Day Trips from Manchester

In Brief. The Yorkshire Air Museum hosts an extensive collection of largely British military aircraft, mostly from the Second World War (WW2) and the Cold War. Located in a retired military aerodrome, the original buildings host exhibitions, many of which relate to the history of the site, which was used by Bomber Command in WW2, in particular by squadrons crewed by French aircrew. The site also hosts a memorial rose garden, in honour of the many crews that did not return; only around half the WW2 air crew survived their tours of duty. A Victor bomber / tanker. What's Here? The museum is located in what was once RAF Elvington, a WW2 air base close to York. Many of the original buildings survive, and now host exhibitions that mostly reflect the wartime role of the site.  Thus there is a control tower, a recreated French Officer's Mess, and exhibitions on Bomber Command and on Air Gunners (my father was one of them in WW2). These exhibits include equipment, uniforms, posters and...

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...