Travel & Tourism
Adventurous cat caught taking a train from Yorkshire to Manchester Airport
Can't a girl take herself on a holiday?
Train conductors have reunited an adventurous senior cat with her owners after she was caught taking a train all the way to Manchester Airport.
15-year-old Angel was discovered on board an hour-long TransPennine Express service from West Yorkshire to the airport.
The black-and-white moggy had been strolling along the train making friends with passengers on board, following conductor Will Saunders through the carriages.
It turns out Angel is something of a local legend in Brighouse, and has been caught riding rail replacement buses in the past too, as well as making herself at home in the local pub.
On this occasion, she fancied herself a little holiday and hopped on board the 3.55am service from Brighouse to Manchester Airport.
Will kept a close eye on the gorgeous cat all the way to Manchester Airport, where they settled her into a cardboard box at the station.
Will then took Angel home to Stockport for the night to keep her safe, later discovering a phone number on Angel’s collar.
He and his partner then drove Angel all the way back home to Brighouse.
Will Saunders, conductor at TPE, said: “As a cat lover myself, I couldn’t leave her to fend for herself. She was so calm and confident on the train – it was like she’d done it before!
“I’m just glad we could keep her safe and get her back home. She’s clearly a much-loved cat.”
Andrew McClements, Customer Experience & Transformation Director at TPE, added: “Our teams are used to helping customers reach their destinations, but this was definitely one of our more unusual passengers.
“We’re just glad we could make sure this adventurous feline made it home safely.”
Now back where she belongs, Angel’s tale shows that even the most curious traveller can count on TPE to help them land on their paws.
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Featured image: Transpennine Express
Travel & Tourism
Greater Manchester’s heritage railway issues statement as it’s forced to cancel services this week
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester’s iconic heritage railway has been forced to cancel its services this weekend due to the heatwave.
In case you hadn’t heard, Amber Extreme Heat warnings and heat-health alerts have been issued by the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) through to Thursday this week – with temperatures widely exceeding 35°C nationwide, and in some areas – particularly on the south coast – potentially even reaching 38°C.
Heatwave conditions in the UK are met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with temperature values meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold for that location.
It does seem, however, that northern parts of the country – especially the North West – are missing most of the extremely hot conditions.
Current forecasts indicate that the peak temperatures for Greater Manchester this week will be tomorrow and Thursday, with highs of 33°C in the city centre.
Despite not reaching the heights of the south, East Lancashire Railway (ELR) has still had to act in advance and has taken the decision to cancel its scheduled services for the next two days as the forecast is ‘too severe’.
Taking to social media to share its decision today, ELR wrote: “Due to the current weather warning for the UK, the decision has been taken to cancel all services on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th June 2026, including the afternoon tea and mid-week luncheon dining experiences.
“The welfare of both staff and customers is paramount to the ELR, and we believe that the risk in the extreme heat that has been forecast is too severe to allow for the running of our ordinary services.”
As things stand, ELR says its current plan is to have services resume with the evening dining train on Friday 26 June, but this will still be ‘subject to review’, and further updates on this will be issued later in the week.
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Visitors who have already pre-booked services over the two cancelled days will be contacted via email to have their options explained to them.
“We apologise for any inconvenience,” ELR closed out its statement.
Featured Image – ELR
Travel & Tourism
Legendary buffet restaurant could close as plans for ANOTHER Deansgate hotel are revealed
Daisy Jackson
Plans have been revealed for another hotel on Deansgate – and if it goes ahead, it could mean Manchester’s legendary buffet restaurant may close.
Maybrook House stands on a prominent corner in the city centre, where Deansgate crosses with Blackfriars Street.
It’s functioned as offices for years, but now there are proposals to change the building into a ‘vibrant, high-quality new hotel’.
If it goes ahead, the new hotel would provide 240 rooms as well as a new bar and lounge spaces.
Plans for the new Deansgate hotel include a two-storey extension on top of the building, which would bring it to an eight-storey building (still well below the height of neighbouring structures, like the 20-storey Treehouse Hotel).
The team working on the new hotel have said that its design will ‘respect the character of the surrounding area while improving the appearance and experience of the building’.
Other plans include repainting the existing brickwork, refurbishing the concrete panels, and installing more efficient windows.
As for the cafes and restaurants already occupying Maybrook House, most will be able to stay – the plans say that the ground-floor occupiers can remain in place throughout the construction period.
But if it all goes ahead, Cosmo, the world buffet that has been here for almost a decade (and was previously Red Hot World Buffet) would need to vacate the premises.
Maybrook House said: “We recognise that Cosmo is a valued and well-established venue in the city, and are engaging with them directly.”
A hotel operator for the building hasn’t been announced yet, but they said that they are ‘currently in advanced discussions with a prestigious hotel operator’.
You can see more on the proposals HERE.
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Featured image: Maybrook House
Daisy Jackson -
31st October 2025 
