Singer Olly Murs will give a live performance at a Warrington nightclub later this month.
The X Factor runner up will appear at Halo on Tuesday December 29th 2009 and perform songs from the popular show.
Tickets to see Olly can be purchased online at halowarrington.com.
A new exhibition featuring the work of British graffiti artist Banksy has opened at Warrington Museum.
The ®Evolution of Urban Art brings together work from 15 internationally acclaimed artists: Banksy, Blek le Rat, Gavin Turk, Adam Neate, David Choe, Faile, Lorraine Robbins, Antony Micallef, Ron English, José Parlá, Elbow-toe, Sam Taylor-Wood, Candice Tripp, Swoon and Takashi Murakami.
The exhibition runs until March 2010. Admission is free.
Seven train stations in North West England have been identified as amongst the ten worst in the country.
Stations featured in the independent Station Champions report include Stockport, Manchester Victoria, Preston, Wigan North Western, Liverpool Central, Warrington Bank Quay, and Crewe. They will each receive a share of £50 million to carry out urgent improvements.
Last week Network Rail announced a £3.25 billion 5-year plan for station improvements to over 2,000 stations. The Station Champions report identified ten that required vital modernisation. Work on these will start as soon as possible.
The Station Champions, Sir Peter Hall and Chris Green, were appointed by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis in May 2009 to review the condition of stations and to recommend improvements.
The 13th annual Warrington Rotary Beer Festival will be held at Parr Hall, October 29 – 31.
The event, organised by Warrington Rotary Club, has raised more than £125,000 for charity since its inception.
The schedule is as follows:
• Thursday October 29, 5.30 pm – 11.30 pm, live music by The Bottletops
• Friday October 30, 5.30 pm – 11.30 pm, live music by The Bad Dog Blues Band, Tim Critchley
• Saturday October 31, 12 noon – 4 pm, live music by Lazy River Jazz
• Saturday October 31, 7 pm – 11.30 pm, live music by No Stamp Required
The main sponsors of the event are Thomas Hardy Brewery, Manchester Fuels Terminal, Bowman Operations Ltd, and the Co-operative Group.
The 2009 Northwest Tourism Awards will be held at Blackpool Tower on September 28.
The event will be hosted by BBC presenter Ranvir Singh and is being organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.
The finalists are:
Large Hotel of the Year
Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, Cumbria
Preston Marriott Hotel, Preston, Lancashire
The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
Malmaison Liverpool, Liverpool
Small Hotel of the Year
Peckforton Castle, Tarporley, Cheshire
Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel, Windermere, Cumbria
Mytton Fold Hotel and Golf Complex, Ribble Valley
Bed and Breakfast of the Year
Harrop Fold Farm, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Storrs Gate House, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria
The Ashton, Lancaster, Lancashire
Brooklands Lodge, Sale, Greater Manchester
The Ambassador Townhouse, Southport, Merseyside
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
Walby Farm Park, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Blackpool Tower and Circus, Blackpool
Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Liverpool
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire
Wordsworth House and Garden, Cockermouth, Cumbria
Helmshore Mills Textile Museum, Helmshore, Lancashire
Museum of the Manchester Regiment, Manchester
Acorn Farm, Liverpool
Self Catering Holiday of the Year
Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Hall Hills, Dalston, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Clough Bottom Farm Cottages, near Clitheroe, Lancashire
Blue Rainbow Apartments, Manchester
Premier Apartments Liverpool, Liverpool
Holiday Park of the Year
Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park, Keswick, Cumbria
Sunset Park, Hambleton, near Blackpool
Business Tourism Award
Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Warwick Mill Business Village, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Ribby Hall Village, Wrea Green, near Blackpool
The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
BT Convention Centre, Liverpool
Taste of England’s Northwest
Walk Mill, Chester
Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop, Kendal, Cumbria
La Locanda Ristorante Italiano, Gisburn, Lancashire
The Modern, Urbis, Manchester
Delifonseca, Liverpool
Tourism Experience of the Year
Roman Tours, Chester
Silverband Falconry, Penrith, Cumbria
Farmaggedon, near Ormskirk, Lancashire
Costumed Performers, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester
Art in the Age of Steam, National Museums Liverpool, Liverpool
Customer Service Award
Janet Bradshaw, Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
Jennifer Taylor, The Archway Guest House, Windermere, Cumbria
Hannah Lee, The New Holly, near Preston
