Lily Greenwood is a local artist based in the awesome Manchester Crafts Centre. Her studio is…read more lovely little haven away from the hustle and bustle of Manchester, and as well as her incredibly beautiful canvasses, she designs and sells tote bags and greetings cards. Lily Greenwood (real name Liz) has been working and exhibiting as an artist in Manchester for over 4 years, and has gained quite a following, taking up commissions from businesses across the North West. Her paintings are priced £100 upwards, which is not a lot to pay for an original work. She's a super-friendly, lovely girl, and she'll give a lot of time over to chat if you pop in on a quiet day. As I said before, the studio really is something. Softly lit and furnished with vintage furniture that complements her works, it is obvious from the off that Liz has put a lot of thought into making the studio as lovely as possible, and that she has an eye for what really works in a room. The art (which can be found at her website) is lovely. Probably more on the girly side, which is alright by me, she paints large vividly coloured canvasses with butterflies and flowers. Some of the most lovely works have a Japanese feel to them, and I sorely wish I could afford her Irises picture! The MCC is a great place for local artists, and I highly recommend a visit to Lily Greenwood, whether you're looking to spend a few hundred on a unique piece of art, or a few quid on a lovely card for our mate's birthday, a trip to Lily Greenwood is support for a fresh young local artist, and is well worth doing if you're in the NQ. Liz prefers not to be contacted by phone, but if you email her at mail@lilygreenwood.com you'll get a pretty prompt reply.

If you're looking for something to cheer up a bare wall, beige office space or dreary nook, then…read morelook no further. Lily Greenwood paints bright, vibrant canvases that are ready to hang. A common theme in her work is nature and in particular butterflies. Her artwork combines original painting with mixed media embellishments. Japanese kimono designs are also evident in the colours and pattern. Commissions are welcomed if you're looking for something unique and a little bit special.

Art Room 4 resides in the White Rose Centre, in one of their stalls/displays lettings. Essentially,…read moreArt Room 4 consists of the work of two artists, Carol Cheyne and Ryan Larkin, and this work takes the form of canvas art in a variety of sizes and prices, with the acrylic on canvas style of abstract, landscapes, and tonal object-non-specific pieces. The pieces start off at a very reasonable £50 and go to a maximum of £200. There are some cracking pieces on display, and if you see something in one size on display, it doesn't matter, it can be made larger, smaller, size permitting into a double set or trio piece, depending on the design and your budget. Personally I think they're excellent prices, as I've paid almost £50 for a simple icon print on canvas before now. For me it was Carol's Moody Blue piece that sucked me in, it's stunning. If you want to put something in the way of art on your walls that doesn't include prints in a frame, or one of Ikea's roses, then seriously check out Art Room 4.

TL;DR - An important historical building house a small but important museum…read more This house is a real slice of history, where the suffragette movement had its roots. There's something incredible about walking around the house and thinking about the conversations which must have taken place here... the back room has been restored to how it would have once been, and it's there in particular that you can imagine yourself back at the start of the 20th century. The museum itself is very small though. The front room contains a few exhibits about the key figures in the suffragette movement. The next room contains a very good video exhibit - make sure you watch the whole thing - and then the back room is a restored living room. On the other side of the house is an exhibition on more modern women's rights movements and from there you can access a small cafe. The museum itself is small and you can tell that this is a community/volunteer led affair rather than a commercial one. However, the historical importance of the movement combined with the significance of this particular building make it well worth a visit.

i love all thing to do with womans suffragetes so this was a real treat for me to get to visit the…read morehome of Emmeline Pankhurst.This is where the womans social and political union was formed in 1903 and i think without the work of these woman ,females still probably wouldnt be able to vote.The centre is for use by woman only

The Manchester Art Gallery isn't massive but has an interesting collection of pieces. It's also…read morefree to enter, so not much to lose by stopping in. My partner and I were in the area and checked it out because they had an exhibition on drinkware and the historical context of its supply and consumption. Lots of cool pieces and good insights on the exploitation involved with coffee, tea, and chocolate. Other than that, it's not unlike most museum visits. Wander around, stop by the gift shop perhaps, and then you're off!

Free to the public during the week! We stopped here because we couldn't check into your Airbnb yet…read more We stopped by and walked around. It's big, pretty and they have clean and nice bathrooms. They also have a cafe, and plenty of chairs so you can rest and sit. The gift shop is also very cute and they have free wifi! Definitely check it out if you need to kill some time!

Fab art gallery which is definitely worth a visit. Building has been restored in an amazing manner…read more Great open spaces house some wonderful art. Really enjoyed our visit there in October, 2017.

