So 2021 didn’t exactly go to plan, did it – but our buzzing region is looking forward to the year ahead with some seriously exciting things on the horizon.
Greater Manchester has done its best to bounce back from another year of decimated tourism, delivering amazing outdoor experiences and attractions.
2021 saw the return of huge city events like Manchester International Festival, Manchester Pride festival, and Parklife.
New restaurants and bars have continued to spring up in every direction too.
It includes outdoor experiences, cultural developments, hospitality openings, and events.
ADVERTISEMENT
We’ve picked out 22 things heading to Greater Manchester in 2022.
Mayfield Park
Credit: Mayfield Parnership
Manchester’s first new park in more than 100 years will be unveiled in late 2022.
Spanning 6.5 acres, Mayfield Park is currently under construction on the sprawling Mayfield site adjacent to Piccadilly Station.
ADVERTISEMENT
UEFA Women’s EURO 2022
This will be massive for Greater Manchester – the women’s tournament is kicking off here next year.
England will play Austria at Old Trafford on July 6, with several other fixtures at Manchester City Academy, Leigh Sports Village, and DW Stadium in Wigan.
Mrs Doubtfire the Musical
One of the best films of all time has been turned into a Broadway show, and Manchester will be treated to the first performances on home turf in 2022.
Mrs Doubtfire the Musical will have its UK premiere at the Opera House Manchester on September 2 and will run until October 1.
This long-neglected and under-appreciated gem of industrial architecture in Manchester city centre will have new life breathed into it in 2022.
The Grade II-listed Castlefield Viaduct is being turned into an elevated urban park, much like New York’s High Line, by the National Trust.
Phase one will open to the public in the summer – read more here.
Soho House
One of the biggest hospitality names in the world will make its way to Manchester in 2022, taking over the upper three floors of the former Granada Studios building.
It will be a key operator in the new St John’s neighbourhood, which will also be home to MIF’s The Factory from 2023.
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s expected to include a rooftop bar and pool as well as dining rooms, lounge areas and a Mollie’s Motel & Diner concept.
Band on the Wall
CGI of how Band on the Wall will look
Gosh, we’ve missed this place – the historic gig venue Band on the Wall will finally reopen in the spring.
It’s been undergoing a big renovation while we’ve all been nipping in and out of lockdowns, expanding into the Victorian Cocozza building that’s been derelict at the back of the venue for decades.
Manchester Museum
Another reopening here – the much-loved Manchester Museum closed back in the summer while it grows into its £13.5 million extension.
When it reopens late in 2022, it will have a new two-storey extension, a new exhibition hall, the South Asia Gallery, and Chinese Culture Gallery.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rugby League World Cup
Old Trafford might be famed for its football pedigree, but in 2022 it will turn its attention to the world of rugby.
The rescheduled 2021 Rugby League World Cup, and Women’s Rugby League World Cup, will take place in October and November.
The Wheelchair Final will be held at Manchester Central, and additional fixtures are taking place at the University of Bolton Stadium and Leigh Sports Village.
Sexy Fish
Credit: Spinningfields
Decadent Mayfair restaurant Sexy Fish, owned by The Ivy’s Richard Caring, is taking over the old Armani unit in Spinningfields.
It first opened in 2015 and is famed for its luxurious dining environment and will be one of the most talked-about restaurant openings of 2022.
ADVERTISEMENT
Gratitude Games
This is a new event – a multi-sport games created to support the mental health of emergency service and NHS workers.
It will be held at venues across Greater Manchester in April and May. Spanning 20 sports – including both traditional sports such as athletics, cycling, swimming, as well as niche sports like angling, lawn bowls and squash – it’s a chance for our emergency services and NHS to have fun, enjoy the benefits of sport and for the public to thank them for the amazing work they do.
Northern Roots
Oldham’s ambitious eco-project, which will see the UK’s largest urban farm built just outside Oldham town centre, is moving forward.
The 160-acre Northern Roots will include hand-on community projects like beekeeping, animal husbandry and growing plots, as well as a bike hub, mountain biking trails, arts, culture and events, and a natural amphitheatre and swimming pond.
Pollen Bakery
Credit: Pollen / No Chintz Studio
Famed Ancoats bakery is expanding with a second location, this time at Kampus.
ADVERTISEMENT
The new location will offer an expanded brunch menu as well as more room for baking their sell out breads and pastries, with a chance for customers to see the kitchen working.
Leonardo Hotel
The Leonardo will open in Manchester in 2022. Credit: Capital & Centric
Capital & Centric’s Jenga-inspired hotel is well on the way and due to open in spring.
The £35m development, in the heart of Piccadilly East, will be draped in plants and plans include a ground-floor restaurant, cafe, and external terrace connecting to a new public square.
