Colne adjoins the Pendle parishes of Foulridge, Laneshaw Bridge, Trawden Forest, Nelson, Barrowford and Blacko.

[7][8] Colne is on the edge of the Burnley Coalfield and coal was being mined at Fox Clough, to south of the town, from the early 17th century.

By the 1840s a surface drift was located at the foot of the clough, on the south side of Colne Water, and a tramroad crossed the river connecting the colliery to a coal yard in the town.

Initially Colne formed part of an unparished area, in 1992 a new civil parish of Laneshaw Bridge was created from what had been the eastern side of the municipal borough.

[18] After boundary changes in 2020 which reduced the number of wards in the borough to 12, three cover parts of Colne parish – Boulsworth & Foulridge, Waterside & Horsfield, and Vivary Bridge.

[21] The Member of Parliament for Pendle and Clitheroe, the constituency into which the town falls, is Jonathan Hinder (Labour), who was first elected in 2024.

Many of the textile weaving mills that used to punctuate the landscape have been demolished to make way for new retail outlets and modern housing.

Others lie semi-derelict, but the best examples continue to provide jobs for local residents by accommodating new manufacturing and service businesses.

The town's main employment area is located at Whitewalls,[24] which sits astride the boundary with Nelson adjacent to Junction 14 on the M65 motorway.

This successful estate now extends to over 27 hectares and is home to a wide range businesses including a large abattoir.

Boundary Mill Stores, one of the first factory outlets in the UK, was established here in 1983, but in 2008 it moved into purpose built premises closer to the end of the M65 motorway.

The company became part of Airtours when David Crossland purchased a series of small travel agencies across Lancashire in 1972, which in turn merged with the Thomas Cook Group in June 2007.

From the summit of Noyna Hill to the north, close to the village of Foulridge, it is possible to look out across much of East Lancashire and into the Yorkshire Dales.

From here a network of footpaths and bridleways pass through the ford or cross Wycoller Beck on a series of ancient bridges, up to 1,000 years old.

[citation needed] A series of circular walks traverse the lower slopes of Boulsworth Hill, whilst the long distance Bronte Way passes through en route to Haworth.

It forms the eastern terminus of the East Lancashire Line, which runs to Nelson, Brierfield, Burnley and on to Preston and Blackpool.

There are buses every few minutes during the daytime on the 'Main Line' service between Burnley bus station and Colne town centre.

Most of these then fork in various directions at each end, and continue to Padiham, Clitheroe or Accrington from Burnley, and to Earby, Barnoldswick, Trawden or Keighley from Colne.

Colne Grammar School was a focus for education from the Middle Ages and had John Tillotson an Archbishop of Canterbury (1691–1694) amongst its alumni.

It finally closed in the late 20th century when Nelson and Colne College, which then occupied the building, consolidated its operations on a site in nearby Barrowford.

The red brick building, was converted to apartments in 2009 and now forms the centrepiece of an executive housing development known as The Locks.

[30] Nelson and Colne College is the main provider of post-16 education in the area – there is no grammar school or continuing sixth form centre, the nearest being in Burnley and Skipton.

received heavy investment from a local entrepreneur in the 1980s, but after winning the Northern Premier League crown in 1989/90 were refused entry to the Football Conference and folded before the start of the following season.

It includes high and low rope courses, up to 42 ft off the ground, a 60m Zip-Wire, Leap of Faith, Power Fan Free-fall, Jacobs Ladder and Climbing Wall.

Alkincoats Park, once the estate of Alkincoats Hall, has bowling greens, hard surface tennis courts, pitch and put golf, a children's play area and footpaths that lead to areas close to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the now-dismantled Colne to Skipton railway line.

In 2013, Olympic Gold medallist Ed Clancy MBE, representing Rapha Condor JLT, became the first repeat winner of the race.

[47][48] Ralph, the father of the late Roger Bannister the first sub-four-minute miler in 1954, was born in Colne, the family having lived here for 400 years.

"Roger Bannister and the Four-minute Mile by John Bale" Every August bank holiday since 1989, the award-winning Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival has been hosted at venues throughout the town, attracting artists and visitors from across the world.

It begins with a parade through the town centre, which then proceeds towards Alkincoats Park and Holt House, where there are live events, a fairground, charity stalls and children's attractions.

A local newspaper, the Colne Times, a variant edition of the larger Burnley Express, is published on Fridays.