This was such an awesome place to visit. If I remember right they have a copy of the Magna Carta…read morein house to view. I loved the quaintness of the castle and the grounds. I highly recommend this place for a day trip.

Lincoln Castle is a an interesting location in the heart of Lincoln, England. The medieval castle…read moreremains mostly consist of a large,well preserved wall enclosing the grounds. Inside, the buildings include a courthouse, still in use, and an interesting prison, with an original Georgian part and a much larger, and interesting, Victorian prison which was considered cutting-edge for prison designs and theories at the time it was built. One can tour the prison and get excellent views of Lincoln from walking atop the walls. The castle also houses one of the original surviving copies of the Magna Carta in a special room.

What more could I say about this space, that hasn't already been said? Well, that's the point -…read morejust because it's been said, doesn't mean that I shouldn't add some extra love. Right? So, the things that I've enjoyed in this place since the beginning of the year: Christkindlemarkt (which I wish was a Yorkshire Christmas market), Leeds Loves Food, Curry Festival, Wimbledon, 2.8 hours later, and many a sunny sit. I love that the area is constantly in flux, depending on the weather and season, and used in interesting ways. I completely missed the Leeds beach, like a fool, but I heard it was really interesting. I'm not sure I'm brave enough for ice skating, but I'll give it a go given a little nudge. (Last time I was swarmed by childs and ended up holding on to the edge in fear.) It's conveniently got a cash point for the spendage. There's even the Carriageworks, right there, if you want some theatre. Basically, often you might simply walk on through, but occasionally you'll have a wonderful time here. And I love it!

Millennium Square is such a cameleon place. One moment it's an ice rink, then it's a live music…read morevenue or a market, or a live broadcast venue. Whatever disguise it wears it's great! It's the real, warm, beating heart of our fabulous city, surrounded by lovely eateries and overlooked by a jolly decent (and cheap) pub. Can't go wrong really

TL;DR - A truly stunning building, and free to visit!…read more After a long refurbishment, Rochdale Town Hall is open to the public once more. There is a paid tour, but it's also free to wander around on your own which is what we did. The ground floor features a small exhibition area on the history of the building, and a series of restored rooms used by officials for meetings and events. The ground floor is also home to the new "Martlet Kitchen" restaurant which we didn't sample but which got an amazing review from Jay Rayner in The Guardian. The real magic is upstairs though - the main hall is an absolutely stunning space and the ornate ceiling takes your breath away. Even though we didn't go on the tour, the volunteers staffing the hall were very friendly and told us lots about the restoration of the space, pointing out details and telling us things we'd have missed otherwise. A real gem of a building, free to visit, fascinating history and an outstanding restaurant on site. Why wouldn't you visit?

Rochdale Town Hall was built in 1871, at the moment it is closed due to an extensive renovation…read moreproject. Recently the town hall and surrounding street has been excavated by Salford Archaeology. in June 2021 the unit invited local residents to take part in a community archaeological project. The outcome So far the archaeologist have uncovered, bottles, other relics linked to businesses known to be in operation on Packer Street , also animal bones from butchers and heels from bootmakers and seashells, whelks and mussels possibly from the 1850's onward . Packer Street was a main route in the medieval period... particularly for the wool trade the town is famous for. There are possible 17th-century remains underneath Town Hall Square, the basements and latrines were uncovered which date from the 18th century. The town hall has also been used for TV dramas, for example..Peaky Blinders,whe in one episode it was used to emulate the interior of the Houses of Parliment. The most recent production was for the Netflix series titled Munich: The Edge Of War' starring Jeremy Irons as Neville Chamberlin...Regarding when the town hall will open..watch this sapce..

