Visit Lancashire are excited to be hosting a visit from award winning travel writer and self-proclaimed ‘happy northerner’ - The Quirky Traveller, Zoe Dawes.
Zoe will be visiting LightPool in Blackpool on 28 Oct and Light up Lancaster on 4-5 Nov.
What do you love about living in Carnforth? It’s a small, friendly place, with good shops and it’s not been tarted up. It’s very handy to get to places. There’s a good train service from the ‘Brief Encounter’ station, it’s only half an hour into the Lake District or Yorkshire, good local transport links and the M6 is on my doorstep.
When you’re not travelling the globe where do you go to relax? Morecambe Bay is just up the road and I often walk along the Jetty or say hi to Eric on the Prom. My favourite local spot to relax is Heysham Barrows; I often wander up there and admire the views across the Bay. Sometimes I just get in my car and set off to explore somewhere new. I’m forever getting lost in the Trough of Bowland; it’s so pretty. Lancaster is just up the road and has a couple of great theatres, plus plenty of pubs and restaurants to eat out with friends.
What’s your favourite Lancashire food? I was born in Lancashire (Southport was in Lancashire then!) and we grew up on Lancashire Cheese. I’ve moved from crumbly to VERY tasty now, so Mrs Kirkhams is tops for me. I still make Lancashire Hotpot for my son (not as good as my Mum’s) and we used to have parkin every Bonfire Night. I often go over to Lancaster Smokehouse at Glasson Dock for their excellent smoked fish. The Burrows in Lancaster is a good place to eat and the Edelweiss Café in Carnforth serves great toasties.
As Britain’s Best Culture and History blogger 2015 – what do you think are Lancashire’s top historical and cultural assets? So tough to choose a few – we have a fantastic heritage. One of the top historical sights is Lancaster Castle. It has buildings dating back to the 11thc, it was the site of the Lancashire Witches trial and has one of England’s oldest working Courts. We have a rich industrial heritage; Queen Street Mill and Textile Museum, Burnley is a good place to see this. We have many excellent art galleries and museums, including some real gems like the Harris Museum in Preston. I love outdoor art so the Pennine Panopticons are another favourite. Blackpool has probably got the richest seaside history in the world.
What do you think makes Lancashire a ‘quirky’ place to visit and stay? Lancashire is one of the UK’s lesser known counties so it’s less ‘touristy’, more real and benefits from taking time to discover its charms. There are unspoilt villages, great seaside attractions, interesting towns and our County City, Lancaster, is developing a really vibrant arts and creative scene. We are a still a working county and our heritage is bound up in our every-day lives. So many places in the UK have lost that genuine feeling of place, but we have it in bucket-loads here. Food and Drink are becoming hugely important as we celebrate local produce and quality cuisine. Quirky Travel is about looking for unusual places and finding the unfamiliar in the familiar; Lancashire has both. People think they know Lancashire but they need to visit to discover its true personality. Although I travel all over the world, I still love coming back home to Lancashire.
Zoe will be writing about When the Red Rose by environmental artist Steve Messam in Blackpool on 28 Oct (part of LightPool) and Lancaster on the 4-5 November (part of Light up Lancaster).
Follow The Quirky Traveller @quirkytraveller and read about her travels at thequirkytraveller.com
What a treat to be featured on your blog. I'm really looking forward to the unique light festivals in Blackpool and Lancaster. I'm a huge fan of Steve Messam and can't wait to see two versions of 'When the Red Rose'.
Posted by: twitter.com/quirkytraveller | 24 October 2016 at 02:58 PM