Manchester and Liverpool, May 2023

25 May – Cardiff to Manchester – Our train to Manchester was a straight through, not quite express, but without changes. So far, we have been unsuccessful in taking bus trips over trains, which would be a lot cheaper than the rather pricey UK trains, but nothing ever seems to fit. In this case, it was 3hrs30min on the train or 7hrs on a bus, with an hour’s change in Birmingham. Even worse, most buses seemed to set off from Cardiff in the early hours of the morning, not at all appealing. Fortunately, the regular rail strikes that have been a problem for 12 months have not affected us. Often, we only miss a strike day by one day. Thankfully, plenty of notice is given of industrial action.

The trip took us north through Wales and back into England, passing through Hereford, Shrewsbury and Crewe. The land was much as everywhere else, green and lush. Things must dry off sometime, but at present, the whole countryside is knee deep in grass or crops. We arrived in Manchester on time at Piccadilly Station and had to make our way to a tram stop. There were two choices, walk to Market Street to get the Purple Line to our lodgings, or take a tram to St Peter’s Square then change to the Purple Line. Being unfamiliar with the system, we elected to walk and only take the one tram.

The walk to the tram stop was easy, save for the fact that no one (save us) walks on the left. People are so random, most reading their phones or chatting with companions and just charging along anywhere. When you are towing luggage, it gets very wearing. I skirted around people for a while then decided to play the old fart card and just kept plodding ahead, forcing people to move at the last minute. How hard can it be? In London, the authorities have gone to great trouble to mark pavements and stairways, but it does no good. At least they get the cars to keep left most of the time. We sought help from a Metrolink official at the tram stop and he set us right. You can just tap on and off with a credit card. There are all kinds of payments, capped at £4.80 a day, but you just keep tapping on and off and the system works it out at the end of the day. There is also a free bus service doing a circuit of the city.

Once on the tram, we realised just how far out our accommodation was. We had figured it didn’t matter because it was on a tram line, but it took around 30 minutes, there being a lot of stops along the way. Our apartment proved to be the upper storey in a block of sixteen units, looking ordinary from the outside, but very comfortable inside. To the rear is a huge parkland, called Wythenshawe Park, part open space, part developed sporting areas and part forest. It would be worth an explore later.

Nearby is a collection of supermarkets and other shops. I am not sure about the thinking of having a Lidl, a Tesco Extra (the biggest supermarket I’ve ever seen) and an Aldi all in the same location but they all seem to be busy. The Lidl and Tesco both offer special discount for card holders. Christine tried hard to get a Tesco card but without a local postal address it doesn’t seem possible. I stood behind one woman whose bill dropped from £288 to £159 on presentation of her card. We need to get a local to shop for us.

26 May – Manchester – We headed back into the city on the tram, which somehow seemed shorter without the luggage, and planned to use the free bus to travel around. I had downloaded a map of the routes and it was only a short walk from Market Street to a stop on one of the three routes available. After walking too much and not finding any sign of a free bus stop, we made our way back to Manchester Piccadilly Station, where we knew all routes started. We consulted a displayed map of the system, which confirmed that we should have picked on up near Market Street. A Metronet worker told us that the map was out of date, and pointed the way to a new map, with only two routes available. Taking down the old map and updating their web page would seem an obvious move.

The bus took us to where we wanted to go, an area called Spinningfields where the River Irwell passes through the city. There we would pick up a canal cruise. While we waited for the boat, we walked up into the commercial centre to grab a bite to eat. We selected an outlet called Pert to buy a couple of baguettes.  We took them up to the counter and the guy stabbed a button and indicated the pay wave device. Christine waved her card, just as I noticed that there were two devices side by side. She had waved hers over the £5 donation to the Pert Foundation, that raises money for homeless people. While I have no issues with charities for the homeless, placing a PayWave right alongside another pay device seems to be a bit of a con. We objected and the guy was very apologetic, saying that there had been complaints but they were under a direction from head office. He gave us a contact. Christine emailed them, but I’m not holding my breath.

The canal boat arrived and we rugged up as best we could against the wind chill and sat up top. The tour took us down the Irwell River and into the Manchester Ship Canal. Although I had heard of it, I knew little about what has been described as one of the greatest engineering achievements in Victorian times. When Liverpool increased its port handling charges, Manchester responded by building a 56km long canal to bring shipping into the inland city and create what became Britain’s busiest port. The canal opened in 1897 and continued in importance until the 1980s when most ships became too big to navigate it.

