LUKE MARSDEN: Hope for a revival in Wigan Pier fortunes

She has only ever seen the outskirts and my house in Whelley, so I wanted to ensure she was getting the full-blown Wigan experience.

As we seem to have been enjoying a freak heatwave (in autumn!) we decided to have a stroll down the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towards Robin Park.

It’s only until you’re seeing surroundings with someone who hasn’t experienced them before that you can really appreciate what we’ve got on our doorstep. Then, like young a George Orwell, we began the road to Wigan Pier.

It’s been a while since I’ve actually stopped to read the sign, admire the statue (pictured). I then tried to explain to my friend (mainly thanks to Google) the history behind the Pier.

She was quite unimpressed but mainly, I think, because she was expecting a pier the size of Blackpool’s and this one certainly didn’t contain a Ferris wheel.

I explained the area was also home to the infamous Wigan Pier Nightspot nightclub (not that I ever visited!)

I admired the regeneration work taking place opposite the pier. Far too many years have gone by without anything of substance happening,so it is great to see investment finally being pumped into it. I think in time (and with the right weather) the pier can be a thriving place of culture, fine dining and dare I say, great scenery too!

I don’t know if Orwell’s book still pulls in the tourists to the Pier like it used to, I suppose if you visited it at present you’d be left wondering how you’d write a novel about it. But once its facelift is complete, someone should pen a sequel.