Day Trips from Manchester

In Brief. Speke Hall is a grand Tudor house managed by the National Trust, surrounded by lawns, low-key formal gardens and woodland. The interior of the hall lacks the scale of some country houses, such as Lyme , but includes ornate wooden panelling and furniture, and light partly comes from a striking interior courtyard.  The gardens provide varied views of the hall, and woodland walks help to justify a visit to the restaurant for a scone. Speke Hall from the South Lawn What's Here? Speke is a substantial Tudor country house, which was developed under two families from the 16th to the 19th Century.  The hall has lawns on three sides, providing diverse views of the striking exterior. The interior features a substantial collection of ornate 19th century oak furniture that may seem rather ornate and gloomy to modern eyes, but certainly is not typical of country house furniture. There are also exhibitions on the persecution facing Catholic families, such as the owners of Speke, ...

In Brief. The Liverpool Waterfront, on the tidal River Mersey, is one of the most recognisable urban spaces in the UK. Though stripped of its World Heritage status because of unsympathetic modern developments, the core of the current waterfront area around the Albert Dock both preserves and repurposes historical landmarks and hosts a variety of cultural venues that enable a rich and varied visit. The Three Graces beyond the Museum of Liverpool What's Here? This is a destination that combines a collection of things to look at (notably the Three Graces from the early 20th Century and the surviving Victorian Docks), and things to go inside (such as Tate Liverpool, The Museum of Liverpool, The Maritime Museum, The International Slavery Museum and The Beatles Story). A colourful ferry heads across the Mersey. One way of combining looking at with going inside is on The Mersey Ferries,  which offer a 50 minute cruise with a single stop in Birkenhead on the south bank of the Mersey. This c...

In Brief. The Crich Tramway Village is one of a wide range of heritage destinations within striking distance of Manchester, with a focus on trams to complement others on cotton and aircraft manufacturing. Here there is a mini village, a tram line and a fine collection of trams from the 1860s to the 1960s. It must be super if you are into trams, but may be of rather more passing interest for the wider public. A tram leaves the village. What's Here? Perhaps the centrepiece of the Crich Tramway Village is the tramway itself, which runs from the village, though a wooded area adjacent to a quarry, and on to a mine (though the latter stage was closed on my visit). I travelled on a beautifully preserved early 20th century tram; there is no doubt that they have a good and carefully looked after collection, though a short and slow ride on an ancient tram is not in itself especially exciting. Adjacent to the tramway is a rather lame woodland walk and sculpture trail; let's just say th...

 In Brief. Quarry Bank mill, with its associated workers village and apprentice house preserve and provide insights into the cotton industry that drove the industrialisation of Manchester and surrounding towns. The mill is substantial, and provides exhibits and demonstrations that track the transition from cottage industry to industrial production. The owners and workers lived on site, and a visit provides access to kitchen and leisure gardens, as well as to the area housing the worker's cottages. The mill from the gardens. What's Here? Quarry Bank mill, which was in use from the 1780s to the 1960s, is a substantial site, with the mill at the centre. Located on the River Bollin, which still drives a waterwheel, the mill now provides a series of exhibition and demonstration spaces that show how cotton production evolved from a hands-on task at home to a large-scale industrialised process. The mill has working equipment that tracks the process from cotton bale to cloth, as well ...