City Centre

Shoppers report getting stuck for FIVE HOURS in Manchester Arndale car park

'I can't get out'

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 28th November 2022

Shoppers in the city centre say it took almost five hours to exit the Manchester Arndale’s multi-storey car parks this weekend.

Motorists say they were crawling along in the multi-storey car park for hours on end.

One person slammed the lack of management of the parking complex after spending ‘four hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic’.

Another ‘trapped’ shopper said they arrived back to their car at 5pm but didn’t manage to actually exit the Arndale car park until 9.40pm last night.

They even helpfully shared a diagram showing that a car in front had travelled only ‘five spaces’ in the space of three hours.

ADVERTISEMENT

One tweet showed someone timing their journey (or lack of) on their phone, racking up an eye-watering five hours, three minutes and two seconds in the multi-storey.

Someone described it as ‘absolutely crazy’ after spending four hours trying to exit the Arndale car park.

ADVERTISEMENT

Other images show cars snaked back on the spiralled ramp leading in and out of the space.

They wrote: “Can someone come and help in the Arndale carpark! On floor 11 and we have been static for 1hr. Most expensive carpark I’ve ever been in and now I can’t get out.

“I have seen online this happened yesterday, so why isn’t anyone managing this today???”

ADVERTISEMENT

The user later added: “Is anyone coming to help? This is a massive safety /fire issue.”

The Manchester Arndale has said it believes the congestion was caused by traffic on the surrounding streets.

Read more

One person tweeted: “Never again. A nightmare being stuck in your car park yesterday for 4 hours!!!! Bumper to bumper traffic queues, no management from staff, wasted fuel, extortionate fees! Babies, children, disabled & elderly all trapped. Disgusting (none) management!”

Replying to several people on Twitter, they said: “Hi – we’re sorry to hear about your experience. The car park adjacent to us is owned & managed by @ManCityCouncil.

“We believe the congestion was due to traffic flow on the surrounding streets. If you have any other queries we would recommend you contact the Council directly.”

ADVERTISEMENT

TfGM’s Head of Highways, Peter Boulton, said: “Manchester is a top destination and with a number of events and the Christmas markets adding to the usual retail and leisure offering, the last couple of weekends have seen increased numbers of people travelling into the city centre by both car and public transport.

“We’d encourage anyone coming to Manchester to think about how they are going to get in, around and out of the city and to plan their journey in advance, avoiding the busiest times and routes where possible.”

Featured image: Unsplash / Twitter @hairyspaceman_

City Centre

I tried the Manchester roast with a dedicated cauliflower cheese menu named the ‘UK’s best’

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Right, let’s talk cauliflower cheese for a moment. A non-negotiable on a roast dinner, I like mine steaming hot and encased in cheesy bechamel, slightly charred on top and oozing in the middle.

Truth be told, I’m more attached to cauliflower cheese than Yorkshire puddings (blasphemy up north, I know). Miss a Yorkshire off my roast and – as long as I’ve not ordered beef – we’ll be absolutely fine. But forget the cauliflower cheese? Well, I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive you.

Given my proclivity for the stuff, when Ducie Street Warehouse first launched its menu dedicated to cauliflower cheese my interest was piqued, to say the least.

Then at the start of this year, its Sunday roast offering was named the best in the UK. So, in the interests of roast-loving Mancs everywhere, I dutifully trotted down to give it a go. The things I have to do in the name of journalism, honestly.

Macaroni cauliflower cheese at Ducie Street Warehouse. / Image: The Manc Eats
Rosemary roasted leg of lamb roast with the biggest Yorkshire pudding I’ve ever seen at Ducie Street Warehouse. / Image: The Manc Eats

Mentally prepared to eat my body weight in cheese, I’d already familiarised myself with the menu. Ok, technically two menus. Ducie Street Warehouse has a separate one just for its cauliflower cheeses: with eight different styles to choose from.

We’re talking cauliflower cheese with vintage cheddar, freshly shaved black truffle, bacon frazzles, garlic and herb crumble, four kinds of cheese, blue cheese, macaroni, plus a cheezy option for the vegans.

According to the team, it’s ‘the ultimate Sunday side that deserves a place of its own.’ I couldn’t agree more.

As for the rest, its separate ‘Sunday with Sides’ menu also seemingly has it all. Dry-aged local shorthorn beef sirloin, W.H. Frost premium chicken breast, rosemary roasted leg of lamb and a weekly-changing vegan roast ‘with all the trimmings’.

Add to that its promising-sounding ‘Slice Of ‘SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE’ – a carvery-style mixed-meat plate priced at £27.50 – and it does seem like they’ve really thought of it all.