Along the way we passed under the Stephenson Bridge, the first railway bridge built anywhere in the World by George Stephenson with his Manchester to Liverpool line. Once in the canal, there are a number of bridges designed to allow the passage of ships. A couple are swing bridges, originally steam powered, with enormous swinging spans. Another lifts the entire span vertically using four lifts. There are side canals, locks, wharves and numerous signs of a commerce giant past its prime. These days, the main dock area has been transformed into a huge new complex of commercial properties, apartments and studios known as Mediacity, home of ITV. It is similar to Melbourne’s Docklands project but on a bigger scale.

The cruise proved to be a real educational tour because I really had no idea of the history of Manchester prior to this. Later, we looked at photos of the old docks and it was amazing how they jammed the ocean going ships into such small spaces. The disruption to livelihoods when the docks ceased to operate must have been enormous, but the city has managed to morph itself into a commercial powerhouse. As the first industrialised city in the World, it is filled with large brick built factories, many of which have been transformed into accommodation or restaurants. There is actually a lot of very fine Victorian and Edwardian architecture around the city, but much of it is obscured by buildings with very little merit other than functionality. Dirt is an issue too, and general rubbish around the streets, although to be fair, London was also bad in regard to rubbish on the streets.

27 May – Wythenshawe – Today was allocated to a morning of relaxation, and an afternoon explore of the parklands behind us. We had seen a billboard promoting a big fun-fare in the park over what was to be a long weekend, due to a bank holiday on the Monday.  We entered the park through a gate next to our apartment and wandered along formed pathways. We had seen on the Internet that there was a company hiring bikes, trikes, and all manner of cycles for family groups to ride in the park. It sounded like a great idea, until we saw the small circuit filled with cycles going round and round. I can’t see why you would bother. The rest of the park was a hive of activity, with tennis courts in full swing, an amazing BMX track that was well utilised, and a mountain bike track through the forest.

The forested area is very beautiful, with some magnificent oak trees. Wild rhododendrons are prolific, the mauve flowers showing out amongst the emerald green foliage.

Further on, we came across an old red brick building that contains a café, and looked to have a great range of very cheap snacks and drinks. As we moved on, we found that this was actually the stables area of a large manor hall, called Wythenshawe Hall. It is a 15^th Century Medieval Hall which was home to the Tatton family for 400 years, surviving a siege by Cromwell’s parliamentary forces in the English Civil War in 1644. In 1926, the family handed it, and the surrounding lands, to the government. It was badly damaged by arson in 2016, but has been restored to its former glory. Unfortunately, the manor hall is only open one Sunday a month and we missed out by a week.

Wandering back towards the stables, a small boy came along side and took my hand, announcing that we should go for a walk together. His mother was apologetic, but it was obvious the boy had special needs. We chatted for a while as we walked and learnt that there was a community farm nearby, one of the boy’s favourite places. It is free to enter and aims to give urban children access to a range of animals. There were pigs, cows, goats, turkeys, ducks, and hens all accessible to the many children that wandered around. The farm shop sold little paper bags of chaff and pellets for the animals to be fed with. It looked like a farm, smelled like a farm and was a fun-filled place for kids. The bizarre thing is that the farm shop also sold the meat produce from the farm, so it was a case of feed, pat and eat. We bought a pack of pork and tomato sausages, with apologies to the rather cute little of piglets. We also bought a pack of crisps made on site from potatoes grown on the farm. It’s a well-run thing and amazing that it is free to enter. Wythenshawe Park proved to be a real find, and right on our doorstep.

28 May – Liverpool – We had originally tried to stay in Liverpool, but failed to find affordable accommodation without going so far from the city that we might as well be in Manchester. The research suggests there is a lot to see and do so we planned two days, travelling by tram to Manchester then an hour’s train to Liverpool. We could have booked express trains which take 34 minutes but the cost is considerably higher. Unfortunately, when we booked the train we failed to notice that the departure station was Deansgate and not the usual Piccadilly. We did notice once we got to Piccadilly, so we had to catch a train down to Oxford Road and pick up a train there. Fortunately, our ticket allowed such things without extra charge.

