Here's my Spring round up of what is happening in and around Manchester and the North West UK for families of all ages, including students and young people. Theatre, exhibitions, days out, shopping and more...


If you have anything suitable you wish me to add, please send short copy over with a photo to thebrickcastle@gmail.com. The next round up will cover Easter onwards...

As usual there is loads to do in Manchester and the North West this Autumn - here are just a few events and activities which are suitable for families with children of all ages, possibly even when they're taller than you and have a full beard...


I will add to this post as more comes in. If you have anything you'd like me to add, please email it to me, with a photo! Please don't send me anything which isn't in the North West UK...


Sunday 13 October - an accessible day of interactivity, including dance, music, and arts activities. This day is designed especially for families where one or more members may have additional accessibility requirements.




A World Inside A Book: Gruffalos, Dragons and Other Creatures
Until December 2019
Immersive Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler inspired world to explore. 0-8 years old and their families : £6 - £7

This Summer Knowsley Safari is hosting the massive Ultimate Brick Safari, and 80 lifesize LEGO models have taken their places among the real live animals and attractions. We were invited over to take a look, and my daughter and her boyfriend tagged along with us too.


It was 30 degrees all week and the Summer heatwave records broken, so naturally we arrived at Knowsley in the pouring rain. It was warm though, and quite honestly the damp didn't spoil our day.

There are lots of places to shelter from any weather conditions, including the regular Sea Lion Display - I've written about the Sea Lions at Knowsley before, so I concentrated on the LEGO on this visit.


It didn't take us long to spot the first of the 80 models. They start as soon as you enter the park, and really are spread all over the site, all around the walking route, or 'Foot Safari' . The baby gorilla and pandas were two of my favourites.

Photo heavy post - click on any image to enlarge it...

It's Easter and the weather is likely to be predictably unpredictable. Inside or out, here are some of the things you could be getting up to in Manchester, Liverpool and the rest of the North West UK during March, April and May - for families with children of all ages...

It's Christmaaaaaaaaaaas.....well, it isn't yet, but if you are looking ahead at what you can do with the family over the festive period, here are loads of ideas for theatre and other events in the Manchester and NorthWest area of the UK.


I'm happy to add anything relevant that is in the NORTHWEST UK and is suitable for families of any age - please send me an email with NW Christmas in the subject heading...

I'm not getting anything in return for doing this giveaway, but it looks such a great event and the price is very fair, so I'm more than happy to promote it! Set in the centre of Liverpool at St Luke’s “Bombed-Out” Church at the top of Bold Street (one of Liverpool's most iconic Heritage sites), Winter Wonderland is a 4 week long spectacular which should create a Christmas Grotto visit to remember forever.

Set against a beautiful and atmospheric festive backdropsand with lots to explore, families will be escorted by an elf and immersed into their very own Christmas spectacular full of festive characters, workshops and fun activities,


Fondly known as the ‘Bombed-Out’ Church, St Luke’s is one of Liverpool’s best loved heritage sites and the inside will be transformed into a Winter Wonderland. Families will take part in a whole host of festive activities, including meeting the big man himself. Tickets are booked in advance for a 2 hour timeslot and there is plenty included to keep anyone busy.

Lat weekend we were guests of CBBC and Croxteth Hall And Country Park for the CBBC Summer Social. The weather was on our side, dry and not super hot, and unusually gates opened at 9.30am, so we set off bright and early, in time to take a few photos before the crowds really descended.


The CBBC Summer Social is a festival for families with children aged around 0-11, and loads of children's TV favourites were there. It was lovely to find the whole site is really flat and relatively compact, especially when you consider what they managed to fit in!

Covering Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, St Helens and the Northwest UK. There are some great events and activities for families in the Northwest this Easter holiday, here are just a few of the museum and theatre productions that you can go to see. Manchester and other Northwest schools mainly break up on Maundy Thursday, so most events take place in the first 2 weeks of April.


Don't forget your local library and museum - most have special events or storytime and very often it is free.  As ever, if you want me to add your event, send me an email!



