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A new Halloween trail is taking over the hidden woods at the Trafford Centre

It comes from the creators of The Twilight Trail.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 20th September 2024

A brand-new Halloween trail will be leading people through an enchanted and haunted woodland this autumn – and it’s all taking place at Trafford Centre’s little-known Wilderspool Woods. 

The 4.5 acre hidden woodland in the grounds of the iconic shopping centre will be taken over by skeletons, bats, and all sorts of other spooky creatures.

But as the event comes from acclaimed The Twilight Trail at Mayfield Park, you’ll be sure to be more mesmerised than terrified. No blood-thirsty zombies here. 

There’ll be more than 100,000 lights illuminating a Skeleton Village, laser-filled gardens of mist, and a spooky soundtrack of otherworldly tunes curated by DJ Rasp.

Visitors will find supernatural surprises around every corner, whether it’s colourful bats soaring overhead or glowing LED eyes watching down from the treetops. 

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The Halloween Trail will be suitable for all ages and will captivate audiences with the glittering light trail, interactive events, and a massive food and drink programme curated by Freight Island.

A new Halloween trail is taking over the hidden woods at the Trafford Centre. Credit: Supplied
A new Halloween trail is taking over the hidden woods at the Trafford Centre. Credit: Supplied
Decadent hot chocolates will be part of The Halloween Trail's Freight Island-curated food line-up. Credit: Supplied
Decadent hot chocolates will be part of The Halloween Trail’s Freight Island-curated food line-up. Credit: Supplied

As you creep and weave your way through the eerie Wilderspool Woods you’ll be able to pick and carve your own pumpkins, toast marshmallows, and throw some shapes at the skeleton disco. 

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There’ll even be a skeleton petting zoo, a mysterious Haunted Hotel, and a creepy old-fashioned pub, Ye Olde Skeleton Arms, tucked away in the woods. 

The light installations brought to The Halloween Trail will include Helix, a floating ribbon of sparkling light that weaves through the forest, and The Twist, a psychedelic, corkscrew pathway of mesmerising lights. 

After making it through the mystical woodlands, visitors can feast on food from top traders including Voodoo Rays (22” New York-style pizzas), and Soft Boi (soft-serve ice cream). 

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Formaggi by Lazy Tony’s will be warming up guests with loaded roasties, rich poutine, deep-fried mozzarella and Italian-American toasties, and there’s Cabin Chocolat for decadent hot chocolates topped with fluffy marshmallows, caramel, and sweets (plus a drop of booze for the grown-ups).

Heard, a new burger venture from two Michelin-starred chef Jordan Bailey of Ireland’s Aimsir, will also feature on the trail, whipping up a selection of smash burgers made with eco-friendly ingredients. 

Voodoo Rays will be one of the traders serving food at The Halloween Trail. Credit: The Manc Group
Voodoo Rays will be one of the traders serving food at The Halloween Trail. Credit: The Manc Group
Formaggio by Lazy Tony's will have loaded roasties and loads more. Credit: Supplied
Formaggio by Lazy Tony’s will have loaded roasties and loads more. Credit: Supplied

Free parking is available for all ticket holders, or there are easy public transport links via tram or bus along The Bee Network.

Dan Morris, co-founder of Trafford Trails, said: “We’re excited to reveal Wilderspool Wood as the location for this year’s Halloween Trail. 

“This hidden space offers the perfect setting for an immersive and exciting Halloween experience. With DJ Rasp’s soundtrack, stunning light displays, and some of the best food traders around, we’re looking forward to welcoming visitors of all ages for a great night out.”

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Simon Layton, Centre Director at Trafford Centre, added: “We’re delighted to bring something new to Trafford this Halloween. Collaborating with Freight Island and other great partners, we’ve created an experience that promises to be a real treat for our visitors. We can’t wait to see Wilderspool Wood lit up at night.”

The Halloween Trail will run from Thursday 17 October to Sunday 3 November. 

