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Alton Towers confirms a new ‘dark and haunting’ ride is opening this year

'The Curse at Alton Manor' is set to be the theme park's most immersive dark ride to date.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 24th January 2023

Alton Towers has confirmed that a new ride is opening this year, and it’s apparently quite the “dark and haunting” experience.

After upsetting fans by announcing in back in September of last year that one of its most-popular rides, Nemesis, was to close to the public until at least 2024 so that “major maintenance” work can be carried out – including the replacement of large sections of the track – Alton Towers has now teased the opening of a brand new ride.

The new attraction, which is named The Curse at Alton Manor, is set to be the theme park’s most immersive dark ride to date.

Although no official opening date has been announced as of yet, and ride details are still being kept under wraps for now, bosses at the theme park say The Curse at Alton Manor will be a “haunting ride which will frighten and excite both brave youngsters and adults”.

The theme park says the ride-through haunted house experience will take those brave enough to hop on board on a “hair-raising journey through the spectacular twists and turns of the cursed manor”.

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Announcing that the ride is on its way in 2023 on its website and social media platforms this morning, Alton Towers said: “The Curse at Alton Manor. A haunting dark ride, taking you on a hair-raising journey through the spectacular twist and turns of the cursed Manor.

“Coming, ready or not! The abandoned Alton Manor, repossessed under mysterious circumstances, will be inviting you inside.

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“Have your wits about you as you ride deeper into the historic Manor.”

According to reports, The Curse at Alton Manor will take shape at the spooky site that was once home to the attraction Duel – The Haunted House, which opened in 1992, and was the largest ghost train in Europe at the time, before it abruptly closed back in September 2022 after the building was repossessed due to unnatural activity in the area.

Alton Towers confirms a new ‘dark and haunting’ ride is opening this year / Credit: Alton Towers

Speaking ahead of the ride’s opening this year, Kate McBirnie – Head of Product Excellence at Alton Towers Resort – said: “Let the countdown begin!

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“The Curse at Alton Manor is no ordinary dark ride. It has all the components of a supernatural tale – it’s dark, compelling, and promises something thrilling and scary moments along the way. Fans of eerie rides will certainly appreciate this one.

“More details on The Curse at Alton Manor will be revealed next month, so stay tuned for what’s to come.”

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You can find out more about The Curse at Alton Manor on the Alton Towers website here.

featured Image – Newstream (via Alton Towers)

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Manchester’s Club de Padel claps back at ’embarrassing’ copycat ASOS product

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

A local Manchester business has sarcastically pointed out the glaring similarities between a new t-shirt on ASOS and one of its own designs.

Club de Padel has a range of retro-inspired merch with UN:IK, a small independent streetwear brand also based here in Manchester.

Its collection of t-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, hats and bags often feature a design of an illustrated padel ball (which to the untrained eye is basically a tennis ball) in motion.

But this week a t-shirt appeared on ASOS that also featured an illustrated padel ball in motion, just in a slightly different colour palette.

The ASOS version, which has now been removed from sale, also undercut Club de Padel’s price by £6.

Since Club de Padel took the ’embarrassing’ copycat product public on their Instagram page, ASOS has launched an investigation and taken it off their website.

The sports venture, based at Deansgate Square and the only padel club in Manchester, wrote: “Love the new designs ASOS, kinda reminds us of something though…

The ASOS t-shirt that Club de Padel has said copies their merch. Credit: ASOS
The ASOS t-shirt that Club de Padel has said copies their merch. Credit: ASOS
Club de Padel's t-shirt created by Manchester brand UN:IK
Club de Padel’s t-shirt created by Manchester brand UN:IK. Credit: Club de Padel

“Ah. Well that’s embarrassing… We’ve got a new line coming soon with UN:IK Clothing you’re just gonna love ASOS.

“In the meantime we made this for you @asos, save your design team a job.”

An ASOS spokesperson said: “We take intellectual property issues very seriously and have removed this product from sale while we investigate further.”

Of the Club de Padel and UN:IK collaboration, aka the real deal, UN:IK says it has ‘served up a staple for us, retro inspired leisure pieces with Manchester’s first ever padel club’.