When we exited Liverpool Lime St Station and looked around, it was obvious we were in an exciting city. Nestled amongst the modern buildings was the gorgeous Crown Hotel, built in 1905 in Art Nouveau style. We elected to walk through to our first destination, the Albert Dock, a decision made easy by the fact that the entire city centre is walking only. Being still early, the walkways were quiet, something they definitely were not later on in the day. We passed all manner of shops, eateries and commercial buildings along the way. The striking difference between Liverpool and Manchester was the cleanliness. There was a notable absence of street rubbish and the buildings lacked the veneer of grime that covers those in Manchester.

Albert Dock is another revamped old dock area, and it has been extremely well done. There are eateries, boutiques and a few museums, as well as a number of tours, including a harbour tour. Best of all, every budget and taste is catered for with a good variety of food trucks dotted around the quays, selling all kinds of food at very affordable prices. Elizabeth Quay in Perth needs to learn something from this. Most of the trucks are vintage vehicles, including an old horse drawn tram and a double decker bus. Buskers add to the atmosphere. There were a lot of people just strolling, sitting or enjoying refreshment.

We had a Beatles Bus Tour booked, using a double decker bus. We opted for the VIP ticket, which gave us priority boarding and 48 hours of the other Hop on Hop Off Bus around the city. With time to kill before the tour, we wandered the shops, being surprised once again to find that the souvenir T-Shirts were at least a reasonable price here, unlike everywhere else we looked. They are still way over priced, but at least they are better than most places. We promised to return.

The Beatles Tour was a hoot. Being VIP, we managed to get good seats up top and up front. The guide was a true comic and was sufficient entertainment in his own right. He gave us an introduction to talking in ‘scouse’ the heavily accented Liverpudlian talk. He left us all in no doubt as to what Scousers think of Manchester, and even the rest of England, feeling more connection with Wales and Scotland than the good old St George. The bus made its way out of the city centre, past the Liverpool Institute, where Paul and George studied and met each other. Along the way, various Beatles favourites were played, including Penny Lane, as we drove down the iconic street. We stopped at Penny Lane for photographs, and our guide explained how the streets signs had been pilfered many times over the years, including one that Paul had signed.

Another stop was made at Strawberry Field, once an orphanage for girls that John used to visit to check out the talent. We saw John’s house, quite a swish affair by most standards, now owned by Yoko and given over to the National Trust to open to the public. Paul’s house was not as flash, but still in a better environment than I had imagined. It was interesting to see all the places around that formed the environment that Paul, John and George grew up in and to hear how the names are woven through so many of their songs.

As the bus neared the end of the tour, the guide led the whole bus in some singing. We certainly drew a lot of looks, and applause, from the crowds we passed as a busload sang Obla Di Obla Da with gusto. It was a fun tour, but also insightful, not only into the early days of the Beatles, but also into life in Liverpool.

We walked around to the Maritime Museum, a free entry, as are all the Government museums in Liverpool. It actually proved to be a disappointment, being mostly just photographs and models of ships, so we only did one of the three floors available. We later learnt that the Slavery Museum is very emotive and worth a visit, over 3 million slaves passing through Liverpool in times past.

Having access to the normal Hop on Hop Off Bus, we decided to walk along the quay to stop number two, which is next to the Fab Four Statue. As we approached the Mersey Ferry area, we saw big crowds gathered around a display set up by the armed services as part of the 80^th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic celebrations. Earlier, we had been treated to the marvellous sight of a Lancaster Bomber, flanked by two Spitfires, doing several low level passes over the quay. There were lots of displays of guns, tanks and such things, and a big number of people.

Having admired the statues of the Beatles, and taken the obligatory photo, we proceeded to the bus stop, where we found that the route had been changed to exclude the stop, due to road closures associated with the military display. It might have been good to display that information back at Stop #1 but there you have it. We started the walk back to stop #1, but decided it was easier to walk up through town and explore as we went. As it happened, we came across another statue, that of Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager.

By the time we reached Lime St Station, we were quite tired. The next Northern Line train was an hour away, and it would take an hour to reach Manchester. There was a Transpennine Express train leaving in 15 mintues with a 36 minute travel time but our ticket would not permit that. We acted dumb and talked to the conductor nicely, who suddenly said, “OK you can take it.” Christine slept most of the way to London Victoria Station, then we picked up a tram to take us home. By the time we reached home, we had clocked up over 10kms, a good reason to feel totally done.