Tickets are on sale now, with prices starting from £8 for children, £10 for adults, and family tickets from £32 – you can grab yours here. 

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Featured image: Supplied

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A massive student shopping event is returning to Manchester Arndale next week

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The MCR Student Social shopping event is back at Manchester Arndale. Credit: Manchester BID

Students in Greater Manchester will be able to bag some big savings next week when Manchester Arndale’s popular event returns to the shopping centre. 

The MCR Student Social will feature massive discounts, live entertainment, competitions, games, and loads more as it welcomes new and returning students to the city. 

Top brands like Levi’s, Urban Outfitters, The North Face, Space NK, and Victoria’s Secret will all be getting involved, with up to 30% student discount on offer. 

And there’ll be huge unbeatable offers on Manchester Arndale’s food, drink and entertainment offerings too, like 50% off at Doner Shack.

The brand new HOP Vietnamese, which serves street-food-inspired bites from its colourful restaurant on Market Street, will also be slashing its prices in half. 

You and your student pals can get competitive at Immersive Gamebox, or head to Urban Playground to try your hand at ITV’s The Cube.

Over on Market Street, our very own Audio North will be spinning tunes from a DJ truck – come say hi and get your requests in at @audio.north.

Another live DJ will also be in position at Halle Place, which is home to some of the shopping centre’s best restaurants. 

The MCR Student Social is back at Manchester Arndale this month. Credit: The Manc Group
The MCR Student Social is back at Manchester Arndale this month. Credit: The Manc Group
The MCR Student Social is back at Manchester Arndale this month. Credit: Manchester BID
The MCR Student Social is back at Manchester Arndale this month. Credit: Manchester BID

And keep your eyes peeled for roaming activations, where you can win big prizes and grab exclusive goodies. 

Inside the many stores at Manchester Arndale there’ll be more games, giveaways, free samples and prizes. Just grab a leaflet on the night to see what’s on around the city centre destination. 

Students will be able to get to grips with their new favourite retail hotspots, whether they’re browsing for accessories for their digs in Flying Tiger or TKMaxx, doing the big shop in Aldi, shopping in River Island and Monki, or having a night out in Roxy Ball Room or King Pins. 

Many of these offer big student discounts all year round, but for one night they’ll be pulling out all the stops. 

The MCR Student Social is the ultimate chance for new and returning students to grab amazing deals and experience the best of the city.

It’s back at Manchester Arndale on Thursday 26 September 2024 – see more here and follow @manchesterarndale on Instagram for the latest updates.

Featured image: Manchester BID

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The impressive plan to transform Manchester’s landmark Pall Mall building

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson CGIs show how Pall Mall will look when the work is complete. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech

Work is now well underway to completely revamp one of Manchester’s most recognisable buildings, Pall Mall. 

The Grade II-listed building on the beautiful King Street will be totally transformed into a new city centre innovation hub by Bruntwood SciTech. 

You’ve probably walked past it hundreds of times, but soon there’ll be a chance for freelancers, start-ups, and established businesses to step inside and call it home. 

For those self-employed of you out there, there are no scary commitments to worry about when Pall Mall reopens – you can just walk in and book a pay-as-you-go-desk, work at the cafe, sign up for a coworking membership, or go all the way to serviced offices or sign up for the sort of office space you can put your own stamp on – all with flexible payment options. 

Once completed, there’ll be 12 floors of work spaces for between one and 70 people across three interconnected towers.

If you spend your 9-5 in one of the office spaces at Pall Mall, you’ll have access to a free state-of-the-art gym, a contemplation room, a lounge and library space, and a roof terrace with panoramic views across Manchester city centre. 

There’ll also be secure EV charging points and a large cycle hub, plus plenty of greenery added through an outdoor piazza and revitalised entrance space. And every communal space will operate at net zero carbon. Snazzy. 

Pall Mall is a 90,000 sq ft giant in the heart of Manchester, with a rich cultural and historical significance and is an example of a high-quality post-war site. 

