Mark Bibby Jackson takes the train from London Euston for a Manchester city break and sample the city’s festive offerings including its Christmas Markets.
It’s been a long time since I have travelled by train any distance in the UK, and I had forgotten how enjoyable an experience it can be. The ride from Euston to Manchester took just over the two hours and at least on an off-peak midweek journey I was able to spread out over four seats, and intersperse catching up with work with gazing out of the window at the snow freshly laid around the Midlands.
I would recommend booking a quiet carriage. Mine was so still I felt guilty when I received a phone call which I promptly rejected. One of my fellow travellers was not so lucky, spending the whole journey next to a man and his mobile phone conversation.
Manchester is renowned for its weather but not in a positive light. However, the sun was out as we arrived at Manchester Piccadilly and all seemed set fair with the world.
Manchester City Break at Hyatt House Manchester
We had come to Manchester to experience the Christmas Markets and the city’s festive attractions, but first checked into the Hyatt House in the student part of town. I had stayed here on my previous visit a couple of years previously, where I had discovered some of the great pubs of Manchester.
Hyatt House is attached to the Hyatt Regency; it shares the same lobby area. This means you can choose between a hotel and an apartment experience. My apartment had a separate kitchen-cum-living space area from my bedroom, ideal for longer stays than the one night we had in Manchester.
I have stayed in quite a few aparthotels in the last few years but none of these has a view to compare with the Hyatt House. It is remarkable to see how the city has developed over the years. Looking out of my window I could imagine I was in Manhattan and not Manchester.
We had a wonderful lunch in Caravan Manchester, a restaurant in the popular Spinningfields part of the city, which has sustainability very much at its heart with locally-sourced materials, and a great Mediterranean menu. The braised cabbage was incredible, as were the cod dumplings, and the flatbreads great with the houmous.
Manchester Christmas Markets
The main purpose for our visit was to sample the Manchester Christmas markets. There are several of them spread around the city centre, including Piccadilly Gardens, Exchange Square and Cathedral Gardens, close to Dean Street, the traditional heart of the city.
The first we visited was on King Street, where Oasis was being played – not exactly festive but certainly Mancunian. From there we passed to St Anne’s Square and on to Exchange Square. Some of our group popped into Harvey Nichols for some shopping, while I contented myself with some Christmas Market window shopping.
Manchester justifiably has a reputation for having one of the best and largest Christmas markets in the UK. There are some 300 stalls with a great diversity of offerings. Gone have the days when the only food on offer was a bratwurst, and I was impressed by the vegetarian options on offer. There was also a wide variety of takes on the mulled wine theme, including non-alcohol versions, allowing everyone to get into the festive spirit. We settled for a glass of gluhwein in one of the shacks on St Anne’s Square, taking home the mug which reminded me of South Park.
By now the Manchester weather had returned to type. A gentle rain-snow combo started to fall, so we headed back to our hotel to refresh for the evening.
Gin Tasting and Dining at the Hyatt Regency
The Hyatt had laid on a special treat for us before dinner – a pop up gin tasting provided by Crazy Gin. Bruce and Paramjit Nagra had given up their day jobs to launch the brand, which combines British and Indian cultures. The couple were inspired by their families’ fusion of Indian and British food during their childhood, and so decided to do the same with gin.
It provides an excellent alternatively in the already crowded gin scene. Indian spices, such as turmeric, cumin and coriander have replaced botanicals, with varieties such as lassi and Punjabi chai. The cocktails were excellent, especially when mixed with ginger ale. We were also given a taste testing of the ingredients used in the gins, which proved my totally inadequacy in detecting the difference between yoghurt, turmeric and tea
We dined at the hotel, enjoying an Indian meal which followed naturally from the gin tasting. Bruce and Paramjit joined us for the meal so we were able to learn more about this enterprising couple’s great adventure, as well as how Bruce was nicknamed after Liverpool legend Bruce Grobbelaar – perhaps something you whisper in these parts.
We were fortunate to coincide our visit for their monthly curry night, where the dishes are specially selected by staff at the hotel. A Thai massamam accompanied Malay beef rendang, Keralan dal and an Indian paneer dish, as well as the ubiquitous British chicken tika masala. It was filling and set us up for our trip into Manchester on a cold November night.
A Night under the Lights in Manchester
After dinner we went to Mayfield Park for the Twilight Trail. Manchester does not really have a park in its city centre so this piece of reclaimed land from the old railway sidings has become most popular with locals.
The Twilight Trail is an interesting immersive light experience with installations mixed with a surprisingly good soul soundtrack – perhaps it weas inspired by Curtis Mayfield. I can see why it has become a main attraction in Manchester, and is extremely busy at weekends.
The trail is next to Escape to Freight Island, which provides another great example of what you can do with former industrial spaces. My previous visit here was in the summer, when we sat in the tent area, but this time we retreated into the large hall area for a couple of festive nightcaps before heading back to the hotel.
From my 17th floor perch, I could see the spectacular lights of Manchester-Manchester. It was amazing.
Manchester Museum and Whitchurch Gallery
The Hyatt is located in the university district of Manchester. After breakfast we took the short walk to the Manchester Museum. Built in 1888 and designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse, the building is a wonderful example of Victorian neo-gothic.
We were lucky enough to be shown around the museum by Connor, who informed us the museum is taking a very positive attitude towards repatriation of its exhibits, including actively seeking out the original cultural owners. In 2024, some 174 pieces were returned to Australia, although considering the museum contains 4.5 million items in total – most of which are in storage – there is no danger of them running out any time soon.
According to Conor, the museum is famed for its dinosaurs, including Stan, the T-Rex, which is a replica of the original dinosaur remains, although in the same room there is a Tenontosaurus, which includes bones that are 110 million years old. The museum also has a large collection of Egyptian mummies, as well as a vivarium which has a large collection of reptiles including the only Harlequin frogs found outside of Panama.
We had just enough time to pop into the Whitworth Art Gallery a few minutes from the Manchester Museum, where an exhibition by Barbara Walker, entitled Being Here was on display. In this Walker has whitewashed out white images in classic paintings so that the previously ignored black images in them can become centrepiece. It is a most thought provoking exhibition.
The gallery is set in the most beautiful park of the same name. The museum café allows you to sit in a glass box surrounded by nature. It must be quite brilliant in summer.
My brief Manchester city break over, we retraced our steps to Manchester Piccadilly to take the train back to London, barely 24 hours since our ride up.
As we ploughed our way through Crewe and further south, the snow still lingered on the hills providing a most festive feel. Short and sweet our trip may have been but it renewed my faith in UK train travel and persuaded me that Manchester is indeed a great place for a short Christmas break in the UK.
Things To Do on a Manchester City Break
For more ideas on what to do on a Manchester city break click here.
The Twilight Trails runs until 31 December 2024.
Manchester Christmas markets will run until 22 December. More details are here.
Being There by Barbara Walker at the Whitworth Art Gallery runs until 26 January 2025.
Where to Stay in Manchester
Hyatt House Manchester
Room rates start from £120 per night for Hyatt Regency Manchester, and from £130 for Hyatt House Manchester. If you join World of Hyatt loyalty program (free), you can benefit from significant discounts.
Taking the Train to Manchester
The ride from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly with Avanti takes just over two hours if you select the fast train.
All photos by Mark Bibby Jackson.