Day Trips from Manchester

In Brief. Wallasey and West Kirby are costal towns towards the end of the Wirral peninsula, with views to Liverpool and North Wales, respectively. Wallasey is a substantial town, and includes the resort of New Brighton as a suburb, from which robust costal defences can be walked in both directions. West Kirby is more compact, but has a distinctive and substantial marine lake. Looking across the Mersey to Liverpool. What's Here? New Brighton hosts assorted eateries and leisure facilities, including a theatre, cinema, ten-pin bowling and restaurants, near to the not especially pleasing marine lake and some rather tired looking resort facilities.  However, the Marine Point Leisure and Retail Park was doing good business on my weekday visit outside the holiday season, and after my walk I had a welcome brunch at the Marino Lounge. I chose to walk from New Brighton along the Mersey, past many elevated properties that enjoy views across to Liverpool Docks, and then the city itself. As p...

In Brief. Wentworth Woodhouse is an imposing 18th century country pile near Rotherham, that can boast the longest facade of any country house in England. Though the interior contains little of the original furniture, which was sold off to pay death duties, there are nonetheless striking and varied spaces that benefit from being brought to life in a tour. The property also features an extensive and well maintained garden, with meandering paths, and views of the West Front and surrounding countryside. The impressive East Front. What's Here? Curiously, the property features two houses back-to-back, both built in the early 18th Century, with the slightly earlier Baroque property being considered to give an unsuitable architectural fashion statement in contrast with its Palladian successor.  Both the East Front and the West Front are pictured. The West Front is almost as grand as the East Front. Several themed tours are available; I took the Wentworth Tour, with an enthusiastic and wel...

In Brief. Breezy Knees is a collection of varied, themed, modern gardens close to York. The themes include those based on the time of year when they are at their best, with gardens for May, June and September, and the site was densely planted and colourful in my June visit (in particular the June garden!).  This is a short drive from The Yorkshire Arboretum , in parkland adjacent to Castle Howard , which includes ancient and more recently planted trees in rolling countryside with an emphasis on open vistas. The Lawned Garden at Breezy Knees What's Here? The Breezy Knees gardens occupy over 20 acres of largely level countryside, which has been divided into a collection of gardens mostly themed by type of planting or time of year. There are various natural routes from garden to garden, including places to sit and take in the views. I had a fairly tight schedule to fit in with the guided tour at the Yorkshire Arboretum, but wished that I had taken a book and could have a lazier time ...

In Brief. Shewsbury is a sprawling market town, with a compact historic centre almost enclosed within a loop of the River Severn, the longest river in England. There is more than a day's worth of things to see and do in Shrewsbury; I took a boat trip on the Severn, made a rather brief visit to the museum, and took a tour of the prison.  However, there is also a historic town centre to explore, an abbey and a castle.  What's Here? Having parked near the Abbey, I started by walking along the riverside path towards the Quarry Park, a large open area between the town centre and the river.  This includes the Dingle, an immaculately maintained garden area, with characterful water features and colourful borders.  The Dingle in Quarry Park. My destination was a Sabrina Boat Trip , which as it turns out visited the same part of the river as I had just walked. However, with at-seat refreshments and a commentary providing historical context and humorous asides, this was both a...

In Brief. The  Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is a heritage railway that occupies a 5 mile branch line constructed in the 1860s to provide passenger and goods services to the towns and mills in the valley. Though 5 miles seems very short, train journeys are pleasant enough, with some countryside, some narrow valley scenery, the towns and the occasional tunnel. As a significant tourist destination, the stops include pristine restored stations, museums and an abundance of eateries, and trains are pulled by a variety of steam and diesel rolling stock. Steam engine from 1888 pulling a passenger train. What's Here? Though not originally an especially significant piece of national infrastructure, the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway has been running as a heritage railway for more than 50 years, with more than 100,000 visitors a year.  As well as the regularly running heritage rolling stock, there are many event days of different forms, typically based around train types (I...

In brief. Though not associated with much in the way of an interesting back story, Beningbrough Hall is a refined 18th century country house near York, now run by the National Trust . Though described as Baroque , Beningbrough is quite restrained, with a balanced exterior, fine interior woodwork and a tasteful walled garden. A visit to the hall itself includes period furniture and fittings on the ground floor and changing art exhibitions on the first floor, so overall a visit provides a variety of experiences.  The hall from the back garden. What's here? Though some country houses seem designed to impress with excess, Beningbrough seems more inclined to show off through good taste. On arrival, the walled garden is an obvious first place to visit, and features  borders and fruit trees. Overall, though there are gardens surrounding the house, these are not extensive, so this is not a place to come for exercise. Commendably, there is also a modern Mediterranean garden, reflecting...

In Brief. The Thackray Museum of Medicine is a modern museum in a former Victorian Workhouse that has also served as part of St James's Hospital, which is adjacent. The museum includes a street reconstruction that reflects on the sanitary and health challenges facing Leeds during the Industrial Revolution, and a collection of displays on the history and development of medicine. The museum is trying to target quite a broad demographic, and there should be something here for most ages. The museum entrance. What's Here? The Thackray Museum of Medicine occupies two floors of an imposing Victorian building.  The lower floor includes the cafe and exhibition spaces that focus on local history, whereas the upper floor has more of an emphasis on the development of medicine. The lower floor starts on Disease Street , a reconstruction of a Victorian street in recently industrialised Leeds, highlighting the health implications of high density city life before sewers. If that wasn't of...