We managed to time our visit here so well that it had just been announced that the Whitworth had…read morewon UK Gallery of the Year for 2015 which was just perfect. It's a bit of a walk from the city centre (35 minutes from Piccadilly Gardens) so we had a drinks stop at Big Hands along the way - highly recommended. The Gallery itself is absolutely beautiful, having recently been refurbed. It has a very tranquil feeling to it and a lot of green credentials which is fantastic to see. As we entered we could hear a choir singing which was so lovely and welcoming - we headed to see who they were and it was a group of school kids. I'm not sure if it's a regular thing or that was a special occasion but either way, it was really nice to hear them as we wandered around the gallery. I won't pick out any specific highlights as I think overall the gallery is really lovely, and a must-see when you go to Manchester.

It's a very small shop but they have lovely little gifts and it's all fair trade…read more Just what you need to both assuage your guilt and your sugar craving mid-afternoon: you can satisfy your coco habit with fair trade mostly 'divine chocolate'. It's a great place for little nik-naks too, inexpensive stocking fillers, tiny treats and other cute bits and bobs. Love the place. Need to go more often really!

A very useful shop to know about!…read more Justicia is a fairtrade shop, meaning they only sell fairtrade produce -- stuff which guarantees a better deal for producers in less developed countries. They boast the widest selection of fairly traded goods in Bolton, which is quite an achievement as there are no small number of places in Bolton that have committed themselves to fairtrade principles. Although specialising in craft, they also sell other fairtrade goods such as some food and stationery. The prices they charge are quite reasonable (I understand they are a non-profit organisation) and the staff are amongst the friendliest I have ever come across. There are some Council car parks near by, but you will have to pay to park there. All in all, however, this shop is definitely worth a visit -- particularly in the run-up to Christmas if you're short of gift ideas.

What an amazing and historic landmark! I would recommend anyone tour through the Library. The…read morearchitecture is beautiful and the rare manuscripts and artifacts they house are incredible. They are having a special display of one of Shakespeare's plays, one of the oldest New Testaments, even artifacts from King Nebuchadnezzar's palace. They will all be on display which will be quite amazing to see. This is a must see in Manchester! Truly amazing how it has stood the test of time.

Love spending time in libraries while on holiday (vacation) Stunning late-Victorian neo-Gothic…read morelibrary , John Rylands Library opened at the turn of the 20th century and is a gorgeous remnant of Manchester. Potter-heads would appreciate the look and feel inside the library is inspired the design for Hogwarts. I'm not sure if the Factory Records exhibit is still on display, but I'm a huge fan of Factory Records bands (ie. New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays etc.) and bands that came out of Manchester, the Smiths, James, Buzzcocks, The Fall to name few. It was an experience seeing original handwritten lyrics, instruments played, old punk zines, photos and badges on display.

Taken me a few attempts to get in here as I kept getting days wrong etc…read more It was worth it though. The space itself is excellent. Beautiful lighting in all the rooms we went to and a great sense of space. The Barbara Hepworth material on show is outstanding and it was fascinating to read more about her. Quite a lot of other stuff there too which changes constantly. I didn't like the Franz West pieces on show but then it's impossible to please everyone with every exhibit - and besides, I'm reviewing the place itself not the temporary content. One thing I thought was brilliant as the design of the gallery itself. Vast windows offer great views across the river, weir and bridge and these have been carefully sited to get the best possible view of the water rushing past. The silence that accompanies this works really well and was an interesting part of the set up. We had a simple but tasty meal in the cafeteria - sausages and mash is easy to get right but I've known many places get it wrong! The gift shop is full of interesting stuff that is both good to look at as well as being educational. Whoever runs that has bought stock with a lot of care which is great to see. And as the place is free to get into it's terrific value too. We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours looking round and I know I'd like to visit it again. Worth the trip.

New flagship £50+million gallery to house Wakefield's collection plus recent Barbara Hepworth…read moredonations, Ben Nicholson etc. Also changing visiting exhibitions. The building (Chipperfield) is impressive and the interior gallery spaces couldn't be better - reminicent of a better 21st century Hayward Gallery - beautifully lit naturally from above, with panoramic vistas through large strategically placed windows within the gallery. If you are a Hepworth afficianado you might enjoy the insight these plasters and maquettes bring to her story along with the contextualising work of some of her St Ives cronies. I however could have screamed for some work of better quality and range from a greater spectrum of artists. The emphasis on sculpture works well being so close to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, but YSP do it better. The cafe is a joke queuing 31minutes for an Americano! Once Wakefield Council make a mess of running it, It will be brilliant when Tate take it over as a provincial extension to Tate Modern!