Liked the layout and the Courtyard Theatre I saw my play in was great.read more

The West Yorkshire Playhouse is a multi venue hot spot for the creative arts, situated, quite…read moreproudly in good ole Leeds. Coming up for its 20th year anniversary, the WYP has plenty to be proud about; two theatres, The Quarry and The Courtyard, a gallery, a workshop venue, a bar, a restaurant, and a costume hire department. Wow. Impressive or what. It really is a nice modern space inside, and the minute you approach the doors you are greeted by very welcoming staff that don't do the saccharine over the top type greetings, but more inform you of what is happening, what's open and if you're interested what's going on right now and what's to come. Sitting in stark comparison to the Leeds Grand, the West Yorkshire Playhouse is a lovely alternative to the traditional theatre venues without being so anti-tradition that the concept and enjoyment of the theatre is ruined. Technical wise it's a good sound venue, acoustics are grand, viewing is good, legroom isn't as snug as some venues are, which is always a plus point. Also, for all of you budding theatre goers under the age of 26, West Yorkshire Playhouse is a part of the A Night Less Ordinary scheme, whereby companies who are signed up offer free tickets on select shows for free. How awesome.

My family still haven't got over the fact that I chose to celebrate my birthday one year at The…read moreTemple. They would have understood if I'd chosen a restaurant or a nightclub with a dancefloor but a bar that used to be a public toilet? That threw them completely. To digress, The Temple used to be a public toilet many moons ago. In the nineties however, it was converted into Manchester's smallest bar. Accessed via a blink-or-miss-it stairwell off Oxford Street, it's a bustling place with an intimate atmosphere and shabby chic interior. There's a tiny bar with great bottled beers and spirits, a cool jukebox with lots of Mancunian rock and roll, a cluster of seats for about 20 people and standing room for about 20 more. Suffice to say, nights here to be fun and messy - which is why I chose it as the perfect birthday venue!

The place is called Temple, it is a bar which used to be a public toilet, it is underground and…read morelooks very grungy and dark inside and of course serves alcohol ---- I love the whole concept (Note: I was born and raised in a Hindu family and Temple is a place of worship for Hindu's). I would love to bring one of those conservative Hindu priests here just to see his reaction (would be comedy gold). I am a big fan of its sister bar Big Hands and that is one of the reason I decided to visit Temple (obviously the name intrigued me too). They play funky rock music, have a good selection of beers and good enough seating arrangements (don't expect to get a seat post 8 pm on any day). Yes the bar is quite crammed and small but that kind of has its own appeal according to me -- It definitely keeps you warm on a chilly winter night! The beers are reasonably priced, though some may say its expensive for the kind of space it has, but I guess being ghetto and grungy is upmarket these days (explains the price). The crowd is usually quite nice, mostly working professionals around oxford road, you might find the masters and Phd students hanging out here too but definitely not a place where 18 year old's are screaming and shouting! Verdict: You should definitely go there for the novelty of the concept!

THIS PLACE IS WELL WORTH A VISIT…read more Set on the canal side in an old canal boat shed-(large brick building). It is like stepping back in time when you visit the old chippy and pub. Shops and pawn brokers have been recreated with al th old goods that were on sale many years ago. A bar of soap 4d. They have also recreated a church and school room. Well worth a school trip with activities for pupils. They are even taken back to the Victorian era in the old schol room and put through the 3 Rs by a strict looking teacher. She is great at acting out the roll . Down stairs are the more industrial machinery used locally 100 years or so ago. Theres a smal cafe and sovenier shop that is resonably priced. Best thing is that its free of chrage. A great visit for old and young alike

I love taking my son to this museum. It's all absolutely free and we get to chat about boats, watch…read morethe ducks and swans and see how things were 'a long time ago'. The museum caters really well for children with lots to keep them occupied - it's very easy to spend a wet afternoon playing and learning lots. I would also recommend a coffee in the cafe there. The staff are absolutely amazing and the food evebn better!

One of the Manchester's oldest pubs, the Briton's Protection is a much loved drinking den that has…read morea loyal clientele all year round. Open afternoons and evenings, it's a great place to catch up with friends or go for a quick pint before a gig or movie. The front bar is tiny and usually populated by grey haired men nursing a never-ending pint. If you walk down the corridor however, you'll find a cluster of cosy rooms with old velvet seats, copper topped tables and a roaring log fire. There's also a small beer garden which gets rammed in the summer - despite having no views, flowers or atmosphere! Upstairs there's a cosy reception room which local promoters sometimes use for live gigs. I saw Badly Drawn Boy play his first gig here many moons ago and was quietly blown away. If you're coming to a show, get here early or you'll have to choose between queing for a drink or trying to find somewhere to stand. Speaking of liquor, stay clear of the wine - it tastes like battery acid - and stick to their great range of ales, beers, whisky and bourbon.

