With just over two weeks to go until Valentine’s Day arrives, we’ve pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact things will be a little different this year.
Whilst it’s true that we are somewhat used to adapting our seasonal celebrations for the circumstances nowadays, the loved-up among us won’t have forgotten that Valentine’s Day is new ground for the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, given that it was one of the last events to take place ‘normally’ before the stark realities of the crisis set in last March.
That doesn’t mean the occasion should to go un-celebrated in 2021 though.
Yes, we can’t deny that it’ll be a little different this year, but there’s no need to miss out on feeling the love with your special someone, especially as there’s a whole host of ways to safely celebrate from the comfort of your own home.
Independent businesses all across the region are gearing up for Valentine’s Day by delivering date night experiences directly to your front door.
One Manchester-based immersive entertainment company is eager to put a unique and lockdown-friendly spin on the national day of love.
Starting on Friday 12th February and running for three nights, Park N Party – the team behind a series of sell-out drive-in cinema and theatre performances in Manchester – is adapting amid the third national lockdown by bringing the entertainment to you.
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And they’ve aptly-named it the Lockdown Love-IN.
Lockdown Love-IN is an exclusive streaming platform, which sees singer and media personality Chrissy Bray provide a night of entertainment and music, accompanied by your choice of menu package, which has been expertly-crafted by top chefs, including options from the team behind Michelin star restaurant, Simpsons, prepared to simply reheat at home.
You can find out more and book your tickets for Lockdown Love-IN here.
Salford-based independent companies Si4ers Distillery and Seven Bro7hers Brewery are teaming up to bring the region’s lovers and best pals an exclusive live beer and gin tasting evening for one night only on Valentine’s Day this year.
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The two-hour event will be hosted on Zoom and the wonderful tasting pack will be sent directly to your front door prior to the tasting taking place.
Each tasting pack includes:
3 x 440ml Seven Bro7hers beers (Salty Tiers Sour, Honeycomb Pale Ale, and Bubble House Brut IPA)
3 x 5cl SIS4ERS Gins (Signature, Strawberry and Lime and Thyme)
3 x Fever Tree Tonics
3 x bags of garnish for your gins
A box of Cocoa Cabana Ancoats truffles to share (vegan friendly and nut free)
You can grab your tickets from the Si4ers Distillery website here.
This Manchester-based doughnut company is committed to bringing delicately-decorated sweet treats directly to your front door all year round, and Valentine’s Day is no different.
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The Doughnut Kitchen’s Valentine’s Kits come in a themed box, complete with:
x4 Large Ring Doughnuts
White, Pink and Milk Chocolate
Pink / Red Heart Sprinkles
Pink Shimmer Sprinkles
Mini Jammie Dodgers
Valentine’s Toppers
Prices for the kits start from £12.
If you don’t fancy getting stuck into the decorating yourself though, don’t worry, you can simply order one of the showstopping pre-made Valentine’s boxes to be delivered instead.
All orders can be made via The Doughnut Kitchen on Facebook or Instagram.
Cheese & Wine Tasting
Decent Drop
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Decent Drop
Decent Drop’s Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes are perfect for the sceptics and hopeless romantic.
Along with the usual six wines and six cheeses that the Manchester-based, lockdown-born delivery company is known and loved right across the community for, the special Valentine’s Day kit will include a bottle of fizz and a miniature bottle of BRAND pink gin. Decent Drop has also teamed up with artisan chocolatiers, Cocoa Tree Café, to include a box of six bespoke chocolates that are sure to bring you “mouthwatering joy”, along with some fancy oat cakes and delicious chutney to complete each set, as well as the usual tasting notes.
Two person kits are £100, with one person kits setting you back just £75, and you will also receive an invitation for the interactive Zoom event too, which will be held on Saturday 13th February 2021.
Not quite found something that takes your fancy just yet?
Don’t worry.
There’s still plenty of time before the big day arrives, and we will continue to update this article with all of the lockdown-friendly, COVID-safe Valentine’s events that we can find happening across Greater Manchester this year, so keep checking back to make sure you don’t miss out.
What's On
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 27 October – 2 November 2025
Emily Sergeant
We’ve made it – it’s spooky season’s spookiest week of them all.
Can you believe we’re leaving October behind this week? It may be the holiday of the dead, but Greater Manchester really comes alive around Halloween, and 2025 is absolutely no different as there’s loads to do this week – especially as schools across the region are now broken up for October half term too.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? No worries. We’ve chosen a few of the highlights for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide.
Both free things and those that’ll set you back a few pennies are featured.
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MCR Monsters 2025
Manchester City Centre
Monday 27 – Friday 31 October
MCR Monsters / Credit: CityCo & Manchester BID
The MCR Monsters are back once again, and you’ve got the rest of this week to get yourselves out there to find them all.
Part of the annual wider ‘Halloween in the City’ events lineup, just as they have been doing for the past few years now, giant inflatable monsters will be looming and creeping over buildings across the city centre this week to transform some of our most well-known landmarks with tentacles and googly eyes and pointy teeth for a free trail.
There’s dozens of monsters to spot around town this year, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled and your wits about you.
Find out where all the monsters will be this year here.
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Pumpkin Lanterns
Manchester City Centre
Monday 27 – Friday 31 October
Pumpkin Lanterns / Credit: CityCo / Manchester BID
Have you noticed that Manchester’s adorable little pumpkin lanterns have already started popping up around the city?
If you’re looking to get in the mood for Halloween, but want to keep things a little on the cheaper side this week, then you need look no further than up above in the city centre as the annual decorative pumpkin lanterns are back once again.
Going on a little tour to see the lanterns in the trees in St Ann’s Square, Market Street, and beyond is the perfect activity for all the family, easy to plan, and great for pictures – and it’s free too.
Halloween Ghost Trains / Credit: East Lancashire Railway
East Lancashire Railway’s popular Halloween Ghost Trains are back this week.
Always proving to be top of the Halloween bucket list for people looking for ‘loads of spooktacular fun’ once the scariest time of year rolls around, those brave enough at lending the Monster Squad a helping hand at banishing ghosts and ghouls will be whisked away on a haunted steam engine through the atmospheric Greater Manchester countryside.
You’ll get to meet lots of ‘oddballs and curios’ along the way, including Count Brian the vampire, Veronica the witch, Zombie Bob, and the mad Dr Frankenburger as you board the rain ride of a lifetime.
What could be more cute and autumnal than rummaging around in a field in the October sunshine, hunting for your perfect pumpkin? Nothing, if you ask us.
If you’re liking the sound of that, then good news, as Kenyon Hall Farm’s annual Pumpkin Festival has officially kicked off and they’ve got THOUSANDS to choose from.
As well as the fields full of pumpkins, there’s loads of seasonal items in the award-winning farm shop too (alongside masses of fresh produce), like tattoo transfers for your pumpkins, gonks, keyrings, and more.
And don’t forget to stop off at the cafe for their seasonal pumpkin specials.
Feeling brave? Scare City has returned to the North West with yet another ‘immersive’ horror experience in the lead up to Halloween.
Taking over the grounds of the abandoned Camelot Theme Park for ‘another year of terror’, just as it has done for the past four years, this year’s event features a selection of terrifying zones to weave your way through – some familiar, some brand new.
Tickets are now available to book at £29.50 for standard entry, or £44.50 for the ‘Gold Entry’ (both plus a booking free).
Find out more and grab tickets to this year’s event here.
Dare you enter the haunted Big Top? Gandeys Circus is back at the Trafford Centre, and is bringing along with it a brand-new spine-chilling and action-packed Halloween Spooktacular.
This legendary show will be filled with frights, delights, and dazzling sights for the whole family.
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Prepare for jaw-dropping thrill acts that will leave you gasping, grand production numbers bursting with eerie enchantment, and of course, plenty of laughter and screams along the way, as this is Halloween entertainment like you’ve never seen before.
Want to know what other Halloween-themed events are happening at the Trafford Centre throughout this spooky season?
