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
Co-op Live appears to tease major Mariah Carey Christmas gig sending fans into a frenzy
Emily Sergeant
All we want for Christmas… is Mariah Carey in Manchester.
And maybe, just maybe, our Christmas wish might come true very soon, as Co-op Live has taken to social media today to tease its next gig announcement with its hundreds of thousands of followers, and without jumping to conclusions, it does appear to be hinting at the queen of Christmas herself making an appearance.
Look, we know it’s only July and right in the middle of summer, but even if you think it’s too early to be talking about the festive season, you have to admit that the potential of Mariah Carey coming to Manchester is worth getting excited any time of the year.
The US pop powerhouse last performed in our city nearly a decade ago now when she brought her famous All I Want For Christmasshow to the UK for the first time ever, taking to sold-out Manchester Arena stage on 10 December 2017.
Mariah has not performed in Manchester since, but all that could be set to change as Co-op Live has hinted that an announcement is ‘coming soon’.
Taking to its official social media platforms today, Co-op Live posted a very festive-themed AI video of snow falling on the arena as the camera zoomed in and the instrumental of Mariah’s absolutely iconic hit ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ playing in the background, and the caption hinting at the song’s title too.
Of course, we could be wrong, it might not be Mariah at all, but if the 300+ comments from fans in a frenzy thinking the same as us are anything to go by, it’s looking like we might be right.
“The countdown to Christmas is on,” Co-op Live said in its video, before letting fans know that they would be getting some form of confirmation soon.
So, is it Mariah then? What do you think? Only time will tell, so stay tuned.
Featured Image – Picryl
What's On
Blossoms to play special ‘intimate’ 10th anniversary gig at The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Danny Jones
Local indie and alternative lads Blossoms have announced a special one-off anniversary show at none other than The Deaf Institute right here in Manchester.
Coming to the iconic small-cap venue this summer, the Stockport band will be marking the 10th birthday of their self-titled debut album by playing one of the smallest gig spaces in the centre, but one that was a massive milestone for them back in the day.
Now a full decade on from the breakout LP, released on 5 August 2026, Blossoms will be rolling back the years by playing the biggest hits from the record, along with a selection from the many other bangers that they’ve gone on to release since.
This is going to be one very special night for the SK natives.
We’re playing an intimate gig at The Deaf Institute on Weds 5th August to celebrate 10 years of our debut album! We’re going to record the show & release it as a special edition double CD of our new album. Pre-order it now for exclusive pre-sale access. https://t.co/ztAkh95RWspic.twitter.com/kuZNnJJBok
Blossoms have never shied away from championing their Stopfordian roots, but neither have they forgotten the city that helped establish them as one of the biggest bands in Britain.
For instance, this upcoming Deaf Institute show – which promises to be a much more intimate show than they’re used to doing these days – comes not even two years on from the mini Manc residency, when they played five nights here in Manchester over the course of a single week.
As we come up to the sixth studio project, Songs From The Wedding Cake, and already have two singles from the next release, we have no shame in admitting we still listen to those first tracks as much as ever.
With that in mind, it’ll be a surreal full circle for everyone, we’re sure, when Tom, Chaz, Myles, Josh and Joe take the stage in that hallowed hometown room with a capacity of just 250 next month; they’re even playing it EXACTLY 10 years on the precise date that maiden outing dropped: 5 August 2026.
Combine this with them pulling stunts like playing people’s weddings and popping up with a surprise set from inside a van outside 42s nightclub on Deansgate, and it’s hard to think of an artist nailing it as well as Blossoms are right now.
Fans can enjoy exclusive early access by pre-ordering the new Blossoms album on their website, and those who have already done so qualify for presale automatically – just keep an eye out for the code in your email inbox.
This limited window will open from 9:30am this Thursday, 30 July, with general admission tickets for their return to Deaf Institute going live at the same time the following Friday (31 July).
Oh, and in case you somehow missed it, they’re also set to play their biggest ever arena shows across the UK later this year, including a huge gig at Co-op Live. Find out all the info down below.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd July 2021 
