Travel Jottings

My wanderings are urban as well as rural, and several have taken me overseas around Europe and to North America. All have needed at least some planning: knowing what to see and where to stay remain ever present needs. That and remaining ever open to new possibilities have contributed to what you find here. Everything builds up over time, and I hope that the horizons continue expanding to mean that I can continue to share new things with you here.

Elsewhere in the North

Newcastle Castle, Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Now that I have parcelled visitor information for Cheshire, Cumbria, Northumberland and Yorkshire into their own pages, here's where you'll find equivalents for other parts of the north of England. There are regional portals for England's Northwest and Northeast, but information otherwise is provided at the county level, an ever-changing set-up due to changes in economic and political fortunes. Still, some edifices like Hadrian's Wall go across multiple areas, so it cannot be all local either.

Even with all the upheaval that there can be, local identities can be resilient. Those of Cheshire and Yorkshire come to mind here, and both continue as viable visitor destination brands. Lancashire was diminished when Cumbria, Greater Manchester and Merseyside came into being a matter of decades ago. The county of Durham is another construct dating from the same era that is developing its own form of permanence.

Each of these inherits the heritage and countryside from what went before them, and many of the attractions are reachable from my Cheshire on a day trip. However, there is only so much that can be done on a day out, so a longer stay can be needed to do more in the way of justice to a place. Any excuse to escape everyday life is good too, and this is a good mix.

County Durham

This is Durham

The official visitor website for the county of Durham unusually does feature the word "visit" in its title. They may not be among the more visible ports of call for outsiders, but the city seems to warrant more attention than the glimpses that I have been allotting from passing trains. Then, there is its portion of the North Pennines, and that's not all. Maybe, I need to return to Teesdale after a solitary visit far too long ago...

County Durham has its dales too, and Weardale is but one of them. Once upon a time, it was a very industrialised place, and that's why Killhope has a mining museum at its heart. Reassuringly for some, the signs of that mining activity have receded with more natural appearances have taken over since it ceased. It's the countryside that's the main attraction now in this part of the North Pennines, and there are museums and heritage railways to savour too.

Durham Heritage Coast

For too long, Durham's coastline was blighted by waste left over from coal mining, but the demise of that industry allowed nature to assist a clean-up effort that gives many of us a much more alluring prospect these days. Hopefully, an increase in the number of visitors to the area will help towards alleviating the joblessness that has persisted in recent times.

Explore Teesdale

This part of the world has seen me only once already, and it looks as if more visits as deserved. The Pennine Way passes this way for one thing, and the Teesdale is another walking option. The surrounding countryside is alluring too, with the waterfalls of Low Force and High Force being well known for good reason. Pleasant spots like Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale could make for good bases for exploring the area, too.

Greater Manchester

Visit Manchester

The county of Greater Manchester has only been in place since 1974, but the growth of what initially was a village to become a city commenced several hundred years ago. The cause was the industrial revolution, so there's a bit of history here. After all, there's the Museum of Science and Industry, located where the world's first railway station stood for services between Manchester and Liverpool, and the Imperial War Museum North, among many others. What also cannot be missed is the city's contribution to football, with Manchester United and Manchester City being two prominent rivals. Maybe it's not for nothing that the National Football Museum is based here. The rise of football among working-class folk needing a break from their daily industrial grind makes apt sense given Manchester's past.

Visit Bolton

Boltonians may disagree, but this is another part of Greater Manchester that never stood out in my mind, Nevertheless, it too has an industrial heritage with some fine buildings from the period and all this is complemented by older edifices from before then. There is some countryside to savour too, so there is a mix here. Adding to all that is one of its more famous sons: steeplejack Fred Dibnah. So, a less prepossessing mill town may have a lot more to it than I expected.

Lancashire

You just have to wonder how many pass through present-day Lancashire while en route to elsewhere. After all, hill wandering types like me are drawn to the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. When the southern part of the latter still remained within Lancashire, it continued to have a hold on visitors but boundary changes in the 1970's altered all of that. Still, the county didn't lose other delights such as the Forest of Bowland or its portion of the Pennines, so not all has been lost. In fact, seeking out those could be just the tonic for the stresses and strains of modern living.

VisitLancashire.com

If Blackpool were the only destination of note in Lancashire, then I wouldn't be bothering with it; well, seaside resorts aren't really my cup of tea, to be honest. However, there's countryside like the Forest of Bowland and the Lune valley to draw my like, and being blinded by parts further north has always had me passing through the county. Stopping off for a little while sounds in order then.

Lancashire Villages

Many villages in Lancashire have websites, as the list on this website will reveal. As a way of getting to know these places, a good number of which are located in hill country, it looks like a good place to start. In many of them, there is information both for the locals and for the visitor. In a way, that lets you get under the skin of a place, and that's never a bad thing.

Forest of Bowland

Coming back from a day spent walking around Yorkshire's western dales, I spotted this hulk of hill country to the west that looked not unlike Pen-y-Ghent in profile. At the time, I was mystified by the sight, but now reckon that I was looking towards the Forest of Bowland. Though it's not so far from either Lancaster or Clitheroe, I have yet to set foot in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It was only the Access Land legislation a decade ago that really opened up the area for walking, so there's more to be explored legally than there once was. All that effort looks worthwhile from what I have seen, and it stays on my to-do list until I get to take things beyond that stage.

Pendle

It's best known for the infamous witch trials from centuries ago, but there's plenty of Pennine hill country for walkers to explore, so it can get beyond its previous reputation more than easily. It also has the Forest of Bowland on its doorstep, as if the rest weren't enough.

Merseyside

Along with the Wirral below, all of these areas are bundled together under the "Liverpool City" Region banner. Liverpool itself needs hardly any introduction, and Southport is a more upmarket counterpart to Blackpool further north along the Lancashire coast. Then, St. Helens plays host to the Haydock Park horse-racing course. Lastly, Halton is a borough straddling the River Mersey that takes in parts of areas once included in Cheshire and Lancashire, with Runcorn coming from the former.

Wirral Peninsula

Though now part of Merseyside, this once was part of Cheshire and was the "spout" of the former county's teapot-shaped profile. Apart from the likes of Birkenhead, there's countryside and coastline to explore here, with birdwatching being something of an attraction. The website tells more.