After a successful run back in 2020, Totally Gruesome is back in a new Greater Manchester location from this weekend.
With Halloween right around the corner, and October half term also just a couple of weeks away, parents and carers right across the region will be looking to fill their calendars with a range of frightening-themed events to entertain the kids and keep their brains engaged throughout the spooky season.
Totally Gruesome was a big hit with families last year, and this year looks to be no different.
From the team behind the super-popular Totally Roarsome – which you may remember as one of Greater Manchester’s most raved-about “socially-distanced outdoor adventures” – Totally Gruesome is a series of Halloween-themed mini escape rooms tailored towards primary school-aged children.
The event was held in Ashton-under-Lyne last year, but it’s coming to the main shopping centre in Walkden town centre this time round.
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Totally Gruesome was a big hit with families last year, and this year looks to be no different / Credit: Totally Gruesome
There’ll be a total of 10 themed rooms to have a crack at, including ‘Gru’s House’, ‘Pumpkin Party’, ‘Shark Attack’, ‘Dino Domain’, ‘Ghost Ship’, and many more.
Described as being “suitable for all ages”, with organisers assuring that the experience is “spooky, not scary” as the whole concept is “based around fun, rather than scaring the whits out of your kids”, groups will get five minutes in each escape room to fin the answer to the puzzle, solve the riddle, and move onto the next themed area.
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The experience usually lasts around 50 minutes, and it tends to largely depend on how long it takes you to find the clues and complete the trail, as well as the number of spooky selfies you snap along the way.
Totally Gruesome is a series of Halloween-themed mini escape rooms / Credit: Totally GruesomeThere’ll be a total of 10 themed rooms to have a crack at this year / Credit: Totally Gruesome
Totally Gruesome is running from Saturday 9 October right through until Halloween, with time slots available between 9am-9pm daily.
Tickets priced at £7.95 per person are now available to get your hands on – with children under two go free – and after last year’s event was a sell-out success, families are being urged to book early for the experience if they want to avoid disappointment.
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You can grab your tickets here, and find more information about Totally Gruesome on Facebook.
Featured Image – Totally Gruesome
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Tickets go on sale for massively popular pumpkin festival near Greater Manchester this autumn
Emily Sergeant
Tickets for one of the North West’s most popular pumpkin festivals with thousands of pumpkins to pick have now officially gone on sale.
We know it’s still technically summer and the sun is still shining, but in just over a month’s time, Kenyon Hall Farm’s popular Pumpkin Festival will be back up and running for 2026.
This is an ideal autumnal activity for when the leaves start turning golden, and is always popular with families every year.
Think fields full of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, where you can grab yourself a wheelbarrow and get searching for your perfect gourd – whether it’s a classic round orange one, or a weird and wonderful wonky one.
Kenyon Hall Farm’s popular Pumpkin Festival will be back from next month / Credit: The Manc Group | Concetta Huffa (via Unsplash)
As well as the pumpkin picking itself, Kenyon Hall Farm also has loads of photo opportunities dotted around, like a house built of pumpkins, a giant throne, a vintage tractor, a love heart frame, and even a Hollywood sign-style sign screaming ‘PUMPKINS’ as you enter.
This year, the owners are also teasing some brand-new displays for 2026, so stay tuned for what’s in store.
While you’re at the farm, you can also browse a pop-up market packed with autumnal treats, including more pumpkins, novelty homewares, and seasonal goodies, and then head on into the gorgeous on-site cafe for some pumpkin-inspired specials like spiced lattes, scones, and soup.
What could be more a perfect autumn activity than rummaging around in a field picking your perfect pumpkin with your pals?
Kenyon Hall Farm’s Pumpkin Festival officially returns from Saturday 26 September, and tickets are now on sale at £3.95 each, so make sure to book yours soon as they’re already selling fast.
Tame Impala announces another HUGE Manchester gig after chart-topping success
Emily Sergeant
Tame Impala has announced another UK and EU tour in 2027 to celebrate recent chart-topping success.
Following sold-out runs across the globe in 2025 and 2026 – including here in Manchester – and currently in the midst of a North American arena tour, Tame Impala has announced a new run of dates for next year – with a mix of headline and festival appearances.
The announcement arrives as Kevin Parker – better known by his project name, Tame Impala – continues an extraordinary run with his latest studio album Deadbeat, released last year.
On Deadbeat, Parker aimed to sculpt a collection of ‘wickedly potent’ club-psych explorations as a vehicle for some of his most direct, ear-wormy songwriting to date.
Tame Impala has announced another huge Manchester gig after chart-topping success / Credit: Julian Klincewicz (Supplied)
After recently being featured in the new Marvel film, Spiderman: Brand New Day, the lead single from the album, ‘Loser’, has just hit number one on the Global Spotify chart.
Not only that, but the remix of the hit song ‘Dracula’, featuring JENNIE, also remains in the top 10 on various global charts, and the original version has also nominated for Best Alternative at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.
Critics described this most recent run of gigs as ‘one of the best live shows of the year’, so it only makes sense that he’d be back for more.
Kicking off on 28 May 2027 in here in Manchester, Tame Impala will be taking to the Co-op Live stage once again, before heading down to the capital for two nights at The O2 on 1 and 2 June, and then popping over to Paris, Rotterdam, and Cologne to.
Wet Leg will open all headlining dates next year, including here in Manchester.
Tickets go on sale this week, with Co-op Member Presale kicking off at 9am on Wednesday (26 August), followed by General Sale also at 9am on Friday (28 August).
Emily Sergeant -
7th October 2021 