Jodrell Bank
Cheshire’s UNESCO attraction Jodrell Bank will welcome its new addition, the £21m First Light Pavilion, in May.
It will be a new gallery dedicated to telling the story of Jodrell Bank, with an immersive projection space and auditorium, and a new education hub and café.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wigan Pier
The long-vacant 18th century buildings of Wigan Pier will finally be brought back to life, as a waterside destination.
It was made famous by George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier in 1937 – but its new life will include a gin distillery, microbrewery, events venue and cultural hub.
The Locationist
Manchester has a rich history of being used as a filming location, including Peaky Blinders, Captain America, The Crown, and It’s A Sin.
The Locationist tour is set to launch early in the year and will show off the city’s top locations.
Bistro Marc
A great team effort by many at the Cumbria Clock Company bringing the Winters Clock House back up and running…a little more to do but nearly there… pic.twitter.com/jnsjnaVApd
There’s been painstaking work going on in Stockport, where the historic Winter’s building on Little Underbank is being turned into a new French restaurant.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bistro Marc will be a 70-cover restaurant spread over two floors that will serve French favourites, with a focus on using fresh local produce from Stockport Indoor Markets and other local suppliers.
Treehouse Hotel Manchester
That big brutalist Renaissance Hotel on Deansgate is being turned into a 206-bedroom hotel.
Forming part of the wider £200m redevelopment of the area, there’ll also be new retail space and room for pop-up food and drink vendors alongside the River Irwell.
Royal Exchange
Credit: Flickr
The magnificent Royal Exchange theatre has a packed year-long programme that will celebrate the joy of theatre, with bold plays, new writing and cast-iron classics.
Maxine Peake will star in a new show Betty! A Sort of Musical, while Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie will also come to the stage.
ADVERTISEMENT
Queer Contact
Queer Contact has been a staple of Manchester’s cultural calendar for more than a decade, but this will be its first year in its newly-transformed home.
Contact theatre on Oxford Road has undergone a £6.75m refurbishment.
The event in February will again be a celebration of queer culture and LGBTQ+ talent, including drag kings, comedy, variety, ground-breaking performance and the annual Vogue Ball.
Claus the Musical
There’s a world premiere in store for Salford, with a brand new Christmas musical debuting at The Lowry.
From the writer of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz comes Claus the Musical, telling the story of Claus and how he became an icon of our hearts and the skies.
ADVERTISEMENT
Manchester Open
The walls of HOME’s gallery will again be filled with work from the region’s artists, with more than 400 residents taking part.
Following on from 2020’s award-winning exhibition, almost 2,300 artwork entries were submitted for judging for its second outing and the resulting show promises to deliver an unmissable insight into the city-region’s local artistic talent.
Featured image:
Feature
7 serene spas in the North West where you can swim, soak, and switch off
Daisy Jackson
Whether you’re planning a romantic overnight escape, a catch-up with friends, or simply craving a few hours of uninterrupted peace, the North West is home to some of the UK’s most impressive spas.
From sprawling countryside retreats with outdoor thermal gardens and swim-up bars, to stylish city sanctuaries hidden in the heart of Manchester, there’s a spa to suit every kind of relaxation.
We’ve rounded up some of the very best spas across the North West and just beyond, each offering something a little different, whether that’s lakeside hot tubs, award-winning wellness facilities, luxurious spa suites, or unique experiences you won’t find anywhere else.
So switch your phone to silent, grab your robe, and prepare to discover the spa breaks that are truly worth checking into.
1. Manor House
The new ‘secret garden’ pool at Manor HouseCosy relaxation pods at Manor House, a top North West spa
If you like your wellness with a side of whimsy, Manor House is the spa break you need to get on your wishlist.
This beautiful garden spa is like a maze of flowers and hedges that hide all sorts of hot tubs, saunas, swimming pools (and TWO swim-up bars), relaxation pods, steam rooms, and more.
There’s a cold plunge pool with spring flowers wrapped around it, a lawn for sunbathing if you’re lucky, and a traditional Finnish sauna overlooking it all, plus a sunken, circular hydrotherapy pool, a cosy summer house with noise-cancelling headphones you can plug in to, a gently heated panoramic laconium, hammocks, squishy sunbeds, swing seats, and so much more.
There’s even a new sauna that looks like a potting shed, so you can sit like a content little garden gnome while all your worries and tensions melt away.
Spa visits from £79, overnight packages from £279 – find out more HERE.
2. Carden Park, Cheshire
The indoor pool at Carden Park looks out over the spa gardensCarden Park’s award-winning North West spa garden
A heated outdoor pool, thermal pods, hot tubs, saunas, an all-weather champagne bar, fire pit, indoor pool, treatment rooms, relaxation rooms, Finnish sauna, bio sauna, salt steam room, aroma steam room, two restaurants, bars, golf, sculpture park, tennis courts, lake deep breath…
That’s just a taster of all the facilities on offer at Carden Park, a spa hotel in Cheshire that’s been named the best in the UK at the AA awards.
