City Centre

This is why a group of totally naked people were drinking in a Manchester pub yesterday

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 14th July 2022

Several Mancs were caught by surprise yesterday by the sight of a group of totally naked people having a pint in a local beer garden.

The group of four were spotted having a drink outside the New Union Hotel on Canal Street, with not a scrap of clothing between them.

They were later seen cycling around the city – including a pair on a tandem bicycle – and grabbing a takeaway from McTucky’s in the Gay Village.

The duo on the tandem, known as the Free Wilders, are actually on a pretty epic bike ride across the UK for a very worthy cause.

  • Colin and Sadie in Edinburgh
  • The Free Wilders at the beginning of their journey
Credit: Supplied

Colin Unsworth and Sadie Tann are naturists, and advocates for rewilding, the basis of which is that nature can look after itself if ecosystems are properly restored.

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They’re currently cycling the massive distance between John o’Groats and Land’s End to raise money for charity, and doing it all starkers.

During their stop-over in Manchester, Colin said they had a ‘great reception and positivity from the people of Manchester’, a section he’d been looking forward to all along.

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On their JustGiving page, which has currently raised almost £2000 for both Rewilding Britain and mental health charity Mind, they say they chose to do the ride naked to help spread their message.

They wrote: “If you’re reading this it is most likely because of the attention that this challenge will get. If we just ride the LEJOG in cycling gear, no one will notice our message. But also, we’re going to have a scream.

“We are going to visit rewilding farms and projects along the route and stop for parties wherever we can. This is a celebration of our future and of body freedom.”

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They advocate for the mental health benefits of naturism in a world that treats nudity as ‘humiliating’.

Read more: The first baby beaver has been born in Cheshire for over 400 years

The Free Wilders say: “We grow up in a world that expects us to be ashamed of our bodies as though there is something so bad, so hideous that there are few things more humiliating than being seen naked.

“This is reinforced by images that sexualise nudity and tell us that without a magazine perfect body, we have something to hide and be ashamed of. We are breaking free of that. Non sexual nudity should be celebrated and seen as normal!”

If you want to join in with the Free Wilders, you can follow along on Facebook to join in with a leg of their cycle from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

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You can also donate to their JustGiving page here.

Featured image: Free Wilders

City Centre

Two Manchester cocktail bars named amongst the top 10 in the country

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

In a coup for the city’s bartending scene, some of Manchester’s best cocktail bars have been named amongst the UK’s creme de la creme – with two ranking amongst the top 10 in the country at the Top 50 UK Bars awards.

The prestigious list, released annually, named four Manchester bars in total at a glitzy awards ceremony in London last night.

Coming in at number eight on the list this year was hidden Manchester cocktail bar Speak In Code, up two places from the year before, whilst ranking highly in fourth place was the brilliant Schofield’s Bar, having moved up twelve places on its 2022 ranking.

Spring Gardens cocktail bar Blinker, opened less than a year ago by ex-Gordon Ramsay bars boss Dan Berger, also ranked in this year’s top 50 – coming at number 41.

And there was an honourable mention for Zymogorium’s newly-reopened Project Halcyon bar, located in the Bonded Warehouse beneath the Old Granada Studios, which took home a special ‘One to watch’ gong at last night’s ceremony.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Read more: Inside Blinker, the new Manchester bar with a dedicated martini menu

Whilst London once again dominated the list,  there were still a large number of northern drinking spots included with a total of 14 of the Top 50 Cocktail Bars to be found in Scotland and the north of England.

In Leeds, Tabula Rasa, (#48), Hedonist (#45) and Below Stairs (#42) were all recognised for their top-notch drinks, atmosphere and service, whilst in Sheffield natural wine bar Bench (#50) and cocktail bar Public (#39) were also given honours.

Liverpool bar Present Company also cleaned up at the awards, ranking at number 20 – a jump of 23 places from its 2022 position.

Over in Scotland, meanwhile, Edinburgh bars Panda & Sons (#6) Bramble (#13) and Hey Palu (#27) all got a mention, as did secret Glaswegian bar The Absent Ear (#25) and natural wine and cocktail bar Lunar (#49).

Image: Project Halcyon
Image: Speak In Code

The Top 50 Cocktail Bars list is compiled by bar industry experts and offers a unique perspective on where those in the know like to go for a drink.

Each year, the list is chosen by a mixture of bartenders, bar owners, writers, critics, and other hospitality professionals.

To ensure each region in the UK has an equal opportunity to shine, voters are broken down into six geographical regions. Each voter then has four votes, including for one cocktail bar in their region and three others from anywhere else in the UK.

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Top 50 Cocktail Bars community manager, Charli Tomney, said: “I am so excited to bring back this event with a bang. We have a real variety of bars, some with a capacity of 24 people some with 300. There are bars with spirit specialities, new bars that have opened just months ago and some female-owned businesses from across the UK.”

Chris Lowe, publisher of Top 50 Cocktail Bars, said: “We have created Top 50 Cocktail Bars to help people find the best bars, which are often hidden, around the UK.

Read more: All the February Manchester restaurant deals, discounts and offers you need in 2023

“London still has more bars on the list than any other city but having almost all of the UK’s major cities represented showcases the explosion of great venues on the cocktail scene.”

Feature image – The Manc Eats

City Centre

Huge waterside food hall to breathe life into old Manchester warehouse

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A new waterside food hall is tipped to open in Manchester as the Allied London team set their sites on a former warehouse on the banks of the river Irwell.

Sitting on the cusp of Spinningfields and Salford, Shipyard, as it will be known, will take inspiration from popular existing concepts such as Manchester’s Mackie Mayor, Lisbon’s Time Out Market, and the Kyiv Food Market.

Located on the corner of Water Street and New Quay Street, according to plans submitted to Manchester City Council it will move into a long-empty warehouse formerly known as Albert Shed.

Due to open in the same part of town as the hotly-anticipated new venue Factory International, after sitting empty for years it’s hoped that the new project will breathe some new life back into the area.

Promising to bring a mix of artisan vendors and ‘rolling smaller stalls’, the new food hall plans to create a new riverside dining destination in the Manchester neighbourhood of St. Johns.

Developers want to transform the existing first floor car park of the building into a food hall, then add a second mezzanine level to provide more seating.

Image: Albert’s Shed / Allied London

A statement to planners said: “We have been working alongside Allied London on the Shipyard (formerly Albert Sheds) to create a new riverside dining destination within the prime location in St. John’s Masterplan.

“Being one of the few original industrial buildings left within the city centre, its high ceilings and waterfront location will provide the perfect atmosphere from day to night.

Read more: Aldi launches new ‘magic bags’ with £10 worth of food for just £3.30

“Our proposals are to repurpose the former warehouse into an eclectic and curated destination that compliments the wider St. Johns Masterplan, by encouraging a mix of artisan vendors and rolling smaller stalls.”

“It is envisaged that the food hall will become more visible during dusk and evening time as the interior is illuminated,” the documents added. “The form of the timber canopy will provide solar shading from morning sun whilst at night the internal space will illuminate the river side.”

Feature image – Alberts Shed / Allied London

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