The skyline of Manchester is one that changes rapidly, and constantly, with new skyscrapers creeping ever-higher every year.
Cast your mind back a few short years and it was Beetham Tower that dominated the skyline.
Now, that familiar skyscraper has been dwarfed and joined by others, all towering several hundred feet above the city centre‘s streets.
And there are more on the way, if current plans go ahead, including the city’s tallest skyscraper yet at 71 storeys.
We’ve taken a little tour down memory lane to remind you just how different Manchester looked a decade ago, and see how some of the city’s modern landmarks sprung up from nothing.
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One Angel Square
One Angel Square in 2011. Credit: Google MapsOne Angel Square in 2021. Credit: Google Maps
Easily one of Manchester’s most attractive examples of modern architecture, the cruise-ship-like structure of One Angel Square is home to the Co-op and is one of the most sustainable buildings in Europe.
Its construction was only just underway a decade ago – and back then, the inner ring road followed a totally different route.
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It’s now being joined by several other new glassy buildings as this part of town is developed at a rapid pace.
St Peter’s Square
St Peter’s Square in 2012St Peter’s Square in 2012
St Peter’s Square is one of Manchester’s most attractive areas, but it’s almost unrecognisable from 10 years ago – and a little less green.
You used to be able to drive through St Peter’s Square – then the tram stop got shifted over, the cenotaph relocated, and the roads replaced with a pedestrianised square.
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Modern office blocks have also popped up, replacing the legendary Dutch Pancake House (RIP).
Kampus
The area that’s now Kampus in 2011. Credit: Google MapsThe area that’s now Kampus in 2021. Credit: Google Maps
10 years ago, Manchester Metropolitan University has its Aytoun campus slap bang in the middle of the city centre… but it was looking a little tired.
Along came Capital & Centric with their ambitious plans to create Kampus, a cluster of five residential towers.
The development now centres around a gorgeous garden, with food and drink operators gradually moving into the units that surround it – like Pollen, Nell’s, and General Stores.
Deansgate Square
It’s the big ones. Literally.
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The Deansgate Square towers have quickly become one of the most photographed landmarks in Manchester.
Six short years ago, this was a regular old car park, where you could stay all day for £2.50 on the very edges of the city centre.
Now? It’s some of Manchester’s most luxurious accommodation, with state-of-the-art facilities and some bright new food and drink operators moving in too.
MODA
A few short years ago, this patch of land off the inner ring road was a carpark.
Now one of the city’s most prominent skyscrapers stands on the patch of gravel.
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This is MODA, a towering block of stylish apartments with a sports pitch on the roof and an amazing gym, Hero Training Clubs, on the ground floor.
Circle Square
Circle Square is still in the making, but its structure has now taken shape enough to give a pretty clear idea that there are big changes afoot.
The plot of land just off Oxford Road used to be home to the BBC – now it’s a brand new neighbourhood with restaurants, retailers and a boutique gym.
It’s all centred around Symphony Park (hoorah, green space!).
Meadowside
This cluster of residential skyscrapers seem to have sprung up from nowhere.
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The Meadowside residential towers now stick up on the edges of Angel Meadows park, with the tallest standing at 22 storeys tall.
They’ll be joined by a gigantic 41-storey tower at the northern edge of the park.
Featured image: Google Maps
Feature
You can get a mobile massage treatment in your office – just like us
Thomas Melia
We’d like to introduce you to the pioneering personalised service offering massage treatments on the move at practically any location including direct from your office– including to those of us here in Manchester.
In a world where you can get practically anything delivered straight to your door, it wasn’t going to be long until some genius invented a way to get a massage from the comfort of your own office.
Named ‘London’s first digital beauty concierge’, Ruuby have been pampering the nation’s capital for almost a decade before branching out to further locations.
The gorgeous set up provided by RuubyLook at that lovely branding on the towels.They did wonders with our otherwise plain downstairs office space. (Credit: The Manc Group)
In October 2024, the company expanded beyond its domestic reach in the likes of the capital, the Cotswolds and Surrey into Europe, making its first mark Switzerland: the perfect country for both luxury and essential beauty treatments with a tailored experience.
The month following saw the group moving up North and all the way to Manchester, where people can now book professional treatments best suited to them, right on their doorstep.
If you’re feeling scepticalstill, you can take it from us here at The Manc; we couldn’t tell you how relaxing and comforting these massages are.
There are a range of treatments available and we opted for two bespoke massages, a sports massage and a deep tissue massage.
Each experience is suited to your personal needs meaning each massage therapist will be able to fine-tune their relaxation abilities to what benefits you best.
After choosing the bespoke massage that I felt would work best for me, I went into this with no prior massage experience and I came out feeling taller, broader and more refreshed. Highly recommend.
Mid-day office massage? Yes, please.How relaxing. What a shame you have to go back to work after!Credit: The Manc Group
My masseuse guided me throughout the whole process and we soon discovered that I was able to tolerate much harder pressure than I thought which helped release tension I didn’t even know I had!
The same applies to how firm you’d like your session to be, as the masseuse can help with a brief overview of your time together, but the amount of pressure you like is down to personal preference.
It’s not just massages either: there’s everything from waxing, nails and hair to physio and IV drips; how about getting Marbella ready in less than an hour with a spray tan service set up wherever you are?
As Ruuby is a mobile and remote work environment, there are a number of at any time up and down the country, meaning your next beauty slot could be as little as an hour away, find out more HERE.
Farm shops are cool now – and Albion Farm Shop is the best of the best
Daisy Jackson
At some point in life, your idea of a great day out switches from drinking and clubbing to visiting a farm shop, or a garden centre, or something similarly wholesome.
And up in the hills above Manchester is surely one of the best in the UK – Albion Farm Shop.
This Saddleworth favourite is half-cafe, half-shop, with produce all either grown right outside, or sourced as locally as possible.
And while places like Hollies Farm Shop in Cheshire pull in seriously big, glamorous crowds (maybe it’s the Molly-Mae effect), there’s something much more charming and authentic about Albion Farm Shop.
Maybe it’s the tractors parked outside, the fact the produce section is in a drafty barn, the mismatched shelves and cabinets. It’s not curated like this – it just is.
The food in the cafe itself is up there with the best British grub in the North West, and I say that with my hand on my heart.
Whether it’s a full breakfast spilling over the edge of a plate, sandwiches served in a doorstop of bread, or a full menu of burgers made with British beef cap and smoked bone marrow patties, you can’t steer far wrong.
Rag pudding at Albion Farm ShopChips with a side of bone broth gravy Those huge burgers
There are chunky chips served with a full bowl of bone stock gravy on the side (hello, this is Oldham), onion rings so big you can wear them as a bangle, and big bowls of homemade soup.
And it would be remiss of me not to mention the rag pudding, a traditional dish from this neck of the woods. Famously, she’s not a pretty menu item, but this steamed suet pastry stuffed with braised beef shin is comforting and delicious.
If you want to stick northern fare but don’t fancy rag pudding, you can also grab a wedge of cheese and onion pie, lambs liver with mash, or any number of seasonal specials (for us, it was roast pork).
There are cracking views of the surrounding countryside, a resident cat who’s usually sleeping in the entranceway, and charm packed into every square foot.
Albion Farm Shop is at Oldham Road, Delph, Saddleworth OL3 5RQ.
The resident cat at Albion Farm ShopRoast pork in the cafeThe Albion Farm Shop cafeAlbion Farm ShopInside the shop itselfThe produce barn Local cheesesBakery itemsThe produce barn
Daisy Jackson -
10th February 2023 
