The next stage of the development of Mayfield Park will see a see-through slide built right across the River Medlock.
Striking images released this week show the plans for Mayfield Play Yard, a new adventure playground filled with tunnels and towers.
The massive 14,000 sq ft playground will make up part of the wider Mayfield Park, the first city centre park to be opened in Manchester in 100 years.
The child-friendly space itself will be built around six towers, each reaching 10 metres in height, linked by crawl tunnels, rope bridges, and slides.
The star attraction will be the 18 metre-long slide that will carry its passengers right over the restored river in a transparent polycarbonate tube.
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There’ll also be a 60-degree drop slide, racing slides, and a six-metre spiral slide at the new corner of Mayfield Park.
Plans for Mayfield Play Yard – including its 18m slide across the Medlock. Credit: Supplied
The chimney-shaped towers are a nod to Manchester’s industrial past and were inspired by an octagonal chimney discovered by archaeologists at the Mayfield site.
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The plans also include wheelchair accessible play equipment, like tunnels, slides and roundabouts.
Stepping posts and balance beams through the green space will encourage children to engage with the wildlife and nature around them.
Mayfield Play Yard, which will be the largest public playground in the city, has been designed collaboratively by regeneration specialist U+I on behalf of the Mayfield Partnership, landscape architects Studio Egret West (SEW) and Massey & Harris, an independent play equipment specialist based in Greater Manchester.
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Massey & Harris, which was behind two play areas at Heaton Park, is currently building the play area at its workshop in Stockport before it is transported and installed at Mayfield.
Huw Pritchard, lead designer at Massey & Harris, said: “Mayfield is a unique development which we are incredibly proud to be a part of. As a local company, which has been based in Stockport for more than 70 years, we know first-hand how important green space is to Manchester’s growing population.
“We were aware of the project from its very early stages and thought how fantastic it would be to be involved, so to actually work on it is incredible.”
Max Aughton, project landscape architect at Studio Egret West, said: “Our design concept was for an industrial-inspired play area within nature that will help to tell the story of Mayfield’s amazing history.
Mayfield. Credit: U+I
“We’ve chosen a simple palette of materials including steel and reclaimed brick to create an industrial feel which also gives the trees and planting a contrasting backdrop.
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“The chimney towers resonate with historic skylines of Manchester and Mayfield. Together these features will create a sense that our young visitors are exploring an abandoned landscape where nature has taken over.
“This is a park which people will visit again and again and have different experiences each time they come as seasons change. For children especially, as their confidence grows so too will their use of the play area which features different heights and levels for all ages.
“The towers will sit amongst the canopies of some of the largest trees to be planted at Mayfield and this will give the children a real sense of playing within nature.
“Accessibility and inclusivity are at the heart of the design and we have ensured the entirety of the park and the majority of play area equipment is wheelchair friendly. We can’t wait to see the play area in action.”
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Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, added: “Mayfield Park is going to be a major new green public space for Manchester.
“As a city which values our young people it’s perfect that it will include a play facility as fun and active as this as part of what it has to offer.
“We can’t wait to welcome Manchester people to this new attraction.”
Mayfield Park is due to be completed by autumn.
Featured image: Supplied
Kids & Family
Forget pub crawls – you can now go on a guided cheese crawl around Manchester
Thomas Melia
Manchester is a foodie’s paradise and with so many options at hand why not break it down into individual food groups – starting with the dairy crowd pleaser, cheese.
Long gone are the draining pub crawls of the past, it’s time to make way for the new pioneer in the world of adventurous crawling, ‘The Manchester Cheese Crawl’.
There’s always lots of food and drink options flowing throughout our bubbly city spanning all cuisines and cultures so it comes as no surprise that the latest way to experience Manchester is via cheese, a staple of many citizens’ diets.
On the tour, there will be insider knowledge on-hand as you wander the streets and sample the creamy delights, assisting you with any dying queso queries and pecorino ponders that you need to get off your chest.
There’ll be plenty of familiar independents on the Manchester Cheese Crawl, including Northern Soul’s impressive grilled cheese sandwiches as well as more traditional cheese samples.
