Now for some of you that believe the bad press about Manchester, there may be a touch of scoffing and a muttered ‘IF’ but I can assure you that it is very often beautifully sunny in this northern urban city, as those expatriated BBC staff will no doubt tell you 😉...

Author Barry McCann is a writer and expert on the horror genre, tradition and folk tales.  He appears regularly on BBC Radio sharing quirky tales of mystery and imagination in Cumbria and Lancashire.  Here are some of his favourite folklore stories from the Lake District. The shires and counties of...

May Your Days be Merry & Bright … I was invited to learn how to make cocktails at the Cavendish Hotel, just off Piccadilly, round the corner from its sister hotel, the world-famous Ritz in the heart of luxury London.  The hotel was previously owned by Rosa Lewis, the renowned...

“The first thing which I remember as an event in life was being taken by my nurse to the brow of Friar’s Crag on Derwentwater.”  Victorian art critic and philanthropist John Ruskin described this view as one of the three most beautiful in Europe.  Friar’s Crag is a one of the most...

Lincoln City Lincoln Cathedral Soaring Gothic glory: from 1088 onwards Lincoln Cathedral has been a beacon of sublime devotion and stunning architecture attracting visitors from around the world. Lincoln Cathedral Organ practice: Sublime music rumbles along the Episcopal runway, falters, stops, starts again and soars into immense grandeur. The Forces Chapel:  Two...

If you love the idea of being eco-friendly and close to nature, but not the thought of struggling with tent-poles and tent-pegs, then one of Cumbria’s Quirky Camping Alternatives could be just the ticket.  Picture yourself awakening in magnificent countryside,  add in a few pampers such as a proper bed...

If you can remember slim little chocolate bars covered in thin purple foil, if you know what the rag and bone man cried out as he came down your street, if you remember what a smooth old penny felt like, then the arcade at the end of Southport Pier will bring...