Sights in Lancashire
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Williamson Park
Lancaster's highest point is the 22-hectare spread of Williamson Park , from which there are great views of the town, Morecambe Bay and the Cumbrian fells to the north. In the middle of the park is the Ashton Memorial, a 67m Baroque folly built by Lord Ashton (the son of the park's founder, James Williamson) for his wife.
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Lancaster Castle
Lancaster's imposing castle was originally built in 1150. Later additions include the Well Tower, more commonly known as the Witches' Tower because it was used to incarcerate the accused of the famous Pendle Witches Trial of 1612, and the impressive twin-towered gatehouse, both of which were added in the 14th century. Most of what you see today, however, dates from the 18th and 19th centuries, when the castle was substantially altered to suit its new, and still current, role as a prison.
You can only visit the castle as part of a 45-minute guided tour, but you do get a chance to experience what it was like to be locked up in the dungeon.
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Judges' Lodgings
Once the home of witch-hunter Thomas Covell (he who 'caught' the poor Pendle women), Lancaster's oldest town house, a Grade I–listed Georgian building, is now home to a Museum of Furnishings by master builders Gillows of Lancaster, whose work graces the Houses of Parliament. It also houses a Museum of Childhood, which has memorabilia from the turn of the 20th century.
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Tropical Butterfly House
The beautiful Edwardian Palm House, now the Tropical Butterfly House, is full of exotic and stunning species. Take bus 25 or 25A from the station, or else it's a steep ¾-mile walk up Moor Lane.
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Maritime Museum
The Maritime Museum, in the 18th-century Custom House, recalls the days when Lancaster was a flourishing port at the centre of the slave trade.
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Priory Church
Immediately next to Lancaster castle is the equally fine priory church, founded in 1094 but extensively remodelled in the Middle Ages.
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Helmshore Mills Textile Museum
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Williamson Park & Tropical Butterfly House
Lancaster's highest point is the 22-hectare spread of this elegant park, from which there are great views of the town, Morecambe Bay and the Cumbrian fells to the north. In the middle is the Ashton Memorial, a 67m-high baroque folly built by Lord Ashton (the son of the park's founder, James Williamson) for his wife.
More beautiful, however, is the Edwardian Palm House, now the Tropical Butterfly House, full of exotic and stunning species. Take bus 25 or 25A from the station, or else it's a steep short walk up Moor Lane.
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Sealife Centre
State-of-the-art sealife centre which features 2.5m-long sharks and a giant octopus.
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Pleasure Beach
The main reason for Blackpool's immense popularity is the Pleasure Beach, a 16-hectare collection of more than 145 rides that attracts some seven million visitors annually, and, as amusement parks go, is easily the best in Britain.
The park's major rides include the Big One, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Europe, reaching a top speed of 85mph before hitting a near-vertical descent of 75m; the Ice Blast, which delivers you up a 65m steel tower before returning to earth at 80mph; and the vertiginous Infusion, which features five loops, a double-line twist and a suspended looping coaster – which should help bring up that lunch just nicely.
The high-tech, modern ri…
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North Pier
Built in 1862 and opening a year later, the most famous of the three Victorian piers once charged a penny for admission; its plethora of unexciting rides are now free.
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Maritime Museum
The 18th-century Custom House recalls the days when Lancaster was a flourishing port at the centre of the slave trade.
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Lancaster Castle & Priory
Lancaster's imposing castle was originally built in 1150. Later additions include the Well Tower, more commonly known as the Witches' Tower because it was used to incarcerate the accused of the famous Pendle Witches Trial of 1612, and the impressive twin-towered gatehouse, both of which were added in the 14th century. However, most of what you see today dates from the 18th and 19th centuries, when the castle was substantially altered to suit its new, and still current, role as a prison. Consequently, you can only visit the castle as part of a 45-minute guided tour, but you do get a chance to experience what it was like to be locked up in the dungeon.
Immediately next to t…
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Blackpool Tower
Built in 1894, this 150m-high tower is Blackpool's most recognisable landmark. Inside is a vast entertainment complex including a dinosaur ride, Europe's largest indoor jungle gym and a Moorish circus.
The highlight of the tower is the magnificent rococo ballroom, with extraordinary sculptured and gilded plasterwork, murals, chandeliers and couples gliding across the beautifully polished wooden floor to the melodramatic tones of a huge Wurlitzer organ.
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Winckley Square
Not far south of Fishergate, set around a landscaped park, is lovely Winckley Square. One of northern England's finest examples of a Georgian square, it was established in the 1830s. Stroll and admire the fine buildings - now professional offices, but once home to businessmen who grew rich on industrial-boom profits. Great restaurants surround the square.
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National Football Museum
This crowd-pleaser opened in 2001 and is home to a superb collection of football artefacts and archives. Appropriately, a visit to the hugely popular museum is 'a game of two halves': first the history of the game and the hall of fame, then the fun hands-on stuff. Bend it like Beckham with GoalStriker, an interactive penalty shoot-out experience.
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Harris Museum & Art Gallery
Situated inside a beautiful, custom-built building dating from 1893, the Harris Museum showcases Preston's rich heritage. Exhibitions cover local history and archaeology, fine art, photography, costume and decorative arts. Diversity rules here: highlights include a prehistoric elk skeleton and the country's largest collection of French perfume bottles.
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