Launched just a few weeks ago as part of the Manchester International Festival, the Biospheric…read moreProject is years in the making, and like nothing you have ever seen before. The Biospheric Project is part urban farm, part research project and part genius. Built (and grown) in a disused mill in a sunny spot on the River Irwell in Salford, the Biospheric Project is a living laboratory investigating new ideas for farming and food production in urban environments. The project has taken over three stories in the disused mill, as well as the roof and surrounding land in a small and radical farming project. Using connected systems like aquaponics, hydroponics and forest farming, the project is combining radical techniques and inventing new technologies to farm food and feed the planet's growing needs. All of the different elements of the 'biosphere' are connected, as they are in nature, and you can see the entire ecosystem from start to finish - from the earthworms creating new soil to the produce being harvested and sold locally in the community. (They even have an indoor/outdoor beehive, and chickens on the roof!) The Project is wonderfully presented, with information boards explaining the different elements and ideas, as well as the researchers themselves who offer exceptional guided tours and explain their projects fluently and passionately. You are watching people's PhD projects unfurl before them, and it is hard not to get excited with them about the fantastic and groundbreaking research they are conducting. The Project is closed to the public for a few weeks whilst the team there take a break after unveiling their work at MIF. But never fear, the Project will be growing and developing over the next ten years, so there will be plenty of opportunities to take a look. Check their website for details of upcoming talks and tours. (There are also lots of activities for schools and groups).

I go to this place every Wednesday and I can't get enough of it! It has two music rooms, one for…read morebands are on the road to become famous (e.g. Bludvera, Ever Since Forever, The Grande) and one for bands who are just beginners (e.g. Never Obsessed, Happy Men). It also has a coffee room and a cuisine, ICT room, art room, football pitch, sports hall, offices, snooker room, and conference room. I enjoy going here and I love it.

Royal Northern College of Music is a bit of a jewel in Manchester's crown…read more Situated inbetween university buildings on Oxford Road, it's a well respected college where amateur singers, musicians, composers and conductors study to become professionals. What distinguishes it from similar facilities across the country is there's a big research centre within the building where students can learn composition, musicology and practise-as-research. Though one of the courses is keyboard and piano orientated, most of them revolve around classical music, jazz and opera. Handily, RNCM also has a large auditorium which doubles as a music and performing arts venue for students and professionals. There's special seasons devoted to particular composers or styles and one off concerts from visiting orchestras, jazz, soul and world music artists. Occasionally, the RNCM also host excellent spoken word events. I saw Chuck D waxing lyrical here many moons ago and was involved in a reading Armistead Maupin did for The Big Gay Read / Queer Up North. Both were sold out and had the audience on the edge of their seats. Handily, the RNCM also has a cute cafe-bar on the ground floor where you can have coffee, tea and snacks in the day and wine and beer at night.

So, you're a music buff. You want to watch important, intelligent music, or you want to become a…read moreBachelor of Music, a Master of Music, or become an instrumental or performing arts educator. Where else can you come but one of the most prestigious music colleges in the country? The college is divided into the schools of academic studies, composition, keyboard studies, strings, vocal and opera studies and wind, brass and percussion. There are also departments for conducting, jazz, period performance and an international chamber music studio. It's also a venue for some of the best music around, from recitals to operas, theatre to ensembles. Occasionally you get a non-music event though, and this was why I was at the Royal Northern College of Music. One of my most beloved authors, Bret Easton Ellis, was doing a reading, Q&A and signing here, and it was the perfect excuse for me to down a cocktail for Dutch courage but still end up giggling like an eleven year old schoolgirl. Oh well, you win some... you lose some. The theatre and space itself is more than impressive and I'd happily see any performance here.

