Manchester named one of the most festive cities in the UK

Manchester has been named one of the most festive cities in the UK, according to research from Royal Mail.

While Christmas this year doesn’t feel as festive as it usually does in our city, at least we’ve made it onto the list of the top twenty most festive places.

Our city managed to take fifth place, behind Bristol, Norwich, York and the number one festive town or city, which is – apparently – London.

David Dixon / Geograph

Royal Mail’s address management unit analysed more than 31 million addresses to evaluate how many festive streets and houses are located in each area.

They found that Manchester boasts 304 festive street and house names, placing us fifth.

According to the research, more than 50,000 addresses across the UK have a Christmas-linked moniker, with some of the most popular names for individual properties being ‘Ivy Cottage,’ ‘Holly Cottage’ and ‘Holly House’.

David Dixon / Geograph

Steve Rooney, head of Royal Mail’s address management unit, said: “Street, house and building names chiefly reflect our nation’s heritage and primary interests. The enduring spirit of Christmas clearly extends well past December 25th in the UK, as so many festive terms are resonant in the names of our streets and houses.”

The top twenty most festive towns and cities across the UK:

• London (675)
• York (480)
• Norwich (459)
• Bristol (341)
• Manchester (304)
• Maidstone (211)
• Guildford (200)
• Doncaster (198)
• Birmingham (186)
• Leeds (181)
• Ipswich (168)
• Bury St Edmunds (157)
• Nottingham (144)
• Lincoln (141)
• Banbury (132)
• Leicester (128)
• Bridgend (126)
  = Sheffield (126)
• Gloucester (107)
• Exeter (102)