Events in the Country

Bowland Arts Festival

01 May 2010 - 30 Jun 2010 /

Great reason to visit one of the UK’s loveliest spots, The Forest of Bowland. Artists’ open studios, exhibitions, music and performance events, plus creative workshops, talks and walks exploring the interaction of environment and culture.

Barnaby Festival

18 - 20 Jun 2010 / Various venues, Macclesfield

The traditional St Barnabas Day Festival gets a major makeover this year as the centre of Macclesfield turns into one big gallery for a range of arts installations and events.

Arley Garden Festival

26 - 27 Jun 2010 / Arley Gardens, Cheshire

Floral displays, garden tours and a fab food fair are all part of this wonderful festival of gardening in one of Cheshire’s prettiest country estates.

RHS Flower Show

21 - 25 Jul 2010 / Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire

One of the must-sees of the UK’s annual gardening calendar, this is the northern version of the Chelsea Flower show, set in one of Cheshire’s most famous gardens. Rub shoulders with the Beeb’s gardening celebrities as they debate the whys and wherefores of Wisteria.

Lakes Alive: Titanic

23 - 24 Jul 2010 / Carlisle Castle, Carlisle

The legendary sinking of the Titanic during an April night in 1912 is brough to life as an apocalyptic theatrical inferno with live music and stunning fire and water effects, by the German theatre group, Theater Titanick.

Maryport Blues Festival

23 - 25 Jul 2010 / Various venues, Maryport

Now in its 12th year, this well-loved festival has attracted some of the biggest legends in blues to appear in a small Cumbrian harbour town, from Van Morrison and Chuck Berry to Buddy Guy and Dionne Warwick. Headlining this year is Robert Cray and his band with the line-up featuring over 40 bands and 150 musicians from all over the globe.

Lakes Alive: Into the Woods

28 - 30 Jul 2010 / Talkin Tarn Country Park, Brampton; Whinlatter Forest; Grizedale Forest

If you go down to the woods today you're sure of a big surprise, or in this case a variety of strolling performers and static shows on this nature trail with a difference. Picnicking teddybears not guaranteed.

Lake District Summer Music Festival

30 Jul 2010 - 15 Aug 2010 / Various venues, Cumbria

A chance to experience beautiful chamber music in glorious settings, this gem of a classical music festival always delivers some events to remember.

Lakes Alive: Penrith

01 Aug 2010 / Penrith Town Centre, Penrith

Penrith is taken over by giant strolling creatures, comic creations, imaginitive marionettes and enchanting shadow puppets as over 20 different performance groups from Catalonia, Spain, Holland, Switzerland, France, the UK and beyond hit the streets.

Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food & Culture

14 Aug 2010 - 14 Sep 2010 / Various venues around East Lancashire

Celebration of all things foodie with events ranging from culinary canal cruises and pony trekking picnics to steam train lunches, champagne balloon flights, ale trails and brewery tours. Includes the famous World Gravy Wrestling Championships – seriously.

Southport Flower Show

19 - 22 Aug 2010 / Victoria Park, Southport

The largest independent flower show in the country takes place in this charming seaside town, colloquially known as Lancashire’s ‘garden by the sea’.

Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival

27 - 30 Aug 2010 / The Muni Theatre, Colne, Lancashire

Chicago, Mississippi, New Orleans... and Colne? Believe it or not, this market town in Lancashire can truly claim to be the UK’s ‘home of the blues’ with this festival that brings together the best of UK and international blues talent. Celebrating its 21st anniversary, the big names in this year’s line-up include Peter Green, Georgie Fame, Dr Feelgood and Omar and the Howlers.

Lakes Alive: Bombs Per Minute

30 Aug 2010 / The Harbour, Maryport

Expect a visual and sonic treat as Les Commandos Percu, a French group of master percussionist and pyrotechnicians, blow your mind with an extravaganza of sound and light.

Lakes Alive: Mintfest

02 - 05 Sep 2010 / Various venues, Kendal

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

04 Sep 2010 / Tatton Park, Cheshire

Outdoor theatre company Ilyria bring you Jane Austen at her vibrant and witty best in the glorious setting of Tatton Park, the sort of venue where Lizzie Bennet and Mr D’Arcy probably strolled around in Ms Austen’s imagination.

Ullswater Outdoor Festival

25 Sep 2010 - 03 Oct 2010 / Various locations around Ullswater

Reckoned by many to be England’s most beautiful lake, this nine-day festival has something for all exertion levels, from woodland trails and steamer rides to mountain biking, kayaking and remote peak ascents.

Rural Rossendale Walking Festival

01 - 03 Oct 2010 / Rossendale, Lancashire

This year the Rural Rossendale Walking Festival features a host of aptly named ‘foodie’ walks such as The Fudge Trudge, Swish and Chips, The Black Pudding Plod, take in the best of Rossendale’s local food producers.

Shell Chester Literature Festival

18 - 31 Oct 2010 / Various venues, Chester

Celebrating the written and spoken word with a stellar ensemble of literary personalities, plus local authors and poets.

North West Food Lovers Festival

22 - 24 Oct 2010 / Tatton Park and various venues, Cheshire

Get the taste buds tingling for two weeks of foodie events involving restaurants and fine food stores across Cheshire, culminating in two days at Tatton Park when over 120 food and drink stalls offering a lip-smacking range of top quality regional produce to see, taste and buy.

Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food & Culture

19 Aug 2010 - 16 Sep 2010 / Various venues around East Lancashire

Celebration of all things foodie with events ranging from culinary canal cruises and pony trekking picnics to steam train lunches, champagne balloon flights, ale trails and brewery tours. Includes the famous World Gravy Wrestling Championships – seriously.

Tatton Park Biennial

19 Aug 2010 - 26 Sep 2010 / Tatton Park, Cheshire

This second Biennial of contemporary art at Cheshire’s most notable stately home turns the expansive grounds, lakes and gardens into a laboratory for creative experiment and exchange. Over 20 emerging and internationally recognised artists explore our ‘sense of place’ through a diverse range of commissions and installations.

Mintfest

02 - 05 Sep 2010 / Various venues, Kendal

Kendal’s international festival of street arts and theatre offers everything from the completely inspirational to the fantastically bizarre. Over 200 performers descend on this pretty Lake District market town for four action-packed days that bring its streets and parks alive with performance.

Ullswater Outdoor Festival

25 - 03 Sep 2010 / Various locations around Ullswater

Reckoned by many to be England’s most beautiful lake, this nine-day festival has something for all exertion levels, from woodland trails and steamer rides to mountain biking, kayaking and remote peak ascents.

Rossendale Walking Festival

01 - 04 Oct 2010 / Rossendale, Lancashire

Exercise and indulgence combine to make a guilt-free treat as this year’s festival features a host of aptly named ‘foodie’ walks such as The Fudge Trudge, Swish and Chips and The Black Pudding Plod, taking in the best of the Rossendale Valley’s food producers.

Kendal Mountain Festival

18 - 21 Nov 2010 / Various venues, Kendal, Cumbria

Festival devoted to all things vertical, from film, books and art photography to humour and drama. This internationally-renowned crag-hoppers convention attracts top adventurers, climbers, writers and film-makers from around the world.