Visit Lancashire

Visiting Lancashire's fantastic new Floating Visitor Centre: Brockholes

I have travelled up and down the M6 motorway passed Junction 31 for months and months and months along with 27 million other users of the M6, always casting an eye towards the old gravel pits on the left hand side of the motorway when travelling southbound to see if I could view the unique floating venue which I knew was being created on the site known as Brockholes.

I had been to a meeting on the site after it had been purchased by the Wildlife Trust back in 2007 and met with the project managers at the gravel pit when Adam Khan’s ‘Floating World’ design was announced as the winning design of a new competition launched by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for new visitor facilities.

Countdown to the Garstang Walking Festival!

It’s the week before the Garstang Walking Festival opens on the 6th May and I’m full of nervous excitement about it all. As a volunteer ranger leading and backing up some of the walks and activities you just want to help all those who will come to take part to enjoy what the Wyre area has to offer. May is the queen of months and anyone wanting to experience flora and fauna, fells and fields, rivers and coast at its best, couldn’t do better than take part in the festival. It’s very special to be in the woods – the trees which have been home to herons for hundreds of years. As this heronry is on a private estate, the festival offers this one-off chance.

Walking up to Darwen Tower

After the over indulgences of Christmas we were desperate for some fresh air and a good walk.  We didn’t want anything too taxing but I was keen to explore somewhere new. The two mile Darwen Tower walk (found in the walks under 5 mile section on our website) seemed the perfect solution, especially as I’ve passed it so many times on the M65. So we set off to Sunnyhurst Wood (in between Blackburn and Darwen) to start our walk. 

Magnificent Millstone

Nestling in the heart of Lancashire just off the A59 in the delightful village of Mellor, this 2 AA star hotel is a real delight. The Millstone is known as the ‘baby’ of the Shire hotels family, but its food is certainly ‘grown up’.

The home cooked menu featured the finest that the Red Rose County has to offer, serving Lancashire’s most popular dishes at 2 AA Rosette quality.  Sunday lunch in the traditional oak, panelled restaurant dining next to a cosy fire was definitely appreciated on a winter’s day by my wife and I.

Feast your eyes at the Halo

It was the perfect combination and one I just couldn’t resist - lights, kites, music and an open air picnic - at Feast Your Eyes at the Halo, the finale event to the Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food and Culture last Saturday evening.

With rucksacks of food we climbed the hill with crowds of others to the large scale Halo sculpture which overlooks much of Rossendale, to hear drum music beating from the marquee, see the sky a-flutter with brightly coloured kites and sit with lots of other families tucking into the picnics they had brought along. My children hadn’t brought their kites (I think they’re still tied up in knots from the last windy outing!) so they were delighted to find that there was the opportunity to make kites there.

Way of the Roses Cycle Route Launched!

I recently accepted the request from the office to ’help’ launch the brand new 170 mile Way of the Roses coast to coast national cycle route 69 which goes from Morecambe to Bridlington and has been developed by Sustrans. My role was to cycle the first 35 miles from Morecambe promenade to Settle, which sounded fine until I realised that Morecambe is at sea level, and Settle, very much, isn’t! So with a looming sense of dread I arrived at Morecambe promenade, adjacent to the newly restored art deco Midland Hotel, with dark clouds around, but no rain, for the official opening by the various dignitaries including one of Morecambe’s famous sons, designer Wayne Hemingway.

Spotlight on: Old Shippon at Mellor

Not far from the M6 and located in the picturesque village of Mellor, you’ll find the award-winning Old Shippon and what a hidden gem it is! A collection of luxurious apartments offering wonderful self-catering accommodation that just makes for one incredible stay.

Spotlight on: Mytton Fold Hotel & Golf Complex

The 2010 Tourism Awards winner for the Access category went to Mytton Fold Hotel and Golf Complex, a fabulous 3 star hotel with 43 fully en suite bedrooms.

Family run, surrounded by 100 acres of its own gardens and grounds  the hotel provides fabulous conference and meeting facilities, committed to sourcing locally and providing the very best of local food for their customers, together with an outstanding  18-hole par 72 golf course.

Spotlight on: Clough Bottom Farm

Winners of this year’s Sustainable Tourism Award, Clough Bottom Farm, are a four star self-catering business with Gold credentials in being green.

Set on a working organic farm, there are the three self catering cottages at Clough Bottom Farm, which have been converted from stone-built farm buildings. The cottages are surrounded by really beautiful countryside (the Forest of Bowland no less) and a working farm – so there are lots of wildlife and farm animals around including free range chickens, geese and cattle. (When I visited in April I met Kevin the calf)

The changes at Samlesbury Hall

It’s a place I went to often as a child and a regular day out whenever the relations came over from Italy; they loved the hall, to them it was the epitome of an English house (and a fine example of one to boot!) which they still talk about to this day.  So, going back to Samlesbury Hall after some time and having the benefit of Director Sharon Jones as guide, was a bit of a revelation.

Things have changed at Samlesbury.  Not the wonderful moment you turn the corner on the drive to see the splendour of the black and white timbers or, the beautifully kept gardens (literally springing-into new life after our seemingly endless winter) no, the real changes are within the hall itself.