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National Waterways Museum and the Cheshire Oaks Outlet Mall in Ellesmere Port

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In Brief. The town of Ellesmere Port came into being around a port that linked the canal network with the River Mersey, and thereby to Liverpool and the wider world. The resulting canal port featured basins, locks, warehouses and supporting facilities, now preserved as the National Waterways Museum .  The substantial site includes a wide variety of canal boats, either in the water or in an Exhibition Hall, and a collection of buildings that supported the port, including a Blacksmiths Forge and a display of engines in the Power Hall. Locks connecting the lower and upper basins. What's Here? On arrival, visitors are given a map with a suggested route around the site. This involves visiting various of the support services, such as the still-active blacksmiths forge, before traversing the various waterways that host different canal boats. Some of these are quite unusual; for example, there is a concrete barge built during the 2nd world war when steel was scarce but there was plenty con...
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RHS Glow: The Bridgewater Garden lit up for Christmas

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In Brief. Having almost frozen to death at the corresponding activity at  Dunham Massey  two years previously, courage was finally plucked up to attend another Christmas event with lights in a garden. This time there was a named storm coming in, so it was somewhat wet and windy, if a further reminder was required that booking ahead for outdoor events near Manchester in December is taking a risk! However, the event itself was pleasant enough, involving following a set route that meanders through and around the walled garden , past colourfully illuminated plants, trees and buildings. Hedgehogs out at night. What's Here? The Bridgewater Garden  is a Royal Horticultural Society garden, opened in 2021, in the grounds of the long demolished Worsley New Hall . The site includes a walled garden, a Chinese garden and some woodland walks, accessed by way of a grand Welcome Building with shops, a cafe and a Garden Centre. The pond in the Paradise Garden Now, the Bridgewater Garden i...
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The Western Approaches Museum in Liverpool

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In Brief. The Western Approaches Museum is located in a bunker underneath an office building in Liverpool town centre, not far from the waterfront .  The focus of the museum is the bunker from which actions in the 2nd World War Battle of the Atlantic were coordinated. The centrepiece is a striking Operations Room, but there are also videos to provide more information, examples of equipment, staff accommodation and reconstructed streets to provide some context.  There is more on the Battle of the Atlantic in the nearby Maritime Museum . The Operations Room. What's Here? The Battle of the Atlantic involved allied convoys traversing the Atlantic Ocean, largely trying to avoid or sink German U-boats, and continued from 1939 to 1945.  The role of the Western Approaches Command, which was based in the bunker, was to coordinate the convoys, their escorts and air cover, with a view to maximising the number of ships making it through.  The museum itself is fully underground...
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More historic sites than you'd expect in Keighley

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In Brief. Keighley is a market town just to the north of Bradford that includes among its visitor attractions the Cliffe Castle Museum , the East Riddlesden Hall and a heritage railway , so it's possible to have have a rather full day here. The Cliffe Castle museum is partly visited as a Victorian mansion but also hosts a substantial and diverse museum alongside a well maintained civic park. East Riddlesden Hall, run by the National Trust, is a compact 17th century Manor House with small but pleasant gardens and a well preserved barn. I didn't make it to the railway! The entrance to East Riddlesden Hall What's Here? Cliffe Castle Museum is more a museum than a castle, having been built in Victorian times as the home of a textile magnate. Several of the original rooms are preserved and filled with period furnishings, and the original grounds of the house are now a park. The museum is larger and more diverse than I was expecting; the diversity means that round each corner th...
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Llandudno: Victorian seaside standards standing the test of time

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In Brief. Llandudno is the largest seaside resort in Wales, having been developed as a resort in Victorian times, to include a still grand promenade and a substantial pier. Thus wandering around taking in the sea air is likely to be part of a day trip, but there is also a tramway up the craggy Great Orme for some costal views, as well as museums, shops and eateries. View across the pier to the promenade. What's here? Llandudno spans a peninsula that reaches into the Irish Sea, close to  Conwy . I parked and started my visit on the West Shore, where there is a sandy beach and a few cafes / hotels, but the action is mostly based closer to the North Shore, which is a 20 minute walk across town.  Between the town and the end of the peninsula is the Great Orme, a limestone hill and nature reserve that offers good views along the North Wales coast. The Greate Orme can be climbed by road, cable car or turn-of-the 20th century tramway , and a fair number of paths that traverse the hi...
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Cheshire Gardens in September: Abbeywood and Cholmondeley

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In Brief. By September, the vibrancy of summer has passed for many gardens, and autumn leaves are still pending. So, this trip during a sunny day in mid-September was to experience two gardens that are quite near to each other to see if an early autumn visit is worthwhile. The two gardens, at Abbeywood Estate and Cholmondeley Castle , were both deserving of a visit, and turned out to have completely different styles; Abbeywood is compact, intimate and lushly planted, whereas Cholmondeley has wide open spaces, mature trees and impressive vistas. An imposing Oak and Cholmondeley Castle. What's Here? Abbeywood garden is entered through the cafe, which overlooks the tropical garden, and provides a civilised way to take on some unnecessary calories. When eventually entered, the topical garden has narrow paths that open into the peaceful Pool garden with its many carp. There is then a pergola and some herbaceous borders that open into the distinctive prairie garden that features a varie...
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The Dorothy Clive Garden

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In Brief. Named after the person it was initially produced for, the Dorothy Clive Garden was originally developed in the 1940s, and is now a garden of two halves. The original garden is a wooded area built into an old quarry, which will be most colourful in the spring, and the more recent area includes a collection of themed spaces including grand herbaceous borders and a distinctive edible woodland.  In my visit in September there was still a lot of colour in the more recent garden, and the cafe provides a pleasant area to pass the time when the sun shines. The Waterfall in the Quarry Garden What's Here? The Dorothy Clive Garden occupies a hillside near Stoke-on-Trent, and, other than the sound of cars heading along the adjacent A51, this is a peaceful and relaxing garden.  After a pleasant tea and lemon drizzle cake the outdoor space of the cafe, I headed for the Quarry Garden. This provides meandering paths around and into a largely wooded area that occupies a disused quarr...
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