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
Forget pub crawls – you can now go on a guided cheese crawl around Manchester
Thomas Melia
Manchester is a foodie’s paradise and with so many options at hand why not break it down into individual food groups – starting with the dairy crowd pleaser, cheese.
Long gone are the draining pub crawls of the past, it’s time to make way for the new pioneer in the world of adventurous crawling, ‘The Manchester Cheese Crawl’.
There’s always lots of food and drink options flowing throughout our bubbly city spanning all cuisines and cultures so it comes as no surprise that the latest way to experience Manchester is via cheese, a staple of many citizens’ diets.
On the tour, there will be insider knowledge on-hand as you wander the streets and sample the creamy delights, assisting you with any dying queso queries and pecorino ponders that you need to get off your chest.
There’ll be plenty of familiar independents on the Manchester Cheese Crawl, including Northern Soul’s impressive grilled cheese sandwiches as well as more traditional cheese samples.
How could this experience get any better I hear you ask, how about a free glass of fizz to accompany those already impressive cheese selections? Yes please!
Guests can expect to sample some of Manchester’s dairy delights while being directed by some of Manchester’s top cheese connoisseurs that are the real big cheese.
Groups who take the tour aren’t just treated to food and drink, they also receive free entertainment from their food guides who are prepared to make you chuckle with their incredible humour.
The Manchester Cheese Crawl will feature plenty of bites for curd nerdsA selection of dairy heaven displayed on a wonderful variety cheese board.Credit: Unsplash
Previous visitors have commented on their experience while taking the tour sharing the names their groups received with highlights such as ‘Shaken not curd’ and ‘Three blind mice’.
They really are serious about their cheeses, another previous visitor who went on the tour revealed their guide even had a name that perfectly fit the occasion, ‘Mel the babybel’.
It’s sure to be a fantastic day with games and activities planned for all as you walk between the shops landmarked on the cheese-filled route.
Everyone on the tour also gets a small taste of the high life as they are treated to a Lancashire cheese handmade by a local star and celebrity.
Starting at the Richard Cobden Statue and finishing on the always vibrant Tib Street, a quick google search reveals this walk isn’t too strenuous taking only 12 minutes but with many cheeses to get your whiskers on it will probably take around an estimated two hours to tackle.
Running this Saturday 16 November and planned to continue until November 2025 and beyond, you’d be emmental to miss out on this cheesy adventure.
If all this cheese talk has left you dreaming about your next foodie fix, tickets for ‘The Manchester Cheese Crawl’ are on sale and available here.
Featured Image: Unsplash
What's On
Rochdale’s incredible fire festival will bring blazing sculptures and fiery displays to town this month
Daisy Jackson
Rochdale will be filled with dazzling pyrotechnic displays later this month when the Ignite Fire Festival returns to town.
The spectacular free event will see the gardens opposite the Rochdale Town Hall – which reopened to the public earlier this year – transformed with fiery displays, blazing sculptures and illuminated installations.
The smash hit event debuted last year, attracting more than 10,500 people, and this year’s will be even bigger with three nights of magical family entertainment.
And the festival will culminate on the Sunday with the Rochdale Christmas lights switch-on.
Ignite Fire Festival comes from Walk the Plank, the outdoor arts specialists behind some of the UK’s biggest and best outdoor arts events, who have called upon artists and pyro technicians to create the many installations on show.
Between 5pm and 8pm each night, visitors will be able to walk past fire-based sculptures like goblets of fire, a daisy chain of flaming flowers, a fire bird with blazing eyes, and smaller birds circling a flaming nest – to name just a few.
There’ll also be sculptures that twist, flap and erupt with balls of fire, and ‘In The Balance’ will be a festival highlight, where rotating globes of flame seemingly defy the laws of physics.
Ignite Fire Festival is back in Rochdale this month. Credit: Supplied
Each evening, a fire drawing designed and made by local residents will be ignited alongside flaming hot performances from some of the UK’s top talent including Flame Oz – a thrilling fire dancing and juggling show.
There’ll also be performances from Liverpool’s Bring the Fire Project, local favourites Skylight Circus Arts, and street theatre and interactive arts group Travelling Light Circus.
Visitors should look out for Drum Machine, a 20-strong drumming collective, The Fire Man Dave performing a live fire show with fire eating and juggling, and Astro Aliens, a trio of cosmic beings that will entertain all ages.
The incredible event, sponsored by car supermarket The Trade Centre UK, is set to take place between Friday 22 and Sunday 24 November.
Ignite Fire Festival takes place in the gardens opposite the Rochdale Town HallThere’ll be performers as well as pyrotechnic sculptures. Credit; SuppliedIgnite Fire Festival is back for a second year. Credit: Supplied
After exploring the gardens, you’ll be able to pick up hot food, mulled wine and other seasonal drinks served each night.
On Sunday, Father Christmas will be in town to switch on the Christmas lights at 5.30pm in front of the town hall.
Councillor Sue Smith, cabinet member for communities and co-operation at Rochdale Borough Council said: “Last year’s Ignite Fire Festival and Christmas Light’s Switch On was a fantastic event and an instant hit with audiences from across Greater Manchester.
“It’s an exciting and unique event and the perfect addition to our big switch-on, providing family entertainment across the weekend.”
Mark Bailey, founder and owner of sponsor Trade Centre UK added: “Our partnership with Ignite Fire Festival and the Rochdale Christmas Lights Switch On is a fantastic opportunity to give back to a community that has welcomed us so warmly.
“At Trade Centre UK, we believe in more than just selling cars; we believe in being part of the fabric of the local area. Supporting events like this, which bring people together to celebrate in the heart of Rochdale, aligns perfectly with our core values of community and connection.”
The event is free, and no tickets are required. Ignite is organised by Rochdale Borough Council in partnership with Walk the Plank and Culture Co-op, a ‘Creative People and Places’ programme, funded by Arts Council England.
Find out more and plan your visit to Ignite Fire Festival HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd July 2021 