I'd convinced myself I'd never been to The Briton's Protection before, but on visiting here with a…read moremate for a cheeky after work bevvy (which turned into a mini 'bar crawl', see reviews of Rain Bar http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/rain-bar-manchester and Peveril Of The Peak http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/peveril-of-the-peak-manchester), I was reminded that I'd darkened their door at least once before... On first sight you'd think there was hardly anywhere to sit and enjoy your well-earned beer, as the bar stretches from wall to wall. Follow the corridor to the left of the bar and you'll see several off-shoot rooms to find a cushioned bench or bar stool. Given it's December we headed straight to the room with the roaring fire and got a great seat in front of the flames. I loved it here. My mate loved it here. And we would have stayed but the fact we wanted to sample more than one establishment that evening. Really enjoyed the beer here as well - the bar manager made a recommendation (alas I've forgotten its name, the beer, not the bar guy, but it was very good indeed). Tip: If you love your whiskies, you won't be disappointed here either, they have a sizeable selection.

A quirky establishment with an upstairs dining area and downstairs bar. The food is 90% vegan,…read morewhich was nice because they had creative options for everyone! We had the BBQ Jackfruit dog, which was a vegan sausage topped with BBQ pulled jackfruit, vegan chipotle mayo, and jalapeno's. It was absolutely delicious! The sausage was not dry, as sometimes happens with vegan sausages, and the combinations of flavors was great. We also got the vegan Mac n Cheese; it was listed under bigs, but the portion size was disappointingly very small. It also tasted a bit grainy, not the best potato cheese I've had. They are allergen friendly, but make sure you make all your allergens known! The mac n cheese does have coconut milk in it. They also have Ice Shack Vegan ice creams, which is a bonus!

It doesn't have the same history as The Roadhouse, Night & Day or Manchester Academy but The Deaf…read moreInstitute is probably my favourite venue in Manchester these days. They have great club nights and a truly eclectic range of gigs from emerging punk-funk and disco groups like Yacht and The XX to established underground pop bands like Broadcast. Even better, most of the gigs take place in an intimate room with high ceilings, cleverly stacked seating and standing room for about 300 people. I went to see Detroit protest singer Rodriguez on Monday evening and had a fantastic night. The atmosphere was great, the acoustics were fab and the drinks were mighty fine. Being a long-term country and Americana gal, I also fell in love with the Good Dolly and Bad Dolly wallpaper in the ladies toilets! The only disadvantage is, I'm still a little hungover!

Elland DeGeneres built this stadium. Hopefully soon the listing will be changed to reflect the name…read moreof the stadium instead of one of the teams that plays here, because all the reviews are for the stadium not the team. First-Hand Experience: More info about my personal experience at this stadium - I've been to Elland Road only 3 times, amazingly. Once to watch a game (which was an amazing atmosphere for sure), and twice just as a tourist, including just a few months ago in late 2014 when I was stuck in the UK. It's a fabulous, big, impressive, intense hulk of a stadium. It just really needs some renovation, so that Leeds can have a palace like a lot of other clubs of similar size do. I'm sure it will be renovated but probably not until Leeds get back in the big time. My fave thing about coming here was the banter and the intensity. Sometimes the home fans are a little too aggressive though and things can get violent. Especially when they're facing United. I've never seen Leeds v United at this ground but the game I did see, I could see the extra aggression and intensity and it did scare me. Leeds won, though... so there was no rioting. I've been to most UK & US stadiums, due to lifelong obsessions with travel, sport & especially footy (soccer to Americans). Born & raised in England, I followed Oxford United (hometown team) to stadia all over the country at away games, and later Liverpool (fave team) around. Every stadium review - like all my reviews - are from first-hand personal experience, usually from several visits. In 2011, I was on music tour in the UK, and visited most stadiums for fun in my spare time. As recently as Fall 2014, when I was "stuck" in UK for 3 months, I went to hundreds yet again while travelling. I have pictures of me at most, which I'll post later. Also, when back in UK I'll take more pix, and add more stadia! *** return to regular review *** It's one of the most famous grounds in football, home to the team that has fallen perhaps the hardest, one of the true greats and giants of football but hasn't been in the top flight for what seems like decades. It's not quite even, one stand is enormous, the other three are medium sized, so for that reason and for seeming so lopsided, it only scores 4 despite an amazing amount of crowd support here. It's an intimidating place to play or see an away game. It used to be called the Old Peacock Ground, and with 38k people squeezing into it, is one of the largest stadiums in the country, especially for non-Prem grounds. It was built in 1897 and renovated many times. It has hosted Euro 96 tournament games, England games, and FA Cup Semi Finals, plus performances from rock bands Queen, U2, Happy Mondays and more recently, the Kaiser Chiefs and Rod Stewart. But the show must go on, so in the name of love, understand that this is how it feels to be lonely, if you don't understand then I predict a riot, and Maggie May start it.

