In a tragic final few days a man saw as a trial from God, he sat chronicalling his dying thoughts, as he ran out of water with hos dog by his side and a glittering lake just a few steps away from him.

An experienced hiker embarking on a solo trek across Wyoming left behind an eerie and tragic diary detailing how a freak accident led to his tragic death.

Presbyterian minister Mike Turner had left to go on a religious journey, and hike, in an effort to reconnect with God, along with his beloved black Labrador, Andy.

It was due to Andy that Mike made a last-minute change to his plans. As podcaster Mr Ballen explains: “He and Andy had been up at an elevation of about 13,000 ft, walking on some icy parts of the mountain and Andy’s paws were getting really raw from walking on the jagged ice.

“On the fourth day Mike had noticed Andy was whimpering and struggling to keep up, when normally he was super-energetic.”

Mike decided to take a different route around the mountain rather than over it. This decision ultimately cost Mike his life. Shortly after leaving his planned route, Mike was giving Andy some water when the dog made a break for some nearby trees.

Following him, Mike walked through the patch of woodland only to discover a vast lake surrounded by a mass of boulders.

Andy climbed over the rocks and was happily lapping water from the lake. Mike began navigating his way across the rocky terrain to reach his dog.

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But then catastrophe struck. One of the boulders began shifting as he stood on it, and as the 48-year-old attempted to steady himself, he tumbled between two of the rocks. Before he could escape his predicament, the unstable boulder toppled over entirely, leaving him trapped.

The way he was trapped meant that Mike wasn’t harmed but could not escape. Mr Ballen said: “After two hours of trying in vain to free himself it dawned on Mike that he was not going to be able to free himself. The only way he was getting out of here is if somebody found him and rescued him.”

Mike had some food and water and he chose to keep a diary until help arrived. However, as the days dragged on, his entries gradually transformed from hopeful to a kind of dark humour.

He wrote: “I am concerned about first losing my legs, second running out of snow to melt for water, and fuel, third hypothermia. My biggest concern is water. I have only 2 quarts left. The irony is that the lake is only 30 feet away…I am drinking 1 quart today, saving a quart for tomorrow. I am also saving my urine. I wonder how it will taste with Crystal Light?”.

Temperatures soared to 37ºC during daylight hours, but dropped to nearly freezing overnight. Mike said initially believed God was putting him through this trial as a lesson.

Later, he wrote that God must be punishing him, before ultimately accepting that he was going to die.

Andy never left his master’s side, spending days on end lying on a ledge above him. On 5 August, after four days trapped between the stones, Mike wrote: “I feel so foolish taking this longer pass. So lonely, more than I imagined. Who would have guessed that four days would have gone by and no one has come this way?”.

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Meanwhile, Mike’s wife was growing worried as he hadn’t met her at the end of the trail as planned. She alerted the authorities and a search was launched – but since no-one knew about Mike’s change in route, the searchers were looking in entirely the wrong part of the vast wilderness.

It wasn’t until 28 August, nearly a full month after Mike had embarked on his trek and a week after the search had been called off, that two hikers found a dishevelled-looking black Labrador wandering miles away from the search area. After Andy had been examined by a vet, a new search was launched – this time in the correct area.

But by then Mike had been found. Another solo hiker, Jeff Stewart, was walking near the unnamed lake in the Wyoming wilderness when he spotted a man, seemingly sitting on a rock.

He said: “I had seen the posters at the trailhead and knew they were looking for someone,” he told Backpacker magazine. “So I called out, ‘Hey, are you all right?’ There was no answer. I knew there wouldn’t be.”

A final message, intended for Mike’s wife, states: “Thank you for letting me live this adventure. Know wherever I am and whatever I’m doing, I am thinking of you.”

Mike had died of exposure, hypothermia, and dehydration approximately nine days following his accident. His journal was found near his body, thoughtfully placed in a plastic bag to shield it from the weather.

On a nearby stone, Mike had positioned his wedding ring: “He knew once he died and decomposed the ring would fall off his bones and be lost in the rocks below,” Mr Ballen explains.

