I scorn people who whinge about Salford and claim that it's 'rough', 'scary' or 'crime-infested'…read more No more than any other city. Okay, maybe Shameless has given us a really dreadful name, but come on. Every city has its nasty parts and its good parts. I for one am a fan of Salford's university area, and one of the hotspots of that is the Museum and Art Gallery, located right in the middle of campus. I'm lucky to have lived with this historical and gorgeous building around the corner from me. Devoted to the history of Salford and Victorian architecture and art and with free admission, it houses temporary exhibition spaces as well as the LifeTimes Gallery (family friendly exhibitions about the history of Salford), the Victorian Gallery (boasting an impressive range of paintings and some spectacular marble statues), the Local History library where researchers and avid scholars alike can brush up on their Salford knowledge, and of course refreshments in the form of the Lark Hill Tea Rooms. Just stunning. Who says Salford is all stabbings outside pubs and teenage mothers. For true Mancunian culture, the end I live in is doing just nicely, thanks to places like this. Enjoy.

This is a relatively small museum and art gallery located next down to one of the Salford…read moreUniversity buildings. The place has some nice art pieces. I was not here long so only managed to check out the art gallery bit but some people commented on how the museum but was good. On the ground floor is a cafe (plus a shop). The cafe is pretty large in size with lots of seating. I can't comment on the food but a few people I was with had some cake which they liked. I just had a cup of tea.

This is the outlet at the Lowry. We hadn't been here in a few years certainly long before wu flu…read morestruck. I'd guess it's now half empty store wise. Key shops like M&S Clothing, Black & Decker, Tefal and many more all long gone. Harry Ramsden's fish & chips still there along with subway. A chicken shack of sorts, an independent Indian and a BK. The Indian has most food pre cooked and heated on order so no thanks. When there's a Harry's I'm afraid this sort of competition has no chance with me. They used to have a spud u like but it's gone as has an ice cream parlour. The Cadbury alleged chocolate shop is still there but prices are rip off with supermarkets offering identical products much cheaper. Costa coffee is still there and they are now advertising the fact that they are selling M&S food so at least that's quality food. I'm not sure I'd make another trip back here but they still do the artisan market days so that would bring me back.

A wonderful modern theatre in Salford at the Lowry Centre. The Lyric Theatre is the biggest of the…read moretwo theatres inside of the huge Lowry Centre. It hosts many amazing plays, musicals and many other entertainment options. I have been to see two National Theatre productions here which include the amazing War Horse and recently the Curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. It also has a couple of restaurants and cafes and amazing views to go with it. I have sat in many places in the Lyric theatre and there really isn't one bad seat plus the seats are really comfortable! All the staff who work here are really friendly and they seem to love there job. So take a look at the Lowry website to see if theres a show coming your way soon. Even if you're not sure that you might like the theatre, give it a go you may love it! The Lowry also hosts many art exhibitions which currently has Behind the Mask, the biggest collection of BAFTA-winning actor portraiture ever assembled, which has come to The Lowry for its first time out of London which is worth the trip out of town alone! You can easily get to the Lowry from the city centre of Manchester on one of the Metrolink trams which head towards Media City UK!

Our first visit to Prestwich was for the third and final day of their annual beer festival. We…read morecaught the Bury line Metrolink from Manchester and it was only a couple of minutes' walk from the Prestwich stop to the venue. The Longfield Suite is a multi-purpose events space, though it suffers from a lack of kerb-appeal it has to be said - you access it through doors that are mid-way down a bleak pedestrian underpass. It was £12 per person which you paid at the door - for this you got the choice of a pint glass or schooner, a programme and £5 of beer tokens to start you off. You could buy additional beer token sheets for £10 or £20 from a desk upstairs. Once you get upstairs, we found the large room was perfectly laid-out for the fest - a long bar ran down one side, with 100 hand pumps and cider kegs on shelving behind, the stage was set for live entertainment and there was plenty of table seating. Food was being served all day from a side room - Meet Frank (hot dogs), Tampopo (East Asian dishes) and Thai-Pie (self-explanatory!). We'd arrived fairly early so managed to get a great table near the bar; it took about an hour or so for the place to really start to fill up. The DJ who played first wasn't that great - I think he played New Order twice in a row then tried a mash up with Donna Summer. The next group, Brasswurst, were amazing though - a local Bavarian band playing beerhaus versions of modern-day hits. There was plenty of choice on the beer front - some from local breweries I hadn't heard of either - which made for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon!

The Parr Hall has just benefited from a refit and best of all new chairs. For such a small venue it…read moreattracts some decent acts. The Parr hall is like it says' it's an hall with a stage and not a theatre. The Pyramid centre all so isn't a theatre, it's a series of rooms. It's a pity Warrington doesn't have a real Theatre.

This is a great venue for different types of performances. The auditorium is quite big but the…read morefoyer and the bar area aren't that big. The venue attracts a lot of big stars and is a great place to see them as it's not too big trhe atmosphere is great much better than big theatres and arenas.

I would recommend booking a slot here as it did get busy…read more It feels like a blast of the past which I found fitting considering I was hanging out with the vintage lasses. For some reason the setting made need feel like in The Witches at that hotel laden with red carpet and old worldly staff. Anyway I was not feeling the afternoon tea so I opted for the mushroom soup which was fresh and delightful..it did need warning up a touch though. The rest of ther ladies had the afternoon tea which despite me feeling full regretted my decision! The quality of the sandwiches , scones and cakes were immense and service was attentive. It is places like this that I wish my nan was both well enough and close by to attend places like this:) apparently they do murder mystery nights too.. anyway it is a touch of class to Stockport!

