26 Aug 2015
School trip friendly venues across the county include the recently opened £40million 'Islands' attraction at Chester Zoo, the biggest development in the history of zoos. The large and complex build is now home to a number of animals classed as critically endangered in the wild, and takes visitors on an expedition through the recreated South East Asian habitats of Panay, Papua, Bali, Sumatra, Sumba and Sulawesi.
This includes a Monsoon Forest, the largest indoor zoo exhibit in the UK and home to Sumatran orangutans, Sulawesi macaques and a new species for the zoo, the Sunda gharial crocodile.
Another major attraction drawing in crowds is Tatton Park, winner of England's Large Visitor Attraction of the Year for 2014. The site includes award-winning gardens, a 1000 acre deer park, the neo-classical Mansion House and a Tudor Old Hall as a working farm and even a cafe set in the idyllic gardens of the Old Head Gardener's Cottage.
No field trip would be complete though without a visit to the instantly recognisable Jodrell Bank, famous for the Lovell Telescope and its recent links with BBC Stargazing Live as well as its new status as the HQ for the global Square Kilometre Array project, it is certainly top of the teachers' list. And for those with a healthy appetite for the past as well an interest in the future there is the new Lion Saltworks Museum; Britain's newest heritage attraction recently opened after a £10million re-development that offers a fascinating journey through the life of the country's last open-pan salt making site.
The Museum near Northwich in Cheshire is proving a huge visitor success despite being open for just two months with more than 4,000 paying visitors already as well as winning two restoration awards. It has fun, interactive and educational exhibits, including a dramatic sound and film exhibit and a 'subsiding house'. Restored with a generous grant of over £5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Museum is located right next to the Trent & Mersey Canal and is one of the few attractions in the UK with its own canal moorings.
Close by in Northwich you can also learn a great deal about industrial heritage at the site of the world's first boat lift at Anderton Boat Lift. Built in 1875, it is a scheduled monument and connects the Trent & Mersey Canal with the River Weaver 50 feet below. The lift was originally constructed as a commercial boost to the regional salt and pottery industries but is now the centrepiece of a popular visitor attraction, offering public boat trips through the lift aboard the Edwin Clark boat.
To continue the tale of industrial heritage there is the must-see Quarry Bank Mill. The cotton mill was built in 1784 and powered by Europe's most powerful working waterwheel and recently played a starring role in the recent Channel 4 period drama TV series 'The Mill'.
The city of Chester holds the secrets of over 2000 years of history. Chester Cathedral is free for all to enter and is now home to the new visitor attraction - Cathedral at Height - a tower tour with enables visitors to see views one city, two countries and five counties from the top of the cathedral tower. Visitors will climb through 900 years of history, experiencing the interactive bell-ringing chamber, ambling along the ancient galleries and enjoying the panoramic views of the city. Time does not stand still as they have just opened a new falconry attraction wowing visitors in the Cathedral Gardens.
And finally, to celebrate a literary hero outside the classroom a story about the county wouldn't be complete without a nod to the famous Cheshire Cat, as the nation marks 150 years since the publication of Lewis Carroll's children's story, 'Alice in Wonderland'. Cheshire was the birthplace of Lewis Carroll and tourism partners will be celebrating with Mad Hatters tea parties and themed events throughout the year..
Cheshire celebrates a series of anniversaries and events in 2015 listed below:
1. 140 years of Anderton Boat Lift
The Anderton Boat Lift turns 140 this year! Built by Edwin Clark in 1875 to lift cargo boats the 50 feet from the River Weaver to the Trent & Mersey Canal, from April to October you can enjoy boat trips through the lift and along the River Weaver Navigation.
2. 150 years of Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland celebrates her 150th birthday this year and you can mark the occasion in Lewis Carroll's birthplace, Cheshire! Davenports Tea Room, situated less than 2 miles from Lewis Carroll's birthplace, is themed around Alice in Wonderland and they are holding a very special Mad Hatters Tea Party on Sunday 30th August and Sunday 27th September. Visit Daresbury Church where you can see the Lewis Carroll memorial window to mark a century since the author's birth and whilst you're visiting the All Saints Church why not also visit the Lewis Carroll Centre and explore the life of this iconic author.
3. 175 years of Teaching Excellence
To celebrate 175 years of teaching excellence at the University of Chester there are plenty of exciting activities and events for staff, students and the wider community, culminating in grand finale events in 2015.
4. 150th anniversary of The Chester Grosvenor.
2015 celebrates the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of The Chester Grosvenor. There will be a calendar of events planned throughout the year. Themed lunches will take a look back in time, the history of tea from the hotel's artisan tea maker, hats through the ages from the hotel's milliner and a trip through Chester's heritage from the hotel's historian.
5. 175th anniversary of Railways in Cheshire
2015 marks the 175th Anniversary of two key Railways in Cheshire. In 1840 both the Crewe to Chester and Chester to Birkenhead lines were opened. This historic milestone is a great opportunity to celebrate the success and achievements of the rail industry and promote Cheshire, old Cheshire, Crewe, Chester and Birkenhead.
6. Islands at Chester Zoo
You can embark on your own wildlife expedition within the amazing tropical environments of six South East Asian islands. Islands at Chester Zoo is the biggest zoo development ever in Europe, spanning 50,000 square metres - that's the same as SEVEN full-size football pitches.
7. Lion Salt Works
After two years of restoration, the Lion Salt Works opened in May 2015 and has already seen more than 4,000 visitors.The Lion Salt Works has been restored and developed as a heritage visitor attraction with an engaging approach to telling the stories associated with salt, an imaginative learning programme, themed play provision and an evolving calendar of events and museum activities.
8. New at Chester Cathedral
Chester Cathedral opened its falconry centre complete with nature gardens in the grounds in July this year.
9. Anderton Boat Lift
The Anderton Boat Lift is an incredible edifice, perched on the banks of the River Weaver like some giant three-storey-high iron spider.
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/Anderton-boat-lift
For further information, please contact:
Laura Young
07919 004 116
l.young@marketingcheshire.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
Chester Zoo - Islands
http://www.chesterzoo.org/islands
Tatton Park
http://www.tattonpark.org.uk/home.aspx
Lion Saltworks
http://westcheshiremuseums.co.uk/
Jodrell Bank
Chester Cathedral & Cathedral At Height
Marketing Cheshire
Marketing Cheshire is the place marketing and destination management organisation for Cheshire and Warrington. We see all our members as partners and we will seek to work together to ensure that Cheshire and Warrington is the place to visit, live, invest, meet and study.
For further information visit www.marketingcheshire.co.uk
