This year there are new spots in Salford and Trafford as well as trails on the digital map that will lead blossom seekers around several of the places. Paper maps, printed on recycled paper and designed by illustrator Bek Cruddace, are available from local parks, Central Library, NOMA, Castlefield Viaduct and other cultural centres across the city.
Ordsall Hall will be taking part with The Festival of Blossom with our celebration on Sunday April 14th with an array of activities:
All of the above activities are free of charge with no booking required. Simply drop by, enjoy our new blooms and join in on the fun!
Through a collaboration with TfGM (Transport for Greater Manchester), links to the Bloomtown map will also appear on posters at tram stops throughout the Metrolink network. For two weeks, from Monday 8 April, the St Peter’s Square stop will become a blossom hotspot right next to the Paulownias trees (Paulownia tormentosa is the full botanical name) whose distinctive flowers have become much loved by Manchester’s residents and there will be a blossom tram roaming the network.
Kate Picker, Visitor Operations and Experience Manager at Castlefield Viaduct, said:
“Blossom is such a sign that spring has returned to Greater Manchester and we’re delighted to bring back the Bloomtown blossom map for its second year. It’s even bigger and better than 2023 with more hotspots stretching out of the city and into Salford and Trafford. There are also trails included in the digital version so people can find even more local blossom in their local area and get closer to nature, whether it’s walking to work or a full family day out. Part of the National Trust’s mission is to encourage the public to notice the nature around them including in urban areas and this map is a great way to find it right here on their doorstep.”
View the Blossom and Bloomtown in Greater Manchester map →
The National Trust’s national campaign celebrating blossom includes working with Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, and his band LYR with a new book of blossom-inspired poetry and EP called Blossomise. There’s also a series of concerts and Simon Armitage poetry readings around the country. One of the poetry readings will take place at Castlefield Viaduct on Friday 26 April with an audience exclusively made up of community groups from across Greater Manchester. Simon will be joined on stage by performers from the Young Identity writing collective, which primarily works with 13-25 year olds.
Taking inspiration from the poetry Simon Armitage has written for Blossomise, NOMA have developed a website that helps people compose haikus. Originally developed in Japan, also famous for its springtime celebrations of blossom, a haiku is a poem made up of three lines with five syllables in the first, seven in the second and five again in the third and they are traditionally written about nature. With NOMA’s website, the public can submit their poem for the chance for it to be displayed on a large board in Sadler’s Yard for a day. There will be a new haiku on display everyday throughout April, with the previous ones printed on posters and put in the windows of New Century House. The haikus will also feature on social media from both NOMA and Castlefield Viaduct.
Kelda Savage, Experiences & Visitor Programme Manager at Castlefield Viaduct said:
“We’re delighted to be working with NOMA on the Bloomtown blossom festival for the second year in a row. Part of the National Trust’s celebration of blossom this year is a collaboration with poet laureate Simon Armitage who has written several haikus in praise of blossom and nature. We really wanted to give the public the chance to write their own so it was fantastic that NOMA developed a project to do just that. We can’t wait to see what the public come up with, see them on display in Saddler’s Yard, and share them on our social media channels.”
Dominique Murray, Head of Customer Experience & Marketing Manager at MEPC, said:
“It’s great to celebrate a second year of the beauty of blossom with the National Trust here in the NOMA district. This year, as well as NOMA taking part in the blossom trail, we’re encouraging submissions for haiku poetry from people who feel inspired by springtime and nature. We’ll be sharing a new haiku every day during April.”
Visit the Bloomtown haiku website.
The celebrations will continue with more public special events during April.
On Saturday 13 April local choirs from across Greater Manchester will be performing at Blossom hotspots. People will be invited to watch the performances, get closer to nature and take part in activities such as making origami flowers. Performances will include Sacred Harp at Manchester Art Gallery, Sale Youth Choir at Waterside Arts and WI Socialites at The Whitworth – a full list will be on the Castlefield Viaduct Blossom and Bloomtown page.
There will be a Blossoms and Books guided walk and talk on Friday 19 April with one of the viaduct volunteers and local history expert, Anne Beswick. The tour will take in city centre blossom hotspots from the Bloomtown map and visit Central Library and Portico Library to explore their collections of botanical prints and nature related books. Tickets are £5 and will be available on the Castlefield Viaduct website soon.
Another event as part of the local Blossom/Bloomtown festival will be a performance by Bionic and the Wires. Bionic and the Wires are a Manchester-based collective that creates electronic music with plants. Their compositions combine botanical rhythms with atmospheric textures and soundscapes created by synthesizers. The music explores the interplay between plants and music and encourages new ways of thinking about the natural world. They will play their unique form of live music at Castlefield Viaduct on 20 April. Tickets cost £10 and are available from the Castlefield Viaduct website here.
Annie Reilly, Head of the National Trust’s Blossom Programme, said:
“Finding new and exciting ways to connect people with the beauty of the seasons has always been at the heart of our Blossom programme. As our hanami-inspired celebration blooms again for a fifth year, we hope it will encourage people to dive head-first into this annual feel-good spectacle using all of their senses, whether that is by reading poetry under the falling petals of a cherry tree, listening to the music in the middle of an orchard, smelling spring’s perfume in the gardens, attending a live performance, or simply taking in the sea of pink and white petals, wherever they are.”
As in previous years, the charity is encouraging people to share snapshots of their blossom discoveries on social media, using the hashtag #BlossomWatch.
The Trust’s Blossom campaign is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, with the Manchester events supported by [could we put in a-z order so] the BUPA Foundation, CJ Wildlife, the Granada Foundation, NOMA and TfGM.
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