Garstang

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Garstang is a small town in the county of Lancashire in the north of England, located within the Borough of Wyre. Historically in the Amounderness Hundred, it is situated on the A6 between Lancaster and Preston, a short distance from Knott End-on-Sea and Myerscough College. The River Wyre runs through the town. Garstang is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Cherestanc. King Charles II is alleged to have spent the night in a town centre pub during the English Civil War.

The town celebrates an arts festival and an agricultural show every year in August. In November 2001 Garstang declared itself "the world's first Fairtrade Town", influencing many other towns, cities and counties around the UK to work towards the same goal. The Fairtrade Town status was renewed by the Fairtrade Foundation on August 13, 2003. The local newspaper the Garstang Courier is available on tape free of charge to blind and partially sighted people from Galloway's Society for the Blind. Garstang won the Small Town Award in the 2005 Britain in Bloom Awards. The town is overlooked by the ruined remains of Greenhalgh Castle, built in 1490 by Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby.

Garstang is a local centre for trade, business and entertainment. The town centre features a variety of small shops. Some of these are family businesses going back generations, others are smaller shops that come and go on a regular basis. There are also three supermarkets in the town. One of the main attractions of the town are the many and varied pubs in the town centre.

Garstang came to national attention when it got a mention in episode 5 of hit comedy Phoenix Nights. One of the characters said "It'll be the best comedy night this side of Garstang." This led to an increase in tourism in the area.

[edit] External links

• Community website from the Garstang and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce
• Garstang Fair Trade Town
• Galloway's Society for the Blind

Coordinates: 53°54′N 2°46′W