Winter Clay Workshops

Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor

Book now

Winter Clay Workshops

Platt Fields Park, Manchester
28 November-19 December 2021

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

Manchester Urban Diggers
Book now

Manchester Urban Diggers (MUD) have been finding solutions to problems within local food systems since 2019. Their projects are fuelled by volunteers and often see accessible food being grown for the communities in which it’s growing. Based in the horticultural haven of Platt Fields Market Garden they are opening up The Frog House (the garden’s indoor space) for a number of winter clay workshops.

hand building can be a slow and satisfying process

Over the course of two weeks, you’ll have the chance to learn the techniques involved with hand building a clay pot, before returning to decorate your finished design. Your pot will then be glazed, fired and ready for you to collect from the Market Garden 3 weeks after your last session. Hand building can be a slow and satisfying process of pot building. It gives you a chance to slow down and appreciate the calmness of winter, which is often easy to forget as we approach the Christmas buzz.

be well supplied with hot drinks and biscuits throughout the two sessions

MUD do recommend dressing up warm, as The Frog House only has one heater and the unpredictable cold of winter could make for a chilly session. You’ll be well supplied with hot drinks and biscuits throughout the two sessions, making the workshop a great space to meet some new people, learn a new skill and have fun.

If winter clay workshops aren’t your thing but you are interested in finding out more about the social enterprise’s work, head to their website where you’ll find details of the community gardens, growing projects, courses and volunteer opportunities to get involved with. You can also order veg boxes filled with produce grown from the market garden as well as other local gardens. Alongside the seasonal produce you can order mushrooms from Myco the Manchester Mushroom Coop and fresh bread from Albert Street Bakery. All of this is also just £10 per box!

Where to go near Winter Clay Workshops

Manchester
Gallery
Gallery of Costume

Re-opened in 2010 after a £1.3m renovation, the Gallery of Costume in Manchester’s Rusholme houses one of the most important costume collections in Britain

Manchester
Restaurant
Al Madina

One of the most highly-rated places to eat on Curry Mile, this modest takeaway has fans all over the UK thanks to its exceptional food.

toastrack publication manchester
Manchester
Tourist Attraction
Toast Rack (building)

The iconic MMU Hollings Campus, or the Toast Rack as it is more affectionately known. Nikolaus Pevsner described it as “a perfect piece of pop architecture” when it opened as a Domestic and Trades College in 1960.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Fallow Cafe

Cafe, bar, and live music venue in Fallowfield. Also hosts regular film nights and literature events.

Chancellors Hotel is a Grade II listed Victorian mansion located in South Manchester surrounded by five acres of beautiful landscaped gardens, in a relaxed, scenic and picturesque setting.
Manchester
Hotel
Chancellors Hotel

Chancellors Hotel is a Grade II listed Victorian mansion located in South Manchester surrounded by five acres of beautiful landscaped gardens, in a relaxed, scenic and picturesque setting.

Manchester
Restaurant
MyLahore

Modern cafe and restaurant on Manchester’s Curry Mile. encouraging

What's on: Activity

Image courtesy of SCENE Festival.
ActivityCity Centre
SCENE: The Traitors at Aviva Studios

Calling all faithfuls. Celebrate the murderous TV phenomenon The Traitors as SCENE Festival sits down with some of the show’s most memorable players. Yes, that includes Linda.

From £12.00
Southern Cemetary Chorlton by Tom Jeffs
Until
TourChorlton
Southern Cemetery Tour

Within Chorlton’s Southern Cemetery lie fascinating stories, beautiful architectural details, and the inspiration behind one of The Smith’s best songs.

From £20.00
Encounter Festival 2026
FestivalsLancashire
Encounter Festival in Preston

Preston comes alive with outdoor theatre, live music, dance and family-friendly creativity in one of the North West’s most joyful festivals.

Free entry
Until
TourCity Centre
The Oxford Road Tour

Jonathan Schofield’s new walking tour exploring the treasures and famous landmarks of Manchester’s Oxford road.

From £20.00

Culture Guides

Food and Drink in the North

Squeeze the most out of these final weeks of summer thanks to our mid-August guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.

Exhibitions

Summer isn’t usually a high point in the exhibitions calendar, but Greater Manchester’s small galleries seem to have made a pact to change that this year.

Matt Spratt.
Music

Aphex Twin-endorsed electronica, an eight-hour organ marathon and the most exciting band in Ireland's current folk revival all feature this month.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre

From intimate dramas to spectacular outdoor festivals, discover the North West performances worth adding to your diary.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.