Day Trips from Manchester

In Brief. The Harris is an imposing neo-classical cultural hub in the centre of Preston, housing a museum, art gallery, library and cafe. Recently renovated, the interior blends light modern displays with decorative original features, and both the building and its contents make this an impressive destination. Outside the city, Wild Discovery complements The Harris by providing some natural history; in practice, it is a small zoo with a collection of healthy looking residents, in particular birds and mammals. The Central Hall of The Harris from the 3rd floor. What's Here? The Harris dates from 1893, and from the start had a broad remit provided by a trust established by a local lawyer (Edmund Harris) to fund a library, museum and art gallery.  All elements are still present, with a library on the ground floor, a museum on the first floor and an art gallery on the second floor.  However, the Central Hall itself hosts a variety of displays on art and history, so overall there a...

In Brief. The Fusilier Museum  captures the history of the Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment, which turns out to have served in a huge variety of places and conflicts during its history.  The substantial museum primarily traces its history chronologically, with descriptions of deployments, personal stories and artefacts such as uniforms, letters and weapons.  Adjacent to the Fusilier Museum is the Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre , which features exhibits from the town's own collections as well as evolving exhibitions. The Fusilier Museum and memorial garden. What's Here? The current Royal Regiment of Fusiliers can trace its ancestry back through the Lancashire Fusiliers to Peyton's Regiment of Foot in 1688.  As a result, the regiment has had deployments in a diverse collection of settings, as varied as the Battle of Culloden in Scotland and the Battle of the Somme in the First World War. Thus there is a lot of history to report on, and the museum contains informat...