Day Trips from Manchester

Hatworks Museum
The day we visited was an appropriate day seeing as the signs there proclaimed this as National Hat Week! (Easter week, 2002) There is a conducted tour that starts with a film, some of which is rare footage from the 1930's of Battersby's Hat works. We were told how they were made, first by hand and later by machine. Hats made out of felt had shellac added for stiffness and were shaped over wooden forms to give the hat it's shape. There were only the 2 of us plus a woman and her granddaughter on the tour. Also there is a museum with all sorts of exhibits of hats of every kind, ceremonial, sporting, military, religious, dress, etc. There was a big felt tent called a Yurt that is seen around Central Asia. Very colourful too. Felt is believed to be an older craft even than weaving and the craft of hatting has been a British guild since the 16th century. The museum has a working replica of the factory floor with real working machinery.

We also discovered the origins of the phrase "Mad as a Hatter" - felt used to be treated with mercury during the processing and the handlers of course absorbed the deadly chemical and it adversely affected their nervous systems!

There's a bright sunny cafe in the museum for a light lunch or coffee. Admission to the museum is free though the tours are £2.50, which is a pittance and well worth the price! There's a family area for kids with activities. It's open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and bank holidays. The museum is next to the bus station and not far from the train station and is on the main route through town. You can't miss the tall smoke stacks. There are ramps on the main street level and lifts for accessibility. Photography is allowed.

First off, Lyme Hall and Park is not in Manchester, it's on the outskirts, just past Stockport in Cheshire. It's an old manor house on the edge of a huge park, all part of an original estate granted to the family in the 1400s. The house dates back that far but mainly the current house dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. The house is open to the public (for a fee of course) and you also pay to park in the parking lot. The gardens are really nice too and that also costs. We just got a ticket for both house and gardens to cover it all. The family were Jacobite supporters and the house has exquisite tapestries, furniture and art. I really enjoyed it. No photos but i did manage to take a stealth shot in the chapel. Most of the rooms had people standing in them that you could talk to for information and we had a nice chat with several of them.

The gardens near the house were very nice. There's a reflecting pool out on the south front with a little island in the middle which is all flowers. Very pretty! This house was used for the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, the series with Colin Firth that made many a heart flutter with his swim through the pond behind the house. Lyme Hall was used for that series but the lake wasn't the little pool by the house, it was a bit further afield out in the park. The gardens had a greenhouse/orangerie with lots of flowers and plants and a few fountains and we had a peek in there as well.

We had lunch in the cafe which is in the cellars, low arched ceilings! They had a small menu with a couple of specials, drinks and desserts. The food was a bit different, venison which was done in a sort of stew with potato topping all baked until crispy. Was quite tasty and very mild. I suppose it was farm-raised venison rather than wild like i've had in the past.

There's a nice gift shop as well for cards and books. The park is extensive, with deer and sheep and a great place for a walk or hike. The house itself can be accessed by wheelchair if you let them know you need assistance.

It is a National Trust property so if you have a membership, you can get in free. They do guided tours of the house for small numbers of people (no large groups) between March and November. The house is open, 11 - 5, March through November but closed on Wednesday and Thursday. In winter it's only open on weekends. The park is open every day all year between 8 and 6, a bit later in summer. The gardens are open every day between March and November, weekends only in winter. The timber yard coffee shop in the park is open all year round.

Admission prices

Gift Aid Admission (Standard Admission prices in brackets) House & garden: £8 (£7.20), child £4 (£3.60), family £20 (£18). House only: £5.80 (£5.20), child £2.90 (£2.60). Garden only: £5.50 (£4.95), child £2.75 (£2.45)

The village of Eyam is called the Plague Village. In 1665, during an outbreak of bubonic plague, the disease spread to this village, probably in the fleas that were with a shipment of cloth. People started dying quickly but the parson realized what was going on and he organized the villagers. They isolated themselves, quarantined themselves and to avoid starving to death, arranged for outsiders to leave supplies at the border of the village, leaving money disinfected in vinegar in payment. They took other precautions as well and as a result, the plague didn't spread beyond the village though nearly 80% of Eyam perished over the next year.

The village is off the main road and is surrounded by the lovely hills and trees of the Peaks. The houses and buildings are all made of honey coloured stone. Even new development uses the same type or colour of material to match. We drove there in about an hour or so and walked around the hilly narrow streets to look at sights like the old stocks on the village green, the church and graveyard. There's a wonderful old 8th century celtic/Saxon cross by the church too, worn down with age. It wasn't there originally, but was moved there from outside the village at some point.

There is the Eyam Hall although it was closed to visitors. I think it only opens up a few times a year. We had lunch in the Buttery, which is in a courtyard by the Hall along with some craft shops and studios. We wandered down into the centre of the village where there is a pub and a few shops. It's all very pretty. We did try to drive just out of the town to find the Riley Graves where one woman buried six children and her husband but it wasn't sign posted or we missed it and drove out too far. We also tried to find the stone and well at the outskirts of the village where they left the money for their supplies and missed that too!

We also went into the little Eyam museum near the car park when we arrived. It's mainly storyboards telling the tales and detailing the history of the plague and victims. There are also some artifacts and antiques and was a good introduction to the area. You can also see the cottages on the main road where the plague first hit, there are three in a row with signs out front. People still live in all these houses. It must be odd for them to look out the window and see people taking photos of their house.

There isn't a whole lot to see and do though it's definitely an interesting place to visit. See the church and cross and explore the cemetery, learn about the effects and history of the plague and the aftermath in the little museum and visit the Hall if it's open. Have a drink in the Miner's Arms or a light meal in the Buttery. There may also be a tea room in the village centre as well.

Another place i really wanted to go was a visit to Lilliput Lane.

Near the north end of the Lake District, just off the motorway (M6) is Penrith but before you even get to the town, you take a hard left once you leave the M6 at the sign for Lilliput Lane. They are the producers of beautiful hand painted decorative cottages and buildings. Lilliput Lane is over 25 years old and all the production for their products is here and it's all done by hand by about 100 craftspeople who work in various areas, learning all or most aspects - sculptors, molds, metal work, painters, fettler. THey do tours twice a day and it's definitely well worth it. We arrived with a bit of time for a quick cuppa in the tea room before a tour would start and as it worked out, we were the only two on the tour which was free. The woman who took us around has worked there a long time and has done pretty much all the various jobs over the years. She explained the history of the company then the procedures from the concept of deciding on a building or structure to the wax sculpture to the rubber and silicone molds and the resin master product used to create the others. They always have one master that they save but it will be destroyed when a model is discontinued, usually after 2 to 3 years in production.

It was even very interesting even hearing about how they make the packing material! The visitor center looks like an old storybook thatched cottage but it's only 12 years old and is a replica of a cottage in Hertfordshire. It's not the original one that was there. One side of the visitor centre has loads of cottages and buildings and models from the 25 years of the company's history and the other side has items for sale, some discontinued, some only available there at the visitor centre. You can also join a session to paint your own cottage or you can buy an unpainted one to do yourself with acrylic paints if you want.

After we left here, we drove down one of the smaller roads through the Lakes, by Ullswater and through some mountain passes to Ambleside. This was the first proper visit to Ambleside though i've driven through it a couple of times. We met up with two friends, had lunch and a wander through the nice little town. There's a bit more about this in the other Lake District review in this journal.

Keswick is near the north end of the Lake District National Park, taking the Penrith exit off the M6. It's a pretty town, parts of it several centuries old. One church had a 1638 date on it. The houses and fences here are made of slate all stacked up.

When we went, we found a car park just below the main area of the town and near it and just to the right of the car park was a little building called The Teapottery. It is a little factory where teapots are made. The workshop is on the ground floor and the retail outlet is upstairs. Teapots of every shape, size and form imaginable and some that were sheer fantasy! Teapots shaped like furniture, appliances, people and objects. Soccer balls, bellhops, comfy chairs, pianos, faucets (I bought one of those!), even a cowboy in a bathtub! All made into teapots that were usable, not just for decoration although how you could bear to use them and get them stained and chipped, I know not! We were thoroughly enchanted and purchases were made! They did ship items but the one I bought was small.

The lake, Derwentwater, is not far from here. We had to walk under the road in a subway and past a garden and community theater and other tourist shops to get to the lake. The weather is overcast with the occasional spit of rain. The lake was pretty, the little beach lined with flat bottom boats you could rent and punt on the water. There was a lovely large stone cottage nearby as well. Very picturesque! We took some photos of the ducks and the boats and headed back to have a walk through the garden, Hope Park, which came out near a golf course lined with tall Victorian terraced hotels. Back in the village, there are lots of little cafes and restaurants to find a hot lunch. We found one on a side street off the high street that were very satisfactory. I don't remember the name but it was across the street from a shop selling artwork and prints. The high street is lined with gift shops featuring all manner of interesting items. The narrow sidewalks (pavements) can be crowded.

There's also a Pencil Museum here. This is where the Derwent Pencils were manufactured for many years. We didn't get there but I would love to see it someday.

You can drive from Keswick down through the centre of the Lake district on the A591, where the scenery is dramatic with high mountains dotted with sheep and picturesque villages with stone buildings and stone fencing cutting up the hillsides like a patchworkquilt. There is a visitor center on Lake Windemere with some nice gardens. The town of Windemere isn't really all that special though there's a snazzy shop called Lakeland near the train station that carries all sorts of household gadgets and items if you like that sort of thing. There are several places along the road where you can get a boat and cruise Lake Windemere, as well. The visitor Centre has a pier and there are more in other towns such as Ambleside and Windemere itself.

Grasmere is a pretty town and is associated with the poet Wordsworth. His Dove Cottage is here and open for perusement. Another very interesting little cottage used to house a school and now contains a business that has been making gingerbread for over 200 years. You really want to try this! It's not gingerbread like we see as in gingerbread men nor is it cake. It's kind of like a flat chewy slice with a crumbly top over the gingery soft filling which is on a base. It's very different and definitely a treat for your tastebuds. It's now called the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop and it's tucked in behind St. Oswald's church. They also make pots of rum butter, a hard sauce you can heat and pour over a Christmas pudding! There are a few nice little gift shops and the cottages and landscape is very pretty. Well worth a stop.

Ambleside is a bigger town than Grasmere and quite busy. There are a couple of large pay and display car parks. We stopped in a traditional type pub, just across from the car park and up a little hill. It was the Golden Rule where you can have a quiet drink but there isn't much of a menu for a meal. The town has plenty of pubs and restaurants for food, however. We found a basic café and had lunch there and then walked around the picturesque town for awhile. Many of the shops cater to sporting goods and outdoor clothing as hiking and walking is quite popular in the Lake District. We all found something to drool over in a chocolate shop. There's quite a few pretty Bed and Breakfast establishments here as well.

Ambleside is very quaint with many old houses and buildings made of stone or slate which is mined in the Lakes District. We saw Bridge House, arced over a little stream by a building that was probably a mill in it's prior lifetime but is now an Inn, I think. Bridge house is one of the smallest houses in Britain though the one in Conwy is the smallest. This isn't much larger but it was closed so we didn't get a look inside. It was a tourist information centre for the National Trust now. It was originally thought to be storage for apples.

Other things you can do here: Pick up a boat for a cruise on Lake Windemere. There are ruins of a Roman Fort near Ambleside as well though it's just a little excavation site. The museum in Kendal, about a half hour south, has artifacts from the dig. It's a good place for shopping as well.

It's a grey November day. Sometimes it looks like it might rain and sometimes it looks like it might clear up a bit. We're going to try our luck with the Chester zoo and see what happens. It's about an hour drive towards Chester from Manchester and it's well signed. It's a huge place with a lot of natural enclosures though many of them have chain link fences which makes it a bit of a pain for photos. They also have specially built pavillions to feature some animals like the Orangutans, the jaguars, the monkeys and a few others.

We started off with the elephants. I'd never seen one in the flesh before and was really looking forward to it. They have quite a few here of various ages and sizes. They are amazing animals and can move quite quickly if they want to. We walked around to see the lions and tigers and took refuge in an aquarium to warm up a bit. Into the Orangutan house, where there are tanks with snakes and lizards and cages for birds along the walls. The apes have a huge deep "pit" where they can climb and swing and they can also go outside into enclosures as well. We could see a few of them and one in particular kept hiding under a big piece of canvas. It was hard to watch them though as there were a number of people trying to share little windows that looked down into the indoors part of the enclosures.

Outside again to see the giraffes and a lovely animal called the Okapi which is apparently distantly related to giraffes though not long and leggy. It's striped in it's back end like a zebra but has little knobby horns on its head like the giraffe. It's also very shy but we did get a good look at it. We saw a few other birds and animals and then retreated to the café to warm up again. When we came out it had started to rain and it was a cold rain so we decided not to see if it was going to let up and cut our visit short.

Get there via the M56 (junction 14) or the M53 (junction 12). There are brown signs to guide you in. The cost is 10.86 without a donation to the zoo, 11.95 (pounds) with one. Less for kids and seniors, with family and group rates available. It's pretty much all wheelchair accessible and there are several cafes and shops though limited opening in the winter. The zoo is open all year round except for Christmas.

We headed out of Manchester under grey skies and as it looked like rain, we decided to skip Chester Zoo and go to north Wales instead, not far from there. We drove out of the bad weather into Wales and by the time we got to the old town of Conwy, the sun was out and breeze was blowing. We had brought a picnic of sandwiches and fruit to eat at the zoo so we ate them on benches by the walls of Conwy Castle and then went inside to explore. The Castle was built in the 13th century by Edward I and is an astounding structure that still has a lot to view. Most of the towers are still intact and you can go up a stone spiral staircase in some of them to access the battlements along with spectacular views over the old town and the estuary to the Conwy River, filled with both fishing and pleasure boats. Very picturesque. We wandered around the castle for awhile, taking lots of pictures. We weren't too keen on the stair cases as they looked a bit treacherous to us and stayed on solid ground. There is a little exhibit in the Chapel tower where the royal chapel was and you can still see a hearth in the area where the King's Apartments were. There was also an 80 foot well in a courtyard and of course there's a visitor center and shop.

The town of Conwy is still surrounded by medieval walls that you can walk around. Good views from up there too, I expect. We walked around the narrow streets, gawping at all the old buildings. We discovered one gift shop that had very Goth type items and gifts in a lower level and we took great delight in perusing the crystals, dragons and other fantasy type items. It's on Castle Street but I can't remember the name of it. Another shop we passed had amazing Celtic type jewellry and i think it was called The Pearl of Conwy on the High Street. There is one large old house that's a little worse for wear on the outside, Aberconwy House, thought to be the oldest town house dating from the 14th century which is a museum. There is also Plas Mawr, which means "Great Hall" and is an Elizabethan mansion in very good shape. This is also a museum. We really weren't planning to go to all the museums though, content to wander, window shop and take photos. The main town square has a statue of Llewellyn Ap Iowerth or Llewellyn the Great who founded the Aberconwy Abbey which was located in Conwy until Edward I moved it to another location when he built the castle. There are so many old buildings in Conwy and if you enjoy architecture as I do, it's well worth a stop!

We went outside the city walls onto the waterfront. Conwy was once a thriving fishing port but it's mostly home to pleasure and leisure boats now. There was a bit of construction or something going on so it was a little noisy but we wanted to and did find the oldest house in Great Britain. It's a little cottage painted red and built into the wall of the town. It measures 72 inches wide and 122 inches high, consisting of one room down and one up and costing 75p to go inside and have a look. A very pleasant lady in traditional Welsh dress was out front to tell us about the history of the house that was occupied up until about 100 years ago. The last owner, a fisherman, was 6'4"! The little room downstairs had a small table and a chair, a hearth and some shelves on the walls. Upstairs, the bedroom was reached via a narrow ladder through a trap door. There was a bed and a dresser and a few pictures on the wall there. Hard to imagine someone living in a place that small!

We walked along the beach a bit, admiring the boats and the views and then decided we would still have time to stop in Llandudno on the way back home. Llandudno is a lot more Victorian than Conwy and was and still is a popular holiday stop. There are a lot of hotels here, many of which are found in the elegant Georgian and Victorian terrace houses that stretch along the wide bay. There's a pier with a few souvenir shops and arcades. Llandudno is cradled between some high hills, one more popular is the Great Orme. It's a good place for hiking and there is a Victorian era tram line that will take you up to the summit though you can also drive there as well. That's no fun, is it!

We paid for the tram. You go half way up and change trains to go to the summit. It only takes about 10 minutes and the rails follow some little streets past some very pretty old houses on the way up to the half way stop. It was cold and windy up at the top and the café and visitor center was closed! Nearly 5 o'clock though so I guess that's why. We really enjoyed the views, however. Nearby on a hill you could see where hikers had written words and names and symbols using rocks.

We headed for the pier when we descended and walked to the end and discovered the bar and coffee shop there were both closed as well! Sheesh! Friday night and they rolled up the boards! Not very encouraging to tourists on the Friday of a bank holiday weekend in May! I think a return trip to Llandudno is in order, to see a bit more of the town and walk the Promenade. Unsuccessful yet again in a quest for a cup of tea, we gave it up for a lost cause and headed back to Manchester.

We had no particular plans for today but had half a tank of gas in the rental car. Since we'd prepaid for it and could take the car back to Avis empty, there was no sense in wasting it. On impulse I suggested Blackpool. Blackpool is not a place I ever really fancied going. Think a cross between Coney Island and Las Vegas! It was a small village with 7 miles of great beach and in the Victorian era, it's popularity exploded. It's now a very famous and popular vacation resort city filled with amusement parks, arcades, bingo halls, and other exhibitions and attractions guaranteed to exhaust both your spirit and your wallet! Still, it is only about an hour's drive and it's a sunny, windy day and hey, it's got a tower to go up! Graham loves the place and never thought it was some place that I would suggest so he was pleased!

I was astonished at the long streets of terrace houses where every single one on both sides of the streets had signs outside advertising that they were hotels and guest houses. There are hundreds of places to stay from small Bed and Breakfasts to 4 star luxury hotels. All the streets are very densely built with houses and shops and there's a pedestrian shopping precinct around the tower which is modeled generally after the Eiffel Tower. We parked near the Tower on the brash and sassy Golden Mile. This part of the miles-long sea front Promenade is probably the tackiest part, lined with souvenir shops, casinos, a pirate themed leisure center and various exhibitions. There's also a Sea Life center with a great shark tank.

Blackpool Tower was built in the late 19th century and the building also houses an elaborate ballroom, a small aquarium, and now, a circus. There are other games and play areas for kids and it offers entertainment at night for the grown ups. The entrance fee is quite steep at £12.50 per adult but is all inclusive. However, we were really only interested in the tower and the ballroom. The viewing platforms for the ower range from 380 - 420 feet depending on the platform you go onto. The outer decks are enclosed with iron railings and mesh wire so no chance of falling off. Views up and down the sea front and around the area can go for miles on a clear day. There is also a section with a glass floor that you can walk on if you have the nerve! Yes, I did! It's a queer feeling though. You know, logically, that it will hold you but your body says uh uh! That's glass and it's going to crack! It doesn't of course.

You can buy certificates in the little shop to declare that you've either walked on it or chickened out. The clerk there seemed to be having some difficulty spelling names and going past any speed over slow motion! The ballroom is very elaborately decorated. There's a big dance floor and the music is provided by a guy on stage playing a large white Wurlitzer organ. Couples both professional and amateur can dance and there's lots of tables to sit and watch with a drink from the bar. The ceilings are ornate to the point of being overdone but it really is something to see!

The main drag along the sea front is the Promenade. It's all lit up at night with neon and lots of lights strung across the roads, the "Illuminations" get even more elaborate in the fall. Down on the beaches, children can go on donkey rides and there are horse and buggy rides for hire and old tram cars that traverse the front from the North to the large South side Pleasure Beach fun fair and amusement park. We didn't go in there but it contains one of the scariest looking roller coasters I've ever seen!

We walked along the windy front and spotted a Doctor Who exhibit. Both of us being fans, we couldn't pass that up and it was very good, too! Lots of costumes and models of the monsters and aliens from across the 40 year history of the BBC series. There was a replica of the original Tardis interior and there were displays of Cybermen and Daleks, two of the most popular and menacing villains in the show's history! There was also a speaker that made your voice sound like a gravely metallic Dalek! There was Bessie, an antique roadster driven by one of the Doctors and a model of K-9 the robotic dog. Fabulous!

More walking, more pictures, and of course, you can't leave Blackpool without a couple of sticks of Blackpool rock, the famous rock candy with "Blackpool" visible right through it! We drove down the whole "golden mile" on the way out to get a closer look by the Pleasure Beach which, by the way, is only open seasonally from March until November. It's got rides, entertainment shows, bowling, skating, Ripley's Believe it or Not, and the water park. The actual beach at that end of the city looked quite nice with high grassy dunes hiding much of it from the road. The seaside is a popular place for holidays and the determined will even sit out on their lounge chairs in a brisk wind or a light rain! Along the beach we saw a huge mirror ball and a replica rocket from the old series the Thunderbirds. There's a large water park on the south end as well. The trams first appeared in the late 1800's and travel along the seafront for about 12 miles from one end to the other. Will i go back again? I suppose I might, even if just to see the Zoo and a bit more of the sights. Never say never!

I was part of a group of friends that gathered in Manchester in September 2000. We rented an 18 seat mini bus and did some day trips around the area. On one of those days, 8 of us decided to rent an 8 seat mini van and drive over to the historic city of York. I'd been there once, years before as part of an organized bus tour and one other of our group had been there many times but it was new for the rest of the group.

We headed off cross country on the M62 to Yorkshire. The drive takes about an hour and a half, not much difference to the train journey from Piccadilly station to York station. This is a busy highway and the main west-east artery for that area.

We arrived in York near to noon and parked in a Park and Ride lot. The city of York discourages traffic in the historic center and provides several of these car parks with free parking and a cheap return fare on a city transit bus into the center of the city, about 10 minutes away. We picked up tourist brochures at the bus stop and perused them on the way in and picked a 300 year old pub, called the Punch Bowl for our lunch break which we would do first to shore up our resources for an afternoon of exploring this lovely quaint city.

The pub is inside the pedestrian section of York on a street called Stonegate. Many of the medieval streets in York are ended with "gate" and there are four old entrances to the city still standing but these are not called gates, but "bars". Micklegate Bar is probably the most photographed. Much of old York is still circled by city walls as well. The pub was low ceilinged and half beamed with several small rooms. We managed to find two tables for four each and ordered a meal. I had shepherd's pie and when it came, hot and steamy with real beef and gravy and creamy buttery mashed potatoes on top, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! The only thing that really took away from the old pub was a gambling machine behind us that was chirping and beeping and playing the theme tune from the cartoon series The Simpson's! Indignantly we decided they ought not to be allowed in a pub like that but I suppose competition wins out.

Well fed and watered (ok, "ale'd") we wandered down Stonegate, admiring the shops and architecture and narrow alleys and lanes leading off the road. Looking up past street level is entertaining too because there are often lots of little details on the corners of the buildings. One photo I took is of a plaster devil painted all red. This road led across St. Helen's square and farther on to the grandiose York Minster, a soaring gothic cathedral that guards the city.

It seems to have more light inside than Westminster Abbey in London and has less of the memorials and tombs than Westminster does as well though of course there are quite a few still. The stained glass windows in the nave and transepts are wonderful, soaring tall and perpendicular to echo the pillars and buttresses and the vaulted ceilings way above you will guarantee a crick in your neck as you gawp up in amazement. You may take photos but are required to buy a photo "license", basically that's just another way to raise money for the upkeep as there is no entrance fee, only a donation box at the door. You can climb up in the tower or go down into the crypt for another fee but I didn't do that. I had a look around but I had been here before in 1993 so I didn't spend a lot of time exploring. I had a look in the gift shop and then decided I better find a toilet. Outside, I saw Alan and told him what I was in search of and followed a sign down High Petergate to a public toilet. Well I followed the sign but I guess didn't go far enough because I was in despair of finding it so sneaked into a pub and used theirs. The pub was a few doors away from Bootham Bar and I found out later that the toilet was just outside the archways of the Bar.

Back with the group, we set off for the Shambles via Lower Petergate. At that point everyone was oohing and ahing over the medieval houses and narrow streets. I thought, just you wait! About halfway down there we saw a busker on the street entertaining the tourists. But we were astonished to see that his musical instrument was a full sized upright piano! Now that's what we call trying hard! Mind you he must have been doing well at it because he had a mobile phone on his hip.

Back to York. When we turned the corner into the Shambles Alan and I watched everyone's jaw drop! The street is about 6 or 8 feet across with a narrow pavement on either side. This used to be the area where the butchers had their abattoirs and shops and under the overhang of some of the houses you can still see meat hooks. Near the middle of the street are several houses that lean and twist and the upper floor levels are leaned into the street so far that two people could lean out the windows and shake hands across the gap! All the houses have shops in them now whether they did originally or not which of course does take away from the authenticity of them. One of the most twisted little houses belonged to Margaret Clitherow and her husband, a local merchant in Elizabethan times. Margaret was a secret Catholic and then not so secret and it got her into trouble because she was caught hiding priests in her house. She was in and out of prison several times and eventually executed for her treasonous activities. Inside the house where she lived is a little altar and shrine to her. She has been canonized as well and is a saint. We ducked in there for a look. Duck is the right word too, as the doorway was barely high enough for me to get in and I'm 5'8.

