The first northbound service is scheduled to cross the new 130m Clifton Bridge over the M6 near Penrith between 06:15 and 06:30 GMT, ending weeks of local West Coast Main Line disruption; Network Rail said some road restrictions will remain until July.
Hundreds of whooper swans from Iceland have arrived at Martin Mere in Lancashire, and the site now hosts more than 800 birds. The swans are spending the winter there because the wetland is milder.
A Nottinghamshire woman's 1940s notebook inscribed to Jean Bellamy was discovered in a Rawalpindi toy shop and the finder has sought to return it; Jean's daughter learned of the item after a genealogist called.
Volunteers in the UK and Ireland are taking part in the six-yearly international swan census to count whooper and Bewick's swans; the UK's whooper winter population is now about 20,000 while Bewick's were reported at roughly 700 in early 2025.
Work is progressing on Meet & Marrow, a new healthy eating cafe on Duke Street in Darlington, with the fit-out nearing completion. Owners hope to open in early February but have not set a firm date.
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council unanimously approved plans to add four static and two touring caravans at Pinehollow Barn after John Price asked to keep his family together. Planning officers said the caravans would be six metres apart and had consulted the fire service but received no response.
Sheffield-based Sitehop has appointed a senior sales leader, a strategic account director for financial services, and three board advisers after a successful proof-of-concept trial with BT.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said a meal under the new federal dietary guidelines could cost around $3, and the remark prompted public criticism and debate about affordability.
Muhammad Bilal of Shipley will receive the British Citizen Award Medal of Honour on January 22 for 17 years of volunteer service to Cancer Research UK, including weekly work at the Shipley shop and outreach within the British Asian community.
Radfield Home Care will open a weekly adult day care centre at Alpraham Village Hall on Wednesday 4 February, offering activities, meals and on-site care staff for older people in the Tarporley and Mid Cheshire area.
