Wigan

Leigh Sports Village Stadium is thrilled to be hosts to the 2011 Gillette Four Nations England v Wales match on Saturday 29 October. The match kicks off at 2.30pm and will be the first England fixture of the tournament.

It will be the fourth time Leigh Sports Village Stadium has hosted International Rugby League, following the England v France International in June last year and the England Academy v Australia Schoolboys International Test Series in December 2010.

Speaking on the announcement, Leigh Sports Village Chief Executive Simon Toon said, “I am delighted that Leigh Sports Village will be hosting one of the Gillette Four Nations fixtures. The Four Nations is a prestigious competition and it is fantastic that we will be associated with the tournament. Leigh has an extremely proud rugby heritage and I have no doubt that the local community will look forward to watching International Rugby League here again.”

Tickets for the match are now on sale and available by calling the RFL ticketing hotline on 0844 8561113 or online at www.rugbyleaguetickets.co.uk. Tickets start from £10 for adults and £5 for concessions. Leigh Sports Village ticket office will be selling tickets shortly so visit www.leighsportsvillage.co.uk for further information.

A challenging endurance race is returning to Bolton this year.

The Ironman UK Triathlon will be held on July 31 2011.

The 2010 event attracted more than 1,100 athletes from around the glove and injected over £3.3 million into the local economy.

The 2011 race will follow the same route as last year, with a 2.4 mile swim in Pennington Flash, in Leigh, followed by a 112 mile bike ride in and around Lancashire. The final leg of the course, a 26.2 mile marathon, will take place in the streets of Bolton finishing in the town centre outside the Town Hall.

Application forms and detailed maps of the route are available at www.ironmanuk.com.

Thursday 9 – Sunday 12 September
www.heritageopendays.org.uk – fully events listing and details

Later this week properties across England will throw open their doors for free as part of the country’s annual celebration of local architecture, history and culture.

Supported nationally by English Heritage and run locally by an army of volunteers and community champions, Heritage Open Days takes place on people doorstops and is the country’s leading grassroots cultural event.

One million people are expected to take advantage of the four day event, exploring more than 4,000 properties of every style, period and function, many of which are normally closed to the public or usually charge an admission fee.

Participating properties in North West England include:

Barrow – Dalton Castle (Dalton-in-Furness)
Birkenhead – Birkenhead Park, Birkenhead Priory, Lady Lever Art Gallery
Blackpool – Blackpool Tower, Winter Gardens
Bolton – Bolton Steam Museum
Burnley – Gawthorpe Hall (Padiham), Queen Street Mill Textile Museum
Bury – Fusilier Museum, East Lancashire Railway, Peel Tower
Carlisle – High Head Sculpture Valley
Chester – Chester Racecourse, Grosvenor Museum, Little Moreton Hall (Congleton)
Kendal – Abbott Hall Art Gallery, Museum of Lakeland Life, Sizergh Castle
Lake District – Beatix Potter Gallery (Hawkshead), Blackwell (Windermere),
Liverpool – St George’s Hall, Cunard Building, Liver Building,
Macclesfield – Quarry Bank Mill
Manchester – Victoria Baths
Morecambe – Morecambe Town Hall
Oldham – Saddleworth Museum
Penrith – Acorn Bank
Preston – Samlesbury Hall
Rochdale – Healey Dell, Rochdale Pioneers Museum, Touchstones,
St Helens – World of Glass
Stockport – Hat Works, Staircase House, Air Raid Shelters, Bramall Hall
Warrington – Norton Priory (Runcorn)
Wigan – Museum of Wigan Life, Trencherfield Mill Engine

The Ironman UK triathlon returns to Bolton this weekend.

The race, on Sunday August 1, has attracted entries from more than 1,400 athletes from 35 countries.

The 2010 event begins at 6 am with a 2.4 mile swim in Pennington Flash, followed by a 112 mile cycle ride around Lancashire, and then a 26.2 mile marathon run through the streets of Bolton.

The run course follows a similar spectator-friendly route to last year. The runners will leave Lever Park Avenue and head to Chorley New Road near the Crown pub at Horwich. They will continue towards Bolton, past Middlebrook and to the Beehive pub, before heading into Bolton town centre and back along Chorley New Road to do another lap.

For the final lap, athletes follow a route via Chorley Street, Bark Street and Knowsley Street into Oxford Street, crossing the finishing line outside the Town Hall in Victoria Square.

The finish line is sure to be a highlight of the course as athletes finish below the big screen TV in front of Bolton’s historic Town Hall.

The first athletes are expected to cross the finish line at around 2 pm.

Detailed swim, bike and run routes are available at www.ironmanuk.com.

