[Introspective] (OT) tips for Northern England

[Gilles G.]

Hello all,

Sorry for the off-topic contents, but some of you might be able to give me a few advice.
I'm going for 5 days in Northern England next week, starting at Leeds, then York, the coast to Newcastle, then crossing to the Lake District and finally Blackpool.
So you see it's not *that* off-topic since I insisted on convincing my fellow traveller to visit BOTH Newcastle and Blackpool ;o)

So, do any of you fellow Petheads have any advice about hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, pubs, clubs and so on in these cities?
Is there an Internet resource onto which I could find info about what's going on in terms of concerts, parties, etc.?
And finally would any of you recommend (or not) any particular car renting company at Leeds airport? I'd rather rent "local" than going for Avis or Hertz.

Thank you so much for any useful tip (write personnally maybe),
Gilles, looking forward to escaping Belgium for a few days
-- 
"Plus on s'y connaît en musique, moins on est capable d'en dire quelque chose de valable"
(Patrick Süskind, La contrebasse)