Read more: A Manchester restaurant is doing bottomless pancakes for Pancake Day

Cauliflower cheese topped with Frazzles and bacon bits at Ducie Street Warehouse. / Image: The Manc Eats
Cauliflower cheese topped with freshly grated black truffle at Ducie Street Warehouse. / Image: The Manc Eats

I opt for a pink leg of lamb, whilst my cheese-eating partner in crime goes for the beef (which also comes out beautifully pink). Both are served with crispy roasties on a mountain of seasonal veg, topped with the biggest singular Yorkshire puddings I think I’ve ever seen.

Gravy is generous, but there’s an extra jug plopped onto our table too – just in case. Being a gravy glutton, I pile it on. It comes out a bit thick for my liking, but still tastes delicious nonetheless.

As for the cauliflower cheese? It’s worth every bit of hype it gets. We try the umami-rich black truffle, blue cheese, macaroni and Frazzles options, filling our tiny table for two with an absolute mountain of cauliflower.

As ever, my eyes are bigger than my belly, but I give it a good go: packing up the rest to take home and eat in bed later.

Read more: This Manchester restaurant is serving a Sunday roast with bottomless drinks

I won’t beat around the bush. This is a deceptively BIG roast. Granted, we did order four portions of cauliflower cheese on the side, but still. Some roasts look good but lack substance. Not this one. This is the roast that keeps on giving.

Further add-ons include Tuscan pork stuffing, honey-roasted heirloom rainbow carrots, maple roasted parsnips, lemon and garlic broccoli gratin, macaroni cheese, plus extra Yorkshire puddings and gravy, not that we can manage it.

I’d definitely go back with a group, though, and see if we can get through it all. I honestly can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

City Centre

Flash mobbing TikTok star tried to serenade Mancs – and we were having none of it

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

A singer who has gone hugely viral in recent weeks on TikTok really met his match when he tried to serenade people in Manchester.

Cian Ducrot has been racking up hundreds of millions of views on his videos lately, most of which have been filmed around Manchester city centre.

The 25-year-old star’s shtick is simple… it’s flash mobbing.

If you thought that trend died in the 2010s, you were sorely mistaken.

Cian has been popping up all over Manchester to sing his song I’ll Be Waiting, each time joined after a few bars by a group of ‘strangers’ who are actually a choir.

We’ve seen him singing on the escalators in the Arndale, belting his little heart out in Costa, parking up at a piano in Piccadilly and even cracking out his tune on a packed Metrolink tram.

Cian Ducrot
Cian Ducrot performing his flash mobbing stunts around Manchester. Credit: TikTok, @cianducrot
Cian Ducrot
Cian Ducrot performing his flash mobbing stunts around Manchester. Credit: TikTok, @cianducrot
Cian Ducrot
Cian Ducrot performing his flash mobbing stunts around Manchester. Credit: TikTok, @cianducrot

It’s the same stunt, same song, same script, same singers, even the same jacket, in slightly different locations, each time pulling in up to 87 MILLION views.

Honestly, he has nailed the viral marketing.

But he finally found a TikTok stunt that fell flat in our fair city, after he attempted to stop people passing through Manchester Victoria to sing them a song.

@cianducrot

Replying to @Adam Stevenson The part you don’t see 😭😂

♬ I’ll Be Waiting – If you ever want to make things right – Cian Ducrot

One particular local has our whole heart after she responded with a frankly disgusted ‘ooh, no thank you’.

Then several other people very politely told him they were rushing for a train (sure sure, we’ve all used that one) and scurried away from him.

The comments have been flooded with people saying the people who declined hearing Cian Ducrot’s singing have really missed out – one person even said: “I’d have missed the last train for this oppprtunity.”

Read more

When Cian eventually did manage to stop a couple for a song, they spent the entire time looking anywhere but at him – because as much as his vocals are stunning, there’s nothing quite so uncomfortable as being sang at in public.

Whatever he’s doing, it’s working – Cian now has a whopping 3.8m followers on TikTok with his videos accumulating some 85.6m likes.

And it’s translating to commercial success too. I’ll Be Waiting is currently fourth in the UK singles chart. Good work, sir.

Featured image: TikTok, @cianducrot

More City Centre

City Centre

Stare Society – Manchester’s hidden gem, rock n roll vintage shop that’s like stepping back in time

City Centre

Caribbean-inspired bars launch bottomless ‘Galentine’s’ dinner with non-stop cocktails

City Centre

You can get FREE entry fees and special perks if you run the Greater Manchester Run 2023 for this local charity

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches