Much Hoole

Museum of Wigan Life

Scholes Village · 13 miles

The Museum of Wigan Life is a public museum and local history resource centre in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The nineteenth-century listed building is by the noted architect Alfred Waterhouse. It originally housed Wigan Library, where George Orwell researched his book The Road to Wigan Pier in 1936.

Bolton Art Gallery, Library & Museum

Eagley · 17 miles

Has an archive section

Croxteth Hall

Deysbrook · 18 miles

Set within the West Derby suburb of Liverpool, Croxteth Hall stands as a Grade II* listed country estate that once formed the ancestral seat of the Molyneux family, Earls of Sefton. The core of the house dates from around 1575 and later acquired Tudor, Georgian and Queen Anne elements, with the principal west façade erected in 1702 and a visitor wing added in 1874. After the death of the seventh Earl in 1972 the property transferred to Liverpool City Council; roughly half of the original grounds were sold, while the remaining 500 acres now operate as Croxteth Park, a public country park that retains play facilities for children. The hall itself welcomes visitors for a modest charge and is not wheelchair-accessible, although opening times are published on the council’s listing. The surrounding park offers a range of attractions. A Victorian walled garden houses the historic Liverpool Botanics collection, including national collections of dracaena, codiaeum, coleus and a variety of orchids and bromeliads. Adjacent to the hall is a working farm and Mull Wood, part of the 85-hectare Croxteth Local Nature Reserve, where a wild-flower meadow has been established near the old kennels. Regular activities include a free 5 km parkrun each Saturday at 09:00, events organised by the Friends of Croxteth Hall, and occasional concerts, fairs and markets managed by the council. Part of the hall also accommodates the Liverpool campus of Myerscough College, teaching around 350 full-time students. The historic kennels, designed by John Douglas in the 1870s, remain in use and are maintained by the Croxteth Park Volunteer Group.

Thornton Sundial

Thornton · 16 miles

Haresfinch Park

Haresfinch · 16 miles

Lyme and Wood Pits Country Park

New Boston · 17 miles