Secret Manchester

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This month, you’ll be able to hear the music of Ed Sheeran in a new way: performed by a string quartet at a Candlelight concert. On November 24, Manchester Cathedral will be transformed into an even more intimate venue, illuminated by hundreds of glowing candles, surrounding the live performers. You can expect to hear hits from the early days, like The A Team, all the way through to more recent songs, like Bad Habits. 7. Head out on an after-dark illuminated trail at Dunham Massey Credit: Dunham Massey Mean-Eyed Cat has given the classic Old Fashioned a spooky makeover, featuring pumpkin spiced syrup, orange zest and pumpkin chocolate. Downstairs in a hidden Caribbean paradise, Tiki Hideaway is serving up a twist on the traditional Pina Colada, with winter spices and pumpkin purée to get you into the Halloween spirit. 28. Celebrate Halloween with your pooch at this spooky pawty at Freight Island Credit: Supplied A boomtown in the 19th Century, Bolton had 216 cotton mills in operation at its peak, with 26 bleaching and dyeing works, making it one of the largest and most productive centres of cotton spinning in the world. That industrial history is still visible and celebrated in the town today, with many mills being repurposed into housing, offices and other new businesses. The town’s history also lends inspiration to many TV and film productions that have been filmed here recently, making use of the cobbled streets and historical buildings. Situated in a former bank building in Didsbury, Hispi provides intimate dining, with each dish as beautifully presented as the next. The restaurant serves posh bistro dishes that are full of flavour, even offering up a sirloin of beef Sunday roast sharer. Think crispy pig’s head croquettes, pan-fried fish, and stuffed pork belly. there are a considerable amount of Sunday lunch choices, which can also be followed by an unreal crumble for the ultimate comfort food experience. Hispi, 1C School Ln, Didsbury, M20 6RD. 14. Colleen’s Credit: Colleen’s

Stunning beer garden hidden among reservoirs, ruins and woodland just outside of Greater Manchester

8. Sexy Fish

Originating in Altrincham, popular pasta kitchen SUD, formerly Sugo Pasta Kitchen, serves a simple menu with some of the best, modern Italian dishes in the city. Their Strascinate is a real highlight, stuffed with incredibly tasty toppings such as Tuscan sausage, beef shin and nduja. The restaurant has a real Italian family feel, with huge portion sizes and heavy hands when it comes to the toppings, while tables are commonly shared with parties as well as your own. SUD, 46 Blossom St, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6BF | 22 Shaw’s Road, Altrincham, WA14 1QU | 7-8 Stanley Square, Sale, M33 7XZ. 10. Double Zero Credit: Double Zero While this one is also quite well known, it’s not located in the most obvious place and a lot of people miss it. Manchester’s largest virtual reality arcade, DNA VR, is giving guests the chance to live out their horror movie dreams (and nightmares!) with an array of horrifying and gruesome immersive virtual reality experiences. Visitors will find a wide-range of hair-raising virtual horror simulations to complete, such as navigating their way out of the Hospital Of Horror escape room, evading the supernatural in Manor Of Escape, or fighting off hordes of the undead in Arizona Sunshine, there is something for every horror-lover at DNA VR. 14. Watch an entertaining performance of 2.22 A Ghost Story at The Lowry Credit: The Lowry

When you wander around Ancoats with your coffee, your Pollen bread and your French bulldog you ironically named Gustave, you might notice some brass eyepieces set into the walls on the outside of buildings. These peepholes allow you to look into spaces that have long since been forgotten. Thing is, there isn’t really any explanation for them. Nobody knows what they really are, how many there are or why they are there. You just have to sort of stumble upon them like Alice stumbled on the rabbit hole. The peeps do have something to say about the Industrial history of the area- but what that thing is, we really do not know. Newsham Park Hospital in Liverpool could easily be mistaken for an old hotel left to ruin – its windows boarded up, perimeters overgrown. This Halloween, the haunted building less than an hour’s drive from Manchester will host a spooktacular in the form of Newsham Scream Park, a series of blood-curdling spooky attractions to get you in the gruesome spirit. Each experience will wind through the dark bowels of the building, filled with deepening dread and moments of sheer blood-curdling panic, as guests follow each nightmarish path through Newsham Scream Park. 6. Watch a creepy cabaret performance at the King’s Arms Credit: SuppliedVimto was made with a combination of herbal products and fruit but still to this day, the recipe is secret.