Travel & Tourism

Fans are literally FLYING to Holmes Chapel to walk in the footsteps of Harry Styles

You can go on a self-guided tour of the star's childhood, if you really want to.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 15th April 2025

Now I think we can all agree that Harry Styles is one of the North West’s finest musical exports (even if he has disappeared off the face of the planet since his Love on Tour tour) – but taking a flight just to visit his teenage haunts? It’s a lot.

But that is how dedicated the former One Direction star’s fans are, flocking across oceans to visit his first place of work, his old school, and even the house he used to live in.

Earlier this year, the village of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire released a self-guided Harry Styles tour, highlighting the village’s ‘many connections to Harry’.

They said that already, fans have flocked from all over the world to take on the tour.

The Holmes Chapel Partnership said: “Over the past year Holmes Chapel has seen an increase in visitors coming to pay homage to pop superstar Harry Styles who grew up in the village.

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“We created this map as part of our ‘Safe Walking Routes’ project which shows the safest walking route from Holmes Chapel train station to the Viaduct, then continues through the village.”

Landmarks along the route include the Twemlow Viaduct, rumoured to be the site of Harry’s first kiss; the Mandeville’s Bakery where he worked on Saturdays before joining The X Factor; and the Fortune City Restaurant, a local Chinese where he once took Taylor Swift. Which is a sentence and a half…

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The bakery in Holmes Chapel where Harry Styles used to work. Credit: Flickr, Vagueonthehow
The bakery in Holmes Chapel where Harry Styles used to work. Credit: Flickr, Vagueonthehow
The Twemlow Viaduct, rumoured to be the site of his first kiss. Credit: Unsplash, David Griffiths
The Twemlow Viaduct, rumoured to be the site of his first kiss. Credit: Unsplash, David Griffiths
Highlights of the Harry Styles tour in Holmes Chapel

Most tour journeys start at Holmes Chapel train station – now complete with a new mural of Harry Styles himself – before heading on into the village itself.

One fan recently shared their own journey to Harry’s hometown, which started with a flight (yes, actual air miles went into this day out) to get to Manchester before hopping on a train to Cheshire.

Documenting their tour on TikTok, the fan said they were ‘genuinely shaking’ as their train pulled into the village.

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They then visited attractions like the small shop on the platform that sells merch, and has a visitor’s book where you can leave a message for Harry Styles – apparently, his dad comes to collect the books when they’re full.

Once reaching the bakery, they discovered a framed photograph of the One Direction band members – including the late Liam Payne – together eating pies, and wrote: “Nearly sobbed seeing this picture alone.”

Then it was a 25 minute walk across fields to the aforementioned viaduct, where countless fans have doodled messages on the brick in a colourful display.

“Having to say bye was so hard,” they wrote.

Of course, for those of us who live a few minutes from Holmes Chapel, calling this tour a tourist attraction seems a little bizarre.

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One person said in the comments: “As someone from manchester, this is crazy. You flew to Holmes Chapel?”

Another asked: “Girl why did you go on a pilgrimage to his home town.”

All I hope is that someone scribbled in the visitor’s book ‘Where TF is new music, Harry!?’

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Travel & Tourism

No trams to run on major Metrolink line as ‘essential’ work to repair Victorian-era tunnel starts this weekend

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant A Metrolink tram in Manchester city centre

Travel disruption is expected across the next couple of weeks as ‘essential engineering’ work begins on a major Metrolink line.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that a reduced service will run on the Bury line this weekend, as work to replace ‘defective’ beams supporting the roof at Whitefield Tunnel means that no trams will run between Crumpsall and Bury on Saturday (10 May), or between Whitefield and Bury on Sunday (11 May).

Some weekend and overnight working is said to be ‘necessary’ to secure and protect the overhead line equipment, so that the beam replacement work can be completed as ‘safely and quickly as possible’, according to TfGM.

A crane is planned to be in use for the beam replacement work at times.

Closures on the line from this weekend come after the successful completion of preparatory work at the site, following the discovery of a defective beam.

No trams will run on a major Metrolink line as ‘essential’ work to repair Victorian-era tunnel starts this weekend / Credit: TfGM

As well as the suspension on services this weekend, as mentioned above, several other chances throughout this month and into the next on the Bury line are also to be expected.

