News

Iconic Manchester building named among best free UK attractions families should visit this summer

A well-deserved title.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 11th July 2024

One of Manchester’s most iconic buildings has been named among the best UK attractions families can visit for free.

With the summer break right around the corner now, plenty of parents, carers, and guardians across Greater Manchester will likely be looking for a ways to keep the kids entertained and educated while schools are out for six full weeks, and without having to break the bank too – especially if this classic rainy Manchester weather continues.

In fact, internet searches for ‘free tourist attractions near me’ are said to have risen by +5000% over the past 30 days, according to new research carried out by Village Hotels.

This is why the hospitality company has decided to trawl through TripAdvisor to find attractions with the highest percentage of five-star reviews in the UK to help families keep costs low – and one legendary Manchester building has made the cut.

John Rylands Library has been named one of the best UK attractions for families to visit for free this summer / Credit: Michael D Beckwith (via Flickr)

That’s right, merely months after it was announced that the green light had been given for an impressive £7.6 million transformation of the city centre building, John Rylands Library has just earned itself a place in the top 10 attractions that families should consider visiting when schools across the North West break up.

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The Grade-I listed icon has claimed the coveted fourth spot on the list.

The historic building on Deansgate in the heart of the city centre houses one of the UK’s most unique collections of books and manuscripts, and was found to have an average five-star TripAdvisor rating of 75.2%, according to the study – with visitors describing it as “definitely worth the visit”.

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Top 10 best free UK attractions to visit this summer

  1. The Potter Trail
  2. Royal Air Force Museum Cosford
  3. Durham Cathedral
  4. John Rylands Library
  5. Lady Lever Art Gallery
  6. Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum
  7. St. Fagans National Museum of History
  8. Kelvingrove Art Gallery And Museum
  9. National Railway Museum
  10. British Museum
The Grade I-listed building has claimed a coveted spot on the top 10 list / Credit: UoM

Other Northern attractions having claimed spots in the seasonal ranking are Durham Cathedral, Lady Lever Art Gallery on the Wirral, and the National Railway Museum in York.

The Potter Trail in Edinburgh was the attraction to claim the number one title.

“With the summer holidays coming up, many UK families will be looking to spend quality time together,” a spokesperson from Village Hotels commented on the research carried out and the top 10 the company compiled.

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“There’s so many great places to explore up and down the UK, and we wanted to share some of the best days out that don’t cost an arm and a leg.”

Featured Image – UoM

News

Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Oasis ticket prices revealed ahead of huge reunion tour. Credit: Publicity picture, Simon Emmett

Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.

The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.

Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.

For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.

They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.

You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.

And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.

THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.

This is the full statement shared by Oasis:

“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.

“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.

“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.

“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.

“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.

“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.

“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.

“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”

Featured image: Simon Emmett

News

Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.

The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.

That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.

Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.

For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.

Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group

Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.

And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.

Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.

According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.

As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.

The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:

Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.

“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.

“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”

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Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.

“This is completely unacceptable.”

Featured Image – Manchester Airport Group

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