I will be working in Manchester for three months, from April to June 2019. I am looking for some recommendations for weekend day trips or overnight trips which I can do from Manchester.

To give some background on me, I am a 25 year old female Australian who has only visited the UK once (10 years ago, visiting London and Bath) but have travelled to Europe and beyond extensively. I am planning on spending a week in London before my work starts in Manchester, and am thinking of spending Easter in Edinburgh / Isle of Sky on a short tour. For suggestions of places to visit, I am happy to hire a car for the weekend or travel by train.

I love spending time outdoors, whether it be walks, bike rides, beautiful scenery to photograph, canoeing, etc. I also love the old quaint villages / monasteries / castles in the UK which we don't have in Australia! I know Manchester is relatively close to the Lakes District, Peaks District, Yorkshire Dales, and Snowdonia and I have started doing some preliminary research of these areas.

Please share some of your favourite towns/sights/walks in those areas as well as some trips to other regions / towns which I have not considered yet!

We live a short distance from Manchester.

I’ll not re-iterate your ideas because they are the top of the list. I’d add :

Anglesey stunning beaches
The Llyn Peninsula
Lytham for its restaurants
Blackpool because it is there
The area around Arnside for its large untouched ancient woodland walks and RSPB nature reserve at Leighton Moss

Dumfries and Galloway , where we have a house, for incredible coast lines, monasteries and castles, history which you can touch and walks where you will see nobody for days. ( The Lake District can get busy)
Hadrains Wall and the Tullie Museum for it’s Roman exhibition
The coast of Northumbria for jaw dropping castles

I have to go to work now but I’ve lived in this area for 45 years and do “trips out” every week. I still amaze myself at some of the magical corners of a Northern England / Scotland.

I’ll post many more to come

Whilst you are here, there are around 10 posters here who know the area very well. I’m sure we would all love to help.

3 months will be eaten up in no time!

I live in the Yorkshire Dales so can assist with that area, and indeed North Yorkshire in general.
We also visit the Lake (not Lakes) District a lot.
York city itself is an obvious trip, easily done by train
,https://www.visityork.org/
North Yorkshire itself has enough to see to keep you occupied for weeks. A car is by far the easiest way to get around the rural areas. You mention abbeys - don't miss seeing the World Heritage Site of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden. The World Heritage site is actually awarded because of the unique and beautiful gardens. I am lucky enough to work here, but I think everyone would agree it is a stunning place.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/fou...l-water-garden
Other abbeys in North Yorkshire include Rievaulx, Jervaulx, Byland, Whitby, Mount Grace etc.
Jervaulx Abbey Wedding & Civil Ceremony Venue Yorkshire
Whitby is on the North Yorkshire coast and is again worth seeing but avoid a Bank Holiday weekend. Just along the coast is Robin Hood's Bay.
https://www.robin-hoods-bay.co.uk/
North Yorkshire has 2 National Parks - as well as the Dales there's the North Yorkshire Moors.
https://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/
Hope this kicks off some research!

As above
I live a little further south from Morgana and I propose Bolton abbey with some lovely walks into the hills.
Saltaire, home to Salts Mill a world UNESCO site, at the time the world larget mill, with a model village for the workers around it and fine walks along the Leeds Liverpool canal
Leeds itself has a very different feel to Manchester,with some great museums including the Armouries https://royalarmouries.org/venue/roy...ouries-museum/ which may be a military but they have actors wandering the building in clothing of the time and events in the jousting yard which are worth a few hours and of course is free (as are most, but not all, museums) The shopping is good, the music venues are good, well worth a trip across the penines by train.

Other stuff.
Trains; worth reading seat61.com to get a really good idea of how they work
https://ysp.org.uk/
https://hepworthwakefield.org/
https://www.traveline.info/ all the public transport services in one app

The three above are all locals and will be VERY helpful. I only have one quick comment right now. I'd re-think your plans for Skye. April might be fine, bit can still be very wintry (well, as can June ) but in any case I'd try to visit Skye in mid-June if possible.

Liverpool is a short distance away and a fierce rival of Manchester dating back to the days when both were leading the country, and the world, into the industrial revolution. There is certainly more of interest in that great mariitime city than just the Beatles. One possible tour goes one way by canal boat and returns to Manchester by coach.The canal was a key innovation for shipping the products of the industrial heartland around the world.
You might catch a late-season soccer game although tickets are hard to come by at any time. Manchester City is looking dominant again and Manchester United is in turmoil so you might be able to find a ticket at United's legendary (and currently unhappy) stadium. Both bowls run tours when games are not on and the non-football-fan can at least sense the dominating spirits surrounding each club.
The Manchester tourism authority is proud of its cultural attractions and boasts about lots of concerts, plays, museums and art gallery shows. But it remains a blue-collar history and the city's industrial museums are gearhead heaven. To go with it, the "Curry Mile" running through Manchester's sprawling university feeds both students and discriminating diners. There is also a growing interest in craft beers, like so many other places these days.

