An alternative Christmas market is coming to Manchester’s stunning water palace, Victoria Baths.
Bringing together mince pies and mulled wine in the Tea Room, alongside plenty of stalls and a brand new Manchester-made gin inspired by the historic building, if you needed a sign to start your Christmas shopping in earnest then let this be it.
Taking place across Saturday, 13 and Sunday, 14 November 2021, organisers promise the alternative market’s stalls will be bursting with creative gift ideas for both family and friends. Guided tours will also be taking place throughout the weekend.
The two pool halls will be filled with a whole host of different stalls including various foodie gifts, ceramics, pet products, jewellery, prints, decorations and items for the home.
Look out for hand-poured candles from Old Man and Magpie, bobble hats from Urban Bear, handcrafted ceramics, jewellery and more from Elizabeth Emmaus-Wilson, hand-knitted products inspired by the Pennines from Bracken and Moss design, plus colourful homeware gifts from designer Lydia Meiying.
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The weekend will also give local gin lovers the chance to get their hands on the first bottles of the new Victoria Baths gin, which has been created especially for the venue in collaboration with Cheshire-based distillery Winding River.
Image: Supplied
Combining kaffir lime leaves with liquorice root and coriander seeds, the gin is pried at £40 a bottle and will make a welcome addition to any local gin-lover’s collection.
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The distillery has been part of the Festive Winter Fair for many years and was “so excited” to work on the creation of the new gin with the Victoria Baths’ team.
Matthew Fox, the co-founder of Winding River, said: “We are so excited to be working with Victoria Baths on their first-ever gin; we’ve been part of their Festive Winter Fair for many years and love this building and the community behind it.”
Tickets to the Festive Winter Fair at Victoria Baths are priced at £5 (including a £1 optional donation), free for Friends and Under 16s.
Inside Anthropologie as beautiful new store opens in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Anthropologie has finally arrived in Manchester, opening a beautiful new store in the Royal Exchange.
The beloved lifestyle brand is famed for its curated range of clothing, shoes, accessories, activewear, beauty, wellness, furniture, home décor, bridal, and loads more.
Anthropologie has taken over a two-storey unit overlooking St Ann’s Square, which opens today right in time for the Black Friday sales.
Inside, shoppers will find everything from denim to dinnerware, plus delights like martini-shaped handbags, apres ski-inspired glassware, and cosy knitwear.
Brands inside include Damson Madder, Tala, Maeve, Vagabond, and Never Fully Dressed.
There’ll be live music by local artist Maya Blandy, and seasonal drinks from 3pm, for a festive shopping experience.
Inside Anthropologie ManchesterMartini-shaped bags in AnthropologieHomewaresShoes in AnthropologieInside Anthropologie ManchesterTala is in storeThe denim shopBrands include Maeve by Anthropologie
And later down the line, Anthropologie Manchester is hosting a Winter Warmer Day on 9 December, with festive hot drinks and a gift personalisation station – plus a festive goodie bag for the first 100 customers to spend £100 between 9 and 11 December.
Anthropologie was founded in 1992 and has since expanded to have more than 200 stores globally, launching three new UK sites this year (Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow).
Matt Hilgeman, Managing Director of Anthropologie International, said: “We’re excited to open our third and final store for 2025 in the heart of Manchester city.
“As part of our Northern expansion, the new store will showcase a curated assortment of our most-loved brands, exclusive partywear, and our signature ‘Only at Anthropologie’ gifting.
“We can’t wait to open our doors and meet the community.”
Anthropologie Manchester is now from Wednesday 26 November at the Royal Exchange on St Ann’s Square.
Science and Industry Museum announces new major exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’
Emily Sergeant
A major new exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’ is making its world premiere in Manchester next year.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will invite visitors to explore our wondrous Solar System when it launches at the Science and Industry Museum next February.
Fresh off-the-back of the new BBC Children’s and Education TV show, Horrible Science, the ‘thrilling’ new exhibition will encourage visitors to ‘do science the horrible way’, and join both scientists and supervillains to unveil the secrets of space.
The new exhibition will propel families up into space where mystery, intrigue, and rocket-loads of silly and surprising science await. You’ll get to venture through a series of cosmic zones, walk in the shoes of astronauts, explore the life-giving energy of the sun, marvel at mysterious moons, and discover far-off weird worlds.
Left teetering on the edge of our Solar System, explorers will then find themselves staring into the dark depths of space, on the lookout for any extra-terrestrial life that could be staring back.
Whether its sniffing astronauts’ smelly socks, dancing on an alien disco planet, feeling the tremors from a mysterious moonquake, or launching a space rocket, organisers say this new adventure will engage all the senses in a truly immersive experience.
This is the first time Horrible Science has been brought to life as a major exhibition.
The Science and Industry Museum has announced a new major exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’ / Credit: BBC | Science Museum Group
Visitors will get to see familiar characters from the BBC series – like Dr Big Brain, in particular – on their mission to find out more about our fascinating Solar System through interactive experiments, playful challenges, and sensory exploration.
The exhibition is being developed by the Science and Industry Museum in collaboration with producers of the Horrible Science TV show, BBC Children’s and Education, and Lion Television, together with Scholastic, who are publishers of the much-loved Horrible Science book series by Nick Arnold and illustrated by Tony De Saulles.
‘Unmissable’ objects from the Science Museum Group’s world-class space collection will also be on show when the exhibition premieres.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will open at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on 13 February 2026 for an 11-month run before heading down to London, and tickets are now on sale priced at £10 – with family discounts available, and under-threes going free.
Georgina Pellant -
1st November 2021 
