Families will be able to “tumble down the rabbit hole” and be transported to Alice’s Wonderland at RHS Garden Bridgewater this month.
The Royal Horticultural Society is partnering with Macmillan Publishers to celebrate 150 years of Alice in Wonderland – bringing a series of themed events to the RHS Gardens in Worsley for the summer holidays.
The £44 million garden attraction – located off Leigh Road in Worsley – opened its gates to the public earlier this spring, and is set to take inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s iconic novel for August.
Visitors can view the new garden through the eyes of Alice, meet their favourite characters, and enjoy performances, storytelling, minibeast hunts, planting and craft workshops, and so much more.
The classic stories Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There have been reimagined for contemporary audiences by multi-award-winning illustrator Chris Riddell.
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There’ll also be a range of Alice books and merchandise available to buy from the Garden Centre on site, too.
Here’s a full list of what’s happening.
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Wonderland Wednesdays
28 July – 25 August
You can immerse yourself in another world on Wonderland Wednesdays by enjoying a picnic with your favourite characters, dressing up in your best mad hatter hat, taking part in competitions, and tucking into wonderful treats in the café.
Alice and Friends
24 July – 1 August
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Not only will there be theatre performances throughout the day on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27, you can also see which Wonderland characters you can find in the woodland, and then join in with themed crafts (Wednesday 28 July) or planting workshops (Thursday 29 and Friday 30 July).
Relax with Alice-themed family yoga (Saturday 31 July at 11.30am), or get immersed in storytelling (Saturday 24, Sunday 25 July and Sunday 1 August from 11am).
Looking Glass Beasts
9 August – 15 August
Alice meets all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures on her trip through the looking glass, but what can we find in our world?
You can see real-life birds of prey with Wild Wings Birds of Prey on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 August from 11am – 3.30pm, and get up close with fantastic creepy crawlies with ZooLab on Monday 9 and Thursday 12 August from 11am-4pm.
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Wonder-Landscapes
16 August – 31 August
Head out on your own Wonderland adventure and take part in Alice-themed crafts on Wednesday 25 August.
You can also discover the fascinating world of cacti and succulents at Cactus World Live on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 August – with displays and family activities on offer to get you growing at home.
The £44 million attraction is the first RHS Garden to be located in an urban area / Credit: RHS Garden Bridgewater
Speaking ahead of Alice in Wonderland’s arrival to the garden this summer, Richard Green – Head of Site at RHS Garden Bridgewater – said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing the gardens to life with Chris Riddell’s amazing interpretation of Alice in Wonderland.
“We know this will resonate with members and visitors – especially families -and add a new dimension to their garden visit.”
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“We are delighted to be working with the RHS again and that the team has chosen Chris Riddell’s Alice as the inspiration for their summer theme in this anniversary year,” added Alyx Price, Associate Publisher at Macmillan Children’s Books.
“Alice is all about curiosity and discovery, and this can all be explored in a fun and engaging way in the RHS’ beautiful gardens.
“It will be a wonderful visit for all ages.”
You can find more information about Wonderland: Summer Holiday Activities via the RHS Garden Bridgewater website here.
Featured Image – RHS Garden Bridgewater
What's On
A local Manc content creator is looking to set a world record by running around Old Trafford
Danny Jones
A local content creator, who specialises in running/hiking content (and sandwiches), is looking to raise money and potentially set a world record by jogging around Old Trafford.
Oh, and by jogging, we mean running – for a really, REALLY long time…
If you’ve never come across his channel before, let us introduce you to local influencer and videographer Sam Matthew, a.k.a. ‘Peaks and Pubs‘.
Boasting plenty of fans on both Instagram and TikTok within the world of trail running, the outdoors community and beyond, he’s set to toastreaching a very specific achievement by “turning a milestone into a mission” and doing laps around Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United Football Club.
As explained in the video, he’s now surpassed 74,310 followers, i.e. the same capacity of supporters you can fit inside the Theatre of Dreams itself.