The rooms within the hotel have undergone a refurb in recent years and are now just as beautiful as those award-winning spa facilities, while the on-site restaurant The Vines has scooped a third AA Rosette.
Spa experiences start from £89 per person, with overnight packages from £170. See more HERE.
3. Ye Olde Bell Hotel & Spa, Nottinghamshire
Ye Olde Bell’s amazing mineral coal saunaThe outdoor pool at Ye Olde Bell spa
This gorgeous spa hotel has an amazing indoor-outdoor pool, with loads of massage jets and other features to relax with, plus heated outdoor loungers, different saunas and steam rooms, foot spas, and more.
At Ye Olde Bell, can even experience every season inside, with an artificial snowstorm to cool down after a sauna session, and an indoor beach to relax on.
A highlight is the medieval-looking stone bath, where mineral coals are lowered into a water bath by a mechanised iron bucket, releasing bursts of steam, and there’s a wooden fan you crank yourself to push the heat back down.
The rooms vary from traditional countryside hotel rooms to cosy lodges.
Spa days start from £90, while spa breaks with an overnight stay begin at £160. See more HERE.
4. The Gilpin, Lake District
A private hot tub at The Gilpin spa suitesA different hydrotherapy pool at The Lake House at The Gilpin
This Lake District spa hotel is pretty special, with a couple of spa options to suit every taste.
Up at the main hotel, you could book yourself a stay in one of the luxurious and modern spa suites, which come with their own sauna, steam room, treatment space, hot tub, and rainfall showers INSIDE your suite, as well as a private hot tub on the decking outside.
Or you can head down to the fairytale lakeside setting of The Lake House, where wood-fired hot tubs sit on the waterside and have beautiful views down the valley.
You can read more about a stay at The Gilpin HERE.
The spa at King Street Townhouse in ManchesterThe spa at King Street Townhouse in Manchester
It’s hard to believe this serene spa is right in the heart of Manchester city centre, tucked down just metres from the rat race.
King Street Townhouse’s exceptional spa is the perfect place to relax and unwind, with facilities like a steam room, sauna and relaxation room, plus plenty of treatment options.
There’s a menu of exclusive ESPA treatments have been designed to ‘melt away stress and restore your glow’.
Some packages even include a scoop of ice cream after your massage, which is a nice touch.
Spa visits start from £100, – there are also memberships available. Click HERE to find out more.
6. Moddershall Oaks, Staffordshire
Moddershall Oaks spa. Credit: Supplied
A little further afield but worth the drive for the big relax at the end of it, Moddershall Oaks is a luxury country retreat with first-class indoor and outdoor spa facilities.
Spa treatments take place in the cosy former farmhouse, while the spa itself is surrounded by woodland and centred around a 25 sq metre heated outdoor pool.
The outdoor spa also includes a relaxation lounge, kelo sauna, drench bucket and a private spa pool, while inside you’ll find an indoor swimming pool, a steam room, a hydrotherapy pool, an experience shower, and reflexology footbaths.
There’s even a sleep lounge where you devices are banned, so you can proper switch off and have a snooze.
There are loads of spa packages available starting from £120, plus overnights from £260. See more HERE.
On arrival, the theme of Mottram Hall is grand – you drive past 270 acres of landscaped gardens, check in inside the Grade II-listed manor house, then head across to the luxurious £15m Champneys spa.
The spa facilities at Mottram Hall include a 20 metre swimming pool, a hydropool, thermal suites, and a cold room, plus an outdoor hydropool so you can soak beneath the stars or in the sunshine.
And if you like a more comprehensive wellness day, they’ve got a fantastic gym, a golf course, and a padel court too.
Spa visits start from £59; spa breaks with an overnight stay and meals from £220 per person.
‘Rooted in India, made in Manchester’ – Punjabee Deli has big designs on the local food scene
Danny Jones
Launching a few months ago, this recently opened Indian deli, cafe, eatery and hangout concept is still in its infancy, but the brains behind this are not the new kids on the block here in Manchester: welcome to Punjabee.
Founded by Sapna Kumar, a familiar face on market stalls across Greater Manchester and across the North West, not to mention the owner of the well-known dessert brandVanilli’s, she’s one of the biggest characters you’ll ever meet.
And, you know what? Sometimes you have to be. This second-generation Indian-Mancunian is a would-be mother to many, as she considers lots of her loyal customers part of her extended family.
And now it’s time to put herself first for once. As she puts it, she’s no longer content just serving up everything for everyone else on a platter for free. Now she’s “ready to spice things up.”
