Visit Lancashire

Lancashire Glamping Weekend

With a spare weekend available and a love for all things outdoors, we recently decided to do a bit of ‘glamping’ here in Lancashire. Glamping offers many of the home comforts, whilst still enjoying an outdoors experience. Box Tree Farm was the chosen destination for our weekend in the village of Wennington, nestled between Hornby and Low Bentham, in the beautiful Lune Valley.

Walk this May

I’ve been wanting to explore more of the eastern side of Bowland so to get started I picked an easy route along the River Hodder from The Parkers Arms at Newton-in-Bowland. I plan to go back later in spring and do a longer walk but today I wanted a nice easy walk with some grub and a drink at the finish line.

I parked up in the pub car park and nipped in to tell them I’d be back to eat later. There aren’t loads of spaces but parking isn’t a problem as long as you let them know you’re eating or having a drink afterwards. Even if it’s just for a cup of tea. There is also alternative parking at the top of the village if you are just walking.

Chorley Goes to Chelsea

When the surviving member of a family that was part of the French Resistance in Nazi occupied France appeared as the guest of honour at the opening of Chorley’s show garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, a story of selfless bravery that began in 1943, involving an injured RAF navigator and a courageous group of French people, finally got the public attention it deserved.

Get Active in Lancashire

Forget the gym, let our beautiful (and sometimes challenging) Lancashire landscape inspire you to get active.

Walking
Its free, doesn’t require specialist equipment (except for comfy shoes) and you can do it anywhere. This vastly underrated form of exercise is proven to help reduce the risk of developing chronic illnesses, is suitable for all ages AND we’ve got loads of free walking routes to download from visitlancashire.com.

All Aboard for a day out with Thomas

With a Thomas mad toddler in tow we headed to the East Lancashire Railway on bank holiday weekend for a Day out with Thomas and his friends on the East Lancashire Railway.

Sir Topham Hat opened the day on the station platform, with flags fluttering, steam engines hissing and excited children a plenty.  I’m not sure who was more excited about the arrival of Thomas into the station, parents or children. But when he pulled onto platform 4, pulling four carriages and tooting hello, we all cheered very enthusiastically, and I half expected him to give a trademark wink!

Royal Lancashire

With the arrival of the new Princess (Congratulations William & Kate!) we’re feeling particularly patriotic in Lancashire. If you're also feeling royally inspired check out our list of suitably regal things to do in Lancashire.

Top of the list is Lancaster Castle which is still owned by the Queen (or the Duke of Lancaster as she’s known to Lancastrians) and is her only castle in the north of England. The Shire Hall, within the Castle has the country’s largest display of coat of arms shields bearing the arms of every English monarch from Richard the Loinheart onwards.

A Tale of Martyrs, Museums and Monasteries

Intriguingly there is, what appears to be, a very unassuming pedlar’s trunk at the heart of a new exhibition that opened last week at Samlesbury Hall near Preston. But appearances can be deceptive and the story behind this battered suitcase reveals it to be a fascinating time capsule.

The pedlar’s trunk had been walled up in Samlesbury Hall at some point during the C16th, until it was discovered in the mid-19^th Century (some 200 years later.)  The trunk was then bought at auction by a private individual and later sold to Stonyhurst College, who still own it to this day. But why all the fuss over a trunk?