In September we flew to Manchester. It was sunny and dry during our stay and we had the pleasure of exploring the city on pushbike, as well as on the tram. We were staying with family in Northenden, which one of our octogenarian hosts described as "a nice village that's now just full of restaurants and fast food". There are a lot of take-aways in Northenden.
As far as cycling goes, we began by venturing into the local area. We rode a circuit that took us on a riverside path along the Mersey and up to Didsbury, where we visited about four charity shops, which meant that we only visited half of the charities shops we saw. The ones we did visit were good. Excellent collections of clothes and books and whatnot, although not always at cheap-cheap prices.
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| Jo under a tree in Wythenshawe Park, which we crossed to reach a relative with bikes to lend |
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| statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the timber-framed Wytheshawe Hall |
A definite highlight of our visit to that area was the Didsbury Village Bookshop. Even after spending a long time browsing all sorts of books in those four charity shops, the library on offer at DVB was astounding. The best part: this is a proper second-hand bookshop. Piles of paperbacks sit stacked precariously on chairs that jut out into the narrow pathways that have been formed between high shelves and full-to-the-brim cabinets. There was such a range of titles there. Also, the shop is attached to The Art of Tea, which does good cake.
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| crossing the Mersey between Northenden and Didsbury |
Another day we took a tram into the city. I think we were either coming back from or going to Yorkshire. It was, in any case, good to explore the Northern Quarter, with its trendy cafes, vintage camera shops and art suppliers. I bought my niece some origami post-it notes and a top trumps game based on cats. She likes cats.
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| Manchester Art Gallery |
On the Saturday, Jo headed to Poland to attend a conference for her work. Sadly I couldn't join her, but my disappointment was short-lived as I had surely the best tour guide Manchster has to offer: Jo's Irish Uncle John. We took two of his bikes and embarked on the Fallowfield Circle: a circuit that encompassed half of the city, taking us up and down the Rochdale, Ashton and Bridgewater canals, into the Gay Village, and past both City and United's football stadiums.
We also visited Home, which is near the old Hacienda nightclub (now flats) and Cornerhouse cinema, and seems to have taken on the arthouse/exhibition space mantle of the latter. We had coffee and cake. Finally, we wound up in Sale where Jo's grandad and his skiffle band were doing their regular busking stint.
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| John checking our schedule near Worsley |
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| The Lamplighters (combined age: 235) |
