It’s officially happening – Therme Manchester, the new £250m wellness resort near the Trafford Centre, has been granted planning approval.
With it comes a set of brand new images showing how the luxury facility will look, from its multiple swimming pools to its slides to its multi-sensory saunas.
Therme Manchester will have warm water lagoons, adults-only zones, botanical gardens, urban farms, immersive art, water-based fitness classes, and loads more.
The much-anticipated development is forecast to contribute more than £4.5 billion to the UK economy and provide a huge boost to the local economy and tourism industry.
With work set to begin later this year, we’re looking at 2025 before it officially welcomes its first visitors.
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Its latest design, which has received approval from Trafford Council, features a pavilion-style concept in a natural landscape.
The artist impressions released today show huge white waved rooftops, with enormous glass windows and skylights.
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The inner garden, or Garden of Wellness, at Therme Manchester
Inside is an urban oasis where palm trees tower above sunbeds.
And outside, it looks like Therme Manchester will have lush gardens and swimming ponds, and amphitheatre-style seatiManchester’s Science and Industry Museum reveals ‘special’ 40th birthday events lineupng looking over the canal.
Therme Manchester has now also appointed its CEO, Professor David Russell, whose background includes major ventures like the London 2012 Summer Olympics, The Rugby World Cup in Japan 2019 and the $8 billion Expo 2020 in Dubai.
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An aerial view of Therme Manchester. Credit: Supplied
Russell said: “Therme Manchester will be the UK’s first city-based wellbeing resort. Our ambition is to make a positive difference in millions of people’s lives whilst creating a new wave in urban living.”
James Whittaker, executive director of development at Peel L&P said: “After five years working in partnership with Therme, we are delighted to hear planning permission has been approved for this incredible, high-quality health and wellbeing resort in TraffordCity.
“We’re looking forward to working closely with the whole of the Therme team to deliver something truly unique and iconic in the UK, that is not only world-leading for health and wellbeing, but will also create a significant number of new jobs and have a huge positive economic impact for North West England.”
Therme Manchester as viewed from Bridgewater Canal
Cllr Tom Ross, Leader of Trafford Council, said: “I am very pleased that the planning committee supported this application. This wellbeing resort is a huge £250m leisure development which is the first of its kind in the country and we are delighted it is being built here in Trafford.
“The resort will attract millions of visitors each year and will add significantly to the local economy during construction and once operational. It will also create more than 1,500 person-years of construction jobs and 600 permanent full-time jobs.
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“The development sits a short walk from the latest Metrolink extension and supports several of our key commitments by improving health and wellbeing, providing connectivity for cyclists and pedestrians, creating a new public realm, and regenerating a vacant brownfield site in a sustainable location.”
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
The hillside farm in the Peak District making its own ice cream
Daisy Jackson
Did you know there’s a 300-year-old farm in the Peak District serving up some of the freshest ice cream you’ll ever taste? And yes, you can meet the cows that made it while you’re there.
Welcome to Hope Valley Ice Cream, a family-run gem where things are kept refreshingly simple: happy cows, proper farming, and seriously good ice cream.
Set in the heart of the Peak District countryside, this place is about as wholesome as it gets.
The ice cream is made on-site in the farmhouse, literally just metres from where the dairy herd are out grazing.
You can watch the animals, wander around the farm, and then tuck into a scoop or three perched on a milk pail stool, or a picnic bench (or even a decorative tractor).
Hope Valley Ice Cream has some amazing seasonal ice creams, like lemon curd, elderflower, and blackberry, alongside all the classics and a rather delicious tiramisu.
You can grab a cone, sit down with a coffee (again, made with milk from the nearby cows), or go all in with a freshly-made waffle if you’re feeling fancy.
Takeaway tubs from Hope Valley Ice CreamYou can get a mini pail of ice creamMeet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice CreamTuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stoolHope Valley Ice Cream
And if you’re the type who really loves ice cream? You can actually order a full pail of it, with four huge scoops plus whipped cream and sauce.
The farm itself is run by the Marsden family, who’ve been working this land for generations. It shows in everything – they’ve created a place that feels genuinely welcoming, not just another tourist stop.
Beyond the ice cream, you’ve got plenty of reasons to stick around. There are calves (including the newest tiny arrivals), plus donkeys and pigs to say hello to.
Whether you’re heading out on a hike or just fancy a drive into the Peaks, this is one pitstop that’s absolutely worth it – and honestly, it’s worth the trip on its own.
Daisy Jackson -
14th September 2023 
