News Centre

Leading North West retailer The Emporium Interiors in Clitheroe has won the Best In-Store or Window Display category at a prestigious national industry awards. The Moor Lane shop and brasserie, famous for its stylish and atmospheric mix of retail and dining (where everything is for sale except the staff), saw off competition from John Lewis’s […]

Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s NEW £16.25m rollercoaster ICON opens to the public. After much anticipation, Blackpool Pleasure Beach’snew £16.25M rollercoaster ICON finally opens to the public this Friday 25th May. After 5 years of planning and nearly 2 years since the project was announced to the public, the UK’s first ever double launch rollercoaster is ready to offer guests […]

Virgin’s Pendolino train named Blackpool Belle to celebrate launch of electric services Pendolino named to celebrate launch of Virgin Trains’ 36 additional services to and from Blackpool Famous ‘Blackpool Belle’ name pays homage to resort’s first illuminated tram and 1930s Lancashire excursion service Historical occasion as Virgin Trains serve Blackpool with electric Pendolino trains for […]

The Financial Times (FT) has featured a story identifying Burnley as one of the UK’s top towns for the growth of its digital technology sector. The piece in this week’s FT focuses on the Tech Nation 2018 report which identifies the UK’s leading 16 ‘tech towns’ that have a higher than average number of digital […]

Virgin Trains has recreated its iconic Pendolino train on Blackpool beach to celebrate its first visit to the seaside resort today. Measuring nearly five metres in length, the intricate sand sculpture of Britain’s most celebrated train in modern times cut a striking figure in front of the iconic Blackpool Tower. Made from two tonnes of Blackpool sand […]

Cathryn Watson Front of House Manger, The Barton Grange Hotel I’ve worked at the hotel for 13.5 years now and being the front of house manager is a hugely responsible role.  I think of myself as the Barton Grange Hotel’s ambassador of ‘hello’ and ‘goodbyes’.  I am the first person a guest sees when they arrive, […]

Lancashire becomes the first county partner to ‘There But Not There’ campaign Three Tommy figures will be unveiled at iconic locations across Lancashire and the county has formed a business committee to help drive community support and donations Campaign hopes to raise in excess of £15 million for armed forces and mental health charities Lancashire […]

Returning for a second time, the full Lancashire Encounter weekend festival will again light up the city of Preston in September. Funding has been granted to make this year’s festival bigger than ever with a range of acts embracing the city for the three day celebration of arts and performance. Lancashire Encounter is a weekend […]

Following the outstanding success of the launch event for his current Whitaker fine art exhibition, acclaimed local artist is offering enthusiasts of his work the opportunity to join him for an exclusive and unique, one-off, intimate evening in the Whitaker Gallery on Friday 18 May. Places are limited to 50 in number for the event; tickets are […]

The SPA Hotel at Ribby Hall Village is celebrating after winning its best ever 4-Star Silver status from the AA. It is the only hotel in Lancashire to hold this grading. In addition, The Hotel achieved a Merit Score of an impressive 84%, compared to a national average of 79%. Merit scores, unique to the […]

Clitheroe’s legendary Emporium is coming of age and celebrating its 21st birthday this month. The former Methodist Chapel on Moor Lane was the first venue developed by the James’ Places hospitality group and it trailblazed the ‘dining with retail’ concept in the Ribble Valley. The Emporium set itself apart from other eateries when it first […]

VisitEngland and the National Autistic Society and England’s Inclusive Tourism Action Group are today launching a web-based guide to help tourism businesses overcome barriers to welcoming autistic people. The ‘Welcoming Autistic People’ guide will help tourism operators to increase business by better understanding autism and making appropriate improvements. VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “By following […]