Burnley

Burnley grew up on cotton weaving, and that history is still the thing that defines it. Queen Street Mill Textile Museum keeps the story of the town's working looms alive, and it is one of the few places left where you can see that industry up close rather than read about it on a plaque. This is a working Lancashire town rather than a polished tourist stop, and it is all the better for that honesty.

Most visitors base themselves in the town itself or the surrounding countryside. Hotels range from the Holiday Inn Express by junction 10 of the M65, useful for anyone passing through, to properties with more character such as Fence Gate Lodge, Hurstwood Hall and The Barley Mow, along with the spa facilities at Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort. Premier Inn Burnley and Rosehill House Hotel cover the middle ground, and for longer stays self-catering options like Brun Cottage, Foxstones Farm House and Hollingreave House give families and groups more space and a base out among the fields.

Beyond the mill museum, Towneley Hall Museum sits in its own parkland and gives a very different picture of the area's past, grand rather than industrial. Thompson Park and Miniature Railway is an easy, unhurried way to spend an afternoon, particularly with children, and for wetter days there are indoor options including MFA Bowl Burnley, Kiddy Chaos Burnley and Air Unlimited Inflatable Park. Burnley Youth Theatre points to a livelier, more creative side of the town too, and The Woodland Spa offers a slower pace if you want it.