A miniature children’s village only an hour away from Manchester is now open for your little ones to immerse themselves in.
This is Apple Tree Town, a new role play centre built by sisters Sarah and Nat Peach in Chesterton, just 50 miles down the M6 towards Stoke.
The Biggleton-inspired custom built town (a popular CBBC show) is a fully decked out children’s paradise featuring mini versions of everyday shops and businesses – perfect for your kid to find their ideal career, or just cause carnage in.
It’s home to a supermarket, a bank, post office, hospital (yes, there’s an ambulance), barbers, beauty salon and even a theatre. There’s even a baby-friendly soft play area in the middle of the town.
The centre is aimed at kids between the ages of two and eight, but the sisters say that kids up to the age of ten will also enjoy the experience.
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There’s a cafe for parents to enjoy a cup of coffee or a brew while your kids tire themselves out, giving you ample time to stare at your phone and forget you even have children.
Speaking to Stone-on-Trent Live, mum-of-one Sarah, aged 33, said: “This is a brand new challenge for us. I previously worked with children, so I have experience on that side, but running a business is new for us.
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“We were inspired by the TV show Biggleton – it’s like a miniature village. We thought that something like this would be great for the area – we feel like Newcastle needs an educational, but also fun, play centre.
“Children can come in and role play and decide if they want to be a paramedic, or work at the post office. There’s so many options.
“The centre is best suited for children between two and eight, but we don’t want to put a cap on that. We’ve had nine and 10-year-olds coming and really enjoying it.
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“We’ve also got a baby area, where admission is slightly cheaper, because obviously they can’t enjoy the full centre just yet.
“We’d love for Apple Tree Farm to be a way for children to understand the world around them a bit better, and learn something while they’re playing.”
The experience is fully accessible and will be home to kids’ parties when COVID restrictions allow.
Manc icons to be turned into trail of stunning floral installations lining city centre streets
Emily Sergeant
Caroline Aherne and Emmeline Pankhurst are among the ‘Manchester Icons’ set to turned into floral installations for a new trail that’ll line the city centre streets.
In case you missed it, it was announced back in January that Manchester is all set to become one of the most picturesque places in the UK once again this summer, and that’s because the city will be getting dressed up in celebration of the annual Flower Festival – which is back by popular demand for its seventh year.
The four-day festival – which is organised annually by Manchester BID and CityCo, and is often dubbed the “most Instagramable event of the year” – always sees Manchester bloom to life, with plants and flowers covering landmark buildings, shop windows, doorways, balconies, statues, fountains, and more right across the city centre.
This year’s Festival will take place over the late May bank holiday weekend from Friday 24 – Monday 27 May 2024.
And now, the theme for this year’s floral trail has now been revealed by the Festival’s organisers.
‘Manchester Icons’ is the name and theme of this year’s trail – which is always one of the most popular events at the Festival each year – and visitors are being told they can expect to see 10 glorious displays inspired by Manchester-born figures, music icons, and even legendary buildings.
All the installations in the trail are created by local artists, gardeners, and flower enthusiasts.
The late Manc actress Caroline Aherne, Manchester suffragette icon Emmeline Pankhurst, Girls Aloud and Stockport-raised band member, the late Sarah Harding, and local singing legend Rowetta are among the ‘icons’ who will be turned into floral art pieces, alongside other famous sites such as Gnome Island, the Hacienda, and Boddington’s brewery.
Manchester will be filled with fresh blooms as annual the Flower Festival returns this summer / Credit: Carl Sukonik & Fabio De Paola | The Manc Group
King Street, New Cathedral Street, St Ann’s Square, the Corn Exchange, and Manchester Arndale are just a few of the sites the installations will call home in a couple of weeks time.
The names and locations of the 10 installations are:
‘What first attracted you to the comedian Caroline Aherne?’ – New Cathedral Street
‘The Girls Aloud Tribute Garden’ – St Ann’s Square
‘Emmeline’s Town Hall’ – On the corner of King Street and Cross Street
‘Queen Bee Rowetta’ – The Royal Exchange
‘Gnome Island’ – King Street
‘The Second Summer of Love’ – Manchester Arndale
‘Boddingtons Blooms’ – Corn Exchange
‘The Iconic Hive’ – New Cathedral Street
‘This is Manchester’ – St Ann’s Square
‘The Hacienda Gardens’ – On the corner of King Street and Deansgate
Alongside the headline floral trail, organisers say this year’a Manchester Flower Festival is also set to bring “fun and frivolity” to the city’s streets – with a cocktail trail, al-fresco dining, live music, lots of family entertainment, floral workshops, arts and crafts markets, and so much more.
Manchester Flower Festival 2024 is free for all to attend from Friday 24 – Monday 27 May, and you can find out more about the floral trail and everything else happening across the four days here.
Featured Image – Carl Sudonik (via Manchester BID)
Things To Do
An ‘immersive’ 1940s-themed weekend is taking over Greater Manchester’s heritage railway this month
Emily Sergeant
An ‘immersive’ 1940s-themed weekend is all set to take over Greater Manchester’s heritage railway later this month.
Fancy stepping back in time?
After delighting little Mancs and families throughout the region during countless successful events over the past couple of years, the Greater Manchester public is now being invited to “dig out your gladrags” and head on down to East Lancashire Railway (ELR) this late May bank holiday, as the Vintage 1940s Weekend is returning by popular demand.
The Vintage 1940s Weekend been an absolute hit in previous years, and has been one of the heritage railway’s most popular events, so it’s no surprise that it’s making a return in a couple of weeks time.
Tickets are now on sale, and there’s still plenty of time to grab some for yourself.
This year, the event will “focus on the musical backdrop of 1940s Britain”, which means there’s an exciting collection of live music performances lined up across the three-day weekend – including vintage vocal harmony trio ‘Blue Bird Belles’, and vintage DJ ‘A Train Swing’ too, so you’ll want to make sure to “bring your dancing shoes”.
An ‘immersive’ 1940s-themed weekend is taking over Greater Manchester’s heritage railway this month / Credit: ELR
But the music scene won’t be the only highlight of the weekend, as food, fashion, and memorabilia of the 1940s will also be brought to life too.
ELR says it’s hoping to recreate “an atmosphere of hope and celebration” for all the family to enjoy, as well as “capturing the most positive aspects of this unique period in British history”.
To keep spirits soaring, the famous Avro Lancaster 1 is also scheduled to fly over Rawtenstall on Saturday (25 May) and Monday (27 May).
When the Vintage 1940s Weekend takes over ELR later this month from Saturday 24 – Monday 27 May, all attendees are encouraged to “get stuck in and dress up in period costume” to make the whole event feel like you’re really stepping back in time, and the uniform policy is now available to view on the ELR website here.
Speaking ahead of the event later this month, Mike Kelly – who is the Chairman of East Lancashire Railway – commented: “The 1940s Weekend is one of our best attended days out in the annual calendar, and we’re delighted to see its return in 2024, as it’s great to see the community, both young and old, come together to celebrate this incredible time period, and to remember those who sacrificed so much for the country.
“This weekend is one you won’t want to miss, so make sure to book a ticket while you still can.”
Tickets are now on sale from as little as £25 for adults and £16.50 for children, but there’s also three-day rover tickets and a range of discounts and family ticket packages available too.
And, if all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, the ticket price also includes a ride across the Irwell Valley on a genuine steam-powered train too.
Find out more, and grab tickets to the popular event here.