Festivals. We do them well up north. From giant, inhibition-loosening weekends in farmers’ fields to inner-city parties that showcase the best of local, underground scenes, music lovers are spoilt for choice. This guide rounds up our top picks for this spring and summer, taking in everything from hedonistic escapes to contemporary jazz showdowns via family-friendly fun.

The North of England is home to some absolutely stunning parks, and what better time than summer to go and visit a few you’ve never been to. In this guide we’ve rounded up some of our favourite gardens, city parks and patches of outdoor space in Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and right across the North. If you only want to see green spaces in Manchester, no problem. We’ve a guide for that, too.

Come July, school will be out for six heady weeks of adventuring. Indoor, outdoor, free, ticketed…whatever you fancy. Look no further for your ultimate guide for cultural and just outright fun things to do together to make long-lasting memories (and also achieve precious hours of relative sanity during the hols).

Balmy summer evenings and pre-show picnics; popping of corks and the clinking of glasses; high-quality performance, good company and nature’s very own top tier ventilation system, make open air theatre one of our favourite things. Check out our highlights for this summer, featuring standout shows in Chester’s Grosvenor Park and Lancashire’s Williamson Park.

The North of England is home to the longest high wire bridge in Europe, over 1,000ft above the Honister Pass in Keswick, and one of the UK’s largest outdoor inflatable water assault courses near Sheffield. This part of the world, then, has no shortage of incredible adventure activities. Make the most of the fleeting British summer and tick a few off.

We’ve put together the definitive guide to Wild Swimming in the North of England, which is veined with cuts and canals that were once vital to the functioning of our society. Our lakes are treasured by all and none go unpainted for long, while rivers forge through our towns and cities, defining them. Get closer to this side of nature by actually immersing yourself in it.

What’s the best thing to do in the sun? Many people on this well-watered isle will, without blinking, respond that it’s having a cold pint in a beer garden with your mates, obviously. And that’s what this guide is all about: revealing Manchester and Salford’s very best outdoor spaces to enjoy beer, cocktails or whatever boozy (or non-boozy, we don’t judge) drink floats your boat.