Blackpool Pleasure Beach has unveiled a first glimpse of what its new £8.72m ride will look like.
The brand-new ride is set to be the ‘tallest of its kind’ and will change the Blackpool skyline when it opens next year.
Aviktas will be a towering 138ft gyro swing which will fly riders alongside the other world-famous rides at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, including the Big One.
It’ll be the tallest ride of its kind in the UK and will spin riders 120 degrees, facing outwards with legs dangling as you soar along the coastline.
There are other swinging pendulum rides in the UK, but none come close to Aviktas in terms of height – it’s almost twice the height of Drayton Manor’s Maelstrom.
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach has now released the first CGI of what the ride will look like when it opens in 2026.
Amanda Thompson OBE, CEO of Pleasure Beach Resort said: “We’re known for going big at Pleasure Beach, and Aviktas is exactly that.
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach reveals exclusive glimpse at new ‘tallest of its kind’ ride Aviktas
“We hope by releasing this video, guests will be able to understand the mammoth scale of our new investment, and the huge impact it’ll have on our park and the industry as a whole. This ride will be colossal, daunting, exhilarating and an incredible addition to the town.”
Amanda added: “This is the first small tease of what we have planned, there’s plenty more teasers on the way!
“Keep an eye on our socials, as what may now seem mysterious, will eventually be revealed!”
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Aviktas will open in 2026 – in the meantime you can book advance tickets to visit Blackpool Pleasure Beach HERE.
Manor House Hotel & Spa – The magical garden spa near Manchester with TWO swim-up bars
Daisy Jackson
There’s an increasing number of garden spas popping up around the UK, where you can soak and relax out in the open air.
But a lot of them are missing the key ingredient – the gardens.
That’s what makes Manor House Hotel & Spa over in Cheshire so special. It feels like it’s been built as garden first, spa second, in the way that pools and hot tubs seem to have been slotted in between established trees and flower beds and shrubs.
It’s like stumbling onto the set of a romantic period drama, but with state-of-the-art spa facilities concealed into the grounds. I’m half expecting a sopping wet Colin Firth to emerge from a hot tub.
And although the square footage of the garden spa is relatively small, it’s this clever landscaping that makes it feel like a never-ending maze where every turn reveals a new place to lie down.
There are covered, swinging beds in a herb garden. A sauna concealed as a potting shed. Private bookable hot tubs behind a hedge.
And then the real whimsy – the secret garden. Opened just last year, this corner of the spa is home to a blisteringly turquoise heated pool, surrounded by charming sage green ‘sheds’ (which are actually a series of cosy indoor relaxation pods).
The Secret GardenOne of two cold plunge poolsThe relaxation sheds in the secret gardenA huge heated poolThe Secret Garden’s sauna
There’s a second swim-up bar here, because why stop at one, a cold plunge pool with spring flowers wrapped around it, a lawn for sunbathing if you’re lucky, and a traditional Finnish sauna overlooking it all.
It doesn’t stop there – weave along the footpaths and you’ll come across a sunken, circular hydrotherapy pool, a cosy summer house with noise-cancelling headphones you can plug in to, a gently heated panoramic laconium, hammocks, squishy sunbeds, swing seats, and so much more.
The adjective that keeps coming to mind is ‘pretty’, but that almost feels too flippant for how gorgeous the spa garden is.
And you might think with it being an outdoor garden spa that it would be a waste of time in bad weather – but you’re wrong.
Manor House has built subtle shelters which look more like garden pagodas over a lot of the facilities here, including part of the main pool and swim-up bar, and most of the double lounge beds.
The main pool and swim-up barThe Potting Shed saunaA classic cold plunge tubThe hydrotherapy pool
But even beyond that, your classic spa facilities like the saunas and salt steam chamber have been constructed in out-buildings, safe from the infamous North West weather, AND there’s a sizeable indoor pool, sauna and steam room back inside the main hotel building.
The metal cold plunge tub is exposed to the elements – but if you’re being brave enough to dunk in this, a little drizzle is the least of your worries.
They’ve got an enormous list of treatments on offer here, whether you want to be scrubbed and rubbed into a new person, or give your skin a real boost with a facial. Once you’re done with your treatment, Manor House has built a cosy relaxation lounge, where you can pull the curtains across your own private booth to sip a cup of herbal tea and unwind.
Private relaxation booths for post-treatmentMezze lunchDinner in the StablesBreakfast the next dayThe Salt ShedDrinks from The Bothy Bar, a swim-up bar in the secret gardenThe indoor poolThe Stables restaurantBedroomsCovered beds in the herb garden
Alongside all that relaxing, a typical spa package at Manor House may include an afternoon tea, a brunch, or a mezze platter lunch, with a glass of fizz served to you in the Pool House.
And if you go for the overnight, you’ll be sinking into a huge plush bed, full from a refined British gastropub dinner in the hotel’s cosy restaurant space, The Stables.
Manor House is currently running a full Spring Renewal Spa Escape, for the ultimate taste of everything that’s on offer while the gardens are in full bloom.
The Manor House Spring Renewal Spa Escape package
An overnight hotel stay
A 60-minute Collagen Renewal Ritual (a soothing, exfoliating back massage, followed by a luxurious collagen facial)
Full access to the spa, with 18 spa experiences, on both days of your stay
A delicious three-course dinner in the Stables restaurant
Chester Zoo named UK’s best zoo for third year in a row with record number of ‘excellent’ ratings
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Chester Zoo has been named to best zoo in the UK for 2026.
While everyone in and around Greater Manchester and the North West may already be familiar with just how brilliant the UK’s biggest charity zoo is, you may remember that, for the past two years running now, it has been officially named the UK’s best zoo thanks to tens of thousands of positive TripAdvisor reviews.
And now, the zoo has managed to retain that respectable title for the third year in a row, as the world’s biggest travel guidance platform has, once again, named Chester Zoo as the best-rated zoo to visit in the UK this year.
It’s even more of a cause for celebration this year, as the zoo has claimed a record 11,666 ‘excellent’ ratings for the first time.
Chester Zoo has been named the best zoo in the UK for 2026 / Credit: Chester Zoo
Based on millions of online reviews, the updated ranking puts the beloved Cheshire-based attraction ahead of the country’s other zoos after earning consistently good feedback from its visitors.
Not only has the zoo’s strong focus on conservation and unforgettable visitor experiences made it the best in our country, but this has also earned it a place among Europe’s elite too – with the new listings placing it in the top 10 best zoos or aquariums in the continent.
“We’re over the moon to be named the UK’s top zoo by TripAdvisor,” commented Jamie Christon, who is the CEO of Chester Zoo.
“This recognition is built entirely on genuine reviews from our visitors, and that means the world to us. I’m very proud of everyone who makes our national conservation zoo such a special place.
“Every visit to Chester Zoo directly supports our vital conservation work, both here at home and around the world, and the past year alone is a reminder of just how much that work matters.
“We’ve developed the world’s first vaccine for a deadly virus that threatens Asian elephants globally, we’ve officially pulled a tiny species of snail back from the brink of extinction, and right here on our doorstep we’ve been planting thousands of new trees to create important new woodland habitat.
Daisy Jackson -
26th July 2025 
