How often do you stop and take a moment to truly appreciate the beauty of our region?
Whether it be the ever-changing skyline of city centre buildings, the rolling hills within our borders, the lakes, rivers and reservoirs spanning for miles, or the wealth of untouched nature right on our doorsteps, Greater Manchester has a lot to offer.
And if there’s one thing that can really shine a light on that, it’s photography.
The power of photography has the ability to capture a moment in time that may otherwise have passed us by, and allow us to remember that moment forever.
So, in an attempt to not only showcase the beauty around us, but to also give a well-deserved platform to some of the region’s most talented amateur and professional photographers, for the past 10 weeks over on our Instagram – @the.manc – we have scoured the internet to find and feature 10 of the best photographs taken in each of Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs – and it’s proven to be an extremely popular series with our 142,000+ audience.
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That popular, in fact, that we have decided to round-up each of the 10 posts in one place to really bring home why Greater Manchester is so great.
Don’t forget to go over and follow @the.manc on Instagram if you’re keen to see more.
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Manchester
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNSrkjDjDL6/
The borough of Manchester itself may not boast some of sights that its neighbours do, but it’s not one to be overlooked.
Manchester is overflowing with culture, character and charm.
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This was undoubtedly one of the hardest boroughs to whittle down 10 photos for, as there are plenty of talented photographers teeming our streets and an endless list of moments to capture, but with everything from sunkissed skylines and skyscrapers, to rainy days, blue skies and more, we’ve picked the best of a brilliant bunch.
Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Manchester round-up.
Salford
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There’s nowhere quite like Salford.
Besides being home to Greater Manchester’s second city, a wealth of cultural sites that are worth visiting, the ever-developing and expanding MediaCity UK, and some of the most close-knit communities around, Salford is also spoilt with green space and weekend walks thanks to Kersal Wetlands, Worsley Woods and Drinkwater Park.
It’s also hard to ignore the spectacular scenery on offer at the Quays, too.
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The 10 pictures featured as part of the Salford round-up showcase all the borough has on offer.
Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Salford round-up.
Oldham
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNAw3NwMbGJ/
How brilliant is that view of the Manchester skyline?
Thanks to its location neighbouring the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, the eastern Greater Manchester borough of Oldham not only offers one of the best looks at the city centre from afar, but it also boasts gorgeous hill views and breathtaking reservoir scenery, with places like Tandle Hill and Dovestones all within its borders.
We were truly spoilt for choice when narrowing down 10 photographs to showcase here.
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Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Oldham round-up.
Bury
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Despite the pronunciation of ‘Bury’ being up for debate amongst us Mancunians, we can at least all agree that the borough has some great views, right?
Not only is it home to several popular town centres, alongside Holcombe Hill, Peel Tower and Heaton Park, but Bury is also known nationally for its black pudding, as well as being steeped in history as the regimental town of the Lancashire Fusiliers, and the start of the East Lancashire Railway.
Have a gander at 10 of the best snapshots captured by local photographers.
Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Bury round-up.
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Wigan
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Can you believe that the vast range of sights and scenery showcased in this selection of 10 photos are all nestled in the same borough?
Wigan really has a lot to shout about.
Not only is the borough home to the famous Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, and is known the world-over for its iconic pier and pies, there’s also a wealth of beautiful nature reserves, great public parks, monuments and some rich heritage to explore too.
Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Wigan round-up.
Rochdale
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMKlVeOAZrw/
We can’t get enough of the views on offer in Rochdale.
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This is one of Greater Manchester’s most underrated gems, so when it comes to experiencing all that nature and culture can bring, you need look no further than Rochdale with its bustling town centre, multiple reservoirs, the beautiful Hollingworth Lake, Healey Dell Nature Reserve and so much more.
It was hard to narrow it down, but we’ve picked a selection of photos that truly show what Rochdale is made of.
Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Rochdale round-up.
Bolton
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There’s so much hidden beauty in Bolton.
The northwestern borough doesn’t always get the level of recognition that the rest of the region does, but with its popular country parks, reservoir walks, picturesque views over the city, and a historic town centre with streets that have been used as filming locations for a number of films and well-known TV shows, don’t count Bolton out.
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Here’s 10 of the best snapshots Bolton has to show for itself.
Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Bolton round-up.
Stockport
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Stockport has plenty of show-stopping sights.
The region’s most-southern borough is known by the rest of Greater Manchester for its iconic viaduct, M60 pyramid and Plaza, but with the wonders of Lyme Park, Reddish Vale and Etherow Country Park all within its borders too, Stockport has so much more to offer than initially meets the eye.
We’ve selected 10 of the best snapshots by local photographers to show Stockport off.
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Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Stockport round-up.
Tameside
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Looking for some of the best views in Greater Manchester?
Head to Tameside.
With are large chunk of the eastern borough neighbouring Derbyshire and the unrivalled sights of the Peak District National Park, Tameside is home to some of the best views the region has to offer, whatever the weather, so we’ve done our best to highlight its beauty through the lens of local photographers.
Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Tameside round-up.
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Trafford
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Trafford’s got it all.
The sought-after borough in the southwestern part of Greater Manchester is known for bringing a little bit of everything to the table, so from cultured high streets and grand shopping centres, to public parks, nature reserves, National Trust sites and everything in between, we’ve picked 10 of our favourite snapshots to best represent the area.
The beautiful scenes from the recent winter months are definitely the star of the show.
Don’t forget to head on over to Instagram to show some love and check out more from the photographers featured in our Trafford round-up.
Vanilli’s – the Manchester bakery and dessert spot that has carried on the tradition of an old Italian favourite
Danny Jones
Vanilli’s Cake Company is one of those names whose reach extends far and wide, with a history that goes way back into the past, and a deeper Greater Manchester heritage than you can imagine.
