England's Best Kept Secret (Lancaster in General)

Member Name: nakmeister

Product:	Lancaster in General
Date:	07/03/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Historic, Lots of things to do

Disadvantages: None

Lancaster is a historic city in the North West of England, only an hour from Manchester, 40 minutes from the Lake District and on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. It's mainly known for it's university and isn't a very touristy place, but it should be though. One of England's best kept secrets.

- What's so great about Lancaster -

Lancaster is a historic city dating back at least as far as the Romans. If you know where to look there's still Roman remains to be seen, notably the ruins of a Roman Bathhouse just behind the Priory church. There's a 900 year old Priory Church and an 800 year old castle (the last remaining working castle in England). There's lots of museums and things to do, lots of places to eat out and a wide choice of pubs, both historic and modern. There's lots of shops in the pedestrianised city centre, some chain stores but also many local, independant shops too. The town has a river and a canal running through it, and the countryside is all around.

- How to get there -

By car Lancaster is just off the M6. If coming from the north, take junction 34, or from the south exit at junction 33.

Lancaster is on the West Coast main line from London to Scotland. Journey time from London is about 2hrs 30 minutes direct, Manchester 1 hour, Edinburgh 2 hours. National Express buses also come to Lancaster.

- Where to stay -

As it's not very touristy there aren't many big hotels to choose from. The best hotel is probably the Lancaster House Hotel, a couple of miles south of the city centre. Then there's the Premier Inn and Holiday Inn. A travel lodge is about 6 miles away. In the centre, there are a selection of good B&B's, the best of which are probably the Sun Inn and the Shakespeare B&B.

- What to do -

Tour Lancaster Castle - the Castle is a working prison and crown court, and the tours vary depending on whether the court is in session. You should get to see at least one of the two ancient court rooms, the dungeons, and a few other places within the Castle. An excellent tour.

Maritime Museum - Down on the Quayside in the old Custom House, this charts Lancaster's maritime history, focusing especially on the 18th century, when it was one of the biggest ports in the country and a key player in the slave trade.

Lancaster City Museum - A good museum with changing displays all about the history of Lancaster.

Cottage Museum - A small museum, detailing life in an early 19th century cottage.

Williamson Park & Ashton Memorial - Williamson Park is a large public park, and the Ashton Memorial is a large monument building built by the Victorian millionaire Lord Ashton in memory of his wife. Britain's answer to the Taj Mahal. There is a butterfly house, animals, cafe and art displays in and around the memorial too. Good for an afternoon out in nice weather.

- Entertainment & Night Life -

There are two theatres in Lancaster City Centre, the Dukes Theatre and The Lancaster Grand. There's also the Nuffield Theatre at the university, and all three have a wide variety of shows and concerts throughout the year. The Dukes theatre sometimes has performances in Lancaster Castle and also in the summer has a season of outdoor plays ('Theatre in the Park') in Williamson Park.

There is also a multiplex Vue cinema in the centre of Lancaster, and the Dukes Theatre has a cinema which has more arthouse films showing most days.

Being a student town there are a small number of good nightclubs in the town, as well as lots of pubs.

- Where to eat and drink -

There are lots of good restaurants in Lancaster, ranging from Indian, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Italian, French etc. I would particularly recommend Crows for Mexican, Imrans for a lovely cheap Indian buffet, and the Gatehouse for Mediteranean and English food.

There are many great pubs in Lancaster, including quite a few historic ones dating back several hundred years. I would recommend The Merchants and The Sun Inn, both over three hundred years old, and also the Water Witch. All three do nice food and the Sun and Water Witch have a fantastic selection of wines, ales and whiskeys (the Sun Inn has a 16 page beer menu!).

- Shopping -

The city centre is pedestrianised, making it easy to shop at leisure. Compared to most cities, Lancaster never gets too busy, and despite being quite small, has most of the major high street stores like M&S, Next, HMV etc. There are also a selection of traditional local shops the best of which are probably Humbugs, a lovely old fashioned sweet shop and Atkinson's Coffee Shop which has been in continous operation for over 170 years and sells a wide variety of coffees and teas for purchase and also consuming on their own premises. They even roast their own coffee, and the smell of roasting coffee often wafts around the streets surrounding the shop.

- Exploring further afield -

Closest to Lancaster is Morecambe, only 3 miles away. Morecambe is an old fashioned seaside resort, faded from it's former glory but enjoying something of a resurgence of late.

The Lake District is close by, with Kendal 30 minutes away, Windermere 40 minutes away and Ambleside and Grasmere around an hour away.

The Yorkshire Dales are only a few minutes away and the market towns of Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale are well worth exploring. There's also Sedbergh, England's book town, only 30 minutes away, with beautiful scenery, lots of second hand bookshops to explore and quaint cafes to a while away some time in.

Walking in the area is a popular pursuit, in the Lune Valley around Lancaster, in the Lake District and in the Yorkshire Dales. There is also lots of good dedicated cycle routes around Lancaster.

- Summary -

Lancaster is one of Britain's hidden gems. It's off the tourist track so not too busy but has lots of things to do, lovely places to eat and drink in and great walks all around. Think Chester or Bath but without the crowds.

Summary: A great base for a holiday