The Well Barn comprises a small collection of local businesses in the heart of Litlle Crosby, a…read morequaint village just outside of Crosby and under ten miles from the centre of Liverpool. There is an authentic rural feel here as the winding roads have restricted speeds and there are no street lights. The Well Barn courtyard is easily located off the main street and houses a diverse mix of shops including: a craft shop, a holistic therapy and well being store, Corinthian furniture and a plumbing company. The stableyard itself is often used s an event space for community gatherings such as the recent summer fete. It's a really beautiful area with a lovely relaxed atmosphere. The Well Barn is easily accessed from Liverpool or Southport but retains the peace of the countryside.

Love the hotel, the room and walking around the village. Sitting in front of the fire in the…read moreevening and just relaxing. We visited last year and had issue with the restaurant breakfast. Last year my eggs royal were served cold and by the time I could get the servers attention it was too late to order something else and his comment "you didn't have to pay for breakfast so what's the issue" This year we went down earlier and again I looked forward to trying eggs Royal. Again they came out barely warm. This time I chased down the manager and got a different breakfast. Last year we had room 2 in the hotel. Loved that it was a corner room so we had water front and village view. This year room 1. Just as lovely but no river view. Also they've done away with the free slippers being embroidered with the logo. Yes they still have slippers but they are unadorned. I know I know sounds petty but they were such a nice touch. We were there for the food and art festival again but not the hotels fault, the wind storm closed it down for Saturday. Sunday it was opened. Another less than stellar interaction was from the "guards" at the entrance. We had to check out Sunday and we were given a lift to the car park and went to enter the fair. We were supposed to get a plastic shopping bag but the guard refused saying the driver got two bags for the man in an orange coat. Hubby was wearing an orange coat but we didn't get bags from driver. They argued that we must have put the bags away and just wanted more. I don't steal and don't like being accused of stealing a silly bag. We checked the car and there were no bags. We managed to get a single bag grudgingly I know I know again petty but it does add up to be annoying.

The Good The Bad and The Ugly…read more The Good This was a bucket list wish trip. We've been wanting to get to see Portmeirion for 30 years and this was the year!!! We booked a room in the hotel and it included breakfast and we decided against having dinner there because as luck would have it the yearly Christmas craft and food festival was going on at the grounds. We enjoyed the fair and in the evening we sat in front of one of the fires. Husband reading and me knitting. Wonderful relaxing visit. The public rooms were old world gracious and cozy. The bar had a nice selection of drinks to enjoy. Our room was beautiful and we had two windows. One over the river and one up to the village. It was cold and rainy during our visit but believe it or not we came for this weather, being from Florida we kind of miss the cold. The Bad First morning breakfast was a full Welsh breakfast and was good but the second day, the last day and the one we will remember was horrible. I got the salmon eggs Benedict and husband an omelette. His breakfast came out steaming, mine - I almost had to chip off the ice. Okay there wasn't ice on my eggs but there was not a degree of warmth over room temperature and the room was cold. Couldn't catch the eye of a server. They were too busy cleaning up getting the room set for lunch. I had one bite of my eggs and pushed them aside. I went to fix my cup of tea and there was only two sugar cubes in the sugar bowl. What???? Thank goodness the table next to us was empty so we just swapped out. No salt and pepper on the table either. You would think the servers would notice that the food hasn't been eaten and ask about it. The Ugly Finally got the attention of our server. I told him my eggs were cold and inedible and if he had checked on us it could have been corrected during breakfast hours. (Breakfast was over by the way). He then got snippy and said there is no check because breakfast is included in the room. What the heck??? Just wish our last memory was better. Would i return?. That's a good question. The facility is beautiful, the room was great. Walking around the village was interesting but leaving hungry wasn't how I wanted to end our trip. Honestly if breakfast service is any indication of meals there I'm glad we didn't spring for dinner.

I went to a wedding at Arley Hall last week and it was a spectacular venue to get married…read more The only reason I'm marking it down to 4* is because as a non-driver and a singleton it would have been very expensive to get there myself, as the public transport links aren't great. Luckily, I got a lift to and from the venue with friends but otherwise it would have been £50 in a taxi each way. So that's the moan out of the way. The rest was brilliant and to anyone looking for a wedding venue, you should definitely consider here. The main house, where the ceremony and meal were, was very pretty. The food was very tasty, particularly the sticky toffee pudding. Service was also very good. The back where the pictures were taken is gorgeous and provides a beautiful backdrop for wedding photos - official or unofficial! The evening do was in the Olympia Hall which is a nice size. Has a bar, nice area for DJ/dancing and an upstairs bit with sofas and room for a photo booth. I'll put up a few photos shortly.

Although we didn't pay to go into the hall and gardens themselves, even through cafe alone is well…read moreworth a visit if you're in the area. My friend and I had been on a 6 mile hike that started and ended at the hall, and it made for the perfect finish. The celeriac soup was delicious, but everything on offer looked great. Be mindful that they do stop hot food at 3, but we turned up at 3.20 and as they hadn't turned anything off yet they were more than happy to serve us. The cakes looked lovely too and if I'd have had room for dessert I would have had one without hesitation!

