A huge foodie tour celebrating the wonders of Spanish and South American food is returning to Manchester next month.
Organised as part of a country-wide celebration by Spanish brewery Estrella Galicia, the festival will bring some of the UK’s most talented chefs together for a flavourful mix of tapas tours, foodie masterclasses and high-end tasting menus.
The month-long celebration of Spanish food, Gastronomy Month, will be taking place for a third year running this May.
Hosted across Manchester, London, Cardiff, Brighton and Newcastle, locals in each city will have the option to take part in the ultimate Spanish food tour with selected restaurants offering their best-selling tapas plates with a pint of Estrella Galicia on the side.
Former Masterchef and Great British Menu contestant Caroline Martins will host a special tasting menu at her current home inside Ancoats’ Blossom Street Social, mixing traditional Spanish dishes with influences from her home country of Brazil in Central America on 21 May.
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A tapas spread at La Bandera. / Image: La Bandera
SAMPA Bistro at Blossom Street Social. / Image: The Manc Eats
An official Estrella Galicia Chef Ambassador for 2022, Martins has made quite a name for herself since arriving in Manchester – appearing on the Great British Menu earlier this year and wowing local diners in Ancoats with her Alice in Wonderland-style food.
Known for serving weird and wonderful creations like edible ‘beef fat’ candles, marshmallows topped with tongue-numbing Jambu flowers and desserts disguised as poisonous mushrooms, Caroline has become something of a local sensation since moving to Manchester in 2020.
Elsewhere during the run of the festival month, local tapas favourite La Bandera will also get involved – serving a special Beer and Bite menu where guests can enjoy an Estrella Galicia beer paired with a delicious tapas dish.
Estrella Galicia offers a wide variety of drinks here in the UK including Estrella Galicia Cerveza Lager, 0,0%, Gluten-free, 1906 Reserva Especial and 1906 Black Coupage.
‘Unsettled week’ of wind, rain, and snow could greet Mancs into the new year
Thomas Melia
A mix of weather conditions could be expected to hit the north across the new year weekend – including wind, rain, and snow.
As Greater Manchester prepares to enter 2025, it looks like we’ll be bringing our usual moody weather along with us too, as starting today and running right through until the end of this week, Mancs can expect some not-so-pleasant conditions to accompany this party season.
The Met Office has described this period as ‘an unsettled week’.
While forecasters are encouraging people to keep checking for further weather updates where possible, thankfully, this turbulent spell of weather is only predicted to stick around until Thursday (2 January) – with no warnings issued for this Friday (3 January) or the weekend so far.
As we move from 2024 to 2025 the week ahead will involve plenty of rain, wind and some snow
If you have any plans over the New Year/Hogmanay period then check out all the important weather details below ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/qllOnV0cDX
In a video shared to the Met Office’s X account, the visual shows that the most severe cases of wet and windy conditions look like on New Year’s Day itself (Wednesday 1 January), where there is even some snow forecasted for certain areas.
“Almost the entire UK is covered by at least one weather warning during the coming week,” warned Andy Page, who is the Chief Forecaster at the Met Office.
He continued: “With lots of celebrations and people on the move over the coming days, we are urging everyone to keep checking the forecast so they can update their plans.”
Picturesque Greater Manchester railway granted £1.3m to restore historic viaduct
Emily Sergeant
One of Greater Manchester’s most picturesque railways has been given substantial funding to restore a historic viaduct along the line.
As part of the Government‘s wider Plan for Change, the Bury-based heritage railway, East Lancashire Railway (ELR), has been awarded more than £1.3 million in grants to carry out urgent repair work to the Higher Woodhill Viaduct – which is on the edge of Burrs Country Park, in the heart of the stunning Irwell Valley.
Repairs to the historic viaduct, which goes past the site of the former Higher Woodhill Mill, were last carried out all the way back in 1932.
But now, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has granted the funding for restoration through its ‘Community Ownership Fund’, alongside three local authorities from Bury, Rochdale, and the nearby Rossendale in Lancashire, all putting in a further £276,000 in match funding.
We’re supporting local treasures across the UK with vital funding
— Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Gov (@mhclg) December 23, 2024
Important supporters of the railway, such as members of the public and local businesses, have also added a few thousand pounds more to the project.
While inspections to the structure and safety of the viaduct are carried out on a regular basis, ELR assures, it was flagged earlier in 2024 that long-term repairs would be required to allow for the “continued level of use” of steam and heritage diesel trains along the line.
Speaking on the funding being granted, Mike Kelly, who is the Chairman of East Lancashire Railway, commented: “This is a major investment for the future and a massive vote of confidence for our dedicated volunteers and staff to help secure the railway’s infrastructure for years to come.
“Now with this fantastic news, we are able to continue running our award-winning events and services without disruption for future generations to enjoy, thanks to the generosity and support of the East Lancashire Railway Trust, our local community partners and supporters, as well as local and national politicians.”
Essential maintenance works are due to start next year in the spring.
Georgina Pellant -
12th April 2023 
