As Liverpool, birthplace of the Beatles, has been nominated as European Capital of Culture in 2008, it seems appropriate to start a round-up of these venues in the North of England. In fact, a landmark convention centre is being built on Liverpool’s King’s Waterfront, opening in January 2008 to coincide with the start of the city’s role as culture capital. Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool will include a 1,350 seat conference hall and a 10,000 seat concert and sports arena.

The city’s top heritage attraction, Albert Dock, is home to the evocative Merseyside Maritime Museum. Within the converted redbrick warehouse, you can soak up the colorful history of what was once the focal point of one of the world's greatest ports. After visiting hours it is possible to hold receptions for up to 500 guests split across three different floors and move around the exhibits, which include maritime paintings and full-sized vessels.

With the expansion of regional aviation and airports, access to venues outside London is not a problem. Manchester, 54km east of Liverpool, is just one of several UK regional cities that boast an airport with international status. Within an hour of runway touchdown, delegates can be admiring the 1,875 capacity state-of-the-art auditorium of The Bridgewater Hall, the city’s world-class venue for orchestral music. Or the dramatic spaces of a waterside visual and performing arts centre The Lowry, which houses the world’s largest public collection of the local ‘matchstick men’ artist LS Lowry’s work.

Other developments around the country will only benefit the events market. Staying in the North, in lively Yorkshire, the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford lies just seven miles from Leeds Bradford International airport, which has direct connections with numerous European destinations.

In addition to three cinemas, the largest for 300, the museum boasts a number of different spaces outside of visiting hours. Why not hold a gala dinner or product launch beneath the glazed atrium, a suitable centerpiece? Or hold a team-building event scripting and filming a television program in a fully-equipped studio – part of a £3m interactive gallery that opened in July to explore the world of television. Alternatively, the traditional setting of the Kodak Gallery seats 80 for dinner and 200 for receptions, while for something a little more informal, cartoon favorites grace the Animation Gallery, which accommodates 60 guests.

Picture your event among the gleaming steam engines and carriages of a bygone age. The National Railway Museum in York is 45 minutes drive from Leeds Bradford airport, or just a few minutes walk from York railway station (two hours from London). Two of its three exhibition halls housing the world’s pre-eminent railway collection can be hired for corporate functions. The Great Hall, a former engine shed, will accommodate receptions for up to 1,000 and presentations for a 350-strong audience. It shoulders Station Hall, which resembles a goods depot, and presents an ideal partner for a sit-down dinner for up to 800. Making the corporate hospitality package even more enticing is the Norwich Union Yorkshire Wheel, a giant observation wheel sandwiched between the two spaces. At 55m high and with 42 air-conditioned pods, it commands splendid views of York, the Minster, and the River Ouse during a 13-minute ride. It was erected in April 2006 this year and will remain a fixture until January 2009. There is also a conference centre within the museum comprising three suites, the largest catering for 120 theatre-style. By autumn 2007 another three function rooms will be newly built, the largest for 160.

From York, seize the opportunity to explore some fine North Country scenery behind a giant of steam. A new program of steam train excursions takes passengers on rolling routes through the Yorkshire Dales to Carlisle, or north-east to Newcastle.

Moving to Southern England, one of the country’s most iconic stately homes is close to the university city of Oxford. The importance of Blenheim Palace is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Set in acres of beautiful parkland and renowned for its hand painted ceilings, porcelain collections and tapestries in each room, it is the home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Groups can make use of the extended and refurbished conference and banqueting facilities, which comprise four new small rooms for four to 18. The 55-metre long library also entertains 300 guests, the Orangery, which is not open to the public, is an elegant high ceilinged space for dinner for 228 guests, while drinks for up to 500 in the fabulous Great Hall can be complemented by a private tour of the palace, or even a military tattoo or fireworks over the lake.

In central Oxford itself, an hour outside London, The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaelogy is the oldest museum in the UK. Currently, the grade one listed building offers a modern lecture theatre for groups up to 100 in size, plus the Randolph
Sculpture gallery. It contains fine examples of Greek and Roman classical sculptures and throws open its doors for 50 for a formal dinner and 200 for a reception. The Mallett Gallery, a recently refurbished paintings gallery, is also available. Looking forward, the museum is undergoing a £49m redevelopment scheme to give it a new state-of-the-art extension that will more than double the gallery space by 2009 and provide many new facilities, including a rooftop restaurant.

Moored at Leith near Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh is one of the most unique venues anywhere: the former Royal Yacht, Britannia. With the same elegance and standards of service that she displayed when she sailed to every corner of the world, events are held in the State Apartments where statesmen and women such as Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Margaret Thatcher dined. Still in Scotland, few backdrops rival the drama of a castle and one of the most impressive is Stirling Castle. Located between Edinburgh and Glasgow in the midst of Braveheart country, the castle, linked with Mary Queen of Scots and Robert the Bruce, will open up its 16th Century Great Hall and Chapel Royal for banquets for 300. It is benefiting from an ongoing restoration project and has launched new hospitality packages with a heavy Scottish or medieval theme.

At the other end of the country, beside the English Channel, stands Dover Castle. Here the location is the white cliffs of Dover, close the channel tunnel, so ideally placed for European clients. Its centerpiece is a massive 12th century stone keep, able to accommodate 120 for drinks receptions and 90 for dining. Make it all the more colorful with themed medieval banquets, wandering minstrels and the spectra of real and imaginary ghosts. Offering similar capacity, the secret wartime tunnels, deep within the cliffs, lend themselves to internal company events and team building. Make the location sparkle here, maybe through a 1930s-1940s cabaret with after a traditional wartime dinner of ‘bangers and mash’ and ‘spotted dick’ served in mess tins.

For culture of a more quirky nature with team building elements, look no further than wine tasting. The La Mare Vineyard & Distillery on the Channel Island of Jersey, for example, offers tastings and light-hearted competitions with vineyards, orchards, a winery and a distillery as backdrop.

Or why not head to Bath, one of the UK’s top tourism destinations with outstanding Georgian architecture? Thermae Bath Spa opened in August 2006, allowing bathing in the thermal waters for the first time since 1978. Facilities include an intimate environment for a small group, with a meeting maybe concluding with some ‘aqua therapy’.