Lancashire is a historic county in North West England offering a mix of cultural heritage, scenic countryside, coastal resorts, historic sites, and vibrant market towns.
14 Nov
A beginner-friendly willow-weaving workshop led by Joe Gregory, where participants learn to make a sustainable Willow Scandi Star using English willow. All materials are provided, and some manual dexterity is required.
20 Nov
A beginner-friendly, hands-on workshop exploring how to create and care for terrariums. Participants can bring a clear glass container and make a miniature planted landscape with guidance from RHS horticultural advisers.
27 Nov
Participants make an asymmetric Christmas wreath using a cornus base, evergreen foliage and other natural materials, with guidance from florist Peter Hughes. The workshop takes place in the Learning Studios at RHS Garden Bridgewater.
RHS Garden Bridgewater is a large outdoor garden offering extensive plant collections, child-friendly learning areas, and several cafes for food and drink. Visitors can enjoy beautiful natural landscapes and seasonal meals while exploring the garden.
9 Oct
A volunteer-led 7km walk around Malham Tarn explores the landscape’s formation and local history, including stories of glaciers, cave men, monks and drovers. The route follows grassed paths and estate tracks, with stops to hear about points of interest and a lunch break.
Malham Tarn Estate in the Yorkshire Dales offers extensive outdoor experiences including a National Nature Reserve with boardwalks, diverse walking trails, and natural wildlife habitats. It is dog friendly, offers scenic countryside and woodland walks suitable for families, and provides mobility support through Tramper hire.
23 Oct
A beginner-friendly workshop exploring how to grow carnivorous and other unusual plants, with advice on caring for species suited to indoor and outdoor settings. Materials are provided, and attendees may have the opportunity to take home a small plant.
17 Dec
Guests enjoy a festive dinner in the Victorian tearoom followed by a one-man performance of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in the Great Hall, with mulled wine and a mince pie served during the interval.
Rufford Old Hall is a Grade I listed Tudor and Jacobean hall house in Lancashire featuring richly decorated interiors, a notable sixteenth-century carved wooden screen, extensive Victorian gardens with topiary squirrels, and historical collections of arms and rural memorabilia. The site offers both indoor historical architecture and outdoor garden experiences.
21 Nov
Participants learn to carve festive lino relief prints and use them with coloured inks to make their own wrapping paper. The beginner-friendly workshop takes place in the Learning Studios, with materials provided.
28–29 Nov
A Victorian-themed Christmas event at Gawthorpe Hall, with the Hall decorated for the season, music and bellringers, and a traditional kitchen display. Visitors can take part in children's crafts and meet Father Christmas.
Gawthorpe Hall is a Grade I listed Elizabethan country house located on the banks of the River Calder in Lancashire. The house features historic architecture with roots as a pele tower, extensive restoration by Charles Barry, ornamental gardens, and serves as a trailhead for the Brontë Way footpath. The site also includes Burnley Football Club's training complex on its grounds.
Burnley is a historic market town in Lancashire, England, known for its industrial heritage as a major cotton production centre and ongoing advanced manufacturing, as well as cultural attractions including historic mills, museums, music festivals, and a lively nightlife scene.
5 Dec
A festive workshop led by florist Peter Hughes, where attendees learn to make a Christmas centrepiece using evergreen foliage, pinecones and dried citrus. Participants take their finished decoration home.
18 Jul–1 Sep
Summer of Play at Rufford Old Hall is a family-friendly event occurring between 18 July and 1 September 2026 (closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays). It features outdoor games, borrowing sports day kits, Victorian-style toys and games inside the house, and free sports activities like cricket, rounders, and croquet in the Orchard Paddock. Normal admission charges apply.
WWT Martin Mere is a large wetland nature reserve in Lancashire managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, renowned for birdwatching with observation hides and hosting many rare species. It provides significant habitat for wildfowl and migratory birds, especially in winter, and supports important biodiversity.
7 Oct, 14 Oct…
Visitors can explore Gawthorpe Hall’s Grade I listed Great Barn with a knowledgeable volunteer and learn about its history, former uses, restoration and future plans.
Towneley Hall is a historic house and museum set in over 400 acres of parkland in Burnley, Lancashire, featuring fine art collections, original period rooms, and extensive outdoor grounds with woodland trails and a children's play area. Visitors can explore the Victorian kitchen and enjoy accessible facilities including a café and parking.
24 Oct
Participants learn from local artist Lisa Howard how to decorate a pumpkin with pressed and dried seasonal flowers and plants, and take home their finished creation. All materials are provided during this two-and-a-half-hour workshop.
5–6 Dec, 12–13 Dec…
Children and their accompanying adults join Father Christmas in his study for a festive story, games and a photo opportunity. The session includes a drink, cookie and a gift for each child.
30 Aug
Small Worlds: Treasures of Victorian Play is an exhibition at Rufford Old Hall that explores Victorian childhood through objects such as dolls and toy miniatures, offering insight into how children played and learned in the 19th century. The exhibition is a rare public display of carefully preserved toys from the Victorian era, providing a thought-provoking journey into social history, design, and childhood pasts.
Hesketh Out Marsh is a nature reserve focused on restoring saltmarsh habitat through managed realignment, offering outdoor nature trails, wildlife viewing, and a picnic area. The reserve is accessible with wheelchair-friendly paths and parking, welcomes dogs on leads, and has no entrance fee or on-site food facilities.
4 Dec
Participants learn to make a traditional Christmas wreath on a straw base using natural materials, with guidance from florist Peter Hughes. The workshop takes place in the Learning Studios and includes the materials needed to create the wreath.
