Celebrating at The Cartford Inn? Photo Booth & Audio Guest Book Hire Minutes Away

Yes, we cover The Cartford Inn, and it is one of the easiest venues on our books. Our base in Thornton-Cleveleys is roughly 11 minutes down the road from Cartford Lane, which puts the inn comfortably inside our free travel zone. For the intimate weddings and private parties The Cartford Inn is known for, we usually recommend a selfie pod or an audio guest book rather than a full-size booth, because both fit neatly into The River House function room without crowding your guests.

Here is why this particular venue calls for a slightly different setup than a big hotel ballroom, and how we would run entertainment there.

The Cartford Inn in brief

The Cartford Inn sits on Cartford Lane in Little Eccleston, PR3 0YP, right beside the toll bridge over the River Wyre. It is a 17th-century coaching inn that has grown into a multi-award-winning gastropub with a Michelin Guide listing, 15 boutique bedrooms and interiors full of quirky art. Some of the river-facing rooms even have Juliet balconies looking out over the Wyre.

For celebrations, the space that matters is The River House, the inn's function room for intimate weddings and private parties, plus the riverside terrace outside. This is not a 200-guest wedding factory, and that is exactly the appeal. Couples book it for the food, the setting and the feeling that the whole place is theirs for the evening. You can read more on our Cartford Inn venue page.

Why intimate venues suit a selfie pod, not a big booth

A traditional enclosed photo booth needs a decent chunk of floor space plus room for a queue. In a compact function room like The River House, that footprint can eat into your dance floor or squeeze the dining layout. A selfie pod solves this: it is a slim, open-air unit that tucks into a corner or against a wall, guests walk up and snap away, and there is no bulky enclosure blocking sightlines to the river.

The experience is the same as a booth where it counts. Guests get studio-quality photos, instant prints and digital copies to share straight away, with a trained attendant on hand throughout the hire. Selfie pod hire starts at £180 with 4 hours included, and extra hours are £40 each if the party runs on. If you want to see how it looks in a real room, our gallery has plenty of examples from venues across the Fylde.

We have written before about why smaller celebrations often get more out of compact setups than big ones do, in our guide to photo booths for small and intimate events. The short version: at a 40 to 60 guest party, nearly everyone uses the pod, usually more than once, so the print album at the end of the night covers your entire guest list.

The audio guest book: made for a venue like this

If The Cartford Inn's style is quirky, characterful and a bit different, the audio guest book matches it perfectly. It is a retro telephone that guests pick up to leave you a voice message during the evening. No queue, no camera shyness, and a footprint about the size of a side table, which makes it the single easiest thing to fit into The River House.

You get every message back after the event, so instead of a written guest book of hurried signatures you have your best man's toast, your gran's advice and your mates being daft at midnight, all in their own voices. It works beautifully alongside a wedding breakfast in a food-led venue, because guests can wander over between courses. Audio guest book hire starts at £129, and it pairs well with a selfie pod if you want photos and voices from the same night. Our post on audio guest books for weddings covers how couples actually use the recordings afterwards.

What about the riverside terrace?

The terrace overlooking the Wyre is one of the best outdoor spots at any Fylde venue, and on a warm evening plenty of your party will drift out there. Our kit stays indoors, where the power and the weather protection are, but that works in your favour: the pod or phone gives guests a reason to circulate back inside, so the room never empties out. The audio guest book in particular does not need guests to gather round it at a set time. People leave messages in ones and twos all evening, terrace wanderers included.

Being 11 minutes away actually matters

We are based in Thornton-Cleveleys, next door to Poulton-le-Fylde, so Little Eccleston is an 11-minute drive for us via the A586. That has three practical benefits for a Cartford Inn wedding or private party:

• No travel charge. Free travel applies within 10 miles of our FY5 base, and the surrounding area including Great Eccleston is our home patch.
• Flexible setup times. Because we are local, working around the inn's service times and your room turnaround is straightforward. We arrive early, set up quietly and are ready before your guests notice us.
• A safety margin you can trust. If anything ever needed swapping or sorting, our full kit store is minutes away rather than an hour down the motorway.

We have covered 500+ events across Lancashire and the North West, and we hold a 5.0 Google rating from 64 reviews. You can read what previous couples and party hosts say on our reviews page.

What it costs at The Cartford Inn

Because the venue is inside our free travel radius, the price you see is the price you pay:

• Audio guest book from £129
• Selfie pod from £180, including 4 hours and a trained attendant
• Photo booth from £179, if your layout has the space, see photo booths
• Magic mirror from £229, better suited to larger rooms, see magic mirrors

Extra hours are £40 each and a £75 deposit secures your date. Full details are on our pricing page, and if you are still weighing up options, our breakdown of what photo booth hire costs explains where the money goes.

How to book

Tell us your date and we will confirm availability, usually the same day. Cartford Inn dates go quickly in summer and around Christmas because the venue itself books up early, so once The River House is confirmed it is worth locking your entertainment in too. You can check availability and reserve with a £75 deposit through our booking page, or ring us on 01253 835 838 for a chat first.

Frequently asked questions

Does a selfie pod fit in The River House at The Cartford Inn?

Yes. The selfie pod is a slim open-air unit that stands against a wall or in a corner, so it suits the intimate scale of The River House far better than an enclosed booth. We position it with the venue team on the day so it never blocks the room.

How much is photo booth or selfie pod hire near Little Eccleston?

Selfie pods start at £180 and photo booths at £179, both with 4 hours and a trained attendant included. Audio guest books start at £129. Little Eccleston is inside our free travel zone, so there is no delivery charge on top.

Can we have both a selfie pod and an audio guest book?

Yes, and for Cartford Inn weddings it is our most popular pairing. The pod covers photos and instant prints while the phone quietly collects voice messages all evening. Combining the two keeps the total footprint small, which matters in an intimate function room.

When do you set up and pack down?

We arrive before your guests and have everything running for your agreed start time, then pack down quietly at the end of the hire. Because we are 11 minutes away in Thornton-Cleveleys, fitting around the inn's schedule is easy, and we coordinate timings with the venue directly if you prefer.

Is your equipment insured and safety tested?

Yes. We carry £5M public liability insurance and all our kit is PAT tested, which covers the paperwork most venues ask for. If The Cartford Inn needs documents in advance, we send them over without you having to chase.