I first heard about The Space in May of 2014 and knew that it would be a very cool venue for an…read moreevent. Looking around at the places in the city, I wanted to have a Launch event for #BrumHour at a creative and fresh venue. The owner, Chandeep has been a great champion of BrumHour, so it felt right that the venue would be the best host. I went down to The Space for the first time at the start of August 2014 and the three rooms vary a lot in size. However, they are all painted a brilliant white with high ceilings and huge windows to let a lot of natural light in. The main room is the carter room and can host around 50 people. When I came to host my event at the start of February 2015, I had 30 people and 5 tables with creative businesses from around Birmingham to share their project work on them. Chandeep was very clear about pricing, and timescales and this gave me a huge confidence boost that everything would run pretty smoothly. I hired the venue for 4 hours and used it for a 2 hour event including setup and going live. It can be used as a dance and drama rehearsal space, a creative gallery, a small theatre room or even a board room! Check out the website for more photos.

Amazing service. You know a great business when all the tiny details, from initial enquiry all the…read moreway through to completion are perfect. I am a really fussy bu**** and like things just so. I like businesses that go the extra mile. I like people who anticipate what will make my life easier. The Space scored massively on all these counts. So, we needed a small meeting room away from our busy office to strategize and plan. All our usual meeting options where full, other venues either couldn't be bothered responding or were to pricey or not quite right. Normally a local coffee shop or similar could fit the bill, but not for this kind of meeting. I knew of The Space through Twitter, as another Jewellery Quarter business, so I dropped them a line. I quick response confirmed everything I needed to know and prices where very competitive. Booking was super easy. We all arrived to be greeted by the helpful and friendly owner (I think) and shown around. Our room was perfect. Tea and coffee and biscuits provided, self serve. The tea mugs were neatly arranged, the tea spoons were ready in clean water, water jug and glasses all arranged on the table, the heater was on, the chairs and tables just right. What this attention to details means is that we could simply relax and focus on the business of the day. It was a great meeting and the venue and service received went at least some way towards allowing that to happen. Worth noting that although The Space is kinda in the middle of an industrial estate it's also very close to the bus routes on Great Hampton St, the JQ station and maybe 5-6 minutes walk from Snow Hill. You can also grab a nice lunch at the equally excellent The Lord Clifden if you need to, tho the venue does do meeting catering upon request. Highly recommended all 'round!

It's hard to review Rivington Barn without mentioning the reason why weekend finds this place so…read morebusy. Simply, it's set in some of the most beautiful countryside in the country. It attracts motor bikers, not the 'shoot you on the motorway' variety, but the colourful character types. But apart from them, you'll find walkers', runners', hikers' and mountain bikers' next to casual moochers', many of whom have been doing what they love around the Rivvy Hills and are recuperating with a hot drink, scone, meal or some other traditional delight. The barn provides all of this, along with an array of small stalls and, as this is Lancashire, some respite from the rain. There is a small museum next to the barn that is well worth a look. One of the stories it tells is about a plane that crashed during the war, killing all on board, on one of the hills. In the picture attached you can see the monument they erected in their memory. The picture does not do the area justice - get up there and see it. You can buy guide books from the Barn and toddle off on all manner of walks.

Rivington Hall Barn is set in the beautiful surrounding area of Rivington, it is a lovely black and…read morewhite traditional building, full of character and has lots of charm, beautiful to look at inside and out. A pleasure to visit. Inside of the Hall Barn it has lovely beams from the roof and hanging from these are fairy lights that are lit for wedding receptions etc and are a stunning effect. There is a bar serving alcholol at one end, chair and table in the centre and seats around the edges, some standing areas. At the other end is a carvery area and hot and cold food area. On Sundays and Bank Holidays the Barn Hall is a popular destination that attracts bikers and walkers and families etc, the atmosphere is great and the barn opens on Sundays to serve food and drinks. It is a wonderful sight outside on the forecourt of the Barn Hall when the motorbikes are all parked up, they are wonderful machinesamazing to see and such a great atmosphere, very friendly bunch. The food that is served in the Hall Barn is of a very high standard, there are lots of tablesbe there before 2pm for lunch as they stop serving at approximately that time or just later. There are a few stalls inside too on Sundays offering cards, socks, jewellery and pictures to name a few. The toilets are recently updated and are a good facility, ultra modern. The Barn opens on Sundays and Bank Holidays normally but is also available for private functions and sometimes there are dances in the evening or live bands. The Hall Barn is a beautiful venue for a wedding. One of my favourite places to be and so I do Highly recommend Rvington Hall Barn.

Lovely Bed & Breakfast! We had the opportunity to stay here for 3 nights on our visit. The rooms…read morewere clean and comfortable. The staff - incredibly friendly and helpful. They helped me take my heavy ( over-packed) suitcase up to my second level room - whew! Really nice people in a quaint town. We took a really nice walk into the town centre and met many pleasant and friendly people. We highly recommend taking a visit here. :)