Norton Priory has been a home for nearly 900 years, many people have called Norton Priory home;…read morefrom the canons who lived and their, to the Brooke family who lived in style and all the servants and labourers who worked their. There is lots to see here, the award winning museum, excavated medieval ruins, the St Christopher statue, the Walled Garden and the extensive woodland and sculpture trail. It's 40 acres so take comfortable shoes otherwise you might have tender feet by the end of the day. Norton Priory has loads to do for children and it is possible to arrange school visits. Although all of Norton Priory is fab, my favourite part is the 2.5 acre walled garden. A stroll around that and I am happy as ever!

A nice place to visit especially if the weather is good. Museum, garden and ruins. A favourite…read moreplace to take visiting friends and family. We usueally stop at the Ring 'o' Bells pub for lunch or dinner.

How do you solve a problem like visiting family members and what to do in the day time? Ok so…read moreManchester has epic food and drink easily covered when it comes to evening and lunch time but do you really want to be dragged around the shops or do something as equally boring in between...? So with this in mind I planned on opening up the floor to my visiting Mum and saying we'd wander down into Stockport town centre to go to some of the (ahem, cough) many world famous tourist attractions. This might be slightly mean as Stockport has got quite a few good things to see like Robinsons Brewery, the Air-raid shelters and excellent Hat museum but on this occasion my Mum pulled a total curveball by suggesting we went to the Stockport Story museum in the Market square and specifically the Staircase house. Staircase house is an old building from the 1600's that's been totally rebuilt and showcases what life would be like for those living through the years since. One room is Tudor, one is Georgian, one World War 2 etc and it's pretty interesting if not something I'd massively rush out and buy tickets for again. You get a free audio guide and the guys who run it are pretty knowledgable and friendly so could be a good option if it's raining or you have relatives in town looking for a bit of nostalgia. My Mum was like wow, I remember your Gramps having one of these, ooh look at these etc etc You can grab a single adult ticket for £4.50 but can buy a £10.50 ticket and get access to Staircase house, Bramall Hall and the Air-Raid shelters (which lasts 12 months) - probably a good deal if you want to check out a few other cool places just down the road!

We stumbled upon this newly opened museum whilst walking back through Stockport from Vernon Park on…read moreSunday afternoon. I must admit that I wasn't really in 'museum mode' so maybe I didn't enjoy it as much as I could've done. The museum is located inside the newly renovated Staircase House building, which also houses a tourist information, shop and a separate museum (but you have to pay to go into that one so I'll save that for another day). There are five galleries spread over different floors, which tell the history of Stockport from 10,000 years ago to the present. On the floor on which you enter (the third floor!) there are displays of Iron Age pottery and such, you then progress through the Dark Ages to Medieval Stockport. My favourite was the Victorian floor, which included exhibits on Victorian toys (with a couple to play with) and a full-scale marketplace where kids could dress up and sell baskets full of fruit and veg. I quite fancied a go, but restrained myself. The museum looked and smelt brand spanking new, but I have the feeling that it won't take long for the carpet to wear away and the white walls to become adorned with grubby finger-prints. Overall, a good free insight into the history of Stockport, but for a brand new museum it could do with a few more hands on exhibits and perhaps a bit of light (all the blinds are drawn throughout).

Gawsworth Hall is a lovely stately home just outside Macclesfield, it is a black and white Tudor…read morestyle house and for a small fee you can go inside and take a look around the grand rooms and imagine what life was like a long time ago. The grounds are also beautiful and set next to a lake so if you fancy a walk or picnic on a sunny day then this is a great place to visit. Gawsworth Hall also hold a large range of concerts and theatre productions in the Summer, the ticket gives you free access to the grounds for a pre show picnic and also the undercover seating where you watch the show from. I attended one of these concerts with my husband over the weekend. We were impressed with the set up and thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the beautiful gardens with delicious food and a glass of prosecco. The show was very professional and the ticket price at £25 was reasonable. However you do get the impression that the same people come to these events every year and there is definitely a bit of a home counties feel about it. People seem to be in competition as to who has the largest gazebo and biggest magnum of champagne. Getting seated is a nightmare as apparently people arrive at 2pm to reserve seats using cushions or even more hilariously sticky labels with their names printed on. We were tempted to go up there and move them all about but thought we might be escorted out by the rather austere looking attendants. Enjoyed the day but think we might try a different venue for this type of concert next time.

Fabulous place to spend an afternoon for a walk or cycle…read more Lots of flowers and plants and a national trust house.

