Warrington is a large town in Cheshire, famous for being the centre of many industries, from copper smelting to sail-making and pin manufacturing, during the industrial revolution. Founded by the Roman’s settlement, this historic town endured a lot of cultural and industrial changes, especially with its architecture. Until today, Warrington is home to numerous popular attraction sites including museums and galleries with Roman-inspired designs.

Thanks to a thriving economy and diverse cultural heritage, Warrington is a leading business city in the UK that offers great commutes for visitors, the picturesque River Mersey, wonderful entertainment venues and exclusive restaurants.

1. What makes Warrington unique?
2. Warrington’s popular attractions
3. Nightlife in Warrington
4. Sport in Warrington
5. Food in Warrington
6. Shopping in Warrington
7. Festivals and events in Warrington
8. Warrington living costs
9. Travel in and around Warrington
10. Explore the UK from Warrington

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1. What makes Warrington unique?

Warrington is a fantastic place for international students with up to 36 languages spoken in the city. It is one of the UK’s most fascinating cities from a cultural perspective, with an array of museums, galleries, theatres, and amazing arts festivals.

Warrington is home to some of the world’s major stars, from actor Pete Postlewaite to the man who discovered oxygen, Joseph Priestley. Due to the modernisation of the town, Warrington owns an impressive retail area in North West England with large shopping centres.

Warrington’s developing stage is still undergoing with new addition of markets, multi-story car parks, retail outlets, cinema, and council offices. As a plan for the development of the “New City,” Warrington also offers an addition of 24,000 new homes alongside 381 hectares of employment lands.

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2. Warrington’s popular attractions

Warrington is full of fun things to do and unique places to visit. Some you might not want to miss include:

• Warrington Town Hall and Gates.
• Parish Church (St. Elphins). Built in the 12th century, this is the 12th tallest church in Britain with a standing of 292 feet.
• Green space. From taking a pleasant walk beside the River Mersey at Victoria Park or enjoy a picnic date with family and friends at the Walton Hall and Gardens, this town is an ideal place to get some fresh air.
• Warrington Museum & Art Gallery. Founded in 1857, this museum and art gallery showcases the city’s local history with interesting and fascinating art works. It is also the oldest museum in the UK.
• Gig culture. This town is known for its vibrant and lively concert halls that hosts numerous famous live music, and comedy shows. Including the Parr Hall Concert Hall which is home to rare and valuable concert pipe-organ which was made by the great French organ-builder, Aristide Cavaille-Coll and the Pyramid Cultural Quarter, centre for live music and stand-up comedy shows.
• Risley Moss Nature Reserve.
• Lymm Dam. Constructed in 1824, it is a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), whose surrounding area is full of wildlife, trees, wildflowers, birds and bats.
• Arley Hall. Stately home and garden.

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3. Nightlife in Warrington

Most of Warrington’s bustling nightlife can be found in the heart of the town’s centre or along the bustling life of Bridge Street. From exclusive pubs to chill and relaxing bars, this town got you covered with a variety of places based on your mood and preference.

If you want to experience eclectic music with DJs, coming to Reflex & Babylon is the best location. Here, you will not only be guaranteed the best safety and security services, but also fully enjoy your night out with friends and family.

Located in Culcheth, a small town several miles to the north of Warrington, there are also numerous highly recommended cocktail bars that offer live music performances including Savannah 19 and Liberty’s Gin Bar. These are perfect for anyone looking for a chill and relaxing place with a cool American vibe. It includes everything from live music and sport, an excellent grub menu and 160 different gins from around the world.

Even though Warrington is considered one of the safest cities in the UK, it is still best to always be aware of the surroundings, especially in the night. It is best to be on your guard between 6-9pm, as this is the time where the areas will be filled with drunk people and activities from bars and clubs.

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4. Sport in Warrington

Rugby is the town’s premier sport, thanks to Warrington Wolves. Their home games can be enjoyed at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. This is the only team to have played every season in the top flight of rugby league and had recently put themselves back as one of the leading rugby clubs in the country by winning the Challenge Cup in 2009, 2010, and 2012.

Football is also a famous sport in Warrington that is represented by Warrington Town who are currently in the Northern Premier League.

Other state-of-the-art facilities open to the public include:

• Warrington Sports for All Centre.
• Birchwood Leisure and Tennis Complex.
• Broomfield Leisure Centre.
• Culcheth Community Campus.
• Great Sankey Neighborhood Hub.

Photo credit: Warrington Guardian

5. Food in Warrington

Hosting some of the best independent bars and restaurants in Cheshire, The Culture Quarter has it all. From Italian to Chinese, Indian to Thai, English to Mediterranean or Spanish, there are thousands of restaurants, markets, street stalls and cafes for you to choose from.

For Italian food lovers, you should definitely try San Lorenzo, an upscale restaurant that not only offers mouth watering dishes but also enjoy live jazz performances every Sunday. The atmosphere is very welcoming with brick-walled space, which would definitely give you cosy and homey vibes.

