Day Trips from Manchester

In Brief. The National Memorial Arboretum provides a permanent commemoration of the sacrifices made by service personnel in conflicts and peacetime. Given how great these sacrifices have been, the responsibility to provide a fitting recognition seems great, but the challenge has been risen to in the National Memorial Arboretum. The site is substantial and immaculately maintained, with over 400 memorials spread across a 150 acre site. Visitors can explore the site on foot, or participate in guided tours. The Stretcher Bearers Sculpture  on the Armed Forces Memorial What's Here? The arboretum is on level land by the banks of the River Tame.  Though there are trees, for the most part the site is light and open, with views along avenues and across lawns to the many memorials. These vary substantial in style and scale.   The Armed Forces Memorial The monumental armed forces memorial names members of the navy, army and air force who have lost their lives on service since the Second Worl

In Brief. Conwy is a castle with a walled costal town attached. The castle and walled town were built in a 4 year period the 13th Century (how long is it taking to build a railway from London to Birmingham in the 21st century?), and both are impressive and substantially intact. Nearby, the Bondant Garden is an impressive National Trust garden with a surprisingly vibrant winter garden with flowering snowdrops, daffodils and rhododendron, to name but a few, on my visit on 15th January. Conwy Castle What's Here? Conwy is classed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and it's not hard to see why, with its grand castle and the nearly complete town walls. Both were built at the same time, as part of a network of English castles that were designed to keep the Welsh in check. The castle has a series of towers, most of which can be climbed, offering good views over the River Conwy, just before it enters the Irish Sea. The castle is now popular with pigeons and tourists alike. Conwy harb

In Brief. Biddulph Grange is a compact but diverse National Trust garden in Staffordshire. Like many gardens, it is open all year, so I decided to visit it in each of the four seasons, to see how it changes through the year, and to understand if recurring visits are worthwhile beyond the consistently excellent scones. An earlier blog in this series describes a one-off visit to the garden, and thus provides a more general review. The house from the lake, 30th January 2023 What's Here and When? Winter : The garden is not colourful in the winter, but many parts of the garden are as good at this time of year as any. There are several paths through wooded areas (Lyme Avenue, Wellington Avenue), and there are gardens defined more by their architecture than their plants (China, The Glen). Thus although there are areas that feature seasonal plants, the garden is still highly visitable for its landscaping when the predominant colours are green and brown. The rhododendrons are coming into