Club de Padel in Manchester has gone public to poke fun at ASOS

They wrote: “Inspired by owners after a trip to Spain, Club de Padel has hit the city with a wave and the lifestyle brand we have created with them reinforces the fastest growing sport across Europe.

“Our classic vintage washes and oversized fits, working with independent designs as always on this local independent partnership. Don’t be afraid to the sport, we’ll guarantee you love it as much as these clothes.”

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Featured image: Club de Padel

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Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s ‘favourite’ brand of teabags, according to new data

Danny Jones Danny Jones Yorkshire Tea is Manchester's favourite teabag

The Great British debate of which teabag is best is one that will rage on for millennia, that’s just the way it is, but according to new data, it sounds like we might at least have an answer to which brand makes for Manchester’s favourite brew.

It won’t be a surprise to many of you and we can certainly confirm it on our end but the one and only Yorkshire Tea looks to have taken the cuppa crown when it comes not only to Manchester’s preferred teabag but seemingly the best-loved in Britain as a whole.

This is according to numbers pulled by local firm, TonerGiant. The Atherton-based ink and toner suppliers decided a poll around the office wasn’t enough and instead chose to turn their knowledge of the market and consumer trends into a bit of online research.

At the end of the day, tea has got to be the most important of all office supplies, surely?

mancunians favourite brand of teabags
According to the stats, Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s favourite brand of tea bags. (Credit: Yorkshire Tea)

Using data from trusted online source Statista, which nailed down the top 25 teabag brands in the UK, each make was then ranked in relation to its average monthly searches via Google Keyword Planner to reveal that Yorkshire Tea was clearly the top dog.

With roughly 390 searches per month in Manchester alone, compared to PG Tips as the next best (260), it seems us Mancs have to concede at least one thing to our fellow Northern county: Yorkshire makes a bloody good brew.

The Roses rivalry raged for centuries but if there’s one thing that brings us together, it’s a good cuppa.

In terms of other tea brands that came in high on the leaderboard, Pukka Tea (170), Twinings (140)and Teapigs (90) made up the rest of the top five most-searched tea brands in Greater Manchester. It’s also interesting to see how those figures looked when extrapolated nationwide. Here’s the full ranking:

RankTeaAverage UK monthly searches
1Yorkshire Tea27,100
2PG Tips18,100
3Pukka Tea14,800
4Twinings12,100
5Teapigs8,100
6Whittards Tea6,600
7Tetley4,400
8Clipper Tea4,400
9Lipton Tea3,600
10Barrys Tea3,600
11Thompsons Tea1,300
12Typhoo1,300
13Taylors Tea1,300
14M&S Tea1,300
15Tesco Tea1,000
16Tick Tock Tea880
17Sainsbury’s Tea720
18Lyons Tea720
19Asda Tea590
20Aldi Tea590
21Waitrose Tea590
22Lidl Tea480
23Morrisons Tea320
24Bewleys Tea90
25Cafedirect Tea40
Few of these on here we’ve never heard of. Taste test, anyone?

While Yorkshire Tea was found to be Manchester’s and the nation’s favourite, Belfast was the only UK city where Yorkshire Tea didn’t take the top spot. Instead, it was Irish-owned Barry’s Tea that came out as their favourite – we definitely need to hold a ‘brew-off’ between the two. The Hoot, you up for it?

As for supermarket’s own-brand offerings, out of the eight options on the list, Marks and Spencer’s teabags were found to be the most popular, closely followed by Tesco and then Sainsbury’s.

Commenting on the findings, TonerGiant’s Stuart Deavall said: “With so many office workers opting for tea to get through the day, it’s no surprise that the UK has a day dedicated to the drink.

“In light of National Tea Day on Sunday, 21 April, our new data shows that Yorkshire Tea is the nation’s favourite, with over 27,000 Brits searching every month… We can expect many Brits to be celebrating in style this Sunday, no doubt with a mug of Yorkshire tea in hand”. Speaking of, anyone fancy a brew?…

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Featured Images — Yorkshire Tea/Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)

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