“He clearly wanted his family to have that wedding ring, so he placed it on the Rock and then he prepared to die.”

Edna Cintrón’s life was almost predictable – and she couldn’t have asked for more.

Neither she nor her husband, William, was interested in the martinis and Broadway shows synonymous with life in New York City.

Instead, the pair enjoyed casino buffets at Atlantic City, collected porcelain figurines of angels and ate ice cream on the sofa.

William, who was 44 at the time, said: ‘She was also my backbone. She made me strong. She made me who I am today.’

But one day Edna, 46, went to work as an administrative assistant for insurance firm Marsh & McLennan – and never came home.

On September 11, 2001, a United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, tearing through the 93rd and 99th floors.

The impact destroyed all escape routes, and worried loved ones and emergency workers alike assumed the worst.

But as people watched in disbelief as office supplies, twisted metal and concrete fell from the skies, they realised that some people had survived.

New Yorkers 400 miles below photographed and filmed a woman, believed to be Edna, standing at the edge of the flaming hole left by the jet and waving through it.

The Marsh & McLennan’s offices were on the 93rd floor, and Edna gestured for help for about 20 minutes, near another man doing the same.

She quickly became known as the ‘waving woman’

At 10.28am, the impact site collapsed, and Edna became one of the nearly 3,000 people who died that day.

In the wake of the disaster, William wandered around Manhattan carrying a photograph of his wife, asking panicked office workers and emergency responders if they’d seen her.

He tried St Vincent’s, a nearby hospital, but staff had no record of her. At the disaster site, he was turned away.

William told The Independent at the time: ‘They said we’d interfere. We can’t just be in the way.’

By September 12, he was at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue asking how to file a missing person’s report.

Edna’s body was never recovered, although William ‘tentatively identified’ her as the woman waving in video footage, according to a memorial page.

Her gold engagement ring, however, was found in the rubble and donated to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

Who was Edna Cintrón?

Edna was born in Puerto Rico on October 14, 1954, and her family moved to Delancey Street in Lower Manhattan when she was five.

They weren’t the richest – Edna’s mum gave her a few cents a week as pocket money. She didn’t graduate high school.

‘She experienced a lot of stuff,’ William said. 

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Edna met her future husband in 1987. She was chatting with her friend at her home in Upper Manhattan when William walked into the kitchen.

He recalled: ‘I was charming at that time; I wore cashmere.’

The couple managed a flower shop in Harlem that they jointly owned, Sweet William’s Florist, while living in East Elmhurst, Queens.

For a spell, they were briefly homeless, and Edna supported William as he recovered from alcoholism, her obituary states. He stayed sober thanks to her support.

William said: ‘Fourteen years with her, that was my life, my world. I knew when I went home I was in the best of hands, loved, cared for.’

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9/11: 25 years later

It has been 25 years since the horrific 9/11 attacks that brought down the Twin Towers in New York City, claiming the lives of thousands.

Follow Metro’s coverage of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 as we look back on the tragic attack, those who died, survived, and those who helped:

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Willian remembered his wife not as the ‘waving woman’, but as a ‘strong’ person who always had dinner on the table when he came home.

He died on September 24, 2021, after moving to Kissimmee, Osceola County, Florida. He was 64.

Marsh & McLennan told Metro that it hosted a public, digital memorial that honours the 358 workers and friends who died in 9/11.

One friend wrote on a tribute page to Edna: ‘I will never forget when I first saw Edna. An amazing woman who should never be forgotten or ignored.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: Full list of all the victims who died on 9/11

MORE: 9/11 didn’t end in 2001 – ‘forgotten’ victims are still suffering and dying daily

MORE: Harry Styles sparks backlash over NYC concert ticket’s unfortunate 9/11 blunder

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The Food Standards Agency has issued a ‘do not eat’ alert

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Waitrose has recalled packs of black olives after it found they contained traces of listeria. The food chain found listeria monocytogenes in 120g packs of Waitrose Essential Pitted Black Olives with a use by date of September 13 2026, September 18 2026 and September 27 2026.

