At the far end of Cockermouth, on Castlegate, is the Quince & Medlar. This is a relatively rare (for Cumbria) vegetarian restaurant, and one with a national reputation, having twice won the Vegetarian Society’s “restaurant of the year” award. In a listed Georgian building, it serves organic wines and beers alongside its excellent veggie and vegan menu.
Step into the majestic Blackpool Tower Ballroom for an experience like no other. With stunning architecture, live music and treats galore, Afternoon Tea here is highly recommended.
From £60.00
The White Hotel’s Blackpool takeover places The Caretaker, Blackhaine and A Guy Called Gerald inside the town’s most iconic spaces.
From £150.00
Come face to face with SEA LIFE Blackpool’s hungriest resident. This unique experience gives you the chance to feed Phoenix the green sea turtle and learn about this endangered species.
From £75.00
Three sisters, one bitter-sweet reunion – grief, whisky and buried truths collide in a sharply funny Northern family reckoning.
From £15.00
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
Discover Rochdale’s rich history on this guided tour, featuring the newly restored Town Hall, St Chad’s Church, and the Pioneers Museum.
From £20.00
The UK’s most important visual art prize is back for its 2025 edition, with four new artist nominations in Bradford’s Cartwright Hall Art Gallery.
Free entry
Foundational British synth-pop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark play in Rochdale, with support from Peter Hook and the Light and A Certain Ratio.
From £55.00
Privately-owned Cockermouth Castle dates back to Norman times and is occasionally open to the public.
A luxury B&B in the Georgian heart of Cockermouth
A snazzy wine and food joint, with a lovely terraced beer garden.
Percy House Gallery in Cumbria is a contemporary art gallery which majors in painting, photography, and craft from local Cumbrian artists and makers.
Castlegate House Gallery in Cockermouth offers a changing programme of temporary exhibitions.
A theatre-cum cinema in Cockermouth offering a wide programme of touring theatre, music, independent film and events to townsfolk and visitors.
Independent hotel in an idyllic setting.
An historic and atmospheric country house complete with roaring fires and wood panelling and set in its own grounds.
Dramatic landscapes and beautiful wilderness surround this Michelin awarded restaurant and hotel.
A beautiful boutique hotel in the Lake District, near some of the region’s most stunning lakes and mountains.
Pastoral fine-dining in the Lake District at this Michelin-starred restaurant
Interactive optical illusion, for each visitor to immerse themselves in. This specialty museum in Keswick will baffle, surprise and amuse.
We have an eclectic mix of gigs for you this month, moving from experimental electronics and noise rock to synth pop, opera, and hyper-local R&B.
Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.
Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.
Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.
There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.