No stranger to a soundbyte or a pithy tagline of her own – after all, she’s been working in this business for well over a decade now – the food speaks for itself, and as well for the vision of this place as she does.
Quite literally putting the bee in Punjabi (you’ve got to admire pun-game like that), this local-born mum of three and extremely dedicated indie trader is as much tied to her Manc soul as she is to herIndian heritage, and she’s all about bringing a ‘home to the plate’ approach.
Remember that scene in Ratatouille where the food critic eats that simple dish, and it takes him right back to his childhood and that feeling of being back in your kitchen/living room? That’s precisely the feeling she’s going for. In fact, we’d argue she’s already achieving it.
Many of her relatively small but equally hard-working crew are not only young people looking to get experience, but also existing hospitality staff who were left out of a job due to the ongoing cost of living crisis and obstacles facing the entirefood and drink sector.
But in the matter of just a few weeks, they’ve been trained up to help make authentic butter chicken, daals and pasandas that people take home for a truly hearty tea, samosas, pakoras, bhajis, Punjabi pasties, all of which are gradually drawing in more and more regulars each week, and so much more.
The mixed Indian snack selection alone is great value for money, and their stuffed lunch wrap for just a fiver is one of the best deals you’ll find anywhere in town on your dinner hour.
In fact, all the well-packed portions aren’t just well-presented in pristine air-tight packaging; they’re also super filling and satisfying, from the wide variety of homemade curries to the fruity lassis canned in-house. Everything is made in the prep kitchen around the corner, before being fridged next door.
You can tell how much experience this outfit has when it comes to catering and scaling up operations, as Sapna is also the baker behind Vanilli’s spin-off,Cake Bar Co., which she started during the pandemic on top of her other projects simply out of boredom.
The girl seemingly doesn’t sit still for even a second, at least not when she’s running these entrepreneurial arms, anyway.
Credit: The Manc Group
Her plans for thedeli and currently daytime-only eatery serve as yet more proof; the team are looking to deck out the space even further, with a bigger cabinet of wooden shelves to turn their already charming deli corner into an even fuller shop.
And then there’s a larger room downstairs of what used to be an old hairdresser’s: she’s keeping coy on that front for now, but let’s just say there’s a great bit of space to work with.
One thing we really appreciate is her acknowledging that going out for a meal, a drink, or even just a coffee is more expensive than ever.
With that in mind, she’s taken her mum’s sage advice and is keeping prices as low as possible, with the likes of the cheap bites at noon, chai for just £1 or totally FREE from 11:30am-2:30pm – an offer that is already starting to draw in steady crowds of meeting up even for a chinwag.
The stylish and colourful nook with bench-seating, cushions, coffee tables, decorated shelving and traditional jaali-style windows that simultaneously transports you elsewhere while making you feel like you’ve been invited into her front room for a brew and a bite to eat.
Let’s be honest, there are few better feelings than that kind of welcome.
Speaking to The Manc, she can never resist a good bit of wordplay, telling us: “We’re putting the chai [tea], back in community” – of which, like everything else, is all made completely in-house, by the way.
Whilst trying to restore that sense of kindness and compassion that she fears might be slowly slipping away, she also says she’s not scared of mixing up the market anymore, both literally and figuratively.
Once a mainstay of the Ancoats Makers’ Market among many others, not to mention the vendor we know to boast two stalls at Stockport’s monthlyFoodie Friday event, she started with a love for baking and made it into a successful passion project.
Now she’s turned making small little pots of curry for her peers on artisan stalls and farmers’ markets into her next venture, and she no longer feels like she’s here to compete: “I am the competition”, she says, “and I’m ready to stir the pot.”
You’d be forgiven for getting slight Heisenberg vibes for a second there, but trust, if you pop intoPunjabee and meet this vibrant, funny and extremely driven woman in person, you’ll see for yourself that she’s all about positivity, moving forward and maximising good vibes.
She’s even looking into karaoke and supper clubs, as well as extending the opening hours on Friday evenings, on top of already being open seven days a week.
Whether you’re stopping by for a cup of chai or taking out, you won’t be disappointed.
She still remembers playing ‘kerby’ out on the streets of Manchester and people gathering to eat their favourite scran, the sense of occasion people felt when paying a trip to the old Italian-style patisserie that they eventually took over.
Something that really stuck with us was this overarching idea that “through food we come together”, and she’s absolutely right.
We can’t wait to see how this place grows over the next year, and we sincerely recommend you come along to Radium Street and give it a try.
Lastly, we’ll sign off by telling you one final thing: translated into English, Sapna means ‘dream’, and this lady sure is thinking big.
Daisy Jackson -
26th December 2021 