Customers who bought these packs are urged not to eat them and return them to a Waitrose store where they will be fully refunded.

The Food Standards Agency said symptoms caused by listeria can be similar to flu and include high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea. In rare cases the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications, such as meningitis.

Sainsbury’s previously issued a product recall for packets of pitted black olives over fears they may be contaminated with Listeria.

The recall covered 120g packs of ‘Inspired to Cook by Sainsbury’s Pitted Black Olives’ The recall was for packs with ‘use by’ dates of September 6, 7 and 10 2026.

Sainsbury’s said: “Sainsbury’s are recalling the product due to a possible presence of Listeria Monocytogenes. We are asking customers that have purchased the above product not to consume it and to return the product to their nearest Sainsbury’s store, where they will receive a full refund.”

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that causes a serious foodborne infection known as listeriosis. Unlike many other food-related bacteria, Listeria is exceptionally resilient. It can survive, and even multiply, in cold environments like refrigerators, and it easily resists salt and acidic conditions.

People typically contract it by consuming contaminated food, such as unpasteurised dairy products, soft cheeses, deli meats, hot dogs, and improperly washed raw produce. In healthy individuals, the immune system usually confines the infection to the gut, resulting in mild, temporary digestive upset.

However, Listeria has a dangerous ability to breach internal cellular barriers. If it penetrates the intestinal wall, it enters the bloodstream and can cross the blood-brain barrier. This is the protective shield meant to keep toxins and pathogens out of the central nervous system.

When Listeria crosses this barrier, it targets the meninges, which are the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The resulting infection and intense inflammation of these membranes is called bacterial meningitis.

This progression into listerial meningitis is highly dangerous and primarily affects individuals with weakened immune systems. This vulnerable group includes newborns, elderly adults, and people taking immunosuppressive medications.

Pregnant women are also at an incredibly high risk because Listeria can easily cross the placental barrier, leading to severe complications or neonatal meningitis immediately after birth. Listerial meningitis is treated with high-dose intravenous antibiotics, typically ampicillin, and carries a much higher mortality rate than most other common forms of bacterial meningitis.

Fire officers were called at around 7.30pm on Wednesday, September 9, following reports of a man in the River Croal near Hacken Bridge in Darcy Lever.

Crews from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service attended the area around Smiths Road and Hacken Bridge Road.

However, no person was located during the response.

GMFRS confirmed its services had been called out following the reports, but agencies were quickly stood down after searches failed to locate anyone in the water.

The incident came after residents reported seeing a man enter the river, prompting the emergency response.

No further details about the reported sighting have been released.

The extreme right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has won a decisive victory in a regional election in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, gaining nearly 44% of the vote. However, it fell just short of the outright majority needed to govern alone, so negotiations are underway to determine who will run the state.

One small party, the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), stands as possible kingmaker. Formed in 2024 by high-profile figures who broke away from the radical left-wing Die Linke, the BSW won five seats in Saxony-Anhalt’s parliament. During the election campaigns, BSW founder and eponymy Sahra Wagenknecht signalled an openness to work with the AfD in the state.

She remarked in August that the BSW’s election goal was “to remove the incumbent Christian Democratic Union minister [Sven Schulze]” and “end this firewall idiocy”. Germany’s mainstream political parties have long refused to work or form coalitions with the radical right. This is known as the “firewall”.

On election night itself, the lead candidate for the BSW in Saxony-Anhalt, Claudia Wittig, stopped short of endorsing the AfD’s Ulrich Siegmund as minister president. But she said: “there are, of course, projects that we can very well imagine doing with the AfD”. She made these remarks in a television broadcast while stood beside the AfD’s leader, Alice Weidel.

The BSW and AfD sit on different ends of the traditional left-right political spectrum. But they share more common ground than you might imagine. Both parties are anti-establishment and firmly against immigration, making the argument that immigration numbers need to be reduced.