CGIs released as part of the plans show bright and open work spaces with lots of fully fitted offices ready to move straight into, plus a totally overhauled outdoor space to make use of an often-overlooked external space in the city centre. 

Pall Mall will have a revitalised piazza outside. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech
Pall Mall will have a revitalised piazza outside. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech
There'll be a cafe on site at Pall Mall. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech
There’ll be a cafe on site at Pall Mall. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech

The ambitious £30m project comes from Bruntwood SciTech, the UK’s largest dedicated property platform dedicated to growing the science, tech and innovation sectors, which is a joint venture between Bruntwood, Legal & General and Greater Manchester Pension Fund, who last October announced that they would be investing a further £500m into building or refurbing work-class spaces for these types of businesses, and Pall Mall was one of these first commitments.

Principal contractor Dragonfly has been appointed to build the Sheppard Robson-designed development and local teams also working on the development include Ramboll as sustainability consultants, Deloitte as planning consultants, heritage consultant Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture and structural engineers DWLLP.

Businesses will be able to move into adaptable and flexible workspaces, with different lease lengths available to cater for businesses as they grow. 

Those moving into Pall Mall will be part of a culture that prioritises sustainable growth, from the net-zero communal spaces to the net-zero construction, with the building’s original structure being maintained to save 7,900 tonnes of additional carbon (the equivalent of one passenger making 26,000 flights from London to New York). 

There’ll be an all-electric heating and cooling system, a smart building management system, and new mechanical ventilation heat recovery units to maximise energy efficiency and provide fresh air control to businesses. 

Pall Mall will have a gym. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech
Pall Mall will have a gym. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech
CGIs show how Pall Mall will look when the work is complete. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech
CGIs show how Pall Mall will look when the work is complete. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech

Once complete, Pall Mall is targeting a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating and EPC A rating – a significant achievement for a Grade II listed, 1960s building.

Their green credentials have been noticed – Pall Mall is a finalist in the 2024 edie Awards for Green Building Project of the Year, and also won Best Commercial Unbuilt Project at the 2024 Manchester Society of Architects Awards.

Start-ups, scale-ups and global businesses alike will gain access to a UK-wide network of 1100 like-minded businesses across Bruntwood SciTech’s community, which spans 31 city centre hubs and nine science and technology campuses in six cities, and in Manchester includes the likes of Circle Square, Manchester Science Park, Bond, Bloc, 111 Piccadilly and Blackfriars in Manchester. 

There are big names who already operate from Bruntwood Scitech’s Manchester innovation hubs including – to name but a few – Roku, Deliveroo, AO, Social Chain, Mills & Reeve, and tonnes of freelancers. 

They can access Bruntwood SciTech’s growth support, including direct access to funding and investors, highly skilled talent, new markets, and an extensive clinical, academic and public partner network.

Ciara Keeling, Chief Operating Officer for Bruntwood SciTech said: “Bruntwood SciTech has a strong blueprint for creating innovation ecosystems, having undertaken significant projects across many of the UK’s cities and regions. 

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CGIs show how Pall Mall will look when the work is complete. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech
CGIs show how Pall Mall will look when the work is complete. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech
CGIs show how Pall Mall will look when the work is complete. Credit: Bruntwood SciTech

“We believe that these hubs are not only essential to the development, growth and success of many exciting innovation-focused businesses, but can play a significant role in transforming our regional economies and putting the UK on a path to achieving its ambitions of being an innovation powerhouse. 

“Work commencing on our redevelopment of Pall Mall marks an important step in our mission to power economies through innovation, supporting Manchester to continue growing its support for the knowledge economy, and becoming a more environmentally sustainable city. 

“Core to our vision for the building is to develop a workspace that caters specifically to the needs of disruptors and innovators, whilst also remaining acutely conscious of our responsibility to champion the building’s heritage and inherent character.”

Pall Mall’s redevelopment is targeted to complete in 2025, and is supported by Savills and CBRE.

Want to call Pall Mall home for your business? Enquire today.

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Featured image: Supplied

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