To celebrate International Tequila Day in July, a whopping £30,000-worth of cocktails will be given away across the UK.
More than 3,000 cocktails will be handed out, through an online giveaway and in Boom Battle Bar venues.
The unbelievable giveaway is thanks to mixers company Franklin & Sons, who want to celebrate and showcase Mexico’s national cocktail – the Paloma.
The refreshing, sweet and citrusy tequila-based cocktail is made with Pink Grapefruit Soda, which is part of Franklin & Son’s impressive product range developed since 1886.
Palomas are now so popular that they’ve outstripped the iconic Margarita as Mexico’s most popular drink, and is rising in popularity in the UK too (a 47% increase in the past year).
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Franklin & Sons will be giving away 700 cocktail kits that contain all the ingredients you need to make your own Paloma at home.
Frankin & Sons are giving away £30,000-worth of cocktails. Credit: Supplied
And then they’re partnering with Boom Battle Bar – a competitive play gaming bar with a site at the Great Northern in Manchester – to hand out even more free cocktails.
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To try it for free, you can register on the Franklin and Sons website here from 23 June until 14 July, with 700 winners chosen at random.
On Thursday 27 and Friday 28 July, you can head to Boom Battle Bars across the country (excluding Edinburgh) to get one of 2,600 Palomas, given away on a first-come first-served basis.
Participants also have the chance to win £150 of Boom Battle Bar games along with a free round of Palomas for their group – upload a picture of your Paloma creation to Instagram, tag @franklinandsons and use the hashtag #remarkabledrinkswithoutcompromise to enter.
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The competition is for over 18s only, with full terms and conditions at www.franklinandsons.co.uk
Tom Singleton, business director at Franklin & Sons: “With tequila and the Paloma cocktail trending across the UK, we’re looking forward to celebrating the biggest International Tequila Day so far.
“The Paloma is often viewed as the most popular cocktail in Mexico, and is now a hugely popular UK summer serve, owing to its refreshing balance of sweetness and citrus.
“The Paloma is also easy to make at home using just four ingredients – the ideal go-to for a relaxed, hot summer’s day.”
The perfect Franklin & Sons Paloma recipe
INGREDIENTS:
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50ml Blanco Tequila 10ml Lime Juice 10ml Agave Syrup Topped with Franklin & Sons Pink Grapefruit Soda
Garnish with pink grapefruit wedge
METHOD:
Find a good blanco (white) tequila, and add 50ml of tequila, 10ml lime juice, and 10ml of agave syrup into an ice-filled glass, and stir. Top with Franklin & Sons Pink Grapefruit Soda and garnish with a wedge of grapefruit. As an optional extra you could first rim the glass with salt.
Featured image: Supplied
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A brand-new immersive ‘walking theatre’ and XR experience has landed in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
We hear the word immersive thrown around a lot these days, but if the notion of walking through some of your favourite fantasy and sci-fi worlds in a state-of-the-art XR tour doesn’t fit the definition, we don’t know what does.
Get ready to pull on a headset and be dropped into a different universe, Mancs.
This is Immersia XR: an industry-leading immersive entertainment and XR (extended reality) experience has just been unveiled right here in Greater Manchester.
Anyone for a ride on a magic carpet?
Credit: The Manc GroupCredit: Immersia XR (supplied)
Immersia XR specialises in what they call ‘Walking XR Theatre – a new term for a new kind of experience’, and boasts big plaudits across the board, with an average Google rating of 4.8 from dozens of reviews already.
Having just made its Manchester debut to the public at Trafford Palazzo (located right next to 0161’s famous Trafford Centre) this summer, the new addition brings cutting-edge technology blended with iconic family-favourite tales in an “unforgettable walk-through format.”
A lucky few have been treated to our first time, including us here at The Manc, and you’ll have to take our word for it when we tell you it’s a truly incredible experience.
It’s the first of its kind in the UK and Europe, and although there are other similar VR and AR offerings around the region, you won’t find anything quite like ‘walking theatre’ and this free-roam experience.
Credit: Supplied
As you can see above, there are a number of experiences to be enjoyed right from the off, including two modes inspired by childhood classics, Alice in Wonderland and Tales of Aladdin.
Ever fancied trying your hand as an astronaut and walking on the surface of the moon as you look back at the Earth below? Course you have! No training involved in this one, either.
Take that, Katy Perry, you can keep your short-lived Blue Origin nonsense to yourself.
Immersia XR’s ambition doesn’t stop there, though, as they are also preparing to introduce the exciting new ‘Terracotta Army’ experience in the near future.
Here’s a glimpse at how it looks inside the goggles:
Already open to the public and running up until Sunday, 6 July 2025, Immersia XR is fun for all ages, with kid-friendly zones and accessible narratives built into the experience.
Best of all, there are actually very few bells and whistles; no screens, no controllers – it’s just you walking through the story of your choice.
Immersia XR’s founder, Ian Xiang, said: “We’re not just launching a new attraction—we’re pioneering the future of storytelling. Walking XR Theatre is where cinema, theatre, and technology converge to create magic. You don’t just watch the story—you walk through it.”
Tickets are on sale now, with adult prices starting from only £17, children (ages 3–15) from just £12, and family tickets (2 adults, 2 kids) from £54. Great value for money.
Concession tickets are also available for students and over-65s, priced from £16, and group bookings of 10 or more receive 10% off. You can even get 20% off all ticket types with the early bird code: PRESS20. You can grab yours HERE.