May 29 – Liverpool – I started the day feeling a year older, having reached my three score and ten. Being 70 does affect the traveller, making travel insurance and car hire more expensive, but at least it means you don’t have to feel guilty about sitting in the priority seats anymore. People say you are only as old as you feel, but some mornings that is not a good rule to go by.

We headed off to Liverpool again, not making the same mistakes with train stations as yesterday. This time, when we got out at Lime Street Station, we waited and caught the Hop On Hop Off Bus from stop #7 back to Albert Dock, taking the scenic route and learning about the various landmarks along the way. Once again, the commentary was delivered by a very entertaining comic, much better than the usual recorded commentary on these buses.

At Albert Dock, we did some shopping for T-Shirts, and snapped up some discounted Liverpool/Ukraine themed beanies left over from Eurovision. They look like West Coast Eagles beanies with 2023 knitted into them, although 2023 is hardly proving to be a memorable year for the Eagles.

From there, we walked back around the dock to the Mersey Ferry Terminal. The military display had gone so crowds were not as bad as yesterday. There are a number of actual boat tours of the Mersey available, but all we wanted to do was ride the commuter ferry over and back, just to say we had taken the “Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey.” Damn. It is a bank holiday and no ferries are running. Foiled again. Bank holidays are a pain in the bum sometimes. It is our second one in Britain. They like them. However, the bus was running again so we rode the up to the area of the city called the Cavern Quarter, after the famous Cavern Club where the Beatles performed 290 times in their early years.

We located Mathew Street and explored the many sights. Every bar or cafe is named after the Fab Four, a song or an album and there is a statue of Cilla Black, another Liverpool legend.  We found the Cavern Club. Actually, it is the rebuilt Cavern Club, the original having been demolished back in 1973 in preparation for some subway works that never eventuated. Another Cavern Club opened further down the street, then eventually another one was built in the old location, opening in 1984. The original entrance was near where Cilla Black’s statue is today.

Further down the road is the Beatle’s Museum. There are a number of places that claim to be the Beatle’s Museum but we chose this one because of its location and its reliance on actual original objects. Much of the material from the early years has come via Pete Best, the early drummer from the Hamburg years, who was replaced by Ringo when fame and a contract was offered conditional on a new drummer. It is a very emotional journey through the museum for us whose formative years were during the Beatle’s era. The display is arranged over three floors, one for each decade. There are fascinating letters, old play lists, original music scores, tour itineraries and all manner of memorabilia. In the early hectic touring days, the overwhelming theme is ‘hard work’. Fame and success did not just spring out of nowhere. Those guys worked hard. The tour itinerary for the United States showed blocks of five consecutive days of concerts in different cities followed by two rest days. They criss-crossed the continent. It must have been hell.

It being relatively early in the morning, there was only a small crowd in the museum and we were able to move around with ease and spend as much time as we wanted at each exhibit. Every so often a TV played a clip from the past, some featuring the group, and others focussing on the events of the times. There were a few families wandering around and I found myself wondering what the children would make of all the fuss and hype. For us though, it was a “Magical Mystery Tour” and very nostalgic. It was a perfect accompaniment to the previous day’s bus tour.

We left, finally Beatled out, and sought a drink and bite to eat in one of the many Beatles themed bars in Mathew Street but none sold food beyond a packet of crisps, being content with the income from beer and wine. Further down town, we found a Wetherspoon and had lunch and a pint there. We need Wetherspoons in Perth. They are a pub chain with a big array of beers and ales on tap, along with a basic pub food menu, offering lots of ‘food and drink’ combos that make stopping for an acceptable meal very affordable. The decor is always good, they look like a good pub, and have comfortable seating, both inside and out. A pint of lager and a pizza each set us back a mere £6.95 each.