We know, it’s distance running and feats of endurance aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they are a great way of raising money and awareness, not to mention possibly getting yourself in the official Guinness Book of World Records.
Explaining the challenge in the caption of the video, Sam writes: “There’s now enough of you lot following this daft account of mine on here to fill a stadium I’ve adored since I was a little boy. And that genuinely means so much to me.
“So why not celebrate the occasion by punishing my legs and raising money for good causes along the way? Donations are, of course, the aim, but I understand that not everybody is in the position to do that, so any engagement on this post is hugely appreciated.
“I mean it from the bottom of my heart that you lot genuinely make this all happen for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful that I get to do silly stuff like this on a random Wednesday [29 October]. Giving off pure ‘your unemployed friend on a Wednesday’ vibes, but I love it!”
Raising money for the club’s in-house Manchester United Foundation, which has already shown its support for the upcoming ultra-marathon distance event, they are also looking to generate crucial funds with the return of another annual charity event too.
The Foundation does some incredible work all year-round, if you’d rather swap running around Old Trafford for sleeping.
Once again, Sam will be kicking off the serious step-count from approximately 9am this Wednesday (28 Oct), he’s estimating it’ll take him around a whopping nine and a half hours, “with plenty of breaks for food and fluids”, thank god.
As the man behind most of the Bada Bing videos, we expect plenty of butties to fuel the running.
Furthermore, although he’s set to take on the distance solo for the morning, he’s invited as many people who fancy getting involved to come and join him for a lap or two from 12 noon onwards; hopefully, he’ll see the Guinness people popping along to see if he registers a world record while he’s at it, too.
We hope there are a few pints at the pub waiting for you at the end, as always, Sam.
Featured Images — Peaks and Pubs (supplied)/The Manc Group
What's On
A live Shaun the Sheep stage show and circus is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Brace yourselves, because one of the best fun-for-all-ages events is coming to Manchester: the official Shaun the Sheep stage and circus show is coming to Factory International.
This isn’t just one to keep the children entertained; we already know plenty of big kids who grew up on Shaun, Shirley, and the rest of the sheep are already thinking about grabbing tickets.
Created by Nick Park, the same man responsible for Wallace and Gromit, this live stage production and incredibly practical circus show of the beloved British cartoon is already critically acclaimed.
Now set to make its full European debut right here in our city, Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show teams up with leading performance company Circa to bring the TV show to life this winter.
‘It’s gonna be un-BAAA-leivable’.
Conceived not only by the award-winning minds at Aardman Animation, but the experienced performers at Circa, this ‘in the flesh’ (and wool) interpretation of the slapstick CBBC classic will not only delight younger audiences, but bring plenty of energy to keep the adults entertained too.
Promising a “live circus performance, simultaneously blurring the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus for a visual spectacle packed with wit”, you can expect acrobatics and circus skills.
Stunts will include the likes of tumbling, juggling, aerial hoop, aerial silks, trapeze, Spanish web and Chinese pole, just to name a few.
And, of course, there’ll be plenty of Aardman’s signature heartwarming comedy in W&G, Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas, Flushed Away and more.
Naturally, all the usual suspects will be on show to: Shaun, Bitzer, The Farmer and the rest of the Flock – and yes, in case the trailer didn’t give it away, they are people who are not just dressed up as adorable real-life lambs but bouncing, flipping and flying all over the stage.
Coming to Aviva Studios this festive period, it’ll be taking place in The Hall: one of the venue’s largest and most dynamic rooms, with the state-of-the-art building famously able to alter the size of individual stages and spaces depending on the event.
John McGrath, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Factory International, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Circa and Aardman to present the European premiere of this fun-filled show at our home in Aviva Studios.
“Circa presents award-winning circus performances to audiences across the globe, and their collaboration with Aardman Studios creates a unique offering for families, circus fans and everyone who loves Shaun the Sheep“
Running from Tuesday, 11 December 2025 until Sunday, 4 January 2026, they’ve also ensured affordable admission from just £10; you can grab your tickets now.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd July 2021 