How could this experience get any better I hear you ask, how about a free glass of fizz to accompany those already impressive cheese selections? Yes please!
Guests can expect to sample some of Manchester’s dairy delights while being directed by some of Manchester’s top cheese connoisseurs that are the real big cheese.
Groups who take the tour aren’t just treated to food and drink, they also receive free entertainment from their food guides who are prepared to make you chuckle with their incredible humour.
The Manchester Cheese Crawl will feature plenty of bites for curd nerdsA selection of dairy heaven displayed on a wonderful variety cheese board.Credit: Unsplash
Previous visitors have commented on their experience while taking the tour sharing the names their groups received with highlights such as ‘Shaken not curd’ and ‘Three blind mice’.
They really are serious about their cheeses, another previous visitor who went on the tour revealed their guide even had a name that perfectly fit the occasion, ‘Mel the babybel’.
It’s sure to be a fantastic day with games and activities planned for all as you walk between the shops landmarked on the cheese-filled route.
Everyone on the tour also gets a small taste of the high life as they are treated to a Lancashire cheese handmade by a local star and celebrity.
Starting at the Richard Cobden Statue and finishing on the always vibrant Tib Street, a quick google search reveals this walk isn’t too strenuous taking only 12 minutes but with many cheeses to get your whiskers on it will probably take around an estimated two hours to tackle.
Running this Saturday 16 November and planned to continue until November 2025 and beyond, you’d be emmental to miss out on this cheesy adventure.
If all this cheese talk has left you dreaming about your next foodie fix, tickets for ‘The Manchester Cheese Crawl’ are on sale and available here.
Featured Image: Unsplash
Kids & Family
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 18 – 24 November 2024
Emily Sergeant
Who’s ready for another week filled with festivities?
The most wonderful time of the year is fast approaching, so as you can imagine, there’s absolutely no shortage of Christmas-themed activities for the whole family to be getting up to across Greater Manchester throughout this week.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though?
We’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide, so here’s some of our recommendations.
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Manchester Christmas Markets 2024
Manchester City Centre
Monday 18 November – Sunday 22 December
Manchester Christmas Markets 2024 / Credit: Manchester City Council | Flickr
Manchester Christmas Markets are now back open for 2024.
The iconic annual event is an absolute staple in Manchester’s festive events calendar, and always draws in thousands of visitors from all across the globe – with hundreds of stalls across several sites all lining the streets of our city centre.
Visitors are able to tuck into a wide range of festive foods and drinks, and shop for Christmas gifts from countless independent traders.
Find out everything you need to know about Manchester Christmas Markets 2024 here.
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Skate Manchester 2024
Cathedral Gardens
Monday 18 November – onwards
Skate Manchester 2024 / Credit: Matt Eachus (via Supplied)
What’s a festive season in the city without Skate Manchester?
Back once again for 2024, Skate Manchester is festive staple, and this year, skaters can glide across a gleaming ice path and spin around a dazzling seven-metre Christmas tree taking centre stage in the middle of the rink.
Families, friends, and festive fun seekers will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas whatever the weather has in store for our city this year too, as although the rink will be outdoors in the heart of Cathedral Gardens, the ice is fully covered.
Bar Hütte’s legendary karaoke cabins are back in Manchester once again.
Bringing Alpine vibes, cosy furnishings, twinkling lights, live music sessions, and flowing drinks to two city centre locations from this Thursday onwards, dozens of cosy private hüttes neatly-positioned under twinkling lights are now open down at both Kampus and Great Northern Square.
There’s also a handful of other events on the lineup throughout the festive season, including live music and DJs, wreath making workshops, and movie nights.
A brand-new festive light trail has arrived in Greater Manchester for the winter, transforming the hidden Wilderspool Woods at the Trafford Centre into a twinkling wonderland.
The 4.5-acre event running until early 2025 has brought dozens of jaw-dropping light and interactive illuminations to the woods, filling paths and treetops with festive magic, from giant overhead shooting stars to huge illuminated presents.
The magnificent grounds of Tatton Park have been transformed into a ‘glittering winter adventure’ for the festive season.