Until Monday 28 May
The Lowry arts centre in Salford celebrates its 18th birthday in 2018 and will mark the milestone through its biennial Week 53 festival, which will have a ‘Coming of Age’ theme and includes 66 contemporary art, dance, drama and spoken word performances by more than 130 artists from seven countries.
Some elements of the programme are free of change and those that are ticketed are set-priced at £10 or £20. For all ticketed performances there will be an allocation of ‘Pay What You Decide’ seats available both in advance and on the door – to encourage audiences to ‘try something new’.
Find out more on the website: www.thelowry.com
Tickets: Free, £10, £20 and ‘Pay What You Decide’

Here is my round up of loads of family-friendly activities in the Northwest UK this December and Christmas period. There is absolutely masses happening, so I'll keep adding to this post as I receive more - if you know of anything you think I should add, please send me the details and I'll add it in if appropriate!




Bolton Octagon

Until 13th January.
Suitable for children aged 5+, but not too scary.  Find out more and book tickets (£12-£26) on The Octagon Theatre Bolton website or by calling in or ringing the Box Office 01204 520661.
We have already seen this and you can find my Bolton Octagon A Christmas Carol review here... 

Eureka, Halifax

25th November - 23rd December.
Father Christmas and a few of his Elven friends are coming to Eureka! The National Children’s Museum to get into the festive spirit by chatting to children and giving out a few early gifts in the snuggliest grotto in town - named one of the UK’s best by popular parenting site NetMums.com in 2016. Grotto days will include autism friendly sessions. Visitors to the children’s museum will be able to watch ‘Night Lights’, an original festive show. Visits to the grotto cost £3 plus standard admission, entry to Night Lights is free – book both on arrival. Standard admission £12.95, upgrade to Annual Membership during your visit for free. Visit the Eureka website to find out more.

October half term looks to be another cold and wet one, but there is still plenty to do and there are loads of places to go with family of all ages. Here are some of the events and activities on offer this year...

9 Shows, 18 Days, 26 Venues. The Z-arts Big Imaginations Festival launch was at Just So Festival last weekend and I was lucky enough to be there to watch Joseph Coelho, producer of one of the shows, kick start the launch with readings from a couple of his poems. We'll be reviewing another show, Children Of The Divide, with our 7 and 8 year old boys.

Here is a rundown of what will be on offer over 2 weeks full of the highest quality affordable theatre for children and families. No single venue offers all shows, so check with the festival website to find what's on near you.







The Shows are:

Summer is nearly here! Yeeeay! Here are loads of events and activities to keep the family amused rain or shine over the Summer holidays in Manchester Central, Wider Manchester, Liverpool or the North West UK. I try to collect as many cheaper ideas as possible, never overlook your local library and museum as they often have special events and a lot of them are free!

Manchester Central

THE LOWRY

There are fabulous events and activities for families this half term all over Manchester and the Northwest. People have spent months planning and putting together shows, workshops and theatre. Why not try something new...

 Here are some of our favourites - if you have anything to add, please email it to me..

Don't forget your local museum and library, entry is usually free and they arrange all sorts for the holidays - here is a great post by Jollies And Jaunts with 10 quirky items you can find in Manchester Musems.

MANCHESTER AREA

Here are some of the things you could be getting up to with your family in the North West this Easter....

If you have an April event to add, please email it to me with the subject April 2017 and I'll add anything appropriate - we are particularly fond of those which are low cost or free....

We went to Knowsley Safari Park (between Liverpool and Warrington)  a little while ago and took part in one of their Family Workshops - my blog post is here. It makes a fantastic day out, we had a brilliant time, yet we didn't even go on the safari drive.

As well as driving around the park visiting all of the wild animals, and having to make the decision whether or not you drive through the monkey enclosure, Knowsley has lots of other interesting animals to discover.

During our Family Workshop we fed the bats, meercats and giraffes, but we also saw lots more and didn't get a chance to tell you about it, so here are the insects, snakes and reptiles, birds, hogs and sea lions.