TL;DR - An important historical building house a small but important museum…read more This house is a real slice of history, where the suffragette movement had its roots. There's something incredible about walking around the house and thinking about the conversations which must have taken place here... the back room has been restored to how it would have once been, and it's there in particular that you can imagine yourself back at the start of the 20th century. The museum itself is very small though. The front room contains a few exhibits about the key figures in the suffragette movement. The next room contains a very good video exhibit - make sure you watch the whole thing - and then the back room is a restored living room. On the other side of the house is an exhibition on more modern women's rights movements and from there you can access a small cafe. The museum itself is small and you can tell that this is a community/volunteer led affair rather than a commercial one. However, the historical importance of the movement combined with the significance of this particular building make it well worth a visit.

i love all thing to do with womans suffragetes so this was a real treat for me to get to visit the…read morehome of Emmeline Pankhurst.This is where the womans social and political union was formed in 1903 and i think without the work of these woman ,females still probably wouldnt be able to vote.The centre is for use by woman only

Very popular place, open various times of day & night. Lots going on there. Bang in the centre of…read moreDolgellau. Nice to see this building in useagain.

Got to love the Greggie. It's the rules…read more A bustling community centre/pub/cafe/meeting place/anything else they can cram in the doors. Host to Lancaster's only women's only disco 'Dancin' Divas' it's given me many a happy evening. Most of which I remember. Come during the day or early evening and get a bite to eat. not bad food at not bad prices. Decent bar with decent prices and one of the most laid back atmospheres in Lancaster. It's a welcome relief after the atmosphere of the city centre itself. the website is always worth checking out - there are always different things going on from salsa to singing, community projects and even haiku! plus it brings like minded people together, which can't be a bad thing

The Gregson Centre is a fantastic place to go in Lancaster for many reasons. It hosts classes from…read moredance to tai chi and uses its space for plays, crafts, group meetings of different sorts, and fairs. It is involved with anything related to community development. The bar is warm and welcoming and serves great food. During the day you can relax and read some of the books they have there, or read a newspaper with your dog lying on the floor next to you. There is a small beer garden. Definitely worth a visit!

Caernarfon is known for its medieval castle, but its history stretches another millennium back. The…read moreRomans set up camp here under this name, and from this elevation they had views of Snowdonia to one side and the waters to the other. You now have these same views plus the fortifications of the buildings that once stood here. The grounds are fenced, so you are advised to adhere to the visiting hours. The museum may or may not be open when you arrive - it wasn't during my visit. As such, I can't totally vouch for what this site offers completely. Know that in my case my enjoyment of the site was based on my attempts to imagine the times of the past more than what is actually seen here. There are more evocative Roman sites in Britain, and while the scenery is nice it can admittedly be observed throughout Caernarfon (certainly from a tower of the castle). But I am an American, and cannot easily call a site with visible Roman heritage "average". I'm giving it a 4-star rating in this case, assuming that the museum provides good info. I would not call this an essential site to see in Caernarfon, but it's certainly worth the half-hour trek there and back to see it if you have the time. Standing on the site, framing the structural roots of the building in the forefront, the castle in the distance, and the estuary beyond, you feel like you are gazing through multiple eras of history simultaneously.

Good place to take the younger members of the family if they like their local history of all thing…read mores roman.Museum it self is small and parking can be difficult on the main road to Beddgelert out of Caernarfon but there is a little side road almost opposite the museum people can use to park.The place itself is full of acient artefacts found around the Caernarfon area.It gives you a feeling of how the old roman fort used to look like and the way they lived their lives back in the era.The old footings of their barracks are still there for you to take a look round and see what biught them to the area in the first place.

Notable as the birthplace of Bishop William Morgan, the first man to translate the bible into…read moreWelsh, the house itself (Ty Mawr: 'The Big House') is actually fairly small and unprepossessing by modern standards, and has mostly been rebuilt and renovated. However it's set in a beautiful location in the Wybrnant Valley, and the walk up to it - from the centre of the little village of Penmachno - is reward enough. It's open from late March to early November, with prices as follows: adult £3, child £1.50, family £7.50. Groups: £2.50, child £1. Personally, I feel the pricing is a bit high to see what is mostly a recreation of a 17th century cottage containing a collection of Bibles - but the on-site guide is full value for money, will give you a detailed and enthusiastic commentary about all aspects of Morgan's life and the history of the house - and provides loads of additional activities to keep the kids interested. Remember: the survival of the Welsh language started here. Staying in Penmachno itself, don't miss looking into St. Tudclud's Church. Penmachno was originally an important early Christian centre, and the church contains an outstanding collection of inscribed stones from the late 5th and mid 6th centuries AD. If you have time, continue on up the valley to Cwm Penmachno, where the workers at the nearby slate quarry used to have their homes.