I have never been to Manchester, but I'm a goldmine of info on getting cheap airfares within Europe, and I know you can get from Manchester to both Bordeaux and Bergerac in France, and from either of those can get cheap flights to all kinds of places in Europe and North Africa. So you have plenty of inexpensive options for long weekend trips.

St Cirq

Raises a really good suggestion and it proves the point about locals sometimes being the worst guides. Although, I have visited nearly every town between Stoke and Fort William, I now spend most of my spare time at Liverpool airport on EasyJet flights.

I know you mention that you have travelled extensively around Europe but the network which EasyJet, Ryanair, Jet2 and Flybe provide from Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds Bradford is mind blowing.

What is more mind blowing are the deals you can still get from booking early. This year we have flown to Marrakesh, Bordeaux twice, Palermo and Madrid. In all cases, quite frankly we have paid peanuts. For next year, I am just about to boom to Bordeaux (one way £21) and Sardinia (£40 return).

I can only encourage you hugely to make it to Bordeaux and The Dordogne (St Cirq’s home) both are bonkersly beautiful. Bordeaux has enjoyed huge investment over the past 10 years and has one of the best food scenes in Europe. It has without question, the best wine scene in the world.

The rest of your new patch :

I’ll leave the East to Morgana and Bilbo as they are the experts and everything they have suggested is absolutely unquestionable.

On the West side,

We love (in no particular order)

the Forest of Bowland, most of the forest has been cut down but there is dramatic estate moorland and some of the best foodie pubs around.

Ingleton waterfalls walk although it can get very busy, there are some very interesting limestone features all along the border between Lancashire and Yorkshire. Malham Cove is a really interesting example of a glacial limestone cataract with a sink hole river.

The Buttermere round walk in The Lakes which goes up Haystacks along to Red Pike and down back to Buttermere. There are stunning views into Ennerdale and over to Scotland on a good day,

The walk around Derwentwater from Keswick is around 16 miles but if you need a lift you can use the old wooden gondola ferry which services the Lake between stop off points on the walk ie you can cheat if you get bored. Stunning scenery.

The walk up Helvellyn using the Striding Edge ridge is really good fun but has to be taken very seriously in anything but good weather. The conditions can change very quickly and in snow (which isn’t unusual at 3000ft in May) it can be plain dangerous.

In Liverpool is the Indistrial model village Port Sunlight. It is a example industrial revolution worked in a cohesive way. Lever Brothers became one of the world’s largest chemical product companies and built a purpose planned village for its workers around 130 years ago. The village has been maintained in its current state. Other the historic interest, there is the art gallery in the village which houses probably the best collection of pre Raphaelite painting anywhere. The style isn’t my favourite but my wife loves them. I have to say the sheer scale and beauty of the paintings is jaw dropping.

The Walker gallery in Liverpool also has a very notable collection and British and international art. My favourite is the Martyr of the Solway by John Everett Millais which dipicts a Scottish Covenanter being executed by being tied to a stake on the beach awaiting the tide to come in. Sounds gruesome but the image captures the innocence of Margaret Wilson and the cause she died for.

When end you arrive it may be worth just posting and we could give you ideas based on your available time or plans.

“Manchester United is in turmoil”

Not anymore.

He’s gone!

and vacated his suite at the Lowry Hotel whilst paying the bill for the room of £573,000.

British Caicos, we too have been all over thanks to easyjet. It's a huge 20-minute hassle each way, but OMG, you end up in some of the most wonderful places on earth, so who's bitching?

London makes a good weekend getaway.

St Cirq

There’s something about EasyJet to love.

They just display a good price, hide no costs, their planes show up, take you and bring you back.
Unlike every other airline, they have never piddled around with schedules or times. Delta and Norwegian have cornered the market on that trick, where your initial booking is only a vague suggestion of what they will finally offer you on the departure date.

Simple.

For 50 quid I don’t expect or want, fluffy pillows, plasma screens, sushi, free Verve Clicquot.

https://www.16-25railcard.co.uk/

Get a Young Person's Rail Card if 25 and below if doing many train trips

Or take buses which are usually cheaper but slower than trains but go everywhere - again a Young Person's Coach Card saves money:

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/o...s/young-person

As said above, www.seat61.com is the best site for train info and on booking your own train tickets at a discount if book early enough to get those limited in number fares.

