Visit Lancashire

Midland Delight

The break between Christmas and New Year saw me hankering for a brisk walk and some fresh air so we decided to take a drive up to Morecambe and have lunch at The Midland Hotel. I haven’t been since English Lakes Hotels took over the management of the property and the rest of the family hadn’t been at all.

Fright night in Lancashire

Sally's Tale: It was a dark, dark night in West Lancashire, the moon was out and the ghouls were ready for Farmaggedon– the ultimate terror experience!

I’m a big wimp generally when it comes to ghost trains and horror movies but this looked liked fun and it was, it was really good, scary fun.

First up was ‘Terror on the Farm’. We queued briefly outside a haunted house, complete with dancing skeletons and freakish dancers to wait our turn.  The majority of other thrill-seekers were teens, but there were also families and couples waiting, and wanting to be scared. Finally we were invited in (we were in a group of 4) and so made our way cautiously inside.  We followed dark passage ways through scary scenes and gory sets as blood thirsty actors jumped out, screamed and terrorised our path. The sound affects and the screams from other ‘victims’ added to the experience – which was as much fun as it was frightening!

Zoe's Tale: Having just left the other scare house I was a little on edge and could have done with a few minutes of mediation just to calm the nerves... With 'inmates' chasing and jumping out at me from behind coffins, tables and walls my pulse was racing the whole way around Insanity. The' shirking rooms' were particularly disturbing; being forced to push your way through a giant marshmallow sounds like fun, but in the dark with people pushing at your back and screams it overpowered my senses! After leaving Insanity the general feedback from the crowed was “excellent”! And I shall definitely be back next year too!

"I'm the King of the Castle and you're the dirty rascal!"

"I'm the King of the Castle and you're the dirty rascal" That was the cry from Sarah Short on Sunday (18 October), our recent competition winner as she spent the day as King of The Castle at Clitheroe Castle Museum. Sarah and her 5 loyal subjects descended on the Museum for an exciting day of exploration, adventure and fun - a day fit for a king!

As Site Manager of Clitheroe Castle I had the honour of welcoming Sarah and her retinue to our wonderful museum. I must say that I had a great time – it's not often that I get to dress up in costume as a Medieval woman and take such a lively group around our venue.

Happiness is ... a comedian called Ken

Last Sunday night I took my mother-in-law for a birthday treat to see Ken Dodd: The Happiness Show at The Grand Theatre in Blackpool. I thought we might also catch the Blackpool Illuminations but we arrived when it was too light and left when it was too late! Ken Dodd certainly gives his audiences value for money. Not only does he get his “seven laughs a minute” and more, his show lasts over five hours so if you do go, you might consider booking an overnight stay. The time passed so quickly in the company of such a master of entertainment – there was no lull in the laughter, no dips in the diddyness and I’ve been smiling all week since!

Here are two of my favourite jokes from his show:

“I telephoned the swineflu helpline last week but it was no good, all I got was crackling!”

“Doctor, doctor, I keep seeing images of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck!” Doctor: “Don’t worry, these Disney spells will soon pass!”

The show runs every Sunday until 25th October.

/Barbara

Fun on the Farm

I visited Thornton Hall farm Country Park on Friday for a brief visit (I was invited to talk at the Pendle Tourism Association meeting which was held in their conference room) and I have to say how impressed I was with the attraction.

The main play barn and animal pens were immaculately clean, with really innovative ways for kids and animals to interact together with a straw maze, big slides and sand pits. I’m easily distracted by cute and cuddly animals and so couldn’t resist taking a peak at some of the animals which included;  friendly goats, cute calves, barking puppies, a llama (I think - with lovely long eyelashes), chickens & fluffy chicks, bleating lambs, pigs and squealing piglets! I also saw the biggest rabbit I have ever seen (bigger than a large domestic cat).   Well worth a visit (especially for those with kids).

Polish Delight in Blackpool

The Federation International of Volleyball brought the under 21 junior world beach championships to Blackpool this weekend. It being a gloriously sunny day I thought a nice tram ride along the promenade and a quick sit through a game or two would be a pleasant way for the family to spend the afternoon. None of us knew anything about volleyball – beach or otherwise so we weren’t sure what to expect or how complicated the rules might be – I need not have worried.

It's all 'Gravy' in Lancashire this Bank Holiday Weekend!

For the third year running the World Gravy Wrestling Championships took place yesterday, 31st August 09, at the 'Rose and Bowl' pub in Lancashire.

The event was recently awarded first place in the '10 best silly events in Britain' in the Wacky Nation book.

Sadly I didn't get to spectate but this video footage sums up the crazyness that took place!  

Joel Hicks, a 30-year-old barrister (wrestling name of Stone Cold Steve Bisto) won the contest along with Emma Slater who won it for the women dressed as Mother Christmas.

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Camping in Colne

I’ve had a great staycation this month - not only a holiday in this country, in my own county, but also less than 20 miles from home! A camping holiday in an area at the heart of the Lancashire cotton industry might not sound exciting but just a few miles outside Colne in the East of the county is some surprisingly lush countryside.

Blackpool at its very best!

As we awaited a tram to take us into Blackpool we could see it was busy! Three trams passed, full to capacity so eventually settled for a bus to get us to the Promenade. This was going to be a busy day – and it was too. As we approached the main stretch of the Promenade we literally saw a sea of faces. Never in all my years have I seen Blackpool Promenade so busy and the reason, the airshow.

A glorious day, a fantastic vantage point on the new Promenade and a good line up of display aircraft too – looks like everyone else had the same idea. So we settled down on the Promenade Spanish steps between central and south pier to watch two hours of flying displays and what an afternoon it was.

Jason & the Argonauts in Williamson Park

 

Tuesday evening saw Anna and I heading up to Lancaster for the Dukes Promenade theatre production of Jason and the Argonauts in Williamson Park. The volatile British weather had turned from midsummer heat wave the week before to torrential down pours but that didn’t stop us theatre goers donning our cagoules and heading to the park for an evening of outdoor theatre.