This is despite Germany already widening deportations as part of a nationwide shift towards stricter migration controls. Germany resumed deportation flights to Afghanistan in 2024, for example, initially focusing only on people with criminal records before widening the policy.

Despite a significant overlap, their anti-immigration stances are not entirely aligned. While the AfD has proposed mass deportations and ending the right to asylum entirely, the BSW is less extreme. It does not propose ending the right to asylum or deporting people solely due to their ethnic background.

Instead, it argues that restricting immigration numbers is important in order to keep the welfare state alive. This is a core principle in the party’s ideology, which experts call “left-conservative”.

Another area of common ground is Russia. Both parties demand a stop to Germany’s weapon deliveries to Ukraine. They argue that military support is prolonging the war there, draining domestic economic resources and escalating the risk that Germany is dragged into direct conflict with Russia.

The AfD and BSW are also closely aligned on proposals to end Russian sanctions, which have been in place since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. They want to resume energy imports from Russia and begin receiving Russian gas again via the Nord Stream pipelines. These proposals are also related to both parties’ scepticism of renewable energy.

Not a straightfoward relationship

There are similarities between the two parties at the state level, too. But these are less clear cut. The AfD has announced that, if it does lead the next government in Saxony-Anhalt, it intends to terminate the public broadcasting arrangements. It claims public broadcasters are government mouthpieces biased towards mainstream parties.

The BSW similarly argues that public broadcasting is part of a “cancel culture” and should inform, rather than try to push an agenda. However, the BSW advocates for reform rather than the outright abolition of public broadcasting.

Other AfD proposals include changes to the school curriculum to end “inclusion” in mainstream education, where children with special needs currently learn alongside other students. Its manifesto in Saxony-Anhalt also included plans to place refugees in separate classes at school rather than teaching students together.

The BSW, on the other hand, advocates greater inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms and calls for funding specialised classroom support. And while the AfD advocates for culture war projects like banning LGBTQ+ flags, the BSW does not explicitly support a ban or mention LGBTQ+ issues in their Saxony-Anhalt manifesto.

The BSW’s national party platform has, however, adopted positions that critics characterise as transphobic.

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Saxony-Anhalt may well become the first German state to be led by a radical right government since the second world war. But the context is important. Saxony-Anhalt is a small state made up of 1.7 million voters, just 2.5% of the German electorate. As such, its political landscape should not be taken as representative of the country as a whole.

The conditions for an absolute AfD majority in Saxony-Anhalt were also favourable. The east German state has a higher unemployment rate than the national average and there is widespread dissatisfaction there with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz. Many voters in the state blame the federal government for feeling left behind and unrepresented.

Yet the AfD did not succeed in securing their electoral goal, an outright majority, leaving it reliant on other parties to form a government. All eyes should thus be on the BSW, its most likely partner – not only in Saxony-Anhalt but also in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, where voters head to the polls later in September.

Neighbours also fear the development could cause parking issues

New homes are set to built at a warehouse site despite sewage fears after a nearby pumping station “flowed for a month”. Plans for two one-bed bungalows and five three-bed homes in Fulbourn were brought to South Cambridgeshire District Council’s planning committee on Wednesday (September 9).

A new office would also replace an old one, offering a greater number of jobs than before. David Chaplin, the applicant, said he’d worked “positively” with council officers to address concerns and “significantly amended” the plans such as by reducing the number of homes from nine.

He added that the local highways authority did not object on parking grounds, even with the narrowing of Rushden Close from 7.2m to 5m. But a written statement on behalf of neighbours asked the number of homes to be further reduced to five, arguing that drivers will “invariably park on the pavement”, blocking the footpath.

David Cottee, secretary of the Fulbourn Forum, said the plans would lead to more parking on adjoining road Home End which has a “blind corner” with Manor Walk. He said: “Any on-road parking outside the proposed offices will force vehicles and cyclists into the middle of the road just before the blind corner. Fulbourn deserves better – a less dense scheme for both housing and offices would enable a more appropriate and better quality development.”