A slow wander up through the walking streets, by now very crowded with the combination of Bank Holiday and warm sunny weather bringing everyone out of hiding. The weather over the last week has been brilliant, even the locals are surprised. The wind chill factor is still there, but out of the wind and in the sun, it can get positively warm. Furthermore, there is no sign of rain for another week. This is England! What’s happening? We still head out in long pants and carry a coat but the young locals take the sunshine as an opportunity to take to the skimpies. There are tiny shorts, little crop tops, guys with no shirt on and pale white limbs seeking the sun. Mind you, we have seen some nasty cases of sunburn too.

May 30 – Manchester (Deansgate) – The morning was spent relaxing and writing, with a bit of recovery from the last two days of heavy exertion. After lunch we walked to the tram to travel into the city, the target area being Deansgate/Castlefield. Deansgate is the city’s oldest thoroughfare, running through both the Roman fort of Mamucium and the Saxon Castlefield. During the 18^th and 19^th Centuries, the eastern end became an important transport hub with the building of the huge rail viaduct and Bridgewater and Rochdale Canals, bringing barges from the river to the rail head. The area today is a mix of new high-rise apartments and old repurposed buildings, many as restaurants, nestled amongst the network of canals. The rail links still dominate the area, with the original viaduct still surviving although unused. There are links to Liverpool and our own tram line to the airport crossing the newer viaduct.

We got off and began a slow wander through the area. The old rail viaduct has been taken over by the National Trust and they use it to grow plants that would have native to the old Manchester. We spent a pleasant half hour checking out the plants, before descending to the Roman Gardens below. The gardens are built around the site of the original Roman fort, with a few walls being still visible, along with reconstructed representations of what the old structures would have been. In Roman times, being posted to Mamucium would have been the death of any young Tribune’s aspirations, it being considered near the ends of the civilised world.

Further on, we came across the Museum of Science and Technology. Manchester follows the Liverpool system of making their museums free entry, a policy that we thoroughly agree with. What a wonderful museum. Although many technologies are represented, the textile industry is featured, and brilliantly done. The history of the cotton mill industry is shown with a huge range of machinery set up and the lives and work of those involved described in detail. It was staggering to see the complexity of the huge spinning machinery that was in use in the 18^th Century. I have no idea how a mere human being could ever invent such machines, let along thread up the yarn in the intricate looms. It really did lay out the industrial revolution in one place, the steam driven engines that powered everything, the marvellous machines that would have been built by hand, out of parts that were individually machined from steel and brass alloys or cast in the foundries and factories. The scale of the industry that developed over such a brief period of time is hard to comprehend.

Next, we explored the canals. Although only used for house boats these days, the canal system and picturesque locks creates a wonderful setting. There is a multitude of cafes and restaurants hugging the banks. Most were quiet and closed, after what would have been a busy Bank Holiday Weekend, but we still managed to find a comfortable spot overlooking a canal to enjoy a beer and crisps, watching the world go by and admiring the moored canal boats.

Deansgate is a wonderful area, full of interest and things to explore.

31 May – Altrincham – The morning was another morning of late rising. Manchester has been busy so a bit of a slow down is called for. In the late morning, we caught a bus to the nearby town of Altrincham. Originally a market town, Altrincham has now been absorbed into Greater Manchester, yet still retains some of character of the old town. Along the route, we passed through some lovely suburbs, many with fully detached large houses and large blocks. The bus dropped us at the main station/bus port, in the main street of the town. From there, a number of walking only streets lead off to other parts of the town, lined with shops of all kinds, in fact just about everything you could ask for. We made our way to the market, unfortunately mostly closed on a Wednesday, but looking like a terrific spot when open. I came across a barber that at least looked affordable and had a much needed hair cut, Christine giving it the nod of approval.

We continued to wander the town, admiring the many fine Victorian and Edwardian buildings, clad in a local brown sandstone. We checked out a few possible places to eat and settled on a Wetherspoon again, the value for money being too much to resist.

Our stomachs replenished, we wandered back through the town and caught a bus home, impressed with Altrincham. Manchester as a whole has impressed us. Its history is so much shorter than many of the places we have visited, packed into a couple of centuries with of some of the biggest and most important developments seen by mankind. The Industrial Revolution was an incredible leap forward (or backward depending on your viewpoint) and Manchester personifies the growth. The way in which the city has managed to deal with the recent and rapid change to the industry that made it great does the city credit. The modern Manchester embodies the old and embraces the new. We have really enjoyed our visit to the area.

Tomorrow, we travel north to Glasgow.