8 Oct
This workshop introduces the history, philosophy and benefits of Japanese forest bathing, followed by mindful sensory activities in the woodland at RHS Garden Bridgewater.
4 Dec
A Christmas breakfast in Rufford Old Hall’s Victorian tearoom, with guests choosing a barm breakfast and a hot drink or cold drink. The event takes place in one sitting and does not include a visit from Father Christmas.
12 Nov
Join RHS Garden Bridgewater arborist Josh Corbett for a guided walk and talk exploring the lifecycle of trees, their relationship with fungi, and what tree features reveal about their history and future growth.
24 Sep
Historian Rachel Pilling gives a talk about Sir Charles Barry's renovations to Gawthorpe Hall in the 1850s, discussing the drawings, letters, and the involvement of the Kay-Shuttleworth family. The event includes entry to Gawthorpe Hall to see the Victorian rooms and takes place in the Servant's Hall basement room.
22 Oct
A practical workshop on creating new garden plants through editing and dividing herbaceous perennials. It includes an indoor presentation, an outdoor demonstration, and the opportunity to practise plant division and learn about spacing and design.
9–13 Oct, 16–20 Oct…
Stranger Folk is an app-based adventure inspired by British folklore, featuring interactive games and creatures such as goblins and boggarts. Families can explore Rufford Old Hall and its grounds, follow the story and take part in additional on-site games.
9 May, 13 Jun…
A guided sound-bathing session in Rufford Old Hall’s Great Hall, beginning with breathwork and relaxation before participants listen to sounds from crystal singing bowls, chimes and drums.
23 Oct–8 Nov
The Scarecrow Festival 2026 at Rufford Old Hall invites you to create and display scarecrows in the grounds based on the theme 'Rufford Rocks: pop stars and music legends'. The festival runs from 23 October to 8 November 2026, and visitors can see the scarecrow displays during opening hours. Participants must register by email and deliver their scarecrows by 19 October. Stakes for scarecrows can be provided by the venue if requested. Normal venue admission charges apply for attending the festival.
19 Apr, 26 Apr
Enjoy a breakfast barm and hot drink in the tearoom before joining a guided tour of the bluebells in Rufford Old Hall’s gardens and woodland. The tour explores the plants with guidance from garden volunteers.
1 Jan–31 Dec (another 83 days)
Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire offers a programme of scheduled talks, demonstrations, exhibitions, and drop-in activities throughout 2026. Events include daily house tours and talks, garden talks, a monthly dementia friendly café, music performances, traditional yarn spinning demonstrations, sports and games during summer, fencing drop-in sessions, a Victorian play exhibition, a woodturners market, and a scarecrow festival in autumn. Admission to events is free with normal venue admission charges applying.
5–6 Dec, 12–13 Dec…
Guests can enjoy a Christmas breakfast in Rufford Old Hall’s Victorian tearoom, where Father Christmas visits and gives gifts to children. Breakfast options include barm sandwiches and a hot drink or juice/milk.
21 Oct
A 30-minute gardening advice talk explores plants suited to partial or full shade, including how to choose, position and care for them.
4–6 Dec, 11–13 Dec…
A series of festive choir and instrumental performances takes place in Rufford Old Hall’s Great Hall on selected dates in December. Performances include choirs, lute and flute music, and hand chimes.
17 Oct (next Saturday)
The Cyclamen Society presents a display of flowering cyclamen species, with plants, seeds and publications for sale. Experts will be available to offer advice on growing cyclamen and raising them from seed.
5 Feb, 12 Feb
Enjoy a breakfast barm and hot drink in the tearoom, followed by a volunteer-guided walk through Rufford Old Hall’s gardens and woodland to learn about snowdrops.
28 Oct
Visitors can make a spooky woolly ghost to take home and explore the Hall to spot hidden bats. The Halloween craft activities are aimed at families.
15 Jan, 19 Feb
Enjoy breakfast in the tearoom before joining a guided behind-the-scenes tour of Rufford Old Hall during its winter conservation cleaning. The tour offers a chance to see the historic house and learn how its objects are cared for.
7–11 Oct, 14–18 Oct…
An exhibition across five rooms displays historic textiles collected by Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth, including embroidery, patterned and printed fabrics, wool work, metallic threads and costume pieces, presented around the theme of colour.
26 Nov
Join an RHS Garden Bridgewater arborist for a guided walk exploring the lifecycle of trees, their relationship with fungi, and what tree features reveal about their history and future growth.
25 Oct
Participants learn about spring bulbs, planting conditions and care, then plant a layered “lasagne” bulb pot to take home. The workshop includes time in the Learning Studios and Learning Greenhouse.
31 Oct
A Halloween-themed trail through the grounds of Gawthorpe Hall, where visitors can look for hidden ghosts, pumpkins, black cats and witches. Participants collect a trail sheet at the Hall before exploring.
8 Nov
A show by regional chrysanthemum growers, featuring prize-winning late-flowering chrysanthemums on display in the Learning Studios. Visitors can get advice from experts, and flowers will be available to buy from 3pm.
17 Oct (next Saturday)
An adult workshop exploring autumn in the garden through mindful drawing with pencils, clay forms and a tactile sculpture. Materials are provided, and some activities may take place outdoors, weather permitting.
23–27 Oct, 30 Oct–3 Nov…
A family scarecrow festival themed around pop stars and music legends. Visitors can explore the garden and woods to find scarecrows inspired by singers, musicians and bands.
28 Nov
Participants learn to make a festive asymmetric wreath using cornus bases and natural materials, with guidance from florist Peter Hughes. The workshop takes place in the Learning Studios at RHS Garden Bridgewater.