Day Trips from Manchester

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...

 In Brief. Nostell Priory is a National Trust country house in rolling parkland near Wakefield. The house itself is substantial, occupying a raised position, though to my eyes the neo-classical exterior is ponderous from all angles. For Christmas, the interior is extensively decorated with trees and lights, and outside the parkland provides walks that are undiminished by the season.  Approaching the house from the carpark. What's Here? For the avoidance of doubt, Nostell Priory is not a priory! It is an 18th century country house on the site of a medieval priory. The house occupies an elevated position, overlooking rolling parkland to the front and an artificial lake to the rear.  There are few formal gardens (I wasn't tempted to visit the Rose Garden in December), and the Pleasure Grounds is a rather nondescript wooded area. However, the parkland is pleasant, particularly popular with dogs and their walkers, and the Obelisk Lodge is silly enough to provide a worthy dest...