What an absolute diamond in the rough the Plaza Theatre is (sorry Stockport but your town centre…read moreisn't the prettiest is it really?!). Seeing the Grade II* Listed building lit up at night added to its grandeur, it's literally the first thing you can see all the way up Wellington Road. Heading there for the Banff Mountain Film Festival (http://www.banff-uk.com/) as it was touring the UK and Ireland before heading on across the world, it proved to be a truly gorgeous setting for around 1,200 people to sit back and watch three hours-worth of extreme sports movies. I doff my cap to the restorers of this place - with the neon lighting juxtaposed against the 1930s interior. This is a jaw-dropping place to spend an evening, a million miles away from the typical out-of-town multiplexes. Tip: the box office is accessed from the street through a door to the far left of the front of the theatre. Tip: the small tubs of vanilla ice-cream sold during the interval are superb.

When people think of great things to do in Greater Manchester, very rarely do they say, "let's go…read moreto Bolton," well, I think it's about time that changed! Now despite the slight bias of me being born and raised in the wonderful town of Bolton, surprising I know but it's not only Peter Kay and Amir Khan that are from there, we happen to host a fantastic food festival. I had the pleasure of attending this past weekend, and sample a few local delights, the Ostrich Burger and Triple (more like Quadruple) Chocolate Muffin being the best bits. There's also several different options when it comes to washing down your food, an Ale tent full of local select craft beers and a Magners cider bar being the highlights of that category. What impressed me most with the festival though was the non-edible/drinkable parts, by this I mean the celebrity chef masterclasses (James Martin was there on Monday) and the activities to keep the kids occupied (I'd have tried the go-karts had there not been a height restriction). A brilliant weekend out in my back yard, and well worth the travel from outer towns or the city center!

Wow! What a difference a few years makes. I haven't been to this festival for 3 years and it has…read moreblown me away, this year. It used to be a handful of stalls but now it sprawls all over Bolton town centre. There's tons of food stalls, craft stalls, speciality foods, meats, cheeses etc. Most things are quite affordable and reasonably priced. It was great to take my kids to a UK food festival. There's lots of security and police around. There's even lots of wheelie bins and portaloos dotted around. They could've done with a bit more seating but apart from that it really deserves a visit.

I go to this theatre for the Pantomime each year. They do the best Pantos I have ever seen. they…read moreare absolutely fabulous. We always go in January and make a block booking. The place itself is lovely. The seating is very comfortable, and the atmosphere is great. We have such a fantastic time. The acting is superb, we end up crying laughing. The price of the Panto is expensive - about £15 a ticket - but we pay it because they are so funny. The actors also sing and play musical instruments which also enhances the performance. The bar is well organised - and you can have a drink before the performance and during the interval.

Had a coffee and cake whilst waiting to go in to see a pantomime. It was nothing special (not the…read morepantomime).

I can't believe I didn't think to review this place sooner, The Waterside Arts Centre is one of my…read morefavourite places. There are no limits to what can happen here; it's a theatre, an art gallery, an exhibition hall, a comedy venue, a music venue, a cinema, a function room...the list goes on. Everything about it is so beautifully versatile, you can go to any one of the above events there and think that is the venue's sole purpose. I've been to see some fantastic original exhibitions there, I've been in tears from laughing at the comedy nights and I've taken my younger sister there for some of the great child-friendly events they regularly hold. If you're unsure, head down to their next open day when they have taster sessions of everything for free! Also check out the programme of events on their website, I bet you'll see something you like because they really do cater for everyone!

The Waterside Arts Centre was completed as part of the redevelopment of the Trafford Council…read moreOffices which resulted in some shiny new offices, a new bar beneath them, and the Waterside Arts Centre. The Waterside really amounts to a number of galleres and exhibition spaces, and the Robert Bolt theatre within it all, which is a reasonably intimate (i.e. small!) performance venue that I've been lucky enough to visit for a number of different performances. There is a full programme of events on here and in any one month there will be a variety of music concerts (ranging from small and relatively unknown folk acts, current chart stalwarts, ageing rockers, local classical musical ensembles and anything (and everything) inbetween. There's also a regular comedy night styled along the lines of 'Whose line is it anyway?', and regular theatre productions including an annual pantomime. I've been fortunate enough to see a few acts there in recent times including Hayseed Dixie (true Hillbilly Rock) and Glenn Tillbrook (guitar-god and songwriter extraordinaire of Squeeze fame), two gigs that saw the Robert Bolt theatre in both standing, and fully seated configurations (it is usually set up for one or the other!)... Both times, the size of venue allowed me to feel really connected to the performer in a true 'I could see into the whites of their eyes' kind of sense. In both instances, this certainly added to the quality of the experience! Drinks for gigs are usually provided via a 'bottle and can' bar, which can make for a slightly pricy night, but then, you're not going there to drink! The gallery spaces are spread around the building and seem to cater for most tastes, and provide opportunities for local artists alongside those who are better known. All in all, the Waterside is a great little venue and a top addition to a town that was in sore need of a place like this. Bravo!