'Chets'. Perhaps more famous for being the subject of one of ITV's huge range of reality…read moredocumentaries - don't you remember? They had a spate of them back in the day including Redcoats, Airline, something about vets and sewage cleaners and... heck, they had one for everything. Chets tended to get shunted to the graveyard slot along with Redcoats which made the two programmes essential student viewing after a few beers and a stumble round Manchester. While the aforementioned image I've offered may give the impression that Chets is an establishment of debauchery (it was certainly the case with Redcoats), nothing could be further from the truth. Visually, anyway. If you thought the Royal Northern College of Music was posh you ain't seen nothing yet. Again. Visually. Housed in one of the most stunningly beautiful buildings in Manchester adjacent to the painstakingly rebuilt ancient pubs in Exchange Square, the school is on the site of a manor house and Manchester Castle. Now comprising buildings way back from 1421 and several more (including an orphanage in 1653 and the Long Millgate building in 1978 as well as brand newies, it's a school of music with the motto 'Love to Live to Play'. Chets is open. You'd think by looking at it that you'd have to win scholarships or have parents with 'the third' at the end of their name (you being 'the fourth') to even go near the place but that's claptrap. Over 290 students attend the school between the ages of 8 and 18, and anyone can become a Chet regardless of background or financial situation. All students are entitled to government funding and all a potential student has to do is audition. The school offers essential academic qualifications alongside the principal study instrument and usually a secondary one too. (Remember, one's instrument can be one's voice.) Students can choose to board or not, so if required this can be one heck of an intense musical experience. Chets has some impressive alumni and it's definitely worth a shot if music is your life and you can't imagine yourself doing anything else. It's great preparation for university studies or life as part of an orchestra or choir, and I can safely say it's one of the most beautiful places you can go to school.

Chetham's School of Music is definitely up there with the top selling points of Manchester as a…read morecity to rival the capital. The student culture in Manchester is second to none, and the city is home to the best young talent across the disciplines, not least the youngest and most talented musical genius! Along with the Royal Northern College of Music and The Martin Harris Centre (home to The University of Manchester's musical population), Chetham's is in the top musical venues in the city. Whereas the Royal Northern College of Music and The University of Manchester deal with university age children, Chetham's is for musicians aged eight to eighteen, and it is home to nearly three hundred of them. Situated in the city centre, right next to the Manchester Wheel and the Manchester Cathedral, the setting is nothing short of idyllic. The buildings in which the school is situated are some 600 years old! And the Chetham Library (see Yelp) is a piece of architecture and local heritage not to be missed out upon! Between these aforementioned landmarks in the area is a lovely square with several of Manchester's best pubs, so this little part of the city is worth a visit for literally everyone (thats to say, if you don't like anything else, and you will, at least you'll like the pubs) If you go onto the website you can see all the upcoming events, many of which are free and some of which don't even require booking. Some of the more popular events are around the £15 mark, but still cheap for what they are. They even have lunchtime concerts. A really fantastic place to study, see live music or even walk around and have a look at the architecture. 5 stars without a shadow of a doubt!

Never knew Manchester had a Chinatown but apparently it's the second biggest one outside of London…read more That being said, it encompasses only a few blocks (that we could see) but still it's fun to wander around and window shop - and have some dim sum or other more authentic dishes other than kung pao or general Tso chicken.

Manchester is a beautiful city itself. Having Chinatown adds an extra oomph. I didn't hit any…read morevendors when I was there for my UK trip but I just walked through it since I wasn't staying in Manchester and was waiting to go to Sheffield. 153/2017

Exchange Square in Manchester is one of the cities coolest, more modern areas, located at the back…read moreof the Manchester Arndale, here there is the entrance to the Printworks, and even The Corn Exchange, which has also been revitalised recently, with so many more eateries being added there such as Pho and a new restaurant from Gino, the chef from This Morning. Exchange Square was one of the areas hit by the 1996 bombing of Manchester from the IRA, and since then they seem to have done a great job bringing it back to life again. There is a new metrolink station from Exchange Square, providing travel across Greater Manchester, and it is a short walk to Victoria Station, Manchester's 2nd largest station. In Exchange Square, there also is a Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, which adds a higher-end feel to the area, but still it is a nice place to shop and look around, and defiantly worth paying a visit when in Manchester, as it is really central, just being outside one of the exits to the Arndale. There also is a lot of coffee shops here with Café Nero and Starbucks all having stores, Second Cup also opened their first ever store in the UK here since expanding into the nation and now have 3 stores, including stores in London and Birmingham. The Wheel of Manchester was also located here before it was taken down as the owners were not paying their rent. There isn't much else to say about Exchange Square but it is quite a nice, cool area of Manchester which has been greatly improved and they have worked hard since the IRA bombing of Manchester in 1996 strongly affecting it.

