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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Tony Naylor

‘Something special in the air’: new bars, art, music and restaurants are turning heads in Stockport

A live Art Battle drew 1,000 people to Stockport’s empty Debenhams.
A live Art Battle drew 1,000 people to Stockport’s empty Debenhams – leading the council to consider proposals for events there throughout 2023. Photograph: Paul Day

When earlier this year the Manchester DJ Luke Unabomber declared “Stockport is the new Berlin” – a tagline enthusiastically taken up in this northern town – no one was being remotely serious. But joking aside, this nonetheless confirmed that something interesting is happening in Stockport.

Historically overshadowed by larger, louder Manchester, seven miles north, Stockport has seen its visibility boosted in recent years by the rise of proud locals Blossoms, one of Britain’s biggest bands, and the return of league football to Stockport County’s Edgeley Park. But it is the DIY, grassroots activity in food, fashion, art and music found in the architecturally striking old town, that is exciting early adopters and generating media notices about, “one of the coolest little corners of the country”.

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