It’s one almost as rich as the desserts they’ve been making across the city centre and beyond for decades, but it also begins back in Italy.
Formerly San Marco Products, a fellow cult-favourite bakery, suppliers and catering company from way back, owner Sapna Kumar took over their old premises on Crown Industrial Estate over in Ancoats more than six years ago, and has been carrying on their sweet treat traditions ever since.
The difference these days is that it’s gone from more of an Italian ‘pasticceria’ to a Mancunian bakery with both local and Indian roots.
Born out of pregnancy cravings ahead of her third child, ironically, Vanilli’s Cake Co. went from an unfortunately timed passion project conceived on the cusp of the pandemic to a mainstay of Greater Manchester and North West markets and now part of a mini Manc empire in the making.
After taking control of the old commercial premises back in 2020, their understated but impressively high-output unit still has lots of regulars in the know coming in for the good stuff, but still operates somewhat under the radar.
Maybe that’s part of the reason their quality control has remained at such a high level: although they provide to plenty of vendors all across the city and wider region, they’ve never overextended themselves to the point that even the slightest of standards slips.
If you’ve met Sapna before – the charismatic matriarch behind this brand and others like spin-off Cake Bar Co. and most recently, Punjabee – you’ll know that she doesn’t do anything by half measures.
And yes, there are Vanilli’s desserts on sale here, too.
A familiar face at the likes of Foodie Friday and various other street food stalls across the 10 boroughs and even further afield, she’s been doing some of these events since the very outset.
Sadly, without going into too much detail, she admits that there have been instances where her generosity has been “taken advantage of on more than one occasion”, but they will never stop her continuing to offer a helping hand.
The difference this time, however, is that she’s not simply putting others before herself all the time anymore; the Manc mum who’s played mother to many through her work over the years is finally shouting about herself and her unsung but nevertheless dedicated and talented team more.
And not just a little bit, either (no half measures, remember?) – she proudly proclaims that not only does Vanilli’s serve up some of the most authentic traditional recipes, but she happily lays claim to whipping up “the best Manchester tart” you’ll find anywhere.
As for this location, specifically, she simply wants to give people like you a reminder that it’s been there for more than 30 years at this point
She’s also looking to rebuild support throughout the community by teaming up with local brands and creators moving forward. Again, it’s about time she finally got on the receiving end of ‘You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’, which sounds like it’s long overdue.
Having recently put on a speciality spread for us, showcasing not only the classic but some fresh new ideas and creative takes on familiar, we can assure you some very delicious things are coming from Vanilli’s throughout the rest of 2026.
So, if like Sapna, you love “indulging in the sweeter side of life”, give a Vanilli’s cake, pastry or one of their other tasty desserts soon.
Find all of these and more at Unit 8, Crown Industrial, Poland Street, M4 6BN. (Credit: The Manc)
Blossoms deliver most rock and roll performance in years as Declan McKenna joins them on stage
Danny Jones
Last night, we were fortunate enough to be there in the flesh not only to see Blossoms play a special anniversary show in Manchester, but to witness Declan McKenna join them on stage.
A tiny part of us was wondering if we’d see Rick Astley roll out into the venue, but let’s just say we’ll absolutely take this.
Celebrating a decade to the day since the release of the self-titled debut LP – yes, we feel old, too – Blossoms announced the one-off intimate show at The Deaf Institute, a venue they hadn’t played in 12 whole years (good lord…), and it served as much more than a night of nostalgia.
But we’ll admit, the highlight was almost certainly seeing the ‘Brazil’ and ‘British Bombs’ singer join Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Myles Kellock and Joe Donovan on stage for their smallest gig since god knows when.
We’ve gotten somewhat used to seeing the Enfield-born solo artist popping up at random venues across the country and even performing DJ sets at local pubs.
If you haven’t seen that Kylie Minogue clip before, you really need to…
However, we don’t think anyone in the crowd was expecting this cameo, let alone hearing them perform a co-written track off the new record live in front of the audience for the very first time.
As if all of this wasn’t already a bit bonkers and left-field, the song in question, entitled ‘Additional Driver’, was self-admittedly so surprising in SO many ways that Tom felt he needed to explain the full story behind it and why Declan shouted “shoulda got the 192” before they started playing.
Yes, in some kind of Greater Mancunian fever dream, we’ve finally got artists writing lyrics about the region’s most infamous bus route that we’re sure most, if not all of you, can relate to.
But it wasn’t just this moment that had us debating in our heads, ‘are they the best Manc or maybe in Northern band full stop going right now?’, it was seeing them slip so seamlessly back into the more straight-down-the-line indie rock from their first chapter of studio material that did it.
Everyone knows and loves the biggest bangers from that inaugural outing: ‘Getaway’, ‘Charlemagne’, ‘At Most a Kiss’, ‘Honey Sweet’, etc.; but it’s hard to forget just how quintessentially rock and roll tunes like ‘Blow Rose’, ‘Cut Me and I’ll Bleed’, ‘Texia’ and even some of the other deep cuts/early releases are.
Don’t get us wrong, we love how much the dressing up (musically and quite literally) they’ve done over the years as their production, creativity and experimentation has increased, but it’s always hard to beat that feeling you get when finding an artist’s first album – especially one as good as Blossoms‘.
In fairness, listening back to ‘Deep Grass’ all these years later, we’ll still remember how spacey, psychedelic and downright different that intro felt back in the day; it now feels like a fitting end to that maiden outing and the perfect jumping-off point for what has been a real sonic exploration ever since.
For a lad born in SK2 and lucky enough to have seen these lads right from the start, stuff like this will never not feel surreal to me.
Long live ‘Blossoms from Stockport‘, and roll on Songs From The Wedding Cake this October.
Emily Sergeant -
8th April 2021 