Exchange Square is a lovely part of Manchester, and clever too. Cleverly reconstructed after the…read moreinfamous IRA bombing of 1996, this area is a perfect sun trap in Manchester. Well fitted with rows of seating and a large screen autotuned to the BBC, this area is very rarely empty. It's sad that the wheel has left this area as many people knew where they were due to the landmark and now many people (including me!) can be found wondering why we've taken it down and replaced it with a pop up bar which has missed the nicest weather Manchester has seen in a while? Something to do with the new metrolink city crossing I'm sure. I often walk through this area on my way to guide at the Cathedral but have also been known to watch the ballet here when it was beamed and screened from London. Lovely area but the 3 stars reflects some of the eateries and general lack of atmosphere in the area. Great when the beeb is screening something engaging or when the sun is out but otherwise a bit neglected by the masses.

Glossop Town Hall, a listed landmark in the middle of the town by Norfolk Square, is still…read moreimpressive despite wear and tear. I particularly love the clock tower. It focuses on providing local residents with info on council services for High Peak and Derbyshire. Adjoining is the Market Hall (in addition to the outdoor market) with over twenty stalls. Also grand with Doric columns, it opens on Thursdays to Saturdays and is good for a rummage. There is such a variety of goods to buy its hard to pin this one down. The nearby heritage centre will tell you that the coat of arms you see on the Market Hall is that of the family of Norfolk, as in the Square.

Ahh, I really do like Albert Square. It's no open and pleasant and spacious. It's a great place to…read morecome and grab some lunch and just hang out for a few minutes in the middle of the day. If you get the right bench, you can get close to the Jubilee Fountain, which is a small, ornate fountain that always works because it's from the olden days when building a water feature wasn't so difficult. If it's windy, watch out, I've walked past this fountain and got a mini-soaking a couple of times from a gust catching the water and giving your face a good splattering.

Lincoln Statue is a great statue in the otherwise underwhelming Lincoln Square just off Brazenose…read moreStreet. It's full of character and stands tall above the small square. Clearly it's a bit weird that there is a statue of an America President in Manchester. But actually John Bright (whose own statue is in Albert Square) was an important ally to Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, encouraging Manchester to boycott Southern Cotton in protest at slavery. The Lincoln Statue was made by George Grey Barnard and was erected in 1919.

DRAWING IN PROGRESS, which runs from November 26th to March 20th 2011, is a collection of 40…read morepost-war American drawings that will now form part of the gallery's permanent collections. This exhibition is the perfect opportunity to highlight the fantastic work acquired to date. and entry is FREE

The Centre Square has plenty of benches, a lovely grass area, some fountains (which are usually…read morefenced off but occasionally you can walk in them) and a large TV screen. The large screen usually just shows the news channel but does show special events like the Olympics, films, concerts etc. There's the large Bottle of Notes sculpture, a pretty pond (which often has ducks) and the library nearby too. Teens/students (usually the 'alternative/emo' crowd) tend to hang around the Centre Square but they never seem like intimidating groups. Just watch out for the odd frisbee heading in your direction! MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) is a free entry art gallery which has different exhibitions on throughout the year so it's a place you can definitely visit more than once. Unless there's a school party inside, it's generally a very quiet gallery, sometimes a little too quiet and I feel a bit awkward walking around on my own. The gallery has three floors, although there's not always an exhibition on each floor, it varies. There's a large staircase to get to each floor, or a lift if you're not a stair-person. They often have plenty of free leaflets about the art work on display, plus a small shop where you can buy various art-related stuff. There are a couple of seats around the gallery, but they also provide free fold-up stools so you can sit and study the art for longer. Overall, I would say it's a great gallery, you can probably spend about an hour looking around (depending on what's there at the time) and it's well-worth a visit. It's free so you're not losing out if you don't like it!