Manchester has earned itself a very special new title.
Our city can often be found featured on coveted lists across a wide range of categories. In recent months, Manchester has been named one of the world’s best cities for music lovers, even beating out New York along the way, and has also claimed places on lists such as the world’s most beautiful skylines, best UK cities to visit, and countless more.
But arguably no title is cuter than this one – that’s right, Manchester has been crowned the most dog-friendly city in the UK.
Recent research has shown that around 36% of British households are dog owners, and apparently, the pet care industry is projected to reach £16.5 billion by 2033, so credit company, Capital on Tap, has carried out a study to reveal which are the best UK cities for dog owners.
Manchester has been crowned the most dog-friendly city in the UK (Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash/The Pup Up Cafe)
Just how dog-friendly is central Manchester?
The company analysed 30 major UK cities – comparing things like green spaces, dog-friendly venues, the number of pet shops, and more in the process.
ADVERTISEMENT
Manchester secured the top spot as the UK’s most dog-friendly city, thanks to the city being made up of an impressive 34.7% of green space, along with there being 128 pet shops and 243 pet groomers.
The city also boasts 25 dog-friendly job listings within a 10-mile radius, at the time of the study being carried out, making it easy for residents to balance work and time with their four-legged companions.
ADVERTISEMENT
So whether it’s weekend park adventures or weekday convenience, Manchester ‘truly leads the pack’ when it comes to dog lovers.
The UK’s Top 10 Dog-Friendly Cities
Manchester
London
Brighton and Hove
Bradford
Swansea
Leeds
Stoke-on-Trent
Edinburgh
Plymouth
Aberdeen
Other northern cities on the list include Bradford at number four and Leeds at number six.
On top of that, other major cities and areas making up the top 10 include Brighton and Hove, Swansea, Edinburgh, and of course, London.
ADVERTISEMENT
Better still, Manchester’s title as the UK’s most dog-friendly city comes after another pet-centric accolade.
The cheapest Christmas Markets in the world for mulled wine have been revealed
Daisy Jackson
The most affordable Christmas Markets for drinking mulled wine have been revealed – and Manchester is nowhere in sight.
With Christmas markets across Europe preparing to welcome millions of visitors, festive fans looking to enjoy a warming cup of glühwein without breaking the bank might want to take note of the latest findings.
Festive experts at Christmas Tree World have analysed mulled wine prices at Christmas markets around the world to discover where visitors can enjoy the seasonal favourite for less.
Topping the rankings is Brussels’ Winter Wonders, where mulled wine is available for as little as £2.14 – about a third of the price of a mulled wine at the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Cologne Cathedral Christmas Markets and Strasbourg’s Christkindelsmärik share second place, with starting prices of just £2.56.
Other European favourites also feature prominently in the rankings. Budapest’s Christmas Market at the Basilica takes fourth place, with mulled wine costing £3.19, while Prague’s Old Town Square Christmas Market comes in sixth at £3.55.
Germany makes another strong appearance, with Dresden’s Striezelmarkt and Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt (which handily just launched new direct flights from Manchester) both offering mulled wine for £3.85.
Meanwhile, Vienna’s Christmas World rounds off the European entries in ninth place, with prices starting at £4.28.
For those planning a festive adventure further afield, Tokyo’s Christmas Market also makes the top five, with mulled wine costing £3.22.
However, not every destination offers such a bargain. Across the Atlantic, New York City’s Winter Village takes the title of the most expensive market in the study, with mulled wine costing a rather less festive £11.74. Chicago’s Christkindlmarket isn’t far behind, charging £8.80.
Manchester Christmas Markets start on Friday 6 November – we’ll see how our prices stack up then.
Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Emily Sergeant -
18th August 2025 
