When you take a stroll through the Peak District, there are some wildlife encounters you expect.
Hares, deer, mice, bats, and dozens of British birds have all made their homes in the north west national park.
But, at least until fairly recently, it wasn’t uncommon to stumble upon an altogether less expected beast – a wild wallaby.
These hopping little macropods, a smaller relative of the kangaroo, used to be seen bouncing around the Peak District.
Although their native home is on the eastern coast of Australia and Tasmania, a small group of Bennett’s wallabies successfully bred and survived in Staffordshire.
Credit: Nicholson Museum
But how on earth did they end up here, half a planet away from their natural habitat?
In 1936 a local landowner, Henry Brocklehurst, introduced five wallabies as part of his private zoo collection.
The creatures were deliberately released during World War Two, along with three Himalayan yak.
Against the odds, the wallabies thrived.
At the peak of their existence here in the north west, there were around 50 in the colony, though one particularly bleak winter in 1963 is understood to have halved their population (one local recalled seeing ‘several bodies as the snowdrifts melted’).
The Roaches. Credit: Unsplash, Nirmal Rajendharkumar
In the Facebook group Roaches Appreciation Society, Clare said: “I saw one at the Roaches skyline in the early ‘90s. It sat watching us climbing with its head poking out of the bracken. Then it bounded off. Much to the bemusement of my King Charles spaniel.”
By the 2000s, most locals believed there were only two wallabies left – a mother and daughter, both white-faced.
The most recent confirmed sighting was back in 2009, with undeniable footage showing one of the wallabies bounding through the heather near The Roaches.
Sadly, it’s thought that the snowy weather in the winter of 2010 may have finally pushed the colony into extinction.
Extreme snow in 2010 may have ended the wallabies’ roam at The Roaches. Credit: Unsplash, ian kelsall
There have been plenty more submissions of sightings – though none with photos or videos – in the years since, all listed here.
Another sighting was in 2017 near the Wild Boar Inn in Wincle, where one person shared a photo of a ‘creature’ that they were ‘fairly certain’ was a wallaby.
When the Financial Times mentioned that sighting to Dr Anthony Caravaggi, a lecturer in conservation biology at the University of South Wales, he replied: “I have no doubt in my mind that that one was a cat.”
Dr Caravaggi published a paper on red-necked wallabies in the UK, which recorded 95 verified sightings in the 10 years leading up to 2018. He’s pretty certain the Peak District wallaby colony is extinct.
A leading expert in the field, who sadly died in 2013, was Dr Derek Yalden.
He found droppings in 2009, but nothing since.
He wrote in a letter to Roaches.org.uk: “I think they ran out of decent food. However, accidental deaths, on the roads, falling over cliffs and (especially in 1962-63 and 1979) severe winters also took a toll.
“Why should a wallaby venture onto the roads, or jump over a cliff? Probably because a certain section of the public seemed to respond to a sighting with “let’s chase it”, or their dog did.
“They always were very timid, and I watched them panic both to thunder and to the terrifying sight of a sheep arriving.”
There is one place to get a guaranteed wallaby sighting, but don’t expect much in the way of hopping.
The Nicholson Museum in Leek has stuffed Wally, a male who is believed to have died when he fell into the Lud’s Church cavern.
If you did want to head out exploring for your own wallaby sighting, you can head to The Roaches, a stunning gritstone ridge overlooking Leek.
For those who do visit, remember to stick to the footpaths, take litter home, and respect the rules laid out locally.
Review | Snow Patrol roll back the years at Co-op Live for a mini-Manc’s first gig
Danny Jones
This weekend we enjoyed a new kind of live music experience: rediscovering the joy of listening to a childhood favourite by watching it through the eyes of the next generation – that was how we witnessed a fully-fledged arena return to Manchester for Snow Patrol at Co-op Live.
And it was special for lots of reasons.
Taking a little one to their first gig is something you’ll never forget and sharing a new-found connection with a band that you loved when you were their age is one of those magical things about music that we’re eternally grateful for.
You might assume the Snow Patrol crowd one skews a little older for the most part but we were pleased to see there were more than a few kids and teenagers donning tour tees, looking wide-eyed at the sheer size of the Co-op Live arena, and singing the words back better than Gary Lightbody at times.
Sees the sign: ‘Race you there!’ (Credit: Audio North)
Yes, the Belfast-born frontman made a few mistakes on the night, but it did add a rather laid-back quality to what many acts might have found a daunting performance: playing a sell-out night to around 23,500 fans inside the enormous state-of-the-art venue.
But, obviously, there wasn’t even a whiff of nerves from these lads.
You don’t get to have been around for this long and become as successful as they are without being able to relax on stage and lean into those idiosyncratic perfections that feel more like private moments shared between the artist and the crowd.
The young lad sat watching it with us certainly got a kick out of it and though we might not have been able to cover his ears in time to censor some light but ever-charming swear words (it always sounds better in Irish, don’t you think?), it made for some nice banter between him and the crowd.
Big props must go to Johnny McDaid on the keys too, who besides having written for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Biffy Clyro and countless others over the years, also managed to impress by playing the majority of this entire tour after having trapped his hand in a train door. OUCH.
Credit: The Manc Group
Not only was that little interlude up there with one of the most applause-worthy parts of the entire show, but we were always pretty blown away by what we saw, as we all as what we heard.
Be it watching a digital tree come to life, shed its leaves and then fall as petal confetti, two sheer semi-opaque paper-thin screens swirl to create the album cover art for their latest album, or kicking the gig off with ‘Take Back The City’ as a multicoloured skyline appeared behind them, it was all pretty incredible.
We even got to hear a personal favourite of ours, ‘Set Fire To The Third Bar’, complete with a virtual performance from the voice that truly makes the song: Martha Wainwright.
It was in moments like this when we turned to see a 10-year-old’s face not quite sure of what it was seeing but an open-mouthed expression confirming they were finding it as stunning as we were.
We thoroughly enjoyed going through the back catalogue and working our way right up to plenty of the songs from The Forest Is The Path – which Gary himself firmly believes is their best work yet when we interviewed him – but it was as visually stunning as it was to the gorgeous sonically.
Both proved to be a brilliant way to see the contemporary rock, indie and alternative veterans, but there’s something about giving them a stage as big as this that reminds you of just how much they deserve it.
Up there with one of the prettiest gig snapshots in our memory.Not quite a hologram but very cool nonetheless.The production levels are always top-tier at Co-op Live but the Snow Patrol set was much more impressive than we expected.
Last but not least, thanks to Co-op Live not just for having but for creating a little boy’s memory that he’ll never forget.
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Daisy Jackson -
28th January 2022 