David Smith, chair of Fulbourn Parish Council, said sewage overflow had been a problem before on nearby Stonebridge Lane where the pumping station is. He said: “At the beginning of the year, that road was absolutely covered in raw sewage.

“That backs onto the side of the recreation ground – we had to stop the under 15s playing football there in case the ball went into the raw sewage. It’s a really, really, serious concern because it literally flowed for a month before they got the problem sorted.”

He questioned whether the pumping station would be able to cope with the extra sewage from another seven properties. Council officers clarified that, although Anglian Water objected to the plans, the developer has a legal right to connect to the sewer system. They also said they were unable to add any conditions relating to streets outside the application site.

Cllr Anna Bradnam, chair of the planning committee, said parking was a “major concern” but could be dealt with by a management plan. The Liberal Democrat councillor said: “So the residents are going to have to understand there are sometimes days of the week when the refuse vehicle is coming, and they don’t park on the street otherwise they’ll cause confusion.

“But actually I think this is an improvement on the previous application – it has reduced in size.” The application was granted with nine votes in favour and one against.

Vladimir Putin and Russia have a maximum of two years left to fight, according to Ukraine‘s top spy chief. 

Lieutenant General Oleh Ivashchenko claimed this week that a loss of troops, dwindling morale and a struggling economy may impact Russia’s ability to wage war by 2028.

Western intelligence services suggest Putin’s nation is losing 6,000 more soldiers than it can recruit every month. Figures produced by Ukraine, meanwhile, estimate that Russia has lost more than 1.5million troops – with as many as 450,000 deaths – since 2022. 

Speaking at the Ukrainian military’s intelligence service headquarters in Kyiv, Ivashchenko told The Times: ‘Russia has military and economic resources for the next year, but we estimate it will end in 2028.

‘Russia recruits roughly 1,000 people every day, sometimes 1,200, but look at these casualty figures. Yesterday it was 1,410, the day before it was 1,511. Of those, around 60 per cent are killed in action.’   

Another 18 months of fighting would likely result in a further 765,800 Russian casualties, with 459,480 dead and 306,320 wounded, statistics suggest. 

And such startling figures, according to Ivashchenko, have resulted in a lack of enthusiasm for the war effort across the border in Moscow. 

‘Morale is very low because nobody wants to fight,’ he added. ‘Also the morale of the Russian population is very low: most people do not really want war.’ 

Western intelligence services are reported to suggest that Russia is losing 6,000 more soldiers than it can recruit every month

The spy chief dubbed Putin ‘subnormal’ for waging a war in such conditions. ‘Draw your own conclusions about a person who wants to kill other people to seize their territory,’ he said. 

In a separate interview, Ivashchenko suggested that Russia is considerably weaker economically than it was when the full scale conflict launched four years ago. 

Much of Kyiv’s war-time strategy has centred around long-range drone strikes against refineries, oil depots, factories and tankers. 

Only this week, reports suggested an oil refinery in Rostov-on-Don as well as three Russian air defence assets were struck by Ukrainian forces in an overnight operation. 

It came a matter of days after a fire was recorded at the Ryazan Oil Refinery – one of Russia’s largest oil-processing refineries.

Around 40 per cent of Russia’s oil-refining infrastructure has been disabled, according to the Kyiv Independent, leading to fuel shortages and a ban on exports of diesel and gasoline. 

Ivashchenko told the Ukrainian news agency: ‘The main problems facing the Russian economy are a shortage of labour resources, a growing budget deficit and a deteriorating situation in the banking system. 

‘At the same time, it still has enough resources to wage war against Ukraine. We do not rule out that these resources will last through 2027 to 2028.’ 

The lieutenant’s comments came hours after Ukrainian officials claimed five people were killed and 67 others wounded by a Russian drone which targeted a shopping mall in Pavlohrad, a city in Dnipropetrovsk region.

Shops and vehicles were hit in the attack, which Ukrainian Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said took place ‘when the streets were full of people’.  

Volodymyr Zelensky later echoed that sentiment, accusing Russia of ‘using drones to kill people who were simply standing near shopping centres’. 

