Finding somewhere to eat with your beloved pet can be tricky, but one of Manchester’s grandest buildings is surprisingly dog-friendly.
The Corn Exchange is a landmark building in the city centre, which over the years has operated as a merchant building, a shopping centre, and now in its current guise as a food and drink hotspot.
With more than a dozen restaurants and cafes under one roof, there’s something to suit every appetite, from curries to pasta to kebabs.
And perhaps surprisingly, a massive chunk of the businesses based here in the Corn Exchange welcome you bringing your dog along with you.
With three of our five office dogs in tow (yeah, we love dogs at The Manc), we went to explore exactly how dog-friendly the Corn Exchange is – and it was Mowgli we had in our sights.
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The Indian street food restaurant, founded by barrister-turned-chef Nisha Katona, has been a staple of the Corn Exchange for almost a decade.
With its signature monkey logo plastered all over the walls, it’s no great surprise that they’re animal friendly here – but what we didn’t expect was the staff to be such animal lovers.
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The Manc with three of our office dogs. Credit: The Manc Group
Bringing your pooch into Mowgli is a delightful way to spend a lunchtime. The restaurant is super accommodating for all guests, whether they have four legs or two.
Our unruly trio of hounds are given a bowl of water and a treat as soon as we arrive, and the staff barely blink an eye when the watchful eyes of a very hungry young Staffie stare at them every time another dish is brought over.
When one of our mutts climbs up on the restaurant’s signature swing seats (then immediately panics about his choices), the staff again don’t even flinch.
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Their friendly approach means that both dogs and humans can relax and enjoy our lunchtime feast of chilli cheese toast, paneer curry, rhubarb dahl and perfectly puffed-up puri breads.
And if you don’t fancy a curry, here are all the dog-friendly restaurants inside Manchester’s Corn Exchange.
Banyan
This huge, colourful bar, famed for its crowd-pleasing menu and its cocktail happy hour, will welcome pooches.
Dogs are allowed in certain areas of the bar – just ask a member of the team for help and they’ll steer you in the right direction, and give your four-legged friend a water bowl too.
The Cosy Club
Beloved Corn Exchange bar The Cosy Club is well-loved locally for its cosy interior, with oil paintings all over the walls and a balcony facing out over the atrium for prime people-watching.
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Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the bar area, which is filled on a first-come first-served basis.
Croyaki Tea
This little business based in the Corn Exchange serves up a massive range of bubble teas, as well as Hong Kong sweet treats like Taiyaki (fish-shaped cakes with different fillings), bubble waffles, macarons, and milkshakes.
They’re totally dog-friendly – the only rule is that they want to see photos of your pooch enjoying the cafe on Instagram.
Rochdale’s incredible fire festival will bring blazing sculptures and fiery displays to town this month
Daisy Jackson
Rochdale will be filled with dazzling pyrotechnic displays later this month when the Ignite Fire Festival returns to town.
The spectacular free event will see the gardens opposite the Rochdale Town Hall – which reopened to the public earlier this year – transformed with fiery displays, blazing sculptures and illuminated installations.
The smash hit event debuted last year, attracting more than 10,500 people, and this year’s will be even bigger with three nights of magical family entertainment.
And the festival will culminate on the Sunday with the Rochdale Christmas lights switch-on.
Ignite Fire Festival comes from Walk the Plank, the outdoor arts specialists behind some of the UK’s biggest and best outdoor arts events, who have called upon artists and pyro technicians to create the many installations on show.
Between 5pm and 8pm each night, visitors will be able to walk past fire-based sculptures like goblets of fire, a daisy chain of flaming flowers, a fire bird with blazing eyes, and smaller birds circling a flaming nest – to name just a few.
There’ll also be sculptures that twist, flap and erupt with balls of fire, and ‘In The Balance’ will be a festival highlight, where rotating globes of flame seemingly defy the laws of physics.
Ignite Fire Festival is back in Rochdale this month. Credit: Supplied
Each evening, a fire drawing designed and made by local residents will be ignited alongside flaming hot performances from some of the UK’s top talent including Flame Oz – a thrilling fire dancing and juggling show.
