Icelandair, the nation’s principal airline and proud flag carrier is offering an incredible package to holiday-goers this winter by giving them a chance to book their flights, hotel, breakfast, multiple unique tours and the opportunity to see the Northern Lights all in one affordable deal.
With the Northern Lights being one of the most magical tourist attractions in the world, its popularity only increases by the year and, as a result, so does the cost of going to see it.
That’s where Icelandair come in: the flight operator is offering Brits an amazing new package centred around the legendary natural light display at a discount. Trust us, you seriously want to consider snapping up this one whilst you can.
From this week, Icelandair is offering UK travellers a special package deal which includes a three-night holiday with return flights, a hotel room with breakfast and three unique and unforgettable Icelandic tours for just £459 per person.
(Credit: Icelandair)
This deal will see holidaymakers board an Icelandair economy flight from either London, Glasgow or Manchester Airport to the nation’s beautiful capital of Reykjavik, with a complimentary 23kg checked bag allowance, plus a 10kg in hand luggage allowance, your choice when it comes to where you want to seat, seat, on-board refreshments and a personal in-flight entertainment system.
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For your accommodation, you’ll be staying at the four-star Hotel Island Spa and Wellness Resort, located right near the centre of Reykjavik and treated to breakfast every morning for two adults sharing a room. And then you get to make the most of what the country’s incredible landscape.
Onto the main event of your holiday: Icelandair’s Northern Lights experience is a breathtaking three-to-four-hour tour that allows you to see the glory of the incredible natural phenomenon with your own eyes.
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As for the FlyOver Iceland tour, this unique experience is the ultimate flying ride which utilizes state-of-the-art technology to give you the exhilarating feeling of flight. During this virtual journey, you’ll experience the more remote but no less spectacular areas of Iceland through motion, wind, sound and even scents.
People wait their entire lives to experience the Northern Lights. What’s stopping you?
Last but not certainly least, you have the lava show, which is one of the top-rated attractions anywhere in Scandinavia, receiving numerous awards for innovation and educational value. You literally get to watch as they recreate a volcanic eruption and allow you to safely experience hot lava in close proximity.
Once again, all this is yours to enjoy from just £459 per person. We believe the phrase you’re looking for is ‘value for money’.
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Available right now until 4 October 2023, you can book to travel to see Iceland and the Northern Lights from November 2023 right up until March 2024.
You book your flights HERE and find out more information about this incredible package via the Icelandair website.
No trams to run on three major Greater Manchester lines this Easter bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
People are being urged to ‘plan ahead’ as no trams are set to run on three major Greater Manchester Metrolink lines this weekend.
As part of a continuing £150 million investment in the Metrolink network across the region, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has announced that more than 1km of track will be replaced on the Altrincham line, and work will also take place between Trafford Bar and Deansgate-Castlefield to prepare for full track replacement later in the year.
As a result, there will be no trams on the Altrincham, Eccles, and Trafford Park lines this Easter bank holiday weekend all day from Friday 3 to Monday 6 April.
On top of these line closures, there is also set to be disruption across other parts of the network too, as on the East Didsbury and Manchester Airport lines, trams will run to Firswood only, and services on the Rochdale line will terminate at Exchange Square.
To keep people moving over the four-day weekend, replacement buses will run between all the affected stops, TfGM has confirmed.
Anyone using a replacement bus, however, will still need a valid Metrolink ticket or a one-day Bee bus ticket to travel, and customers will be able to use all existing options to buy these, as they will not be able to buy a ticket or pay for the fare on the replacement buses themselves.
No trams will be running on three major Greater Manchester lines this Easter bank holiday weekend / Credit: TfGM
Replacement buses are said to be calling at ‘all affected stops’ along the lines, so customers are being told not to worry about that.
Speaking ahead of the improvement works being carried out this weekend, Ian Davies, who is the Network Director for Metrolink at TfGM, said: “The first main upgrades of the year get under way over the Easter weekend, as our £150m programme to improve our network continues.
“We’ll be doing everything we can to minimise disruption to passengers while we carry out this essential work to ensure our tram network remains reliable, resilient and safe for years to come.”
TfGM has assured that staff will be out and on-hand across the network this weekend, but is urging anyone travelling to plan for their journeys ahead of time to make sure they go as smoothly as possible.
Looking ahead to the rest of the month, no trams will run between Piccadilly Gardens and Ashton-under-Lyne on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April while the track is repaired, and a further weekend closure for track repairs on the Ashton line will take place on Saturday 25 April and Sunday 26 April.
Find out more and plan ahead on the Bee Network’s dedicated webpage here.
Featured Image – Janus Boye
Travel & Tourism
One of Manchester’s grandest restaurants has finally reopened TWO YEARS after fire
Daisy Jackson
One of the most historic restaurants in Manchester has reopened at last, two years after a fire forced its closure.
Mount Street Dining Room & Bar – which many of us may remember as Mr Cooper’s – stands within the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel.
The grand dining room dates all the way back to 1903, when it opened with the hotel as the Grill Room.
The restaurant was at the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution and was frequented by railway travellers, perhaps best-known for hosting a lunch between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce in 1904, who went on to form the world-famous Rolls-Royce brand.
The Midland’s restaurants has gone through several changes in the decades since, undergoing a major £14 million refurb in 2020 to relaunch as Mount Street Dining Room & Bar.
Its interiors are inspired by the hotel’s early 1900s art deco and railway heritage, with a menu that focuses on locally-sourced British produce.
But the restaurant has been shut since early 2024, when a fire damaged the entrance and trellising around its main entrance on Mount Street.
The beautiful bar areaA glimpse of the menu at Mount StreetCocktails and British food
The Midland has finally managed to get the restaurant back open again this month, with a new food and cocktail menus, which aims to offer refined but simple British dining.
Expect dishes like pork and black pudding bonbons, white onion soup with crispy potatoes, smoked British salmon with lemon gel and dill mascarpone, and slow cooked beef daube with confit garlic mash.
Plus desserts such as rice pudding with Anise glazed pearsand Bakewell pudding with cherry syrup.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen inside this beautiful, storied dining room – and it looks just as beautiful as we remember.
Danny Jones -
22nd September 2023 
