Greystoke Craft Garden and Barns is a unique creative venue offering an inspiring range of art, craft and heritage ‘Quirky Workshops’ and courses, from the C17th farmhouse in the village of Greystoke. Nestled 5 miles equidistantly from Penrith and the Eden Valley, and Ullswater, on the northern fringes of the Lake District, in beautiful Cumbria, north west England.
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
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
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
YOU:MATTER is a spectacular audio-visual experience that explores our place in the universe and the invisible links between us and the cosmos
From £2.00
A heartwarming festive treat for all ages, this brand-new musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol brings Bolton’s stage to life with music, magic and Dickensian spirit.
From £15.00
Three sisters, one bitter-sweet reunion – grief, whisky and buried truths collide in a sharply funny Northern family reckoning.
From £15.00
Beckstones Art Gallery in the village of Greystoke is a small family-owned gallery, selling a range of artists’ work, leaning towards the traditional.
A few miles north of Penrith, Hutton-in-the-Forest is an exquisite country house, described by Simon Jenkins as “one of Britain’s top 100”.
Upfront Puppet Theatre is located near Penrith, Cumbria and is one of only four authentic working puppet theatres in England.
A visitor centre off the A66, containing gallery spaces, cinema screen, artisan shopping and local produce, as well as cafes and children’s play areas.
Thacka Beck Nature Reserve is within easy walking distance of Penrith town centre, offering a quick retreat for local residents.
Boasting an array of hot and cold food including homemade cakes, The Yard Kitchen is a café with a distinctly quirky feel.
The menu, as you would expect is full of wholesome treats. All day breakfasts, soups, sandwiches and superfood salads are all served with care.
A gallery and studio space displaying works by local artists – including paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, jewellery and textiles, as well as gift items.
Close to the centre of Penrith, Bank House is a stylish family-run bed and breakfast, in a Victorian house with a traditional garden.
A blend of historic and contemporary gives Penrith its edge, ancient tradition sitting side-by-side with trendy wine bars, hipster cafes and fine dining.
Ruins of a 14th century castle, former home of Richard III. Situated in Penrith’s Castle Park, and managed by English Heritage. Free to visit.
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.
Manchester’s starting the new year with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.
Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.
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.
Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.