From 21 July until the end of August, the summer beach returns to Woodcock Square at The Galleries Shopping Centre in Wigan and will be free of charge to visit, making it a great attraction during the school summer holidays.

Richard Paxton, centre director of The Galleries commented: “The annual summer beach is back for its third year. The people of Wigan told us how fantastic it was to have a beach in the heart of Wigan and we’ve brought it back!”

“Everyone is welcome to The Galleries to enjoy the centre’s free summer beach. Spend time relaxing on a deck chair, making sand castles, joining in one of our free events or just have a short siesta in the sun.”

With 10 tonnes of sand, palm trees, deckchairs and decking, the beach will also play host to a number of activities on Wednesdays throughout the summer period.

At 11am on 21 July, when the beach officially opens, shoppers young and old will be entertained by Peppa Pig (appearances at intervals) traditional Punch and Judy shows and a steel band. Other Wednesday events include; face painting, balloon modelling and children’s activity workshops.

The beach will be open daily from 10am – 5pm until (21 July until 29 August). For more information, please visit www.galleriesbeach.co.uk or telephone 01942 825 734.

Three rail routes in North West England are to be electrified, slashing journey times increasing reliability, and reducing pollution.

The elecrification programme, announced today by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis, includes:

• 17 miles of track between Preston and Blackpool North, allowing electric trains to run between Blackpool North and Liverpool/Manchester
• 15 miles of track between Huyton and Wigan, allowing electric trains to travel between Wigan and Liverpool, via St Helens
• 25 miles of track between Euxton (near Chorley) and Manchester, allowing electric trains to operate between Preston and Manchester, via Bolton

Electrification will also increase capacity as electrified lines can accommodate longer trains.

One of the UK’s most challenging endurance races is returning to Bolton next year.

The Ironman UK Triathlon will be held on August 1, 2010, following its debut in the town earlier this year.

The 2009 event attracted more than 1,500 athletes from 35 countries and thousands of spectators. Approximately £4.2 million was injected into the local economy.

The 2010 race sees a slightly altered route with the 2.4 mile swim taking place in Pennington Flash in Leigh, near Wigan. The 26.2 mile run will head from the lake in Leigh, towards Bolton and pick up the same route as last year, finishing in Victoria Square.

Sheldon Phillips, Head of Regional Major Events at the Northwest Regional Development Agency said, said: ‘Ironman UK is a distinctive major event which attracts athletes and spectators from across the globe. The economic impact from 2009 has surpassed all our expectations and demonstrates not only the success of the first Ironman UK to take place in Bolton, but also how the local area has benefitted.’

Application forms and detailed swim, bike and run routes are available from www.ironmanuk.com.

Wigan Warriors Rugby League Football Club will open a new shop in Wigan town centre next week.

The new store, at the Grand Arcade, will open on Wednesday with an official launch on Thursday. It will be located on the ground floor of the mall opposite Next.

Wigan Warriors have agreed an initial 6 month contract for the site. If the shop is successful the club will look to extend the term of the lease. The existing shop on Hilton Street will remain open for business as normal until 5 pm on Tuesday.

The store will sell a wide range of Warriors official merchandise including replica kits, shirts, and training wear.

Chief Executive Mick Hogan said, ‘We are delighted to have secured such a prestigious site within the town centre. The Grand Arcade is at the heart of the towns shopping area and provides an excellent location. In the lead up to Christmas this is ideal timing to relocate our club shop and we hope to attract both our existing loyal supporters as well as more passing trade.’

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 North West’s top tourism businesses and professionals were honoured in Blackpool last night.

The 2009 Northwest Tourism Awards ceremony was held at Blackpool Tower and organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

18 winners received awards fro BBC presenter Ranvir Singh:

• Bed and Breakfast of the Year – The Ashton, Lancaster
• Large Hotel of the Year – The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
• Small Hotel of the Year – Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel, Windermere
• Self Catering Holiday of the Year – Hall Hills, Dalston, near Carlisle
• Holiday Park of the Year – Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park, Keswick, Cumbria
• Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
• Small Visitor Attraction of the Year – Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire
• Taste of England’s Northwest – Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop, Kendal, Cumbria
• Tourism Experience of the Year – Farmaggedon, near Ormskirk, Lancashire
• Tourism for All – Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
• Tourism Event of the Year – Blackpool Illuminations
• Public Space Award – Pier Head Public Realm and Canal Link, Liverpool
• Tourist Information Centre of the Year – Wigan TIC
• Travel Journalist of the Year – Stephen McClarence, The Observer
• Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award – Nigel Haworth, Northcote, near Blackburn
• Excellence in Business Tourism – Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool
• Excellence in Customer Service – Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn, Liverpool
• Sustainable Tourism Award – Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool

Each will represent the North West in next year’s national tourism awards.