No tram services will operate between Crumpsall and Bury on Sunday 25 May, and no again from Friday 30 May to Sunday 1 June, while no trams will run between Whitefield and Bury from Monday 26 to Thursday 29 May.

For the duration of all closures, replacement bus services will run between the affected stops on all the above dates.

Any so-called ‘noisier’ work is set to take place during daytime and evening working hours where possible, and several noise reduction measures – such as acoustic blankets and enclosures – also to be put in place during this.

As always, the Greater Manchester public is being advised to ‘plan ahead’ if they are travelling.

“Whitefield Tunnel dates back to the 19th century,” explained Ian Davies, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, “and this essential work will ensure tram services can continue to safely pass through it for decades to come.

“This is a complex job, but we will do everything we can to minimise disruption to passengers, residents and businesses.”

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He added: “I would encourage people who use the Bury line to plan ahead and check the Bee Network website, app, and social media channels for the most up-to-date travel information.”

Find out the latest on the TfGM website here.

Featured Image – Janus Boye

Travel & Tourism

Manchester named one of Europe’s ‘best’ cities alongside 17 other British places

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester has been named one of the ‘best’ cities in Europe for 2025, according to a new ranking.

You may remember that our city – and wider Greater Manchester borough – has often featured on various round-up lists over the years, with it ranking on everything from being named one of the best places in the UK to buy your first home, and the best place to raise a family, right through to being one of the most creative cities.

But it arguably doesn’t get much better than a title like this.

For a long time now, the city has been cementing itself as a tourist hotspot, with new hotels popping up left, right, and centre, and integrated transport systems being introduced to make it easier to get around.

And it looks like all that has paid off, as Manchester has now been named one of the best cities in the whole of Europe for 2025, thanks to a new ranking by Resonance Co.

Manchester skyline
Manchester has been named one of Europe’s ‘best’ cities / Credit: Josh Taylor | Chris Curry (via Unsplash)

This year, the global placemaking company’s research encompassed 128 cities across Europe with metropolitan area populations of 500,000 or more, and evaluated each of them based on 30 performance indicators and perception metrics derived from surveys of more than 7,500 respondents across 10 European countries.

Once each of these performance indictors had been evaluated, every city was given its own ‘Place Power Score’ to determine its ranking.

A city’s ‘Place Power Score’ examines three core dimensions – liveability, which takes into account things like housing affordability, healthcare access, green space, air quality, and cycling infrastructure; loveability, which encompasses culture, nightlife, culinary scenes, and more; and prosperity, which includes business environment, talent density, GDP per capita, airport connectivity, and more.

While Manchester may have missed out on both the top 10 and top 20, considering it’s a top 100 list, our city has claimed the respectable 36th spot, beating out mega cities such as Venice, Nice, Athens, and loads more.

In fact, 18 British cities are included in the top 100.

Our city has ranked alongside 17 other British places / Credit: Mangopear Creative

Explaining why Manchester has been ranked, Resonance Co said in its city description: “You’ll be hearing a lot more about Manchester this decade, as the historic engine of English industry shifts into high gear across both culture and development.

“While the UNESCO City of Literature continues to shape global music – with 2024’s opening of the 23,500-seat Co-op Live arena, and a festival lineup that includes Beyond the Music and Worldwide Music Expo – Greater Manchester is also writing a new chapter in urban reinvention.

“A newly centralised ‘single pipeline for growth’ coordinates £1 billion of planned annual investment across six targeted Growth Locations, aiming to deliver tens of thousands of homes and jobs at a pace unmatched in the UK since the 2012 London Olympics. Among the boldest is the Western Gateway, anchored by the regeneration of Old Trafford around Manchester United’s stadium, projected to generate over 90,000 jobs.

“The Central Growth Cluster includes innovation districts like Crescent Salford and Victoria North. These ambitions build on an £80-billion economy that’s grown 50% since 2000 and now leads the nation in FDI outside London.

“Add a mature devolved governance model and transformative transit investments – like bringing commuter rail into the Bee Network – and the city’s Top 10-ranked airport and 15th-most Instagram Hashtags start making sense.”

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Which city took the title of the best city in Europe though? Well unfortunately, we have to give it to the southerners on this one, as London took the top spot.

But at least it’s an impressive win for the UK, if nothing else.

Featured Image – Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)

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