Lyme Hall is placed within the huge Lyme Park, just outside Disley and just falls within the…read moreboundaries of Greater Manchester and in fact has a direct train line to Piccadilly Station. I'm reviewing the hall separately from the gardens as their simply too much to see on one visit. Once you've parked up in the gardens you'll soon find a fairly steep incline towards the house itself (up some rather large steps set in the grass). The house is perched up atop a hill and the views are incredible. A short distance away from the house lies the 'cage' and old hunting tower recently restored - it's said on a good day not only can you see the city of Manchester but also Liverpool Cathedral. Although a gorgeous day on our last visit we couldn't quite see that far. However, Manchester was clear to see - the 47 storey Beetham tower helping in that respect. I was quite odd looking at the city from this highpoint: it was almost as if the entire population had left the city so quiet and eery was the experience (you can barely hear a thing on top of the hill near said cage). Back to the houseyou enter via a lovely courtyard - this is predominantly Elizabethan although a few hundred years after it's conception is was redesigned by an Italian architect to resemble a so called 'Palazzo' (Palace). Over the years the rooms of the house were redesigned. For me this is one of the most complete houses I've seen at a National Trust property. I have a particular aversion to Victorian interiors (I really don't like the look of those ghastly Victorian dolls!) so thankfully many of the rooms hark back to an earlier age. I was quite taken with the leisure room, it's wooden carvings are surreal. There is also a kind of living room which contains greek marble sculptures (saved from destruction as walk on gravestones in Greece) which adorn the wall, with ceilings go intricate they almost bring a tear to the old 'mince pie'. I sometimes find the NT ladies and gentlemen who 'guard' the rooms a little cold and despotic, but in Lyme Hall they are the most welcoming and informative folk you could ever wish to meet despite their upper class mouth movements. I spent at least thirty minutes chatting to one lady about the meaning of such ornate bedrooms! It was simply too much to see in one day so it's a case of going back time and time again, but with the park below and some creative picnicking you've got yourself a fine Sunday out.

George's Marvellous Medicine or Knowsley's Marvellous Medicine? I would have to go with the former…read morebut then I am just such a kid and love the theatre/film. Both are ideal for young kids, the Knowsley's Marvellous Medicine is an exhibition of medicine and healthcare through the ages at Prescot Museum in Prescot. Objects on display are drawn from a number of museums including Leeds Thackray Medical Musuem, Liverpool's Victoria Gallery & Museum, and local private collections. You get to see antique surgical and dentistry tools, medicines and curious cures, with a few artificial body parts too! Attractions for kids include the giant Operation game and Doctor Ted's area. If you are looking for somewhere to take the kids over the summer holiday, then this might just be the place, with events supporting the exhibition throughout this period. On till 5th September so give it a go!

Prescot Museum does a great job with its exhibitions, making the best of a relatively small space…read more The ground floor typically houses temporary exhibitions, such as the recent retrospective of kids' TV through the decades. Life-size daleks and cybermen were among the artefacts on display. On the first floor is a permanent exhibition about Prescot's historic watch- and clock-making industry. I'd hope to see this expanded in the future to include some often-overlooked features of Prescot's history, such as literary connections with poet Edward Lear and the Bard himself, William Shakespeare.

Like many historical buildings (we live in one!) in the UK, Keele Hall has an amazing history and…read morearchitecture to match. Sadly we were here for a celebration of life after a funeral service but the magnificence still shone through! They have events on occasion open to the public - visit if you can!!

Hot Steve's sister had her wedding here last weekend, and it was absolutely perfect - a stunning…read moresetting for such a big day. Nestled in the Keele University Campus, among hundreds of acres of lakes, woodland and gardens, Keele Hall is a 19th century, Grade II listed mansion and is ideal for weddings. There are plenty of rooms for any sized wedding breakfast or evening reception, and the catering was superb. The grounds are breathtaking and will guarantee some lovely wedding photos to commemorate the event. I know I sound gushy but it was such a perfect day, and it was in no small part due to the setting and the friendly staff at Keele Hall.

Our family love it here. Something for everyone. Kids love the ice cream, and we like wandering…read morearound the garden centre. Good place to kill a few hours on a wet afternoon.

Great place to go for lunch - pleasant walk around the lake to the cafe. Prefect spot outside on a…read moresunny day! Take my Nan here most Tuesday's. The staff are really friendly and the food is really good. My favourite is the cheese and bacon staffordshire oatcakes (like savoury pancakes). Although everything else is good too.

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.