Mahendran Mayan, Renaissance Hotel, Manchester
Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn Hotel, Liverpool
Sustainable Tourism Award
Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Langdale Leisure Ltd, Ambleside, Cumbria
Malkin Tower Farm Holiday Cottages, Blacko, Lancashire
Radisson SAS Hotel Manchester Airport, Greater Manchester
Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool, Liverpool
Tourism for All Award
Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Ullswater Steamers, Glenridding, Cumbria
Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool
The Trafford Centre, Greater Manchester
Tourism Event
Nantwich Food and Drink Festival, Cheshire
Westmorland County Agricultural Show, Milnthorpe, Cumbria
Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool
Manchester Pride, Manchester
Creamfields, Merseyside
Public Space Award
Cockermouth Market Place Regeneration Scheme, Cumbria
County Square Environmental Enhancement Scheme, Ulverston, Cumbria
Pier Head Public Realm and Canal Link, Liverpool
Tourist Information Centre of the Year
Congleton TIC, Cheshire
Coniston TIC, Cumbria
Cleveleys TIC, Lancashire
Wigan TIC, Greater Manchester
St Helens TIC, Merseyside
Travel Journalist of the Year
Chris Moss, Time Out
Craig Fleming, Blackpool Gazette
David Atkinson, Freelance
Paul Croughton, The Sunday Times
Stephen McClarence, The Observer
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
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 best businesses in Liverpool region’s £1.3bn a year visitor economy were honoured at The Mersey Partnership’s Annual Tourism Awards last night.
More than 520 guests joined the celebrations to recognise and reward the best of the best during a black tie dinner at the BT Convention Centre on the city’s UNESCO world heritage waterfront.
The Awards were organised by The Mersey Partnership (TMP) as the region’s official tourist boaard and this year’s event attracted record entries.
Eleven of tonight’s winners now go forward to represent the destination in North West regional awards and the chance to compete for national honours.
The annual event, organised by TMP and sponsored by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Merseytravel, Liverpool ONE, ACC Liverpool and BBC Radio Merseyside, celebrates quality and excellence in a sector now supporting 23,000 jobs across the City Region. BBC TV presenter Ranvir Singh hosted the ceremony.
The winners were:
• The Mersey Partnership Special Award – Liverpool City Council for Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008
• Guest Accommodation of the Year – The Ambassador Town House, Southport – Highly Commended: Mere Brook House
• Self Catering Accommodation of the Year – Premier Apartments Liverpool
• Hotel of the Year – Malmaison Liverpool – Highly Commended: Crowne Plaza Liverpool
• Small Visitor Attraction of the Year -Acorn Farm Knowlsey – Highly Commended: Mersey Tunnel Tours
• Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Liverpool Cathedral
• Excellence in Customer Service – Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn
• Excellence in Business Tourism – BT Convention Centre Liverpool
• Taste Liverpool – Delifonseca Liverpool
• Tourism Experience of the Year – National Museums Liverpool for Art in the Age of Steam – Highly Commended: Liverpool Biennial
• Tourism Event of the Year – Creamfields Halton
• Student in Hospitality & Tourism – Stephanie Arnold, St. Helens College
• Performance Venue of the Year – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
• Bar of the Year – Alma De Cuba Liverpool
• Tourism Marketing Project of the Year – National Museums Liverpool for Art in the Age of Steam
• Tourism Retailer of the Year – The Beatles Story Liverpool – Highly Commended: Lady Lever Art Gallery Shop
• Sustainable Tourism – Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool
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.
12 buildings in the region have been shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Awards 2009 – North West.
Of 31 projects nominated the shortlisted entries are:
• Silver Cafe, Morecambe designed by Arca
• Midland Hotel, Morecambe designed by Union North
• Liverpool One Masterplan, Liverpool designed by BDP
• Chavasse Park, Liverpool designed by BDP in association with Pelli Clarke Pelli
• Bling Bling, Liverpool designed by CZWG
• 13b Paradise Street, Liverpool designed by Allies and Morrison
• Paradise Street Bridge, Liverpool designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects
• Wigg Island Visitor Centre, Runcorn designed by Hot Architecture
• Private House, Bramhall designed by MBLA Architects + Urbanists
• Alan Turing Building, Manchester designed by Sheppard Robson
• 3 Towers, Manchester designed by Union North
• BDP Studio, Manchester designed by BDP
The winners will be announced at ceremony at Urbis on May 20 2009 and will be eligible to be shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize.