Relaxing

I always like to advertise that Manchester is a city of firsts. As a proud Mancunian anything that gives us a leg up over London is a great thing. Alas, this particular moment in history may not be looked upon as a positive thing in worldwide politics, but we probably couldn’t live in this modern age without it.

The New Zealand born Ernest Rutherford came to be a professor at Victoria University (now Manchester University) and worked together with Hans Gieger to find the structure of atoms in 1909. Eight years later he split the atom in this fair city .

In the beautiful surroundings of the university campus just off Oxford Road is a beautiful red brick building that stands in row with many other Victorian red brick buildings and seeps history unknowingly to fellow students, residents and bystanders.

Not everyone will agree with what went on in this building, but it is now stamped in history.

The Northern Quarter area of Manchester is a spot that will develop and grow and continue to flourish, which is great due to the fact it has been left to rot for too long. And when someone uses a space that has long been forgotten and uses it well, the people of this fair city with celebrate it and continually come back to see and use it.

It’s great to see a long blank wall on a street tucked between warehouses, car parks and wasteland being used for such great ideas.

I love Lomography and have been an advocate of it for around about 14 years. I have seen many Lomo walls around the world from Beijing to Vienna, but the great thing about this one is that it is the first permanent wall in the world.

This amazing wall of colour will hit your retinas and make you smile from ear to ear. The first time I saw the wall it made me smile so much. Seeing the colours jump around excited me like a little child. It does different things if you are up close or are taking a step back. Take some time and spot the things you have seen around the city. I spotted at least six or seven of my photos on there and was browsing for about half an hour.

If you have never seen a Lomo wall, this is definitely up there with the best.

It’s amazing what you can discover if you get off the beaten track of the main streets of Manchester. Byrom Street has no particular eye popping attractions, although the history of the area will make you realise how important it is to the city.

If you stand on Quay Street with the Opera House behind you, the street opposite has an array of blue plaques which detail many people who have changed the face of world politics and science.

Right on the corner is a plaque for Richard Cobden who was instrumental in the free trade movement. Another plaque on the building is of Edward Frankland who discovered Helium and Henry Enfield Roscoe who was another prominent scientist.

Across the road is a plaque for Bonnie Prince Charlie who also used the area as a base.

The region is reminiscent of London and its Edwardian townhouses, which would have been homes. But now Manchester is not really known as a residential city, they are now mostly offices.

Manchester is also not known to have much green space, but if we do, it doesn’t normally stay green for too long. So to find an inner city park like St John’s Gardens is fantastic. I like to escape to here when the rat race has become too much. 10 minutes in the park will recharge anyone’s batteries, and it is only 2 minutes back to any crazy Manchester street.

I’m a massive fan of Manchester’s architecture. The diversity of old to new is everywhere to see, but the more you go down side streets, the buildings are still in classical Victorian structures. Dale Street is an area that screams old school.

When coming off the train at Piccadilly Station I always use this route to make my way in to the city centre as it is quieter and off the usual commuter route.

If coming from the Piccadilly station end you will come to Piccadilly Basin. This is a great area with canal boats parked up and hopefully lots of sunshine. The car park here has also been in many TV shows, but also featured in the music video for Happy Mondays 24 Hour Party People. Currently an allotment project is also going on for the residents of the surrounding area. This will hopefully be extended to other green space projects being implemented.

You may have seen Dale Street in many films and TV shows set in days gone by due to its classic feel. It has been used in the show Life On Mars and most recently the film Captain America as the area is mistaken for early 20th century New York. Look out on the corner of Dale St and China Lane for posters that were used in the film as they are still hanging there.

Some cities have hustle and bustle wherever you go and Manchester is one of those places.  There is nowhere really to hide from noise, but if you find the canal, which is the spine of the city, you will see some amazing sights.

You can find the Rochdale canal at many points through Manchester. It comes into the city from the north, then ends in Castlefield at the bar Dukes 92. You can always see the canal, but not always walk by the side of it.

Some things to look out for are yellow metal posts with the words Hear Manchester on. This is an audio guide narrated by local author and musician John Robb where he talks to people who know more about the history of the city and the canal. You can download these stories here.

Some particular things to take in while on the walk are the story of the Hacienda nightclub, which stood next to the canal. Also it is worth taking in a rest stop in Rain Bar, which has a big terrace which is perfect on a sunny day. There are also bird houses up and down the canal for the ducks, swans and geese, and on my latest trip I noticed drainpipes that looked like dragons which were opposite the Hacienda. Look out for them.

One tip is to avoid certain parts of the towpath, particularly underneath some bridges, as some unsavoury characters dwell there most of the time.