A new walking trail has been created around Greater Manchester to celebrate the spring blossom – and it’s going to be absolutely beautiful.
This is the time of year where nature puts on its most dazzling displays, with pink and white flowers blooming on trees across the UK, with (hopefully) a background of blue skies and sunshine.
And in 2023, the National Trust is shining a spotlight on Manchester, where green spaces are more plentiful than you might think.
The charity has created a 30-stop Bloomtown trail all around the city centre and beyond where you can soak in the prettiest of springtime scenes.
From the famous purple blooms in St Peter’s Square to the showers of blossom in Alexandra Park to the clouds of pink in Sackville Gardens.
Some of the city’s newest spots are included on the trail too, including, notably, the Castlefield Viaduct.
Blossom on Castlefield Viaduct, Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
This abandoned old industrial beast has just recently been turned into a new urban skypark by the National Trust, drawing comparisons to New York City’s High Line.
The Castlefield Viaduct is now home to 63 small-but-might Fuji Cherry trees, which are already bursting in bloom.
Also new to the city is Mayfield Park, the huge project which saw the River Medlock uncovered and a new green space created. The site is home to a huge variety of flowering trees and is about to celebrate its first spring since opening to the public.
Blossom will also return to Sadler’s Yard for the first time in centuries, as Plant NOMA and the National Trust create a pop-up display as an homage to the orchard believed to once be here.
Other highlights to seek out will be Angel Meadow (formerly a mass grave), Cutting Room Square (with great bars around it too), and Manchester Cathedral (with 250,000 bees living on its roof).
The National Trust says that blossom is at its best in Manchester in April (but ‘no one tells nature what to do’) so now is the perfect time to start planning your adventure.
You’ll be looking out for cherry blossom, apple and crab apple blossom, hawthorn blossom, Rowan blossom, magnolia, and foxgloves.
The National Trust ‘Bloomtown’ blossom trail around Manchester
Alexandra Park
Angel Meadow
Ardwick Green
Birchfields Park
Birley Community Orchard
Bridgewater Community Garden
Castlefield Viaduct
Cutting Room Square
Gartside Gardens
Hullard Park
Hulme Park
Manchester Cathedral
Mayfield Park
Ordsall Hall
Parsonage Gardens
Peel Park
Philips Park
Platt Fields Park
Queen’s Park
Rochdale Canal Lock 87
Rochdale Canal Lock 89
Sackville Gardens
Sadler’s Yard
St George’s Park
St John’s Gardens
St Peter’s Square
Tariff Street
Thomas Street Pocket Park
University of Manchester Students’ Union
Whitworth Street West
Featured image: The Manc Group
Travel & Tourism
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way to close for resurfacing
Emily Sergeant
Mancunian Way is set to close for resurfacing works next month.
As Manchester City Council looks to ‘improve’ what is, by far, one of Manchester’s busiest and most-used roads, given the fact it is the main thoroughfare in and out of the city centre, it has been confirmed that Mancunian Way is due to undergo crucial resurfacing works.
With an estimated 15 million journeys taken along this road annually, the Council says it’s vital that necessary maintenance is carried out to keep traffic flowing.
As a result, plans are now in place to resurface Mancunian Way overnight during a four-week period, beginning from next Monday (3 March)
The resurfacing work will be split into two sections, starting with the eastbound carriageway from River Street to Fairfield Street, before moving on to the westbound lane from Fairfield Street to Upper Brook Street.
Work along the eastbound section – in the direction of Ashton Old Road – will run between Monday 3 March to Friday 14 March, with the operating hours being between 7pm and 5am, during which the carriageway will be fully closed, while the westbound carriage in the direction of Regent Road will take place overnight between Monday 17 March until Friday 28 March, with closures at the same time.
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way will be close for resurfacing next month / Credit: Pixabay
Due to events taking place during this period of works, slightly later road closures will be in place from 7:30pm on the 7, 10 and 14 of March during the eastbound section, and on 19 March during the westbound secion.
No work will take place Europa League fixture dates, or on Saturday or Sunday nights either.
“These works are taking place overnight to mitigate any potential disruption,” explained Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“But as always, we would encourage people to plan their journeys ahead of time and allow more time to travel if they need to go via the Mancunian Way.”
Signed diversions will be in place during the course of the works, and details of this can be found on the Council’s dedicated webpage here.
Featured Image – Geograph
Travel & Tourism
Life-saving defibrillators to be installed on dozens of trains travelling through Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Life-saving defibrillators are set to be installed on dozens of trains travelling through Greater Manchester.
Rail operator TransPennine Express (TPE) has started work to install the units on all 51 of its Class 185 trains over the next two months, and can be used by both staff and passengers if someone goes into cardiac arrest.
The defibrillators will be fitted by technology company Siemens Mobility, and will be located in an emergency equipment cupboard in the middle of the train.
Every defibrillator being installed on the trains has step-by-step, spoken word instructions built in to them, which explain how to use on someone in an emergency, so passengers and staff need not panic if they’re unsure what to do.
Computers inside the defibrillators will work to analyse a person’s heart rhythms to find out if an electric shock is needed, and if required, electrodes then automatically deliver the shock.
⚡Work has started to fit defibrillators across more than 50 TransPennine Express trains
🚆 The life-saving units will be installed on all 51 of our Class 185 trains by the end of March
The defibrillators – which are already installed on TPE’s Nova 1 trains – have been purchased from the British Heart Foundation charity, which is the biggest independent funder of heart and circulatory research in the UK.
The news that the defibrillators are being installed on trains travelling through Greater Manchester and across the UK come after it was announced back in 2023 that the machines were being installed at more than 100 Northern stations to help save people in cardiac arrest.
Speaking on the installing of the defibrillators on trains, Bushra Khan, who is the Head of Engineering at TransPennine Express, said: “Our defibrillators are a huge benefit to both our customers and the communities we serve.
“This rollout will ensure that people travelling on our services will feel safe and confident that defibrillators are available to help in the event of an emergency, potentially saving lives.”
Daisy Jackson -
6th April 2023 
