Manchester has been named one of the best UK cities for dog walking this spring.
As the sun shines and the flowers bloom, dog owners across the UK looking for perfect spring walking locations should head to Manchester, according to some new research which has ranked the city among Britain’s best destinations for dog-friendly spring strolls.
Pet-sitting platform TrustedHousesitters analysed a range of factors including dog-friendly venues, trail ratings, walkability scores, access to green spaces, and even the average April rainfall.
Our city particularly excelled when it came to walkability, with a perfect 100/100 score, as well as rating highly for its access to nature, with 20.42% of the city dedicated to green space.
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Manchester has been named one of the best UK cities for dog walks this spring / Credit: Mylo Kaye | Sarah Duffin (via Unsplash)
Despite the higher average April rainfall (68.36mm), which let’s be honest, is hardly a shock to us all, even if the weather has been particularly glorious in recent weeks, Manchester’s combination of excellent urban green spaces and strong trail ratings (4.2/5) helped to secure its top five position.
Manchester is also home to an impressive 117 dog-friendly pubs, restaurants, and cafes too, meaning dog walkers and their furry friends will be spoilt for choice when choosing somewhere to unwind after their springtime stroll.
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Bristol, Nottingham, Brighton, and Edinburgh were the other four cities to make up the top five list, meaning Manchester is the only northern city to feature.
“Giving your pup a chance to explore new paths and experience new scent trails, sceneries, and different terrain is great for their active minds,” explains Dr Lily Richards, who is veterinary surgeon.
The city rates highly for walkability and access to nature / Credit: Gustavo Fring (via Unsplash)
“A good walking trail has lots of opportunities to rest out of the heat and in the shade, as well as wide paths, no steep cliffs, and soft surfaces to prevent paw injuries.”
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While taking in nature is beneficial for owners and their pooches alike, Dr Richards does encourage pet owners to avoid stoney or boggy areas, due to the risk of injury or environmental diseases.
“After your walk, remember to wash off any mud for disease prevention and check for ticks to prevent tick-borne diseases such as Lymes disease, babesiosis, and rocky mountain fever,” Dr Richards continued.
She also advised owners to “be aware of grassy or wooded areas with lots of leaf litter where natural dangers or predators can lie”.
Featured Image – Hiro Takashima (via Unsplash)
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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 -
7th April 2025 