Firefighters work at the site of an alleged Russian drone strike on a shopping mall in Pavlohrad, a city in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region

Cars are seen destroyed as smoke billows above the shopping centre on Thursday afternoon

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It comes after two other malls – in the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Sumy – were also reported to have been hit by Russian air strikes earlier this week. 

On Tuesday, Zelensky said: ‘Russia deliberately tried to calculate for maximum damage to life. No strike against Ukraine and against life can be left unpunished. Russia must be stopped.

‘Every day we make the case to our partners for our need for interceptors. Ballistic missiles remain particularly difficult to intercept.’

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha meanwhile described Russia’s decision to target his country’s civilians as a ‘tactic of coercion’. 

He added: ‘Russia believes that relentless attacks on civilians can exhaust Ukrainians and force Ukraine into coercion.’ 

Together, Together is the third concert tour by the English singer-songwriter, supporting his fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.

Dates have already taken place in 2026 in Amsterdam, London, Brazil and Mexico City.

A 30-night residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City is ongoing, before this year’s shows finish in Australia in December.

Harry Styles announces new UK tour dates for 2027

Now, Harry Styles has revealed that he will be returning to the UK for more shows next year.

The tour will take place across America, in cities such as Dallas, LA and Chicago, before coming to Europe, in Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Rome.

Styles has also confirmed dates in Dublin and London in August.

The shows will take place on August 18 and 20 at Croke Park in Dublin and August 25, 27 and 28 at Wembley Stadium.

Baby Rose will support the shows in Dublin, with Tears for Fears supporting at Wembley, which will be the final shows of the tour.

The announcement comes after the former One Direction star sent an email to fans yesterday teasing new 2027 dates.

In the message, he said: “When we decided to do the 2026 tour I knew it would be special but what you turned it into was far beyond what I could have imagined.

“I love playing music, I love being with all of you and being a part of the love and joy you all create together every night.

“That’s why I wanted you to be the first to know we will be adding 2027 dates, which honestly, at first I found daunting.

“Being an artist is the only life I’ve ever known really, I have been doing this since I was 16 years old, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world to still be sharing these moments with you.”

Styles shot to fame as a teenager in One Direction alongside Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson after the group was formed on ITV singing competition The X Factor in 2010.

They went on hiatus in 2016, almost a year after Malik left, and the Worcestershire-born star launched his solo career.

Until this year, he had kept a relatively low profile since the end of his 2023 tour and recently explained this stemmed from the pressures of a life in the spotlight and needing to take a break from music.

“Tomorrow’s announcement will be the final cities of Together, Together,” Styles continued.

The star hinted about his plans for the future, and added: “After that, I don’t know what comes next for me, but I know that I’m excited to find out.

“I can’t wait for us to keep dancing with all our friends, I hope to see you there.

“Thank you for coming out to see us, and for all the love and support you’ve given me over the years.

“All my love – H.”

Recommended reading:

When do Harry Styles tickets go on sale?

Tickets for Harry Styles’ Wembley shows are on Amex Presale on Tuesday, September 15.

This will be followed by a Fan Presale on Wednesday, September 16.

General sale is the following day, on Thursday, September 17, with all sales beginning at 11am.

Will you be trying to get tickets to Harry Styles’ tour next year? Let us know in the comments.

The final batch of tickets are now on sale for the LaplandUK Christmas experience 2026

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The ‘Glastonbury of Christmas’, Lapland UK, is returning to the north west this year – and the final batch of tickets is now being released.

Tickets for the four-and-a-half-hour festive family experience, which sells out every year, will be on sale from midday on Friday (September 11). Now in its 20th year, having opened its first site in Ascot in 2007, LaplandUK will also return to its Cheshire site for 2026.

Last year saw the introduction of ‘Lapland Manchester’ – a northern expansion based at Capesthorne Hall in Macclesfield.

Created as the second doorway to the ‘Elven World’ which owners Michael and Alison Battle created to build their experiences around, it combines ‘breathtaking immersive sets, world-class theatrical production and captivating live performance’ LaplandUK says.