Spooky season is here, and the Trafford Centre announced its lineup of Halloween activities to get stuck into, and from creepy crafts, to hair-raising rides and eerie evening entertainment, there’s something for every brave soul.
A Halloween trail has returned Quarry Bank Mill for one of the region’s most hauntingly beautiful seasonal events.
Returning for a second year, after proving to be an unforgettable experience for all ages in 2024, this year’s Halloween at Quarry Bank again features spooky light installations, a mesmerising laser garden, and a thrilling fire show, as well as live performances, and seasonal food and drink.
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Fog will swirl through the paths around the grounds, as glowing demon eyes watch over passers-by and giant skeletons loom over twisted trees, and if you’re brave enough, the trail then heads inside the mill itself.
The Night Market UK 2025 / Credit: @kt_perspecitve
The Night Market UK is making its grand return to Manchester this Friday.
Taking over the beautiful Grade II-listed Victoria Baths this Halloween, there’ll be everything from vintage sellers and independent makers, to cocktails, beers, and street food – plus live DJs, art installations and performances.
The former swimming pool, sports hall, and surrounding balconies will be taken over by more than 100 traders for the very-special event.
This Halloween weekend, Salón Madre over at KAMPUS is swapping out spooky for soulful as it celebrates the true spirit of Día de los Muertos – a vibrant tribute to life, laughter, and the legends we’ve loved and lost.
Highlights include free pool, £9 cocktails, DJs, and free tarot readings, all set against the colourful backdrop of Madre’s signature mischief. And for those who love a good costume, the best dressed guest will win an entire year of free tacos (T&Cs apply).
So, whether you’re in it for the spirits or the spiritual, Salón Madre’s Día de los Muertos celebration promises to be a weekend to remember.
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NEW OPENING – Horse & Jockey
Chorlton Green
When we heard that the centuries-old Horse & Jockey pub was going to be given a new lease of life by the team behind The Black Friar in Salford, we breathed a sigh of relief, as we’re in a world where pubs are closing daily and keeping these community cornerstones afloat is increasingly challenging
But this beauty on Chorlton Green is safe for now.
The team have kept all the amazing bones of the building and added even more charm, as well as a bring-you-to-tears menu of pub grub.
NEW OPENING – Power Hall / Credit: Science Museum Group
It’s been a long time coming, but the Science and Industry Museum has started welcoming visitors back inside one of the UK’s most significant industrial heritage buildings – the Power Hall.
Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery is a free working gallery where visitors can immerse themselves in the sights, smells, and sounds of the engine-driven ideas and industry that started in Manchester and went on to change the world.
Officially having reopened a couple of weeks back, it’s the latest building to open as part of a multi-million-pound regeneration project currently taking place.
Did you see that Manchester’s libraries are set to become ‘warm spaces’ with free hot drinks and WiFi this winter?
After millions of local residents have visited the ‘stigma-free safe spaces’ to escape and take refuge from the cold each year since they were first introduced in 2022, Manchester City Council has decided to reintroduce its popular ‘Warm Welcome Spaces’ scheme once again this year.
All 22 of Manchester’s public libraries are, once again, taking part in the scheme this time around.
Designed to ‘provide support to people who need it’ over some of the most challenging months of the year when temperatures drop, the Council’s scheme is offering a range of different services – and they’re all for free of charge.
Free hot drinks, WiFi and internet access, data SIM cards, and newspapers are just some of the things people can make the most of inside these ‘warm spaces’, as well as get access to information, advice, and extra signposting to other support services they made need in the city.
Have you noticed any ‘street nipples’ popping up around Manchester in recent weeks?
Yes that’s right, we did say ‘street nipples’, you heard us correctly.
In case you weren’t aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and as a way of marking this hugely crucial event, pavement studs across major UK cities like Manchester have been transformed into nipples as part of a bold conversation-starting initiative from charity Breast Cancer UK.
Pavement studs often go unnoticed, just like the early signs of breast cancer – but this clever new campaign is already stopping people in their tracks.
Need a spot for breakfast? Manchester’s newest food hall has got you covered.
House of Social now does breakfast – and my lord, are you lot in for a treat with this one.
