England - Northwest Coast Attractions

The annual canal festival takes place in late May in Chorley. The town is popular for the outdoor market, which has operated in Chorley for over 200 years.

Chorley is also home to bowling greens and tennis courts.

Cleveleys is located just north of Blackpool on the Irish Sea. The promenade in Cleveleys offers seaside entertainment with arcades, bingo and a kiddies corner with rides.

Congleton (pop. 82,900) is located 22mi/35km south of Manchester. It was a site for the manufacture of fabrics in the 19th C. The main landmark in Congleton is The Cloud, an outcropping of rocks.

The resort of Fleetwood (pop. 30,500), situated at the mouth of the River Wyre, owes its rise to prominence to the founder of Rossall School, overlooking Morecambe Bay.

Fleetwood is home to The Mount, a seven-acre park built on a sand dune and Fleetwood Pier, built in 1910. Other notable buildings include St Peter's parish church, Queen's Terrace and the Upper and Lower Lighthouses.

Near Formby, which has a good golf course, is the large Ainsdale nature reserve, with sand dunes and areas of marsh and brackish water, where rare flora and fauna can be found. Adjoining the reserve is the Southport wildfowl sanctuary.

Garstang is a small town on the Wyre and the Lancaster Canal north of Preston just off the M6. Every Thursday Garstang is the site of a market, a regular occurrence since 1310. Visitors will also enjoy a visit to the local tea shops or walking on the many diverse routes along the River Wyre.

Grange-over-Sands (pop. 4,000) is an elegant and popular resort on Morecambe Bay, with beautiful public gardens and fine golf courses. It is a good base for visiting the Lakes.

Nature enthusiasts are thrilled with the variety of birds found in the nature reserves, parks and gardens in Grange-over-Sands.

Holmfirth (pop. 21,839) is located 6mi/10km south of Huddersfield. The town of Holmfirth is noted for its annual festivals, art and craft galleries and the many former weavers' cottages. The Holmfirth Musical Festival and Holmfirth Artweek are just a couple of the events.

Holmfirth housed the first postcard museum in England.

Hornsea (pop. 7,200) is an interesting seaside resort,

well-known for its pottery factory. The Hornsea Museum features local history displays and a large collection of Hornsea pottery. The nearby lake and bird sanctuary, Hornsea Mere, is a popular sailing destination.

Hornsea Freeport offers both leisure and retail facilities.

Kirkby Stephen is a nice little town on the Eden with historic buildings and cobblestoned streets. The rural scenery is very appealing to visitors as are the many interesting shops.

Situated opposite Southport at the mouth of the River Ribble, Lytham St Anne's (pop. 42,000) is a family holiday resort. Founded in 1875, the town has an especially attractive beach, 6mi/10km long, with sand dunes. There are also fine parks and gardens and five good golf courses.

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club is one of the host courses for the British Open Championship, it occurs about every 10 years at this location.

Ness Gardens is a learning facility with magnificent displays all year round. There is a wide selection of trees and shrubs, a heather garden, rock garden, shrubs and native plants.

As its name indicates, New Brighton was originally established in emulation of the popular Sussex resort. It lies on the south side of the Mersey, here almost a mile wide, opposite Liverpool Docks. Although the water is not especially clean, the resort is popular for visitors from the Liverpool-Birkenhead conurbation. New Brighton has the New Palace amusement park and a long promenade extending from Hoylake to beyond Seacombe.

Northwich (pop. 17,195) is located 19mi/31km southwest of Manchester. At one time it was a center of the salt industry.

Northwich is home to the Harlequin Theatre and a Monthly Comedy Club as well as Northwich Festival, an annual event in August.

At Arley Hall and Gardens you can stroll through 12 acres of magnificent, award-winning gardens. Among the gardens prized features are the double herbaceous border, herb and rose gardens, clipped ilex and woodland glade.

Runcorn was a small isolated village that was expanded in the 1960's and 1970's. There is a cinema, and a theatre and arts centre.

Norton Priory is set in 30 acres of tranquil woodland in Runcorn. The 800 year old Norton Priory storage range provides a dramatic setting for special events. It houses an award-winning museum and is surrounded by an award-winning walled garden.

Stone crosses erected by the Saxons in the 9th C, feature carved biblical scenes, dragons and animals.

Seascale (pop. 2,000) is a seaside resort and popular holiday destination for families as well as a good base for excursions into the Lake District of Cumbria. St Cuthbert's Church in Seascale has fine modern glass windows including one almond-shaped with the Holy Dove and angels.

The Sellafield Visitors Centre features hands-on interactive scientific experiments, shows and displays of new technology that will delight and intrigue the whole family.

Inland from Southport the country is flat and featureless, the only special attraction being Rufford Old Hall (8mi/13km to the east), a late medieval manor house with a 17th century and 19th century wing. It houses the Philip Ashcroft Museum.

Wigan is a large town on the River Douglas that was known as a major mill and coal mining centre. There are numerous landmarks in Wigan including the parish church, town hall and market hall. The town also has a notable music scene.

On the Wirral peninsula between the estuaries of the Mersey and the Dee are the resorts of West Kirby and Hoylake, looking across the Dee to North Wales. Both have long sandy beaches and promenades, and in addition Hoylake is famed for its first-class golf course.