Express delivers

Chris Slater takes his daughter on a thrilling adventure

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DADDY, I want to do that again... Words that, as a parent, always bring immense satisfaction at the end of any day out.

This is especially true at Christmas, when you have usually paid a pretty penny for the privilege.

Navigating the multitude of options for festive experiences, and choosing the right one for your child in terms of theme, content, and value-for-money, can be a bit of minefield.

But if the pure, unadulterated joy on the faces of the kids at Victoria Warehouse was anything to go by, the bosses of the new Polar Express experience are onto a winner.

The film was a smash hit when it came out in 2004, and it has become a firm family favourite since.

Based on the 1985 book of the same name, it tells the story of a magical steam train which stops outside the house of a young boy, whose belief in Father Christmas is wavering on Christmas Eve, of all days.

He then embarks on adventurefilled return trip to the North Pole to meet the man himself, making a few friends along the way and restoring his belief in the process.

For years, real-life Polar Express rides have been run on heritage trains up and down the country. But some of the brains behind these have now launched their first ever 'immersive walkthrough experience' right here in Greater Manchester.

The constant sound of the thundering steam engine, and its depiction of Santa's North Pole workshop as a cavernous factory, means the film has, at times, a very industrial feel.

So in many ways, the red brick Victoria Warehouse, built in the 1920s to store goods being shipped into Manchester, is the perfect backdrop to tell the story.