Bury

The Fusilier Museum, in Bury, gained national recognition as a top tourist attraction, gaining the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme award from the English Tourist Board, Enjoy England.

Mike Booth, General Manager for the Fusilier Museum said: “we are delighted to be awarded this accreditation for the quality of our visitor service and it is a credit to the team that has worked so hard since we opened to give our visitors a high standard of customer service”.

This award follows the Museum Accreditation, awarded recently by the Museums, Libraries and Archives, giving the collection a national recognition for the quality of care and presentation of the collection.

The Fusilier Museum moved to its new location opposite the Bury Museum and Art Gallery on Moss Street last June and has had over 12,000 visitors since opening its doors. The Fusilier Museum is home to the collections of XX The Lancashire Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Together they record over 300 years of history and heritage. The museum is also home to the towns Tourist Information Centre, Hero’s Cafe bar, the Army Careers Information Office and the HQ of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Primark is to open a 50,000 square foot shop at The Rock development, currently under construction in Bury.

Patrick Wymer, Property Executive at Primark, said ‘We have been looking for suitable opportunities in Bury for some time and we are delighted to now be able to open our first store in the town. We believe that our product range will be very popular in Bury and expect our new store to be extremely successful.’

Primark joins other big names already signed up at The Rock such as Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, Vue, AMF Bowling, Next, and River Island.

Heritage Open Days allow visitors free access to properties that normally charge an entrance fee or are not usually open to the public.

The event starts tomorrow and runs until Sunday September 13.

Hundreds of attractions and properties in the North West are taking part. For more details visit the official Heritage Open Days website.

Highlights include:

Barrow

Furness Abbey (more…)

Which?’s Good Food Guide 2010 was published yesterday.

Restaurants from the North West that made the list of the top 50 restaurants in the UK were:

13 L’Enclume, Cartmel, near Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria
23 Holbeck Ghyll, Windermere, Cumbria
26 Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor, Chester, Cheshire
30 Fraiche, Oxton, Wirral
49 Ramsons, Ramsbottom, near Bury, Greater Manchester

The 2009 World Black Pudding Throwing Championships will take place on Sunday 13 September at the Royal Oak Pub in Ramsbottom, near Bury.

Contestants from all over the world will throw black puddings, aiming to dislodge a pile of Yorkshire puddings set on a 20ft high plinth.

Bridge Street will be closed to traffic for the day. The event will feature live music from local bands, children’s rides, and food stalls.

The fun begins at 11 am and goes on until late.

Visitors looking for a cheap place to stay in North West England next year (or indeed the rest of the UK, Ireland or Spain) should take note that Travelodge today launched an amazing offer on budget rooms.

The budget hotel chain is offering 50,000 rooms at only £12. The rate applies for stays between January 1 and April 1 2010. Rooms are also available from £19 (book 21 days ahead) and from £29 (book 7 days ahead).

To take advantage of this amazing offer, visit this page on their website.

The East Lancashire Railway Trust has announced a 10 year development plan for the East Lancashire Railway (ELR).

Key features of the plan include:

• Heywood Station – replacement of the existing temporary station with a permanent building.
• Extension to Castleton, Rochdale – extending the ELR from Heywood to Castleton and linking up with the Rochdale Canal.
• Bury Transport Museum – reopening an enhanced ELR Transport Museum in October 2009.
• Rawtenstall Station – the ELR will work with Rossendale Borough Council to offer improved café facilities, a platform canopy and improved links to the town centre.
• Burrs Country Park – the ELR currently passes through Burrs Country Park without stopping. A new stop will be built, linking the ELR with the park’s caravan site and activity centre.
• Buckley Wells Heritage Centre – development of a heritage railway visitor centre.
• Ramsbottom – raising the profile of Ramsbottom as a destination.

The East Lancashire Railway Trust comprises 3 local authorities (Bury Council, Rossendale Borough Council, and Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council) plus the East Lancashire Light Railway Company.

The new Fusilier Museum in Bury is opening its doors to the public for a preview before its official opening on June 27 2009.

The event takes place on Friday May 15 at 7 pm. To book a place call 0161 763 8950.

The Bury Tourist Information Centre has closed its office at the Met in preparation for a move to a new location.

It will open on Monday April 6 2009 at the new Lancashire Fusiliers’ Museum on Moss Street in Bury town centre.

The 2009 Northern Hospitality Awards were held at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester last night.

Winners from the North West were:

• Best Restaurant sponsored by The Hospitality Association & The Restaurant Association – Ramsons Restaurant, Ramsbottom near Bury
• Best Bar sponsored by Brown-Forman – Residence Restaurant & Bar, Nantwich
• Best Pub sponsored by Northern Restaurant & Bar – Kirkstile Inn, Cumbria
• Best Newcomer sponsored by The Russell Partnership – The Church Green, Lymm
• Best Chef sponsored by Steelite – Marc Wilkinson, Fraiche, Oxton, Wirral

The event is now in its 4th year and is organised by Moorfield Media, a Manchester-based exhibition organiser.