Lifestyle
The town plays host to a number of summer events which appeal to all ages and all tastes such as the Hot Air Balloon Festival and the Northampton Country Fayre and Sheep Dog Trials.
Top Quality year round entertainment is on offer at the Derngate and next door at the Royal Theatre. Just out of the town centre can be found a world of fairground fun and nostalgia at the popular Turner's Musical Merry-Go-Round and Billing Aquadrome, a 270 acre holiday home, camping and leisure park, which offers a wealth of family fun.
Cinemas, nightclubs, discos, pubs and restaurants all enhance the town's reputation.
Northampton has several beautiful parks, gardens and riverside walks, many of which are easily reached from the town centre. Northampton is also perfectly placed as a touring base. Its position as a communications hub at the crossroads of England makes it accessible from all parts of the country and the town is within easy reach of London, Cambridge, Oxford, Stratford, Warwick, Coventry and the Cotswolds.
Town-Centre shopping in Northampton attracts visitors from all over the county and beyond. As well as two indoor shopping centers, there is also a pedestrianised 'high street' and one of the oldest and largest open air markets in the country. The market dates back to 1235 and is open Tuesday to Saturday with around 260 stalls selling everything from household items, clothes and books to fruit and flowers. There are also several out-of-town shopping areas