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The experience begins with a special boxed invitation for a child to visit the magical world. On the day of the visit, the journey takes families through the ‘Enchanted Forest’ and into the Elven World. Children will lend a hand making toys in the Toy Factory, decorate gingerbread in Mother Christmas’ Kitchen and explore the Elven Village, before making their way through the snowy forest for their special meeting with Father Christmas.

Unlike the original Ascot ‘doorway’, the Cheshire site is entirely indoors. But Michael and Alison told the Manchester Evening News how incredible effort goes into bringing the outside in.

“Lapland Manchester has its own character, of course, but we’re giving the same experience so it’s seamlessly in line with what we’ve done for 20 years at Ascot. It’s all part of the world that we’ve created.

“Manchester Lapland is all indoors – the site at Capesthorne meant it had to be and we were also conscious of the weather in the north of the country being a bit more volatile. So we worked hard to make sure it still has the feeling of being outdoors so families are transported into the Elven World and the Enchanted Forest in the same way they have been before.

“We brought 320 tonnes of mulch in and had huge trees brought in – which was quite something when we’re covering the size of 22 football pitches. We worked really hard to create that feeling of being outside.”

And the founders said that ‘believe it or not’ Lapland Manchester garnered even greater visitor feedback in its opening year than its well-established south England counterpart.

Michael and Alison added: “Childhood is a precious and fleeting moment, and we created Lapland to honour those magical years. We truly cannot wait to welcome Small Folk back into our world this Christmas and help families create treasured memories that we hope will stay with them for a lifetime.”

When asked whether returning visitors will notice any new aspects to Lapland Manchester this year, the answer was simple: “We’re always improving.”

Those improvements, they say, will come in the form of a shift to ‘slow magic’ – with longer dwell time, more personalisation and deeper storytelling, reflecting what families “increasingly want from premium festive experiences“.

How to get tickets

An initial batch of tickets went on sale in March, priced between £65 and £195 per person – with tickets the same price for both adults and children. Now families will have the final chance to get tickets for this year’s most-sought-after Christmas event when the last batch of tickets goes on sale at midday on September 11.

Tickets will be available via www.laplanduk.co.uk, with families encouraged to move quickly to secure one of Father Christmas’ final invitation

Lapland Manchester opens 7 November to 24 December.

What’s new for 2026?

New Invitation Box

A newly redesigned, premium invitation box – completed earlier this year – means March bookers will receive their invitations by end of summer, ready to be hidden ahead of the magical delivery moment.

This comes in response to complaints from some families last year that they were left waiting for their invites as their entry date got close.

Reindeer Stables

Every child will now get to make their own magical reindeer food with the Elves (included in ticket), to take home for Christmas Eve. Last year, this was at an additional cost.

Mother Christmas’ Kitchen – Extended Time

There will be more time in the kitchen for gingerbread decorating and a longer, more intimate storytime with Mother Christmas and the Elves.

The Elven Village – More Time to Explore

Guests will also now have extended time in the Elven Village – which is one of the most popular spots in the attraction.

This is where you can go ice skating, as well as letter writing in the post office, visit shops and also purchase hot and cold meals and drinks.

One of the criticisms last year was that parents felt they had to rush in this area, Ticketholders were previously allocated timeslots to move through to the next area – which is the Reindeer Stables after 90 minutes – and then head on to meet Santa.

Last year, families were told to expect around 4.5 hours inside the experience, so this year you can expect to stay inside longer if you wish.

Returning Portal – Enhanced Finale

Bosses say they have made significant Investment into the “portal” moment “returning Human Folk to the UK” at the end of the Lapland experience.

They say they aim to “create a bigger, more emotional end to the experience”.

New toy

The founders also confirmed in their Facebook video on Tuesday night that there will be a “new toy” that children will make in the Toy Factory to help out Father Christmas and the Elves.

At last year’s attraction, children all made a polar bear toy at this stage. No further details were given about the new toy though, so that’s set to be a big talking point come November.