From Ok Taqueria, there’s breakfast burritos packed with jalapeño sausage patties and all manner of other breakfast items, there’s a taste of New York from Dough Religion in the form of pancake stacks and in-house bagels.
And last but not least, Burger and Beyond has the hangover cure sent from the heavens, with breakfast buns and the most PERFECT hash browns on the side.
Summer may be over, but guess what? Now that autumn is well and truly here, that means we get to wear layers, cosy up in our favourite places, and eat heartwarming plates piled high with all the major food groups.
Whether you want the likes of Banyan’s bottomless Yorkshire puddings bigger than your head, or swapping your meat out for a pie (you heard us), we’ve got something to suit everyone… you can even get dog roasts too, if you ask The Refuge nicely.
Check out our top 25 best places to head to for a perfect roast in Greater Manchester here.
Roast dinners / Credit: The Manc Group
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Does your sweet tooth needing satisfying instead? Look at these spooky bakes.
Manchester’s most creative bakery has delivered the goods again this autumn, with a whole menu of seasonal treats and spooky pastries.
Half Dozen Other’s Halloween-inspired specials include a pistachio choux bun with a wobbly brain inside, an adorable pumpkin and pecan danish, and cherry cookie pie complete with witchy marzipan finger on top.
And beyond that, this month’s menu features a pistachio twist on their sell-out honey toast twice-baked croissant, a blood orange pain au chocolat, and a vegan charcoal cookies and cream croissant.
Or how about crumble and custard doughnuts instead?
Now we’ve got your attention.
Of course we’re talking about Baby Mayhem – the tiny hatch in Ancoats that’s become famous locally for its ice cream doughnuts, but now they’ve gone all autumnal with a batch of new specials.
Treat yourself to a warm doughnut, filled with spiced apple and topped with crunchy crumble and custard, or grab a sharer full of dinky doughnuts with ice cream and your choice of sauce, served on top of either a Biscoff or Kinder milkshake.
Fans of their weird and wonderful spaghetti ice cream needn’t worry either, because that’s still on tap, along with different fruity flavours like cherry.
A first look into the highly-anticipated TV soap crossover ‘Corriedale’ has just dropped
Thomas Melia
The wait is nearly over for TV soap fans, as producers behind the highly-anticipated ‘Corriedale’ crossover have just dropped an exclusive first look.
Whether you’re team Coronation Streetor team Emmerdale, this show has all areas covered as it merges both the iconic TV soaps into an hour-long special.
Now, it feels like Christmas has come early as pictures of two very distinctive cast members smiling next to each other while filming the crossover episode have been released.
In the newly-released images we can see Vicky Myers, known for playing the assertive and dedicated DS Lisa Swain, representing the Manchester-based production Coronation Street.
Vicky Myers (DS Lisa Swain) and Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle) pictured together ahead of upcoming TV soap crossover Corriedale / Credit: ITV Press Centre (Supplied)
Stood by her side is Danny Miller known for his role as the complex and vulnerable Aaron Dingle in Leeds-based hit soap Emmerdale.
Both can be seen on-set and are pictured in front of a white trailer filming for the upcoming Corriedale special.
Although the shows are set just a one hour’s drive away from each other, separated by The Pennines, this soap special marks the first time that characters from each drama will have ever crossed paths.
Most details for this soap crossover are being kept very tight-lipped although filming kicked off in September with this latest update marking the first-ever major cast announcement for Corriedale.
ITV Executive Producer for Continuing Drama Iain Macleod said: “It’s beyond exciting that filming is under way on Corriedale.
“There is a massive buzz around both the Leeds and Manchester sites and the images coming out of the shoot are utterly spectacular. And that’s before we’ve even got to all the brilliant transpennine interactions between characters from the different shows!
“As a soap fan myself, I think my head is going to explode when the episode airs next year. It will be mind-blowing, historical and unmissable.”
Corriedale is coming to our TV screens in early 2026 and heralds the start of a new soap power hour with 30 minute episodes of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale to air every weekday.
Emily Sergeant -
27th January 2021 