There’ll also be performances from Liverpool’s Bring the Fire Project, local favourites Skylight Circus Arts, and street theatre and interactive arts group Travelling Light Circus.
Visitors should look out for Drum Machine, a 20-strong drumming collective, The Fire Man Dave performing a live fire show with fire eating and juggling, and Astro Aliens, a trio of cosmic beings that will entertain all ages.
The incredible event, sponsored by car supermarket The Trade Centre UK, is set to take place between Friday 22 and Sunday 24 November.
Ignite Fire Festival takes place in the gardens opposite the Rochdale Town HallThere’ll be performers as well as pyrotechnic sculptures. Credit; SuppliedIgnite Fire Festival is back for a second year. Credit: Supplied
After exploring the gardens, you’ll be able to pick up hot food, mulled wine and other seasonal drinks served each night.
On Sunday, Father Christmas will be in town to switch on the Christmas lights at 5.30pm in front of the town hall.
Councillor Sue Smith, cabinet member for communities and co-operation at Rochdale Borough Council said: “Last year’s Ignite Fire Festival and Christmas Light’s Switch On was a fantastic event and an instant hit with audiences from across Greater Manchester.
“It’s an exciting and unique event and the perfect addition to our big switch-on, providing family entertainment across the weekend.”
Mark Bailey, founder and owner of sponsor Trade Centre UK added: “Our partnership with Ignite Fire Festival and the Rochdale Christmas Lights Switch On is a fantastic opportunity to give back to a community that has welcomed us so warmly.
“At Trade Centre UK, we believe in more than just selling cars; we believe in being part of the fabric of the local area. Supporting events like this, which bring people together to celebrate in the heart of Rochdale, aligns perfectly with our core values of community and connection.”
The event is free, and no tickets are required. Ignite is organised by Rochdale Borough Council in partnership with Walk the Plank and Culture Co-op, a ‘Creative People and Places’ programme, funded by Arts Council England.
Find out more and plan your visit to Ignite Fire Festival HERE.
Science and Industry Museum to transform into immersive ‘Light Lab’ as part of 2024 festive events programme
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most popular museums will be transformed into an immersive ‘Light Lab’ for the festive season.
As the temperatures begin to drop and Christmas creeps closer, this is your chance to escape the cold and brighten up the winter holidays with an adventure though light and colour, as the Science and Industry Museum has now unveiled its upcoming festive events programme.
You can also explore a gaming extravaganza, and be engrossed by festive-themed science shows at the city centre-based museum this December.
Back by popular demand, after enchanting visitors of all ages in previous years, the museum’s free Light Lab will be making a return for 2024 – with everyone invited to discover the secrets of light through illuminating activities, special shows, and immersive experiences.
The Science and Industry Museum will transform into immersive ‘Light Lab’ this winter / Credit: Jason Lock (via Science Museum Group)
As Greater Manchester is known for its grey winter days, a series of illuminating experiments will bring colour to your lives in the interactive Light Lab, where you can explore a hall of mirrors, discover how to bend light, and even take a dance break in the rave room, before taking a journey from the Sun back to the Earth during special science shows led by the museum’s team of expert Explainers.
You’ll be able to discover how light travels through our atmosphere, explore the science of solar flares, and even marvel at a mesmerising display of the Northern Lights – with real NASA footage of the Aurora Borealis.
If all that exploring has got you tired out, then you can slow things down in the Recharge Retreat and get comfortable with a picture book, or explore the relationship between colour and mood and why nature is so important to our health.
You can escape from the cold, and learn a thing or two while you’re at it / Credit: Science Museum Group
But if you’re looking for a change of pace, you can also enjoy the museum‘s ultimate gaming experience, Power Up, to immerse yourself in a whole host of different digital worlds by working your way through five decades of video games, or learn about how what we eat can have a huge effect on our brains and bodies at the Operation Ouch! exhibition.
Then, for something a little different all together this festive season, you can grab a ticket for the first of the 2024 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures being screened live at the museum on Tuesday 10 December, ahead of the broadcast on the BBC.
The Winter Holiday Programme at the Science and Industry Museum runs from 14 December 2024 through to 5 January 2025.
Daisy Jackson -
17th May 2023 
