Foreign holidays are currently not allowed under the “stay at home” rule – which ends on Monday – but the ban on leaving the UK from this time will become a specific law.
It will be backed up by the threat of the £5,000 fine.
This proposed new law states that no one can “leave England to travel to a destination outside the United Kingdom, or travel to, or be present at, an embarkation point for the purpose of travelling from there to a destination outside the United Kingdom” without a reasonable excuse.
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A £200 fixed penalty notice can already be issued to those who fail to fill in a travel declaration form – which includes personal details and reason for travel – for those leaving the UK.
There are a number of exemptions to the ban, which are travel for:
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Work
Study
Legal obligations or to vote
Moving, selling or renting property
Childcare reasons or to be present at a birth
Visiting a dying relative or close friend
Attending a funeral
Getting married or attending the wedding of a close relative
Medical appointments
Escaping a risk of harm
The ban does not apply to those travelling to the common travel area of the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland – unless that is not the final destination.
Under the current roadmap for easing restrictions, the earliest date that people in England could go abroad for a holiday would be 17th May, however, another surge in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in continental Europe, as well as the slow rollout of vaccines across Europe, has sadly cast a somewhat of a doubt on the resumption of foreign travel.
Although, if approved, the new travel laws won’t expire until 30th June, during an appearance on Sky News this morning, Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggested that foreign holidays could be allowed before that date.
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"It's been an incredibly difficult year, probably the hardest in a generation."
As the UK marks one year since the first lockdown, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says "the hope is that we now have a route out of this" because of the vaccination rollout.https://t.co/G0p0E4zsqtpic.twitter.com/6pfdEdpvoC
Mr Hancock said: “The questions of whether people will be able to travel abroad this summer are going to be addressed by the Global Travel Taskforce, which is reporting around 12 April.
“The roadmap sets out the earliest date by which we will allow for international travel – without one of the clear reasons you need now – is 17 May [and] that has not changed. The way we’re putting that into law is as part of these roadmap regulations that will be voted on on Thursday.
“They come to an end as a whole at the end of June.
“But that doesn’t change the timings for these questions on international travel.”
He did however go on to warn that it was currently “too early to say” what the taskforce would decide on foreign holidays, due to the recent surge in COVID-19 infections across Europe, adding: “The reason for that is we are seeing this third wave rising in some parts of Europe and we’re also seeing new variants.
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“It is very important we protect the progress we’ve been able to make here in the UK.”
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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Featured Image Credit – Pixnio
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A local Manchester run club is holding two special running routes to see the total eclipse
Danny Jones
With the highly anticipated total eclipse fast approaching, people not just here in Greater Manchester but all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are gearing up to try and watch it – but this native running club are doing it a bit differently.
Eclipses occur once every 12-18 months, but this is set to be the biggest since 1999.
The moon is set to cover approximately 96-98% of the sun this coming Wednesday, 12 August, 2026, and rather than try to watch it from a window at home or drive to somewhere with supposedly ‘the best view’, local sports club Manchester Road Runners are turning it into their latest one-off event.
Sharing details online, the free-to-join local organisation, which boasts thousands of members on Facebook and various other platforms, will be timing things to make sure they catch the phenomenon.
Writing in the accompanying caption, the Road Runners say: “We’ve pulled some strings and have a very special event taking place on August 12th, a solar eclipse! Come run with us under a darkened sun next Wednesday from The Wharf at 18:30, with peak moon coverage expected at around 19:10.”
Better still, they’re also teaming up with their trail running spin-off club for an even more scenic twist on the evening excursion.
“If you prefer to experience your solar phenomena under the wide open skies”, they go on to write, “our friends over at Trail Division will be holding a hike/run off road, meet at Piccadilly Station at 18:00 to get shady in the great outdoors.”
Fortunately, they have issued an important disclaimer, going on to remind runners that “while beautiful and majestic, the sun should NEVER be directly looked at in the face unprotected”, signing off by adding, “Respect the sun, respect your peepers, stay ocularly safe out there.”
If you’ve never come across MRR before, they’re probably the biggest run club in the entire Greater Manchester region and their social-first jogs, intervals, track sessions and more revolve around meeting back up with your mates for a wholesome pint and a chat.
For many, it’s the biggest and the best in the city.
As for the eclipse run, it’s set to be a very magical variation on their usual Wednesday evening meets.
Quite rightly, they also point out in the post that you can actually buy certain glasses to view eclipses on these rare occasions, with search traffic often ramping up in and around these events.
Meanwhile, the Trail Division branch is yet to confirm the route for their run/hike, but it will most likely remain in the nearby North West vicinity; keep your eyes peeled on their social media pages (linked above) for more information and other upcoming trail events.
Speaking of trail runs, there’s a pretty beautiful albeit challenging one coming up next month…
Stunning vistas, walkers welcome, and multiple distances available.🏃♂️🥾
And the best part? It's less than 90 minutes away from Manchester. 🏞️
Oasis promoters drop biggest Knebworth hint yet after securing license around key date
Danny Jones
Not that we’re the type to get carried away, but we’ll confess that our curiosity, interest and general levels of anticipation have been piqued, as Oasis’ main promoters have recently renewed the license to host events at the infamous Knebworth.
My word, is this it? Like the reunion, is it ACTUALLY going to happen?…
We’re sure the raw, uncontrollable excitement will come should it be fully confirmed, but for now, all we know is that our colleagues in music media, SJM Concerts, have renewed the land in and around Knebworth Park and House for live entertainment once again.
Moreover, the company have also done so on a rather fitting date decades on from the original and legendary outdoor gigs.
As can be found on the planning application section of the North Hertfordshire Council website – the county in which the storied Britpop gigs took place – a fresh license to hold new events.
If/when the announcement happens, the already granted permission will allow for a capacity of up to 125,000 and a curfew of 3am.
We know the original Knebworth shows were beyond iconic, but let’s say this would be nailed on to be nothing short of absolutely box office.
Besides having also helped promote Oasis’ colossal Live ’25 reunion tour last summer, it’s also worth noting that they secured said license just over a week before the 30th anniversary of the pair of nights back in 1996: 10-11 August, to be specific.
The licence is said to have come into effect this past Saturday (1 Aug) and is believed to be indefinite.
What added even more fuel to the fire of these well-established rumours over the past year was when Baroness Sharon Taylor of Stevenage told the House of Lords the band would be playing FIVE whole nights at Knebworth in the future, before later clarifying that she was speaking in “hypothetical terms.”
All that being said, it’s fair to say we’ll be keeping a very keen eye on socials over the next few days, in particular, just in case.
The Manc has reached out to SJM for an official comment (surprise, surprise), but we are yet to receive a response regarding the matter.
Your silence speaks volumes, just saying.
This coming Monday, 10 August 2026, will mark the official 30th anniversary of Oasis at Knebworth 1996, and with the likes of ‘Wonderwall’ seeing a chart resurgence as the go-to England anthem at this year’s World Cup, we’re choosing to be optimistic. What about you?
The Manc -
23rd March 2021 
