About maggie dickinson Expertise Walking, cycling, sightseeing, historical associations, towns, villages and even obscurities. I can answer questions on accommodation, where to locate self-catering organisations, recommended hotels, restauarants and offices of tourism etc., I am well informed and personally acquainted with many pubs, tourist attractions, scenery, shopping and general travel throughout the north west.
I am unable to answer questions on south Lancashire and Greater Manchester and North Cumbria.
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Question Hello,I am from America and we are planning a visit to England next month [september] and I was wondering if there were any nice places you would recommend to visit.I love middle age villages and I would love to fin a nice and affordable bed and breakfast to stay in,it would be for me and my wife.Also are there any castles you would recommend seeing,especially any castle/hotels.What is your opinion of Lumley castle,we have heard of their period style banquet.Are there any more you have heard of you would recommend.Any suggestions on a nice visit to your beautiful country would be gretly appreciated.Thanks again
Answer Hi John,
Thank you for your enquiry, although this is somewhat loaded, so I shall just make a start for now and perhaps you could come back to me with some answers.
I would not be happy to make recommendations because you might not share my views but I can give you any information I have, or can glean, that would help you to make a decision.
First of all - would you fly into Manchester airport?
Castle hotels don't seem thick on the ground and I only knew about one that has self-catering facilities (although not personally) called Roch Castle in Dyfed, south Wales.
Lumley Castle is way out of my geographical area, being in the north east and I haven't been there so I can't comment.
I have searched the web and think you might like to look at a site:
I imagine you would find this site interesting and you might like to look at Ruthin Castle which seems to fit the criteria you mention, even though it is marginally out of the North West region, being in Wales but only about an hour from Manchester airport.
I know nothing of the place but you will see it carries the Welsh Tourist Board commended rating and is also AA and RAC three star, so it has a good standard and is subject to inspection by these reputable organisations. Their prices look decent and they also have the mediaeval banquet.
It is in an interesting area for exploring. Ruthin is not far from Chester, which has Roman origins, and handy for the beautiful Snowdonia National Park. Nearby also is Offa's Dyke long distance footpath.
Roch Castle is on the same website.
South of here a good distance, in the northern reaches of the county of Herefordshire (now called Hereford and Worcester), are several black and white villages of mediaeval origins. You mightlook at the website:
Many years ago we were on holiday in the area and got a leaflet called The Black and White Village Trail which we thoroughly enjoyed. I shot masses of film that day.
Nearby is the Herefordshire town of Ludlow with a massive castle in which lived lots of famous figures from history, including Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon (brother and eventual wife of Henry the Eighth). Ludlow has impressive architecture with many mediaeval listed buildings. It is a good base from which to explore a very rural locality. See the website:
Whilst on the subject of castles, even though we're getting well away from the north west now, Warwick Castle claims to be the most impressive castle in Britain so you may as well have a look:
Have you heard of York? It is the jewel of the north and has many foreign visitors. Based on Viking and then Roman origins it became an important mediaeval walled city entered by 'bars' (archways in the walls). There are still huge chunks of the wall in existence (along with several bars) and you can walk along the top of it, viewing the city within its bounds.
The pride of York is its Minster which is the largest Gothic church in Europe.
It has lots to see and do, including the National Railway Museum. My own favourite is the museum called Jorvik which is underground in the centre of the city and is the site of the original Viking village, complete with smells and sounds.
I shall leave you with these notes for now John and please feel free to come back to me.
I could get you the websites of various Tourist Information Centres and I'm sure they'd send you literature if you emailed them.
