It’s official… Chester Zoo has been named to best zoo in the UK for 2026.
While everyone in and around Greater Manchester and the North West may already be familiar with just how brilliant the UK’s biggest charity zoo is, you may remember that, for the past two years running now, it has been officially named the UK’s best zoo thanks to tens of thousands of positive TripAdvisor reviews.
And now, the zoo has managed to retain that respectable title for the third year in a row, as the world’s biggest travel guidance platform has, once again, named Chester Zoo as the best-rated zoo to visit in the UK this year.
It’s even more of a cause for celebration this year, as the zoo has claimed a record 11,666 ‘excellent’ ratings for the first time.
Chester Zoo has been named the best zoo in the UK for 2026 / Credit: Chester Zoo
Based on millions of online reviews, the updated ranking puts the beloved Cheshire-based attraction ahead of the country’s other zoos after earning consistently good feedback from its visitors.
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Not only has the zoo’s strong focus on conservation and unforgettable visitor experiences made it the best in our country, but this has also earned it a place among Europe’s elite too – with the new listings placing it in the top 10 best zoos or aquariums in the continent.
“We’re over the moon to be named the UK’s top zoo by TripAdvisor,” commented Jamie Christon, who is the CEO of Chester Zoo.
“This recognition is built entirely on genuine reviews from our visitors, and that means the world to us. I’m very proud of everyone who makes our national conservation zoo such a special place.
“Every visit to Chester Zoo directly supports our vital conservation work, both here at home and around the world, and the past year alone is a reminder of just how much that work matters.
“We’ve developed the world’s first vaccine for a deadly virus that threatens Asian elephants globally, we’ve officially pulled a tiny species of snail back from the brink of extinction, and right here on our doorstep we’ve been planting thousands of new trees to create important new woodland habitat.
“None of that happens without the people who come through our gates – and we’re enormously grateful to every one of them.”
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
Art & Culture
Five Greater Manchester-based music artists you should listen to | April 2026
Danny Jones
Ay up, you lot – we’re back with another box office batch of music from in and around Greater Manchester for you to get your teeth stuck into.
We’d like to think you know the deal by now, but if not, here’s a quick rundown for you…
Every month, we look back on the local bands and artists, either hailing from or now based in the area, that are spending regular time in our rotation.
It doesn’t matter if they’re still just young prospects or they’ve been at it for decades: if it’s good and it’s been in our ears, it goes on the list. Ready? Let’s go, then.
Five Manc bands and artists we’ve been listening to recently
1. Harry Lyon
First up is April’s cover star: the wonderfully talented Harry Lyon, who is another born and bred and now quietly plying his trade here in Greater Manchester and already showcasing a great level of versatility early in his career.
He moved to the city from Sheffield not too long ago, and his creative output has only ramped up since he got here. Toying with everything from alt-pop/indie to straight singer-songwriter stuff that wouldn’t sound out of place on the radio, his often R’n’B-esque vocals mean he can turn to multiple styles.
We actually lucky enough to bump into him in person earlier this month over in Stretford, and you’ll be glad to hear he’s also as sound a person as we hoped he’d be; he even teased a new single on the way, but for now, we’ll recommend ‘Violet’, ‘Backwards’ and the piano version of ‘While We’re Still Young’.
In fact, he does acoustic versions for most of his songs, and a fair few of them genuinely rival the originals in their own way.
From an up-and-comer to some Manc veterans that often get overlooked in the shadow of their even longer-standing and more well-known predecessors, but we’re going to go out on a limb and say something controversial here… We think we might prefer Black Grape to Happy Mondays.
Before you bite our heads off, let us explain: while the Mondays are obviously way more iconic and had a huge influence on the overall Madchester scene, we would argue that their progenic spin-off are almost a more honed evolution of at least some of what the Ryders and co. first created a buzz around.
Not only do the likes of ‘Kelly’s Heroes’, ‘Nine Lives’, ‘String Theory’ and more have so much more guitar in them (which will always score extra points for me), but more importantly, there is so much more successful experimentation with different instruments, cultural sounds and blends of energy.
It can be hard to know where to start, but those three examples aren’t bad options, and ‘In The Name of The Father’ is also such a vibe – we’re hoping we see it on the setlist for Outwards Fest next month.
BLACK GRAPE play Outwards Festival on Saturday 2nd May 😎
For fans of Sports Team, Spangled, Deadletter, and pretty much any current post-punk pioneers, these former students who originally hail from Cambridgeshire but have come up in and around the local rock scene have been making a splash for a little while, and now it feels like things are hitting a fever pitch.
