Heaton Park has revealed a new trio of scenic lakeside dining domes, perfect for those looking for a unique afternoon tea experience in Manchester.
Situated in Manchester’s largest park with stunning views of the lake and gardens, not to mention the Grade-I listed Heaton Hall close at hand, the domes offer an extra special afternoon tea experience surrounded by nature.
Each is private and heated to ensure maximum comfort, with a menu that features a number of different afternoon tea options, including vegan options.
Image: Heaton Park Cafés
All carefully curated by Heaton Park Cafés, who host the domes, the menus are designed to offer a mix of afternoon tea classics and imaginative variations.
The classic afternoon tea keeps things traditional with delicious sandwiches, free-range Heaton scotch egg and homemade sage and onion sausage roll.
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On the sweet side, think chocolate brownies, homemade Victoria sponge, scones and homemade jam with vanilla Chantilly cream and a baked meringue with pineapple and passionfruit.
Image: Heaton Park Cafés
There’s a miniature offering for children, too, served on a decorative wooden boat for added lakeside fun. Inside, they’ll find a Manchester bee sandwich, sausage roll, mini-scone with jam and cream, Victoria sponge and chocolate brownie bites.
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Elsewhere, vegans are treated to a vegan Scotch egg and homemade ‘not so sausage’ roll, alongside pulled barbecue jackfruit and tofu sandwiches, vegan Victoria sponge, pistachio carrot cake, vegan scone with jam and plant-based crema, and fruit jelly with pineapple and passionfruit.
All menus are priced at £23.95 per person and served with a pot of English breakfast tea or regular hot drink. Children’s teas are priced at £14.95. The Dining Domes can seat up to six and advance booking is essential.
Heaton Park is a historic area on the edge of Manchester and is the perfect setting for a family day out. There’s something for all ages with an animal centre and tram museum, play areas, bowling greens and food and drink curated by The Stables Café and The Lakeside Café.
Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
“A full flight schedule is expected to operate [today] but the airport may be busier due to rescheduled flights,” it added.
Passengers were then thanked for their ‘patience and understanding’ over the past 24 hours.
Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)
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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
The Manc -
23rd February 2022 