Families will be whisked away into a world of folklore, enchantment, and enthralling performances as they enter the gardens of the stunning Tatton Park in Cheshire for an immersive, festival-like experience known as Yuletide.
Organisers say the captivating event promises to be a “truly magical experience” where folklore stories come to life through storytelling and live music.
The Oast House’s legendary Christmas has returned to Spinningfields for the festive season.
Bound to be popular spot for locals and those who’ve finished a hard day at work during the colder months, The Teepee officially reopened last week and is made up of three tents joined together with a huge open hub, complete with two roaring fires, twinkling fairy lights, faux fur throws.
After proving to be a huge success in 2023, the magical Land of Lights has returned to Gulliver’s World once again, and this year features all-new lanterns inspired by the wonders of nature, leading visitors around a twinkling wonderland filled with light and colour.
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With a WonderWild theme, the breathtaking spectacle over in Warrington has a unique blend of “animal-inspired artistry with a fantastical twist”.
The Grotto at the Trafford Centre / Credit: Supplied
The main man is making our northern city his new home at one of Greater Manchester’s biggest shopping centres this winter time.
Starting in this Saturday and running all the way up until Christmas Eve, Santa is swapping the cold air of the North Pole for the cloudy skies of Manchester, as he starts his annual journey around the world by making a visit to our region.
Not only is Santa travelling with his grotto, he’s also giving visitors the chance to experience the world of the North Pole as he brings the chilly destination to the Trafford Centre.
A brand-new festive hub has arrived in Spinningfields, and you’ll be able to visit a new ice rink, drink cocktails in a snow globe-like rooftop dome, and get merry in a yurt.
Winter Assembly at Courts Club is home to the city’s newest, fully-independent ice rink, On Ice, as well as lots of different food traders serving up winter gyros from Lucky Gyros, festive grilled cheeses, boozy hot chocolate, German BBQ specials, and so much more.
Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake / Credit: Lowry | New Adventures
Matthew Bourne’s rule-breaking reinvention of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, Swan Lake, is back on stage in Greater Manchester this week.
This world-renowned production – which is known for replacing the female corps-de-ballet with a menacing male ensemble – first premiered almost 30 years ago, but it will take flight once more in a major new revival for the next generation, with The Lowry being one of the stops on its major UK tour.
Described as being “thrilling, bold, witty, and emotive”, it’s time to turn tradition on its head, and this is not one to miss.
Rochdale town centre is hosting its very own festive-themed Fire Festival this weekend, and it’s completely free to visit.
Taking place from this Friday leading up to the Christmas lights switch-on on Sunday, Ignite will be transforming the gardens opposite Rochdale Town Hall into a flamed-fuelled spectacular, with three free night-time shows delivering a magical trail of fire, lights, and entertainment for all the family.
There will also be hot food, mulled wine, and other seasonal drinks available to buy.
Christmas Screenings at King Street Townhouse / Credit: KSTH
Elf, Love Actually, and Home Alone are just some of the classic Christmas films hitting the big screen at a hidden cinema in Manchester.
Film fans looking for some wholesome festive fun are being invited to get themselves down to one of Manchester’s most popular hotels, King Street Townhouse, in the run-up to the big day itself, as it’s very-own exclusive cinema will be screening a jam-packed lineup of fan-favourite festive films over the next couple of weeks.
East Lancashire Railway’s beloved Santa steam train rides are back for more festive fun this Christmas.
Running right through until Christmas Eve, ELR’s ‘Santa Specials’ are your chance to hop on board an old-school steam train and travel through the magical Irwell Valley to make “enchanted memories” that last a lifetime.
The famous festive steam trains have become an essential part of Christmas for many families in the North West, and there’s still some tickets left available.
Music of the Movies / Credit: The Bridgewater Hall | Kazuo Ota (via Unsplash)
Call yourself a cinephile? This is your chance to experience the epic and inspirational music from the worlds of TV, film, and fantasy brought to life by a full symphony orchestra and stunning choir at The Bridgewater Hall.
This unmissable concert features some of the greatest movie music of all time, including The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Avatar, and loads more.
Daisy Jackson -
28th January 2022 
