Visible from miles around, the spire of St Mary’s nestles into the beautiful landscape of the Lake District. Erected in the 1850’s, in Gothic Revival style, it remains a popular church among the Ambleside community, and occasionally functions as a concert venue.
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
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
Preston comes alive with outdoor theatre, live music, dance and family-friendly creativity in one of the North West’s most joyful festivals.
Free entry
A landmark of modern British theatre returns, balancing razor-sharp comedy with a compassionate exploration of family, identity and belonging.
From £17.00
Thomas moves off the screen and onto the tracks in this immersive, steam-powered family railway adventure.
From £15.95
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
A weekend of feel-good music lands in Rochdale, with three decades of hit singles colliding courtesy of Gabrielle, Ash and Starsailor
From £35.00
A salt and pepper pot for the king and queen. A ruler for the prince. Shakespeare, brilliantly reimagined through kitchen clutter.
From £5.00
Full of interesting and unusual objects, The Armitt is a museum that shares the history and heritage of Ambleside and its people.
A mock gothic castle, far from the usual Windermere crowds, with stunning grounds and a short walk to Claife Viewing station.
A high-end restaurant in the Lake District, combining traditional British ingredients with original modern ideas.
Attempt to hit a clay flying at 65mph or navigate the obstacles along a wood chip track on a Krazy Kart, at this Arts and Crafts style house in Cumbria.
Next door to Dove Cottage, Wordsworth’s first family home, is the Wordsworth Museum, which houses an unsurpassed collection of the Wordsworths’ letters, journals and poems.
From book launches to writing groups to poetry nights, there’s always something going on at Wordsworth Grasmere.
Dove Cottage is where William Wordsworth lived and wrote, and where the Wordsworth Trust continues that work today with poets in residence and public programmes.
Tucked away in a remote corner of the Lake District is Kurt Schwitter’s Merzbarn, an artistic epitaph to the avant garde ‘godfather of modern art’.
Lake District accommodation that manages to be luxurious and environmentally friendly at the same time.
We love the fantastic Forest Side Restaurant. Attached to the historic Forest Side Hotel in Grasmere, this is one of the best places to eat in Cumbria.
A luxurious four star hotel in Grasmere, in the heart of the Lake District.
Summer isn’t usually a high point in the exhibitions calendar, but Greater Manchester’s small galleries seem to have made a pact to change that this year.
From intimate dramas to spectacular outdoor festivals, discover the North West performances worth adding to your diary.
From post-industrial romance to experimental country, here's a hot new batch of weird gigs in small venues.
It's summertime, and the dining choices are easy, thanks to our expert guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.
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.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
