the latter until the formation of the Borough of Halton. Since then it has become part of the county of Cheshire.

Widnes is represented in sport primarily by Widnes Vikings, who play rugby league. They were founded in 1875 and play their home games at the Halton Stadium, which is shared by Widnes Football Club, who were founded in 2003.

Spice Girls member Mel C was brought up in Widnes.

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Filmed: 19th March 2022

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/Jxr4TBVSLUqiLdwX9

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Victoria Road
0:25 Widnes Library
0:37 Widnes Library (L) / St Paul's Church (R)
0:47 St Paul's Church
1:14 Victoria Road
2:22 Widnes Road
5:07 Asda car park (the only viable route to the main shopping street from here!)
6:07 Milton Road
6:37 Widnes Road
10:01 Albert Road
10:30 Albert Square
12:47 Albert Road