We visited World of Glass in St Helens and saw demonstrations of glassblowing, a wonderful exhibition of art glass and also some of the historic glass-making facilities from the early days of glass making in the area.

The day began with two glassblowing demonstrations accompanied by a very informative commentary describing what we were seeing. We were then taken on a tour of the building and were able to learn a great deal about the history of glass-making in St Helens. Sir Alistair Pilkington invented float glass and perfected the manufacturing of plate glass. We were shown where it was first produced in the 1950s. Following the tour, we were given a delicious lunch which, apparently, the staff had hurriedly prepared
following the departure of the chef, due to him being taken ill. The trip ended with a visit to the shop were many of the items on sale had been made on the premises. It was an interesting day with very friendly staff.