Wandering around twinkling light installations has become a popular festive activity for thousands every winter, and thanks to a new Twilight Trail at Mayfield Park, you don’t even need to leave the city centre to see one.
This brand new trail (in Manchester‘s brand new 6.5 acre park) brings a giant Christmas tree that flashes in time to music, disco ball installations over the river, a fire pit area where you can roast marshmallows, and a spirograph tunnel.
It even has a disco soundtrack curated by nightlife favourites La Discotheque and the play park has been included in the trail for the little ones.
The dazzling light trail runs alongside Winter Island, Freight Island’s seasonal festival, where some of the city’s best food operators will be serving Christmas specials.
The Twilight Trail itself is a budget-friendly festive activity with tickets starting from just £9, and is just a short walk from the trains, buses and trams that stop at Manchester Piccadilly.
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The immersive winter light trail is the first of its kind to be held at Mayfield Park and will run all the way through to New Year’s Eve.
Visitors will join The Twilight Trail at the main entrance to the park, then spend around 30 minutes exploring, surrounded by twinkling illuminations.
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The light trail ends at Freight Island itself, where you can dig in to the Winter Island food offering or say hi to the Big Man himself at a Visit Santa Experience.
There’s plenty of food and drink on offer, from a build-your-own boozy hot chocolate bar from Cocoa Cabana, to the Smoking Coal German BBQ, serving a whole bratwurst menu, Schweinshaxe in a bun, and a classic hog roast butty.
Formaggi by Lazy Tony’s. Credit: The Manc GroupCocoa Cabana hot chocolates at The Twilight Trail and Freight IslandA Yorkshire pudding hot dog at The Smoking Coal at Freight Island
Cheese fanatics will want to take a quick detour to Formaggi by Lazy Tony’s, where you can tuck into all sorts of oozy, melty cheese dishes, like Italian-American toasties, deep fried burrata, melted Camembert, and roast potatoes with poutine toppings.
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That’s not to mention all of Freight Island’s resident traders – Burgerism, Voodoo Ray’s, Lazy Tony’s Lasagnaria, Patel’s Pies, Payal, Mia’s Arepas, FUKU, Mega Gyros, Oh My Cheesecake, and Fry-By are all open for business as usual too.
The Visit Santa Experience will take over the Plant Room, where for £22.50 kids can meet Father Christmas and his elves, receiving a small Lego gift, a Lindt Chocolate and photo opportunity (it’s free for accompanying adults).
Laura Percy, development director at LandSecU+I, leading the regeneration of Mayfield, said: “The new Twilight Trail promises to be a brilliant addition to both Mayfield Park and the whole of Manchester city centre, complementing the Christmas markets, which are such a popular destination for thousands of visitors every year.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer our neighbours in Ardwick and Brunswick, particularly families, a large number of complimentary tickets so that as many people as possible can come and enjoy the Trail.
“The spirit of innovation at Mayfield is long-established and it’s great to see our partners at Freight Island continuing to push the boundaries with this exciting autumn programme.”
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The spirograph tunnel at the Twilight Trail. Credit: The Manc GroupA light tunnel at The Twilight Trail at Mayfield Park
Jon Drape from The Twilight Trail said: “We are thrilled to bring a new festive experience to Mayfield Park this year.
“The Twilight Trail’s unique light installations will completely transform this incredible park. We are very proud to be able to deliver such a wonderful experience at an affordable price this year, whether for the family, groups of friends or a date night.
“Combined with the opportunity to visit the brand-new Winter Island next door we believe Depot Mayfield is set to be an unrivalled Christmas destination in the UK.”
Adult tickets are £9 in November and £10 in December, while family tickets start at £28. Children under two go free.
Featured image: The Manc Group
What's On
Manchester’s legendary Dragon Parade returns next month to celebrate Chinese New Year 2026
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s legendary Dragon Parade will make its way through the city centre once again next month.
As Manchester gets ready to celebrate Chinese New Year 2026 – which officially begins on Tuesday 17 February and runs through to Tuesday 3 March – and mark the ‘Year of the Horse’, the iconic Dragon Parade will be making its grand return to the streets of our city centre, and bringing a spectacular show of colour and light along with it.
In case you’re unfamiliar with what the Dragon Parade is all about, it’s the focal point of the city’s annual Lunar New Year celebrations – and it’s a real spectacle, to say the least.
The parade is known for attracting thousands of visitors from all across the region each year.
Manchester’s legendary Dragon Parade returns next month to celebrate Chinese New Year 2026 / Credit: Chinese NY Manchester (via X)
Celebrations officially kick off on Saturday 14 February this year, and as the headline of the festivities, the popular parade is set to take place the day after (Sunday 15 February).
Once again, organisers are expecting visitors in their thousands to turn out and watch as the famous 175ft Chinese dragon weaves its way through the city’s main shopping streets.
Official timings and plans for the parade are yet to be announced by the Council, but if previous years are anything to go by, it’ll likely kick off from around midday, starting on the junction of Oxford Street and George Street, and then make its way along Portland Street before concluding in Chinatown for a final performance on Princess Street.
Chinese New Year festivities will take place over a full weekend / Credit: Chinese NY Manchester (via X)
There’ll also be even more cultural celebrations and activities to get involved with throughout Lunar New Year over in Manchester’s popular Chinatown – with live stage performances, traditional lion and dragon dances, and loads of stalls serving up tasty and authentic street food.
And to top it all off, we’ll also soon see the return of Manchester’s famous traditional red lanterns dotted up above all around town too, adding colour to dark winter days.
As always, this year’s celebrations have been organised by the Federation of Chinese Associations of Manchester (FCAM), in partnership with Manchester Business Improvement District (BID) and Manchester City Council.
Featured Image – Chinese NY Manchester (via X) / CityCo
What's On
Chester Zoo announces new spring date for its popular running event to help UK wildlife
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has announced that its popular Run For Nature is back again this year, and this time, there’s a new spring edition.
The UK’s biggest charity zoo seen success with this event in the past few years, with thousands of runners signing up for one of the North West’s most unique athletic experiences and all funds raised going towards efforts to protect highly-endangered giraffes in Africa.
This year though, the much-loved event’s focus brings conservation ‘a little closer to home’ and will protect some of the UK’s most threatened species instead – with all funds helping to safeguard hedgehogs, kingfishers, otters, harvest mice, and more.
It comes as the UK is currently considered one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth.
Participants will first get to wind through the zoo and enjoy glimpses of elephants, lemurs, and other incredible species along the way, before heading out into the picturesque Cheshire countryside.
Adults can choose from a 10K or 5K route, while younger runners are invited to take part in a one-mile ‘Zoom’ race, open to children aged four-15, which takes place entirely within the zoo’s incredible 130-acre grounds.
All runners will receive free entry to the zoo for the rest of the day as part of their registration, along with a 25% discount for friends and family who come along to show support.
Chester Zoo’s popular 10K charity run is returns with a new spring date / Credit: Chester Zoo
Lorraine Jubb, who is the Fundraising Lead at Chester Zoo, called the Run For Nature a ‘really special event’.
“In previous years, runners have already supported conservation efforts for Asian elephants, Eastern black rhinos and Northern giraffe,” she explained. This springtime though, we’re turning our attention much closer to home in the UK, and to the wildlife we share our gardens, parks and countryside with.
“With one in six species now at risk of extinction in the UK, every runner will be playing a vital role in helping us protect animals and supporting our growing nature recovery work across right across Cheshire.
Daisy Jackson -
15th November 2023 
