Carnforth Station

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

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Carnforth Station

The Heritage Centre, Warton Road, LA5 9TR
01524735165
Visit Lancashire, Carnforth Station Heritage Centre
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Carnforth Station is no ordinary railway station. The pivotal setting for much of film director David Lean’s iconic Brief Encounter, the station has embraced its place in cinema history to become a tourist attraction unlike any other. Stand on Platform 1 with its vintage suitcases and railway posters and you can cast yourself back to 1945…to a time when steam trains stopped here, when Lean pointed his camera at stars Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. Film would have been whirring and the big movie lights would have emitted some warmth on the winter nights.

Lovingly restored in 2003, the station has been careful to preserve as much of that atmosphere as possible. Staffed by volunteers, today there is a refreshment room and Heritage Centre where there are exhibits which outline the life of David Lean, and the films — which include The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965) — he directed. Visitors can also watch Brief Encounter in a vintage mini cinema, complete with tip up seats, or pay a visit to the on-site gift shop, which is stocked with enough themed merchandise to almost feel like an exhibition in itself.

What's on near Carnforth Station

Rose Condo
LiteratureKendal
Verbalise at Kendal Brewery Arts

Rose Condo is a multi-award-winning poet and spoken word artist, who carefully blends poetry and prose to create live shows she performs with aplomb.

From £11.00
A large mechanical puppet controlled by multiple people. Encounter Festival in Preston
FestivalsLancashire
Encounter Festival in Preston

Expect a jam-packed day of outdoor performance, live music, family fun – plus Preston’s iconic Torchlight Procession and fireworks finale.

Free entry
Saltaire Brewery - 58
Until
TourSaltaire
Saltaire Brewery Tour

The guided tour offers a behind-the-scenes look at the brewhouse and state-of-the-art packaging plant, giving visitors a full sense of what “real Yorkshire beer” means today.

From £15.00

Where to go near Carnforth Station

Leighton Hall
Event venue
Leighton Hall

Famous collection of Gillow furniture and objets d’art, plus gardens and woodland walks. Educational ‘bee corner’, ‘woodland hotel’ and ‘caterpillar maze’ for children.

Morecambe
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Gaskell Hall

The Gaskell Hall was opened in 1931 and is named after Elizabeth Gaskell, the novelist who regularly stayed in the village.

Lancashire
Gallery
The Crescent Gallery

Morecambe gallery which showcases and sells contemporary works, often by artists from the area, which are varied and beautiful.

Eden Project North

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Quite Simply French
Lancaster
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Quite Simply French

Quite Simply French is an award-winning restaurant selling French classics including frogs legs, snails, charcuterie and steak in Lancaster.

White Elephant Gallery, Morecambe
Morecambe
Gallery
White Elephant Gallery

White Elephant gallery is a radical art space that has set out to bring cutting-edge contemporary art to the seaside town of Morecambe.

The Grand Theatre in Lancaster
Lancaster
Theatre
The Grand Theatre, Lancaster

First opened in 1782, the theatre is now host to amateur drama, music and dance and professional touring companies. Tours of the historic building are available

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Lancaster Priory

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Judge’s Lodgings, Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster
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Judges’ Lodgings

The Judges’ Lodgings is the oldest town house in Lancaster, whose exhibitions and events bring the stories of the city to life.

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