I visited Barrowford with my son Alex and his three children principally to go to The Model Train Centre one of the few real life railway shops nearby. It is about 40 miles away. We spent most of our time in the local park at the two playgrounds which entertained the children and started the expedition at The Park View Cafe across the river, which is very small and was pretty full when we got there. The owner persuaded two regulars to move to make us space at the table overlooking the river (and park).

In researching about what there might be to do in Barrowford I discovered a connection to John Wesley. Wesley along with his brother Charles was a clergyman of the Church of England but had come to a clear personal faith as a young man. John undertook regular preaching tours to tell others about Christ and the need to trust in Him for salvation. But in 1748 as a result of his preaching the teetotaler found himself inside The White Bear tavern at Barrowford. 

According to the official town guide:

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was forced to retreat to the building in 1748, after being carried by an angry mob from Roughlee. The instigator of the trouble, Rev George White, Vicar of Colne, asked Wesley to promise he would not come to Roughlee again. Wesley refused saying he would sooner cut off his hand. Eventually he was allowed to leave via the back door. Unfortunately some of his friends were set upon and one was so badly injured that he died shortly afterwards. Another friend had to leap into the river to make good his escape. In great contrast to this visit, Wesley preached at Clough, a local farmhouse, in 1774 and 1776.

For those interested in other matters - 

The Cakes and Mocha at the Cafe were very good but Alex reported that the Latte seemed to have been watered down.

The Model Train Centre was a bit tricky to find as you have to go through a general hardware shop and the sign visible from the street is not the most visible but there was parking and had it been a fine day we might have walked along the road or river. They had a good stock but only one thin that I wanted. I was also interested in the new TT:120 scale but the shops owners was clearly disgruntled that Hornby and PECO had gone ahead with the scale without consulting local model shops. Indeed it does seem that the companies have deliberately tried to maximise their own profits by focusing on their online sales when local shops are struggling.

Visited 11th September 2025