You don't have to go far to experience nature this spring, there are plenty of blossoming trees and flower filled parks to discover on your doorstep in Greater Manchester – and lots of ways for you and your friends of family to get outside to enjoy the better weather. From learning at the RHS Urban show to walking through the Blossom Trail, there are plenty of places and events to see the season bloom this year. 

1. Blossom and Bloom Trail

All over Greater Manchester, there are blossoms decorating the green space. With so much to discover, it’s handy that there is a digital bloomtown map. Making it easier to find a walking path near you that will take you on an adventure through several floral hotspots. Simply click a route to discover a host of nature around the city from pocket parks to canal side walks. Each hotspot has a plaque telling you a little about the place you're standing and the nature around you. There's also a QR code linking to directly to the digital map so you can find your next spot wherever you are. 

There are also physical copies available all over the city, which you can find in places like Manchester Central Library, NOMA, Platt Fields Visitors Central, Mayfield Park, Waterside Arts as well as local parks across Greater Manchester.  

Find out more here.

2. The Manchester Flower Festival

Friday 24 – Monday 27 May

Celebrate the start of summer at The Manchester Flower Festival. With fabulous floral installations, outdoor dining and entertainment, you’re in for a bloomin’ amazing long weekend in Manchester city centre. Free and open to all, come along and see Manchester in flowers. 

Spot gardens and displays across the city centre, including The Manchester Flower Festival Floral Trail – 10 professionally designed displays, all themed around ‘Manchester Icons’, including Emmeline Pankhurst, Caroline Aherne, Rowetta and a tribute to Stockport’s Sarah Harding, alongside installations celebrating Manchester’s Second Summer of Love rave scene, The Hacienda, and Boddingtons Brewery.

Find out more here.

3. Manchester Festival of Nature

The Manchester Festival of Nature continues to introduce local people to the wild plants and creatures that inhabit the city and its surroundings. Organised by the Manchester Nature Consortium, Heaton Park will be taken over by families from all over the north-west on 30 June to enjoy the brilliant wildlife of Manchester. Activities will include natural dyeing, mindfulness, forest bathing, a giant Jenga, wildlife recording, wind spinners, woodland games, willow weaving, seed bombs, scavenger hunts, den building, sphagnum squeezing and some clever research games from MMU. There will music adding to the great atmosphere and a parade to kick the festival off! 

For more information, visit here. 

4. Manchester's Green Spaces

Parks, pocket parks, old parks, new parks and gardens that were graveyards. Canals, wharfsides, rivers and rivers that become canals. There’s a lot to enjoy with the ‘green’ and ‘blue’ assets (to use the jargon) of central Manchester and Salford.

Explore the green spaces and download the map. 

 

Planning a trip to Manchester? Browse our travel ideas to get some inspiration on what to see and where to visit in the region. Get ideas and inspiration here.