Outdoor-Holidays or Party Time - There is plenty to see in the North, its former industrial cities have become a hotspot for partygoers, and there are natural sites and castles for those who are looking for a more quiet retreat.
Northern England is famous as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, the birthplace of the train, the home of the Beatles. But what really draws visitors here is the environment - an exceptional mixture of spectacular countryside and fantastic coastline. This particular area has an abundance of sights on offers, with its picturesque Lake District, the Pennine Moors, shattered cliffs with numerous castles and abbey ruins in the valleys. You are guaranteed a stunning outdoor holiday here, with five national parks to choose from. But the former centres of the steel- and coal industry are also interesting destinations. Music and culture, shopping and parties determine the scene in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle, so that urban holidaymakers don’t lose out. Even if the time of the smokestack has come and gone – for example, today Liverpool is a production base for Japanese computer games – the North has not buried its past. The region presents its industrial heritage in many pleasantly designed museums and open-air parks: Quarry Bank Mill near Manchester shows the textile industry’s history with the use of a 200-year-old textile mill (http://www.quarrybankmill.org.uk). Life around 1913 is made real in the 120-hectare open-air museum in Beamish. There are also several model villages such as Saltaire by Bradford, which was built by wealthy industrialists for their workers over one hundred years ago.
