A New Year’s Day Tour

Demi Sheridan, Editorial Assistant

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A New Year's Day Tour

1 January 2026
Date
Time
Session Features
01 Jan 2026
10:00 am-11:30 am

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Jonathan Schofield Walking Tours
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Start the new year with a fresh look at Manchester. This New Year’s Day walking tour with local expert tour guide Jonathan Schofield is the perfect way to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. You will wander through Manchester city centre and explore the history and stories that have shaped it. 

Setting off from the Arch in Chinatown, the tour threads through the streets that reveal Manchester at different moments in its life. Manchester is well known for its beginnings, for its periods of rapid industrial growth, resilience and ambition. You will reflect on where the city has been and flow between eras while keeping an eye on what the future might hold.

There is no one story, one building, or one moment in history that defines this city for all that it is. That is why this tour presents an overview of significant features from the past, present and future. See how they overlap in the everyday streets of the city centre. 

Towering building, high rise apartments and area renovations that launched us forward into the modern day

The past may be the beautiful architectural landmarks filled with history and anecdotes that created Manchester’s rich personality. The present being the towering building, high rise apartments and area renovations that launched us forward into the modern day. 

And the future being the most exciting question of all, will Manchester stay a mix of old and new? Will the rich heritage remain in years to come or be devoured by the inevitable passing of time and modern day architecture? 

It starts with a simple walk on New Year’s Day.

Where to go near A New Year’s Day Tour

Proloco
Manchester
Restaurant
Proloco

Honest Crust’s Richard Carver and Rainy Heart’s Dan Hope join forces at Proloco, a music-led Ancoats restaurant serving 18-inch pizzas and seasonal plates.

City Centre
Restaurant
GiGi Gusto Griglia

GiGi is a lavish Italian restaurant just off Deansgate, with 1950s décor and a menu that sticks to the classics.

Blackburn
Restaurant
Northcote

Northcote’s Michelin-starred restaurant is the jewel in the crown of the Ribble Valley. We get a first look at the new autumnal menu.

Cumbria
Restaurant
Pentonbridge Inn

Pentonbridge Inn is a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms in north Cumbria. Eight courses of bunkum-free fine dining from head chef Chris Archer.

Manchester
Restaurant
Dahlia Stereo

Dahlia Stereo is a Latin American-inspired open-fire kitchen and bar off the Northern Quarter’s Stevenson Square, with a pitch perfect soundsystem.

Balance Taproom
Manchester
Restaurant
Balance Taproom

Manchester has a glut of taprooms, and Balance Brewing’s is far and away the best. Drinks, decor, service – all a cut above.

Richard Hards ‘Strangeways’
Manchester
Gallery
Moon Grove

A Georgian front room in Rusholme houses Moon Grove, an independent gallery with an unusually ambitious international programme.

In Focus: Chinese Contemporary Art.
Manchester
Gallery
New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery

New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery opened in 2016, providing a permanent space to showcase the University of Salford Art Collection within the New Adelphi School of Arts and Media.

Cumbria
Restaurant
1863 Restaurant

1863 offers a seven-course Lake District tasting menu that overdelivers at every turn. Cumbrian ingredients, clever ideas and classical cooking techniques.

City Centre
Bar or Pub
Schofield’s Bar

Schofield’s could be Manchester’s most grown-up bar. Very precise drinks in an upmarket city centre venue. It’s not cheap, hey, but true class costs.

Manchester
Restaurant
Sampa

Sampa’s underground space is the perfect place to learn about both her new mind-expanding dishes and vintage sherries, reimagined for the late 2020s.

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Secrets of Knutsford

From wild buildings to wilder characters, explore hidden histories and architectural oddities in the Cheshire town of Knutsford.

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