Springboard into the year with this interactive session. Meet the team, hear from local organisers and chat through ideas and questions together.

Join us to discuss plans for the year ahead before we launch registration.

In Georgian England a London merchant saw the opportunities of industry in the North. Settling in Cheshire he built Daresbury Hall for his family, from which a web of stories can be unravelled. Heatherfield Heritage have been digging in to the records to follow the threads of these everyday histories and share some of them with us here - but watch out for more over the festival in September!

New Year is a time for lists, resolutions and honours; so reflecting on last year and thinking about what highlights lie ahead, we’ve come up with an alternative Honours list. To get you thinking about what catches attention, here are some events that proved firm favourites for the team and media in 2025.

Two Marys and an Anne – meet the real women behind characters hovering in the margins of some of our most beloved books. As we celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday and prepare to explore the history of daily working lives for next year’s festival, Kathleen Palmer, curator of a fascinating exhibition, introduces us to the roles of housekeeper, governess and milliner in Georgian era England.