Lancaster (England)

The city of Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire in Northwest England, named for the Roman camp (castrum) on the River Lune. It has an old castle and numerous Victorian buildings. It has a large student population, with Lancaster University main campus lying a few miles south. The historic core is small but modern burbs stretch out, which to the west merge into Morecambe.

By road
Lancaster is easily accessible from the M6 motorway, and is about 1 hour north of Manchester.

can be found just off of Junction 34 with regular services into the city centre throughout the day.

By train
is on the West Coast Main Line providing connections to London in as little as 2 hr 30 min, or Edinburgh/Glasgow in just over 2 hr. Transpennine Express services provide fast connections to Manchester Airport, whilst Northern line services are available to Barrow-in-Furness, Morecambe/Heysham, Windemere and Leeds.

By bus
is in the city centre with local services and links to further afield such as Blackpool, Preston, The Lake District and West Yorkshire. National Express & Megabus Coaches stop here on routes to Manchester, London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh amongst others.

Get around

 * Lancaster city centre is a small area, centred within a one-way system with access to all attractions easily walkable
 * There is a one-way road system in Lancaster and traffic can be heavy.
 * There are many regular bus services servicing Lancaster and nearby Morecambe. A return on the bus from the city centre to the University costs about £3, and takes about 20 min on the direct bus or over 30 min on the other routes through Bowerham. Unlimited day travel costs £5 (£2.50 for under 19s). A week ticket can be obtained for £15.50 which enables you to have unlimited travel in the Lancaster area. A Bay Big 5 is another offer; if there is five of your party wanting to go to the same place you can spend £5 for all five of you to travel in Lancaster. A monthly, term and yearly pass is available to save you money.
 * There are spaces in all the town centres around Lancaster for bikes.

See

 * Historic buildings from the town's past as a centre of the cotton industry and lino manufacturing
 * Historic buildings from the town's past as a centre of the cotton industry and lino manufacturing
 * Historic buildings from the town's past as a centre of the cotton industry and lino manufacturing
 * Historic buildings from the town's past as a centre of the cotton industry and lino manufacturing
 * Historic buildings from the town's past as a centre of the cotton industry and lino manufacturing
 * Historic buildings from the town's past as a centre of the cotton industry and lino manufacturing
 * Historic buildings from the town's past as a centre of the cotton industry and lino manufacturing
 * Historic buildings from the town's past as a centre of the cotton industry and lino manufacturing

Do

 * Walk along Lancaster Canal, or putter along in a boat. Go north one mile to cross high above the River Lune on the magnificent 18th-century stone aqueduct. The canal continues north for ten miles via Hest Bank, Carnforth and Capernwray to end at Tewitfield, where it was severed by the M6 and never restored; the section beyond is walkable but not navigable. Going south from city centre, the canal runs into open country near the university campus to the village of Galgate, where a branch canal descends to the sea at Glasson Dock. The main canal wends and winds for 20 miles along the contour line, with no locks, all the way to Garstang, Preston, and via a modern link down to the sea at Lytham.
 * Walk along Lancaster Canal, or putter along in a boat. Go north one mile to cross high above the River Lune on the magnificent 18th-century stone aqueduct. The canal continues north for ten miles via Hest Bank, Carnforth and Capernwray to end at Tewitfield, where it was severed by the M6 and never restored; the section beyond is walkable but not navigable. Going south from city centre, the canal runs into open country near the university campus to the village of Galgate, where a branch canal descends to the sea at Glasson Dock. The main canal wends and winds for 20 miles along the contour line, with no locks, all the way to Garstang, Preston, and via a modern link down to the sea at Lytham.
 * Walk along Lancaster Canal, or putter along in a boat. Go north one mile to cross high above the River Lune on the magnificent 18th-century stone aqueduct. The canal continues north for ten miles via Hest Bank, Carnforth and Capernwray to end at Tewitfield, where it was severed by the M6 and never restored; the section beyond is walkable but not navigable. Going south from city centre, the canal runs into open country near the university campus to the village of Galgate, where a branch canal descends to the sea at Glasson Dock. The main canal wends and winds for 20 miles along the contour line, with no locks, all the way to Garstang, Preston, and via a modern link down to the sea at Lytham.
 * Walk along Lancaster Canal, or putter along in a boat. Go north one mile to cross high above the River Lune on the magnificent 18th-century stone aqueduct. The canal continues north for ten miles via Hest Bank, Carnforth and Capernwray to end at Tewitfield, where it was severed by the M6 and never restored; the section beyond is walkable but not navigable. Going south from city centre, the canal runs into open country near the university campus to the village of Galgate, where a branch canal descends to the sea at Glasson Dock. The main canal wends and winds for 20 miles along the contour line, with no locks, all the way to Garstang, Preston, and via a modern link down to the sea at Lytham.