National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables is the site to book any train yourself.

Thank you all so much for all of the above suggestions! You have certainly given me lots to work through. Starting to wish I had more than 3 months to explore the area (or didn't have to work during the week )!

Everyone has offered lots of choices for your day trip request, but don't forget that there's lots to see in the city too. If you can say where will you be staying and working, I can offer some pointers on what to see in the city and its environs? That can take up at least a couple of weekends on its own.

The Lune Valley, Kirkby Lonsdale and Ingleton.

Lancaster

Morecambe Promenade, and the views across to the South Lakeland Hills.

Thank you to everyone who posted and made suggestions. It has been most helpful as I have finalised (and started) my travels. For those who are interested, I have made the following plans:

1. Already completed a week in London, Easter in Scotland (was blessed with great weather), and a day trip out to Chatsworth House. Have thoroughly enjoyed all, but was ready to leave London after a week - I'm not a big city person!

2. Two weekends in the Lakes District. One weekend is with a walking group (based at High Wray), and the other using public transport on a long weekend. I'm basing myself in Windermere. I've organised a tour for one day to give me an overview of the Lakes District without relying on public transport. Planning one day hiking, thinking of doing Helvellyn via Striding Edge (thanks BritishCaicos!) and then a day exploring the Windermere area/lake.

3. A weekend in the Peaks District with a walking group (based near Hope).

4. An organised tour of Northern Wales (long weekend). Organised tour wasn't ideal, but I really struggled with getting to Snowdonia using public transport and getting around the area. It should be a good taster for me to tempt me to go back and explore Wales more in the future!

5. A weekend based in Carlisle. I haven't decided if I will hire a car yet. If I don't have a car, I'll just explore Hadrian's Wall using public transport. If I do hire a car, I'm thinking of spending a day exploring Hadrian's Wall and a day exploring a little of Dumfries and Galloway (BritishCaicos - any must see areas of Dumfries and Galloway?). Alternatively, I could also explore the northern section of the Lakes District. Suggestions?

6. Day trip to York from Manchester (not yet booked - so still open to change this weekend)

7. Organised day trip to Yorkshire Dales from Manchester (not yet booked - so still open to change this weekend).

8. Weekend exploring Isle of Man - any suggestions? Thinking of hiring a car here, though public transport does seem to be reasonably well set up. It will give me the flexibility to explore a large amount of the island in the short amount of time I have there (2 full days)

9. Weekend in Bath - I'm going late June so expect it to be busy, but am planning on visiting the Roman Baths in the evening to avoid the day trippers! I have visited Bath many years ago and really enjoyed it. Should be a nice way to end my trip before heading back home to Winter in Australia!

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a ticket to a soccer match, but have gone to the pub to watch a couple of games! Certainly soccer/football is the English sport!

As indicated by all the helpful posters, there is plenty to see and do in the area, and I could easily spend another 3 months here exploring! Thanks for all the suggestions!

Blackpool is a tacky p[opular seaside resort near Manchester. Fabulously popular with Brits - old trams trundle along the miles-long seaside area - check out the Tower - a mini-Eiffel Tower - well not so mini as it can be seen for miles away. Nightlife is Blackpool is varied - for oldsters and for folks you age. Blackpool is a unique place but not the cultural place you may be looking for:

https://www.google.com/search?q=blac...ih=613&dpr=1.5

https://www.visitblackpool.com/

Don't bother with Blackpool. It is rundown and pretty awful.
Rent a car for Snowdonia - you will enjoy it much more on your own - you can go for a couple of good hikes.

Check the weather carefully before attempting Striding Edge, or any other hike, wear suitable footwear and make sure someone knows where you are going and when you should be back. Do not underestimate these hikes and how changeable the weather can be.

Nearer to Manchester you have some fabulous walking up on the Moors.

Blackpool cold make a nice night out from nearby Manchester - note on the link I gave there are several popular plays and musicals on. I read now that Blackpool - has been spruced up from its days long ago when hetismij probably visited - but anyway Blackpool has become a play not only for stag and hen parties but which attracts young professionals and students up here on weekends because of the eclectic nightlife -- kind of a hoot outing - 25-yr-old girl may fit into that scene. But otherwise Blackpool is kind of a typical yes tacky seaside resort but one that is fabulously popular with Brits and is increasing its popularity by many thousands each year lately.

It's not your grandparents Blackpool - I have not been to Blackpool since 2009 but constantly read things like this or from the tourist office to keep on top of what is happening. It's a quirky place too with streets full of B&Bs and pubs and greasy cheap restaurants and chippies, etc.