Sometimes the idiosyncratic lyrics put you in mind of rising Oldham star, Seb Lowe; there’s even one intro that could be the start of a more upbeat and melody-forward King Krule, and you even get notes of Slaves/Soft Play at times. Whatever you hear, personally, you won’t find a bad song – we haven’t yet.
As the lyrics on ‘Are You The Best Yet?’ state, some of this stuff literally makes our knees go weak. We can’t remember the last time a band came around that has you eagerly awaiting the inevitable guitar break, let alone when you fully lock into one and pull a face (we’ve all got our own).
They’re so, SO good, and they help prolong some songs that, while brilliant, could feel more like fast-paced flashes in the pan without them. It all amounts to something extra and ups an already healthy dose of swagger: that’s definitely what you get on the recent ‘Cambridge Is On Fire’ and most of their tracks.
In at number four is another one to watch within the genre. Some industry figures have equated them to the likes of the Amyl and the Sniffers, Lambrini Girls, Viagra Boys, and so on, but we think there’s a much cooler sense of darkness going on with their approach – however familiar the repetitive guitar playing and aggressive, shouty vocals may be.
Luckily, their discography – not unlike that of their aforementioned punky peers – isn’t that extensive just yet, so you can easily work your way through all their releases soon enough, and they’ve also got a big gig at White Hotel coming up just after they drop their debut LP, Hodge Podge. Watch this space…
Our present picks would be ‘American Boy II’, ‘Marina’ for the foreboding sense of build and that central riff alone, and you simply have to listen to their latest single, ‘Creeping Offences’, which, understandably, is the best track in terms of production they’ve dropped yet.
We want to see them live before passing any decisive judgement, but we like what we’re seeing so far.
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5. A Certain Ratio
Now, we’ve touched on electronic-influenced alternative group in Black Grape, but what about another truly influential act from within that fluid space? Probably one of your bands/favourite DJ’s favourite artists, whether you know it or not, A Certain Ratio were tastemakers long before even they knew.
If the previous two are post-punk, then these lot are the funkier forerunners, known for their trademark muted strumming patterns, heavily distorted, codified and multi-layered mixes, ACR have been going nearly half a century now, and they were doing all this stuff long before virtually anyone else.
You’ll inevitably fall down a bit of a rabbit hole listening to their stuff, but ‘All Comes Down To This’ is a good starting point, and ‘1982’ has always made us think of what a Doctor Who-themed rave might sound like.
Oh, and purely because it still sticks with us as an eye-opening first listen, it really doesn’t get much better than this one:
And once again, that’s all she wrote.
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We hope you dive into at least some of these names over the long bank holiday weekend, as three uninterrupted days of listening couldn’t have timed any better.
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with FREE tacos and frozen margaritas at House of Social
Danny Jones
Manchester, get ready for a fine ol’ springtime fiesta, as city centre food hall, bar, and meeting place, House of Social, is hosting a special Cinco de Mayo celebration with tonnes of free tacos and frozen margaritas up for grabs.
Well, one of their wonderful in-house vendors will be sorting the scran and margs, but either way, you don’t want to miss this one.
Teaming up with local ‘Mexicali’ kitchen, OK Taqueria, the popular First Street neighbourhood hangout will be slinging lip-smacking cocktails, fresh tortillas packed with the good stuff, and serving up good vibes throughout the day.
We will warn you – the freebies will only be available for a limited time, but we still know where we’ll be for this year’s Hispanic holiday.
They made things pretty simple for Cinco de Mayo 2026; as the post read, they’re giving away “FREE build your own tacos from 12-2pm, along with a healthy supply of frozen margs this Tuesday 5 May, quipping: “Is it even a Tuesday without a free taco?”
And yes, if it’s only just clicked, the name does just mean the fifth day of May (honestly, it took us until our late teens to realise this).
Clarifying that the offer is strictly first-come, first-served – and once they run out, they are out – there’s not much else to tell you, really.
Just take their advice: “Get in early, get involved, get FED”.
OK Taqueria is one of five fabulous indie traders currently located inside House of Social (HoS), including the likes of Mughli, Choi Wan, Burger and Beyond, and Dough Religion, who recently gave us that viral and rather large chicken Caesar wrap.
Yes, it is as hefty and delicious as it looks.
But back to OK Taqueria, their fusion of smoky Mexican street snacks and the Californian food truck culture speaks for itself, and we can’t wait to fill our faces come lunchtime on 5 May, 2026.
Whilst you’re here, if you haven’t visited HoS yourself yet, you really need to tick it off your list; with a great selection of food and drinks, multiple floors and a lovely terrace with numerous benches, coverings and even outdoor heaters, it’s perfect for this time of year.
Emily Sergeant -
30th April 2026 