Ok maybe the team isn't worth 5 stars, but when you've been going as long as I have (over 35 years)…read moreyou have to give them all you've got. I've watched through thick and thin - from incredible nights against Barcelona in 1975 and the Champions League run a few years ago to the misery the club has been in since the Ridsdale disaster.. Don't get too settled on us being in the doledrums - we'll be back one day!

Dedicated fans to be found at Turf Moor. I had a great experience for a Premier League game in the…read morethe little town of Burnley. We drove up north from Liverpool to Burnley to watch their match against West Ham. We got to check out their Jimmy McIlroy social area before the game and we had a great time. The field is a bit antiquated, but sufficient for the steadfast Claret fans. It may be one of the oldest parks in the Premier League. The grounds were well tended to, the seats although a bit old were faded but not cracked or uncomfortable to sit in for the 90+ minutes of the match. The social area was first rate, we had our own ushers that kept us from going astray, and helped us find what we needed. We had to pay for drinks, but the food presented was delicious. Before kickoff, they had three food stations. They offered a Korean Rice Bowl station with pork belly or fried tofu, chilli cucumber pickle, gochujang mayo. I had like three of these... they were amazing. The second offering was a Katsu Chicken Burger with kimchi, katsunnaise, on a brioche bun. It was also pretty good. The third pre-game offering was the beech smoked pork sausage on a brioche bun with smashed nachos, crispy onions, ketchup, and mustard. I passed on this one. After half they served butter chicken & spinach pie, also pretty good - and tea or coffee. The fans were dedicated. There was a lot of chanting, a lot of C'me On Burnley!" They really wanted to will their team to victory. My daughter got a pic with a minority owner, JJ Watts, as he was in the building for the match as well. Unfortunately for the Clarets, they fell short on the "will of one nil," as the Hammers scored two in the final minutes and beat the home team. The Burnley fans were not happy. Warning: It's cold up in the NW England, so bundle up.

Turf Moor is one of your traditional, older stadiums in the Premier League, it has been home to…read moreBurnley since 1883 and as I recall it is one of the oldest football stadiums in the Premier League, older than Goodison Park and Anfield yet a few years later than Stamford Bridge. For an old stadium especially for one of Burnley's structure, I was quite impressed with Turf Moor which has a capacity of just over 22,000. More recently, they have expanded disabled seating to meet Premier League requirements which the ground was behind in for a long time, they previously only offered away supporters 3 wheelchair bays (The average is around 12-15 often reaching 25), but due to a reformat of the stadium they've now increased that to 18 which is impressive. The staff at the stadium seemed mixed - the stewards actually used common sense by not blocking the view (often they stand at the front and refuse to move, meaning you can't see the view), however on the front enterance the person scanning tickets seemed to be talking to a friend - he didn't even look at me which surely was a security flaw (anyone could have gotten in without a ticket, he wasn't paying any attention). Obviously I was happy with the result being a 4-1 win for Manchester City, my team and I also felt welcome as an away supporter from the club, I booked parking in advance which was pretty expensive at £10 considering a large amount of street parking and car parks nearby and the fact there is a good wait to get out of the car park until all the pedestrians have gone, but still how close the car park was to the stadium was remarkable, it was so close I could have probably watched the game from my car (Okay I wouldn't go that far - but it was so close!), and being a first-timer to the ground and it being a freezing, cold night in December I was glad of the parking space. The one big screen at the other end of the Cricket Field (away stand) seemed pretty small, but I did have a decent view of the pitch even if the writing on the big-screen was impossible to read and poorly formatted. Despite being an old stadium, it has been improved of late to meet UEFA requirements and Premier League requirements (more seats for disabled people in both home and away areas AND removing the wooden seats for plastic ones in the Cricket Field Stand) 3* - Pretty cool stadium for a club like Burnley, they have tried to improve it as much as they could while they still don't have the facilities of a big club's modern arena (concourse is not disabled-friendly, you go in from outside), it still is a stadium which has improved and I really hope they won't revert on the changes when Burnley's inevitable relegation comes around.

Super cool spot we found walking around the area and made sure to bookmark if I ever find myself in…read morethe area again. Had Sunday roast and it was out of this world. I went with the beef and my friend the pork and I highly recommend. The food and atmosphere is five stars!

solid pub in Manchester! 2-3 floors with limited but plentiful seating in each floor and bars in at…read moreleast 2. tons of beer choices. very cozy for dates or friends. plenty of food choices including fish and chips but we stick to the beer... -although we saw the plates and they were well proportioned. good prices. good services, seat yourself when you come in. e recommend it as a nice pub in a rainy day or just to chill. well decorated, a little dark but very nice!