Manchester is a city full of opportunity – and The Castings is the perfect place to live to experience all it has to offer.
As the bustling hub of the north – and, arguably, the UK’s ‘second’ city, depending on who you ask – Manchester has firmly cemented itself as being somewhere people of all walks of life want to live, thanks to the wealth of live music,sport, nightlife, and so much more.
And for those who want to get amongst it, one of Manchester’s newest city centre neighbourhoods, The Castings, has a social life built right in, ready for residents to make the most of.
Currently rated number one on HomeViews, it has been voted by its residents as the best place to live in the city.
And it recently celebrated its first birthday too, in one of the ways it knows best, of course – with a free party for all residents.
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A glimpse into life at The Castings’ stunning lifestyle-led apartments / Credit: The Manc Group
If you were unfamiliar withThe Castings until now, it’s a stunning community made up of 352 apartments to rent in Piccadilly East.
With its range of studio, one, two, and three-bedroom homes, The Castings’ design-led spaces are inspired by industrial shapes, flowing forms, and molten textures.
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As well as its stunning apartments, the lifestyle-led development also features a fitness studio, high-spec gym, games room, private dining spaces, a co-working hub, and a 21st-floor rooftop terrace with panoramic views of Manchester.
The Castings is one of Manchester’s most social city centre neighbourhoods / Credit: The Castings
It sits in the heart of Piccadilly East is a neighbourhood often touted as Manchester’s next-generation, and named by The Sunday Times as one ofthe UK’s best places to live and The Castings has been ‘bringing new life’ to this up-and-coming area near Manchester Piccadilly stationever since it launched it last summer.
Even though Piccadilly East – which is conveniently-adjacent to Ancoats, New Islington, and the Northern Quarter – is already home to some of Manchester’s most popular food, drink, and liveentertainment venues, residents at The Castings don’t even need to leave the comfort of their own community to get involved with a wide variety of events and make some new friends along the way.
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In just the year since the first residents moved into The Castings, it has hosted everything from live comedy nights to regular yoga and fitness sessions, run clubs, and seasonal resident ‘socials’.
One of the biggest highlights in The Castings’ social calendar so far has to be the recent ‘Spring Social’, which helped welcome the new season in style, complete with an ice cream van, DJs, big Jenga, and lots and lots of pizza, making it a ‘standout’ moment of the year.
If The Castings sounds like somewhere you’d love to live, then the final few apartments are still remaining, and you can head online to book a viewing now.
Featured Image – The Castings (supplied) / The Manc Group
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Thanks to Terminal 2’s major upgrade, now holidays really do start at Manchester Airport
Danny Jones
It’s a phrase that’s almost as old as air travel itself, but luckily, Manchester Airport are well and truly getting your holidays started early, courtesy of the new and improved Terminal 2.
T2‘s massive upgrade technically finished in 2025, but with other bits debuting already this year and even more to come in 2026, Manchester’s biggest terminal is a more fully-fledged travel hub than ever.
Complete everything from the essentials and a healthy supply of food and drink, to lots of luxuries and plenty of ways to unwind and kill time between both before and after flights, you can feel extra smug about getting to the airport early.
As part of their latest ‘Terminal Explorer’ campaign, we recently paid a visit to see just how much fun we could get up to in and around T2. Spoilers: quite a lot.
With a little help from their wayfinding screens dotted around the various areas, from the World Duty Free section and ever-growing internal shopping district, to all the bars and restaurants that have opened since the big refurb, we took ourselves on a very fun day out.
And that was without even having an actual holiday booked to look forward to, so just imagine how good it must feel to top all this off with a real trip away.
In fact, you don’t even need to think that hard about it; roughly 80% of all passengers heading in and out of Manchester Airport now come through T2, and with the experience improving all the time, they’re seeing a serious uptick in visitors and their time spent enjoying some leisure before their getaway.
From additions like the LEGO store to keep the kids entertained, as well as numerous places to grab a brew, a bite, or even your first adult beverage of the holiday, it’s up to you how you choose to explore – they’ve just given you plenty of options.
There’s no bigger testament to the latest hospitality offerings in Terminal 2 than the recently opened Great Northern Market, which brings a rather big taste of the Mackie Mayor vibe to Manchester Airport.
A VERY comfortable place to wind down any wait times before you fly.
You’ll be blown away by the amount of choice on offer in here – we certainly were – and, of course, the multi-vendor culinary destination epicentre is just one of many fantastic food and drink offerings now boasted by the T2 ‘2.0.’
For instance, we could happily spend most of the time before our next hypothetical flight just chilling in the super stylish Fever-Tree Bar, which includes a wonderful range of breakfast and light bites, charcuterie boards, small plates, sandwiches and so on – plus a cocktail menu perfect for any occasion.
Put simply, you’ve now been given all the tools and means to turn downtime of almost any duration into an excuse to explore Manchester Airport at its best; in fact, scratch that: it’s an opportunity to go for a wander and make the most of it – and it’s one you don’t want to waste.
Whether it’s stocking up pre-flight or kicking back with your first drink of many, don’t just be another person sitting watching the departures board, be a terminal explorer.
Sensory-friendly Northern Lights to illuminate Printworks’ digital ceiling to mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Emily Sergeant
This week marks the start of Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
Approximately 15-20% of the population has a neurological difference, according to the most recent statistics, and Neurodiversity Celebration Week (16-20 March 2026) highlighting the importance of championing, raising awareness of, and accommodating neurodiverse people.
And Printworks is marking the occasion in its own special way, with a series of new initiatives designed to create a more ‘inclusive’ and ‘sensory-friendly’ environment.
You may already know that the popular indoor entertainment complex in the heart of Manchester city centre is home to more than a dozen bars, restaurants, and leisure activities – including one of the largest IMAX screens on the continent – and Europe’s largest digital ceiling too, of course, but this week’s experience is unlike anything the venue has welcomed before.
Throughout the week, Printworks will be transforming its digital ceiling with calming Northern Lights and constellations which have been specifically designed to create a relaxed, sensory-friendly atmosphere for visitors with additional sensory needs.
Northern Lights to illuminate Printworks’ digital ceiling to mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week / Credit: Supplied
As part of a long-term commitment to accessibility and inclusivity, Printworks is also introducing a weekly sensory-friendly hour every Sunday too, where lighting throughout the venue will be dimmed, and music and SFX volumes reduced for a reduced-stimulus environment.
200 free sensory packs – which can be collected at Vue cinema – with a pair of ear defenders and sensory-friendly toys, designed to support visitors who may benefit from sensory tools while enjoying the venue, are also on offer throughout the course of the week.
On top of this, there’s also a range of autism-friendly cinema screenings taking place on the last Sunday of every month at 10:30am.
An additional autism-friendly screening will be taking place with a showing of Hoppers this Sunday 22 March at 10:30am, with tickets now available from Vue’s website.
“Neurodiversity Celebration Week is an important time for brands and venues to recognise and support the diverse ways visitors and audiences experience the world,” commented Dan Davis, who is the General Manager at Printworks.
Emily Sergeant -
14th August 2025 
