I live in Morecambe (as you may have guessed from one of my previous review - http://members.dooyoo.co.uk/destinations-national/ morecombe-in-general/1084120/) meaning that I am a 5 to 15 minute car / train / bus ride away from the Historical City of Lancaster. Lancaster is a loverly mixture of history, contemporary culture and vibrant city. It has plenty of heritage to entertain all ages. There is everything you could want - castles, museums, shopping, entertainment and great food!
It is perfectly located between The Lakes and Manchester, meaning you can drive to either in a day and back comfortably with plenty of time to look around without feeling rushed.
Below Are just some of my favourite places to visit in Lancaster:
Williamson Park & Butterfly House
Williamson Park, Butterfly house and Ashton Memorial is 54 acres of beautiful parkland, there are wonderfully fantatic walks and play areas and breathtaking views. I love coming to Williamsons park in the summer with a blanket and picnic - I set myself up for the day and it is bliss. Take a ball to play football with my dog or my nieces if they are visiting and then spend all day there. The Tropical Butterfly House, Mini-Beasts, Bird Enclosure and Small Mammals is fascinating and all the family will love it (well mine all do). Here you walk amoung the birds and butterflies, it is extremely enchanting.
Lancaster Castle
Lancaster Castle is owned by Her Majesty the Queen, who is the 'Duke of Lancaster'. It is one Europe's longest serving operational prisons, still a working prison to this day. There are tales of witches who haunt the Castle, amongst these are the famous Pendle Witches, who were tried, convicted and sentenced to death here. They offer a guided tour (it has to be guided, as there are prisoners held in the castle and so you obviously can not just wander around yourself). Even though I live here I had not been on the tour until late last year, after many of my friends recommended it to me. I have to say it was very informative and I throughly enjoyed it. They even locked us in one of the old fashioned prison with no light (well there were about 10 of us in there, it was only for about 30 seconds and we all volunteered to go in).
Dukes Theatre and Cinema
I love going to the dukes theate, there are 2 performances I never miss - 1) play in the park, which is held in Williamsons park every summer and 2) Their Christmas family production. That said I try and see performances more often then twice a year - they are extremely professional, have a wide range of different genres and they are always very enjoyable. The Dukes is a converted church that is now a theatre and cinema. As well as being a theatre the Dukes is a cinema, it tends to show the more contemporary films that Vue doesn't show. I recently saw Atonement there, and I am going to see The Orphanage next.
St Peter's Cathedral
St Peter's Cathrdral was designed by distinguished Lancaster architect Edward Paley in the style of 1300. This is a great place of beauty and dignity, it is very peaceful and an amazing place to visit. The Cathedral was raised to Cathedral status in 1924. It is possibly the only catholic church in England to have 10 bells.
Lancaster City Museum
Lancaster City Museum is housed in the former Town Hall in Dalton Square. The museum comprises an impressive collection of history and archaeology of Lancaster and the surrounding area. The Museum of the King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment forms a permanent display within the Museum and there are occassionally temporary exhibitions running at different times throughout the year.
I know that I am biased but I love Lancaster and highly recommend a visit. These are just a few of the wonderful things to see and so.
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