Robin Longbottom outlines how the world of travel was transformed for townspeople

IN 1840 a traveller had to walk, go on horseback or by stagecoach.

The quickest way to travel was by coach – but that was the most expensive and required booking well in advance as most coaches only seated four people inside and six on top, with a seventh person next to the driver.

However, within the decade the world of travel changed dramatically.

The railway arrived in Keighley in 1846 and almost overnight, travel – at speeds previously unimaginable – became available to all. A journey from Keighley to Leeds which had taken nearly three hours by stagecoach could now be done in less than an hour.

By the 1850s the Midland Railway Company was advertising exciting cheap day excursions to attract customers eager to experience this novel way of travel. One of its routes was from Bradford to Morecambe, picking-up passengers at Keighley, Steeton, Kildwick and Skipton. Children under three went free and those up to the age of 12 travelled at half price. An adult return fare from Keighley cost six shillings, but this was still outside the pocket of the working classes.

However, day excursions appealed to many of the more benevolent mill and factory owners who took the opportunity to stop production and treat their workers. The reasons for a trip varied considerably from marking the end of a war, to a marriage, the coming of age of a son, the anniversary of the founding of the business, or in some cases simply because they wanted to treat their work people.

The earliest record of a mill excursion is 1856 when Thomas and Matthew Bairstow, worsted manufacturers of Sutton Mill, took their entire workforce of some 300 men, women and children on a day trip to Morecambe to celebrate the end of the Crimean War. It was reported to be the first time that many of the villagers had ever seen the sea and it is said that at least one never did as he "fahn'd some good ale" and spent the day in a pub.

Other mill owners followed suit and in 1861 Frederick Butterfield, the youngest of the Butterfield brothers of Cliffe Hall (later Cliffe Castle), chartered two trains to take their mill workers to Morecambe for the day. Having lived in America for many years he was visiting with his wife and wanted to treat the workers to a day out in celebration of their recent marriage.

The Butterfields owned three mills and the mill hands from Lumbfoot Mill at Stanbury had to set off at three o'clock in the morning. With the mill band playing they marched through torrential rain to Haworth. Here they were joined by the hands from Bridgehouse Mill before proceeding to Ingrow via Cross Roads (the Worth Valley Railway did not open until 1867). At Ingrow they were joined by the workforce from Prospect Mill before heading off to board the trains at Keighley Railway Station.

Once again, many hundreds had never seen the sea. The trippers were reported to have conducted themselves with "unusual zeal". The excitement of the trip had not diminished when they arrived back in Keighley and when the band struck-up in the early hours of the morning, disgruntled townsfolk responded by stoning them. At length, order was restored and the long march home commenced.

Other popular trips included Windermere in the Lake District, Llandudno in Wales, Scarborough and Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. The Midland Railway also had its own steamships which sailed from Morecambe Pier to the Isle of Man and Ireland.

As early as 1853 it was possible to catch a train to Morecambe from Keighley, Steeton, Kildwick or Skipton, board the “very swift first-class Iron Steamer Morecambe's Queen” and arrive in Douglas, Isle of Man, in time for tea.

This parade at Junction, near Cross Hills, is led by a brass band and reminiscent of the early mill trips (photo: Glynn Whiteoak Collection)

An advertisement of 1853 for an excursion to the Isle of Man

Morecambe early last century with the pier in the background, where the Midland Railway terminated and steamships left for Ireland and the Isle of Man