The best glamping spots near Greater Manchester you can get to by train
Daisy Jackson
We all LOVE a little escape into the countryside, with so many beautiful spots around Greater Manchester to explore – and did you know there are loads of glamping spots you can get to by train?
Whether you’re wanting to ditch the car for a greener mode of transport, or you just don’t actually own your own car, this selection of gorgeous staycations are accessible by public transport within two hours.
Dark sky reserves, wild swimming spots, heather-covered hills, and more are all on your doorstep, right across the North West.
And even better, Canopy & Stars will give you a £75 voucher towards your next stay when you travel by rail to one of their beautiful accommodation options.
So without further ado, here are some of the best glamping spots you can reach by train from Greater Manchester.
Rufus’s Roost Treehouse, York
The best glamping spots you can reach by train near Manchester
I doubt you’ve ever laid eyes upon a home as fairytale and whimsical as this one…
You access Rufus’s Roost via a tree-lined boardwalk, leading to a gorgeous wooden lodge that looks like a magical turreted wooden castle.
Inside you’ll find all sorts of quaint details, like banisters made from twisted branches, a secret tunnel leading to a cosy reading nook, a slide, a pretty mezzanine bedroom and loads more.
Outside, there’s a hot tub, pizza oven, and a veranda where you can watch out for wildlife.
And on your doorstep you’ll have the beauty of the North York Moors and Dales, a GoApe at Dalby Forest, and a Pizza Shack within a 10 minute walk.
Train: 1 hr, 40m from Manchester Victoria to Thirsk
Haedd, Shropshire
If your idea of a perfect weekend is being cosy, reading books, playing board games and drinking wine in front of a roaring fire, this retreat is the one for you.
An old stable has been converted into a cosy hideaway on the edges of the Shropshire Hills, and inside it looks like something that’s been lifted from an interiors magazine.
There’s a hot tub beneath some of the UK’s starriest skies, an outdoor shower, a campfire with a Dutch oven, a hammock, and a kamado BBQ, plus plenty of more modern features like underfloor heating, luxury bed linen, robes, and fairy lights.
When you stay at Haedd you’ll be able to go foraging for wild garlic in the surrounding woodland, grab local meat from the butcher a mile away, walk down to Leintwardine’s riverside pub for a refreshing pint (or an equally refreshing river swim).
It’s just half a mile from the nearest train station, so you can walk or arrange a lift from your hosts. Bliss.
Train: 2 hr, 7m from Manchester Piccadilly to Bucknell Station
Falling Water, Yorkshire
Now it’s time for a staycation you might have seen on screen – Falling Water at Ponden Mill had a star turn on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces.
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And what makes this woodland hideaway so amazing, you ask? How about the fact it’s built on top of a flowing stream?
The accommodation has floor-to-ceiling windows so that you feel completely immersed in your surroundings despite being tucked up in a giant double bed. And when the early morning light filters through Falling Water’s stained-glass door, it’s enough to take your breath away.
You can spend your days exploring Bronte country and the Pennine Way before you cosy up with the sound of the stream running right past your pillow.
The hosts of Falling Water will pick you up from Haworth station.
Train: 1 hr, 40m from Manchester Victoria to Thirsk Train Station
Silva Treehouse, Cumbria
We’ve already shown you the magic of Silva Treehouse in Cumbria, but in case you missed it, let’s recap.
This multi-level hideaway has three luxury bedrooms, a beautiful open-plan kitchen and living room with gigantic windows looking across the countryside, loads of outside space, including a veranda with a log-fired hot tub, and piles of board games to entertain you.
Oh sorry, I forgot to mention the best bit – a slide, that will whisk you down beneath the house to a covered outdoor den, with a ping pong table, dartboard, pizza oven, fire pit, hammocks, and a bar. Pretty cool, right?
The Lake District is within a stone’s throw of Silva Treehouse, or you can take on a scenic riverside walk to the Featherstone Arms for hearty pub grub.
Train: 1hr, 30m from Manchester Piccadilly to Penrith (North Lakes) or 1hr, 48m from Manchester Picadilly to Carlisle
Poppy, Yorkshire
The best glamping spots you can reach by train near ManchesterThe best glamping spots you can reach by train near Manchester
The owners of Poppy, a Shepherd’s hut in the Yorkshire Dales, know a thing or two about creating a perfectly picturesque British escape – just look at it.
From the adorable sleeping nook with a king-size bed and floral wallpaper, to the compact farmhouse kitchen, to the fairy-lit veranda, it’s as far removed from the busy city of Manchester as can be (while being less than two hours away on the train).
This off-grid hut’s outside space really sets it apart, with access to a wood-fired sauna, twin outdoor bathtubs, and even a dog washroom for your four-legged family member.
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Poppy is located on the edge of the Nidderdale National Landscape and Yorkshire Dales National Park, surrounded by a wildflower meadow, wild river swimming, and firepit feasts.
Train: 1 hr, 40m from Manchester Piccadilly to Thirsk Train Station
Caban Cefncoed, North Wales
Imagine if Little House on the Prairie came to the UK but there were brunches on your private terrace, a swing to watch sunsets from, and a bunkbed with a rock wall you can scramble up to get in. Sounds pretty idyllic, right?
This is Caban Cefncoed, a private little cabin where you’ll find unspoiled views, a roaring log burner and total peace and quiet (apart for the odd visit from the owner’s Labrador).
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The owner also has a list of Strava routes you can use to explore the local area, with loads of activities including white water rafting and hiking in nearby areas like Llangollen, Chirk or Froncysyllte.
Daisy Jackson -
23rd June 2023 