Buy

 * Shopping - has typical department stores and a couple of shopping centres. There is a  traditional sweet shop (Humbugs) opposite Morrison's city centre "M Local" store (formerly HMV) which is nice. There is a twice-weekly market in the centre with food and other stalls. The high student population supports distinctive alternative lifestyle shops such as the Single Step Wholefood Cooperative.

Eat

 * Quite Simply French, 27a St George's Quay: upmarket dinner location specializing in french style fish and meat dishes. Very good seafood including oysters.
 * Nice and Spicy, 2 Church St: an award winning takeaway. Also Delhicious at 8 Damside St is another excellent Indian takeaway.
 * The Gregson, 33 Moor Gate: arts & community centre with hippy-style food and drink. Jazz, folk, salsa, etc. in the bar and in the dance hall.
 * Marvin's (formerly Starving Marvin), 19 Brock St: if you'd like to try the Northern specialty known as Parmo, here's your chance.
 * Whale Tail, 78a Penny St: fantastic veggie cafe which is famous for its salads and specials.
 * Bombay Balti, 16 China St: eat in or takeaway, this place has all the usual curry-tastic suspects, plus at least five varieties of curries you've probably never heard of.
 * Pizza Margherita, 2 Moor Lane: cult pizza restaurant, opposite the Dukes. Excellent for a quick bite before a play.
 * The Sun Cafe, 25 Sun St: lovely cafe/art gallery; in the evening it's a restaurant serving food made from local ingredients and particularly fabulous pasta
 * Sultan, Brock St: Indian restaurant housed in an old church and famous for amazing Islamic decor as well as the fab vegetarian selections. It now has a cafe and deli downstairs, which is very comfortable and does Mediterranean and Middle Eastern as well as Indian food. The Indian sweets are particularly good.
 * The Golden Dragon, 11 George St: Chinese restaurant, speciality is crab.
 * Marco's Restaurant, 27 North Rd: modern Italian restaurant in the heart of Lancaster, serving traditional Italian cuisine as well as a selection of contemporary dishes. Takeaway only for the foreseeable future.
 * Radish Cafe, 24 New St: this is what vegetarian (and often vegan!) soupy, salad-y dreams are made of. Even if you are carnivorous, check this place out.
 * Ado's, 78 Penny St: pizza takeaway.
 * The Potato Tram (formerly The Potato Cart), Penny St: one of the best food carts in Lancaster. Their speciality is huge, overstuffed jacket potatoes with every filling you might crave. They have chilli dogs, too, if you're into that kind of thing.
 * Lancaster also has the regular chain eateries, eg Wetherspoons, Bella Italia, McDonalds, and has supermarkets where you can buy ready-meals.
 * Lancaster also has the regular chain eateries, eg Wetherspoons, Bella Italia, McDonalds, and has supermarkets where you can buy ready-meals.

Drink
There are many bars and pubs as Lancaster is a thriving university town. Some excellent bars and pubs exist alongside some of the expected chain bars including Revolution, Wetherspoons, Lloyds bar and one Scream pub.



Connect
As of April 2022, Lancaster has 4G from all UK carriers. You might get 5G at the edge of town and along M6.

Go next

 * The seaside resort of Morecambe is so close to Lancaster that they've merged.
 * The Lake District is about 40 min by road.
 * Arnside and Silverdale AONB is 15 min drive, follow A6 north to Carnforth then signs for Warton. Find limestone pavement walks, Leighton Moss RSPB bird reserve, Leighton Hall and England's largest meteorite crater.
 * Manchester and Liverpool are only an hour or so away.