In this area, you should also try some of the city’s best Spanish restaurants, including Las Ramblas and Mojo Bar & Tapas. From the unique traditional Spanish food to its refreshing drinks, this is a perfect dinner place with friends and family.

And of course, for any Asian food lovers, how could you miss Mr Lau’s Dim Sum Bar and Chinese Restaurant? Like any modern restaurant, there is an open kitchen where chefs will serve you delicious Dim sum and Chinese popular street food. Your experience at this place would not be fulfilled without their signature classic stir-fry dishes.

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6. Shopping in Warrington

Your trip to Warrington will not be completed without a visit to some of Warrington’s shopping heaven, Golden Square. Home to more than 145 shops, including Debenhams, Mark & Spencer, Zara, and H&M, your shopping experience can hardly get better. By visiting the Town Centre, you will be spoiled with an array of different independent shops, especially in women's clothing and charity shops. Besides, this is also the location for the town's oldest shop, Edwin Allen - founded in 1884.

For a more satisfying shopping experience you can also visit other great shopping centres including The Market, Hatters Row, Alban Retail Park, Riverside Retail Park, Cockhedge Shopping Park, Gemini Retail Park, and Birchwood Shopping Centre. Here, you can again experience a variety of shops, from town stores like Next to larger retailers like Dixons. They also house a large swath of restaurants and coffee shops.

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7. Festivals and events in Warrington

Warrington has a number of eclectic festivals and events throughout the year, including:

• Neighbourhoods Weekender. North West’s biggest indie music festival.
• Warrington Music Festival.
• Circus of Horrors. Circus featuring rock music, comedy, and more.
• Creamfields. One of the biggest dance music festivals in the UK
• Whitney: Queen of the Night. A celebration of Whitney Houston’s life and music career throughout decades of classic hits.

8. Warrington living costs

Budget guide:

• Meal out: £12.00
• Fast food (McDonalds): £6.00
• One-way ticket (local transport): £2.70
• Gasoline (1 litre): £1.22
• Water (0.33 litre bottle): £1.07
• Cinema ticket: £10.00

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9. Travel in and around Warrington

Getting around Warrington has become some of the greatest perks of the town thanks to a fantastic network of public transport including buses, trams and trains. Since Warrington is a town, traveling internationally can be accessed via two closest airports, Liverpool and Manchester. You can get there either through a car, train, or taxi.

By bus

The entire bus network can be accessed through the Warrington Bus Interchange. With different bus services, you can travel to different parts of Warrington or towns nearby:

• Network Warrington offers transportation to all places within the borough as well as Altricham, Earlestown, Leigh, and Newton.
• Arriva North West takes you to Liverpool, Widnes, Runcorn, Chester, and Merseyside.
• First Manchester offers easy transport into Manchester.

Warrington’s buses are clean, efficient and safe. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about the hygienic environment or unwanted stealing. However, it is still optimal for you to always be aware and conscious of your surroundings.

Photo credit: Wikiwand

By car

Driving a car is the optimal means of transport in Warrington. However, it could be overwhelming during rush hours, 8-9AM and 5-6PM. There are numerous car parks scattered throughout the city, with the largest at Golden Square Shopping Centre, and others at The Market and Cockhedge, and Riverside Retail Park.

By train

Traveling around Warrington can be easily accessed by the two stations, Warrington Central and Warrington Bank Quay. In addition, there are a number of suburban stations in Sankey, Padgate, and Birchwood that offer direct trains to Warrington Central.

In this town, using suburban trains as a form of transportation is more common than buses as it is faster and more frequent.

By taxi

In Warrington, there are three main taxi brands including Abba cabs, Crown Cars, and Harry’s. These services can be summoned to any point in Warrington by telephone, though on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday nights can be a bit harder and you are expected to wait for a bit. Taxis can be available at stands at Bank Quay Station, Central Station, or the Bus Interchange.

Photo credit: Time Square Warrington

10. Explore the UK from Warrington

Warrington is a great base to explore the beautiful nearby cities, from the aesthetic countryside views, spectacular urban centres, to the iconic viaducts of the country. By taking a 20-minute train ride, you can go on family trips to visit some of Britain’s most iconic and developed cities including:

Liverpool

Liverpool, located in North West England, is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the country. Famous for its port during the 19th and early 20th century, Liverpool became a very important city due to trade in sugar, tobacco and slaves. This is also a city that is famed for its great music scene, being the birthplace of The Beatles and the musical style Merseybeat. Not to mention, Liverpool also has numerous famous art galleries, museums and theatres and a great shopping centre.

For football lovers, Liverpool F.C and Everton F.C are familiar names that play a huge contribution to the city’s reputation.

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Manchester

Widely known to the world as the birthplace of the industrial revolution, Manchester has a proud history in politics, science, sport, and arts. In this place, you will find numerous museums, art galleries, sport stadiums, that will fulfill your every desire.

It is one of the most exciting cities to visit in the UK. Popular for its youthful, diverse, bustling, and energetic vibes, everyone is warmly welcomed to experience all it has to offer. Whether it is shopping at the Trafford Centre or watching an intense football match at the Old Trafford, this city surely can satisfy you.