Down the street a little farther we explored and photographed. Connie found a little lane called "Hornpot Lane" leading to a little cemetery and church, Trinity Church, a little bastion of peace and quiet only yards away from the busy tourist track of the Shambles. She scooted down there for a look while I found a market down another lane behind the Shambles. I didn't linger however as I wanted to keep with the group.

Finally at the end of the Shambles we regrouped and checked our maps. Most of the group wanted to go to the Jorvik Viking museum. I had thought I would go to the larger York castle museum. We made our way down another short street but I spied some shops that caught my interest and changed my mind and decided to shop instead. I figured the museum would be too big to see much in the time we were going to stay so shopping suited me. Christine came back and joined me. Later, we found the Jorvik museum and had a cup of tea in the tea room though the others were long gone. We wandered outside the pedestrian area and discovered a long yellowed half beamed building which was the Merchant Adventurer's Hall, a sort of guild hall but it was closed by this time. The sky, which had become overcast by the time we got to the Minster, had darkened a bit and we thought it might rain.

We made our way to the museum situated beside what little remains of the old York castle, Clifford's tower, sitting on a grassy mound. The others had been inside exploring and taking photos of the view over York. We met up and went to the museum but it was just closing so we browsed the gift shop for a few minutes. It's nearly 5 by this time so we decided to cross the road to the bus stop, having walked ourselves out. A short wait in the riverside park where the River Ouse was actually flooding part of the park near it's banks and then back to the mini bus.

The drive back was quieter as we were tired but happy. A bit more traffic and we got back into Manchester and to the hotel by 7.

York is an easy day trip from Manchester. We've taken the train and also driven the distance, both take about an hour to an hour and a half. Most things are within walking distance of the York station and a day return ticket isn't very costly. This is a travelogue about one of the three day trips (so far) that we've made from Manchester, zipping over the Pennines on the M62 on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday in May.

We have some friends in the city of York who had urged us to come over and visit for a meal and a drink if we had the time and since we had nothing special planned for today, we decided that would be a nice day trip. It's a Bank Holiday Monday but the traffic didn't seem too bad at all, surprisingly and once out of Manchester, even the weather cleared up! Good thing, too because it was miserable when we left.

We got on the road to York fairly early and arrived by 10:30. The breeze was cool but that's good for walking around. We found a car park and walked into the city center, browsing in the market behind the Shambles and checking out some of the more unusual shops. York is wonderful. It's one of our favourite cities. Even though it's usually very crowded with tourists in the daytime, there is just so much to see and do. There are some great museums, both large and small, none of which i have had the time to see yet. Most unfortunate and something i plan to rectify at some point. There is the towering Minster. There are walls around most of the city that you can walk along. There are hidden gems and we located one of them. We found a lovely old church, Trinity church which is located down a little lane off Colliergate, one street over from The Shambles which is the street that you always see pictured for York, with it's crooked, medieval houses. These are actually all over the city center, though and though crowded, the other streets aren't nearly so packed out as the Shambles.

Some parts of Holy Trinity Church date as far back as the 14th century with stained glass from the 15th C. but most of the exterior and interior dates from the 17th century now. The peaceful church yard is small and green with a few tombstones. The church itself was bright inside with some pretty stained glass windows and boxed pews. Apparently the church is supposed to be haunted but we did not see any ghosts today. Someone was taking a group around and talking about the church but we didn't stay overly long.

Met the first of our friends at the Last Drop Inn on Colliergate for a quick drink and then proceeded to meet more friends for lunch. We ended up at an Italian restaurant called Caesar's on Goodramgate, not far from the Minster, because our original choice was full and had long queues waiting. The restaurant had a reasonable lunch special and the food was quite tasty. We had an enjoyable meal with our friends in nice surroundings (well, just about anywhere in York is nice!). Another drink at the Three Legged Mare (refers to the gallows, a replica of which is erected in a little garden area out back) on High Petergate and we all parted company.

On the way in to York, across the fields, I spotted one of those observation wheels. We found out that it was on the grounds of the National Railway Museum near the trains station so we headed over there. The Yorkshire Wheel is newly built and while it isn't as high as the London Eye, at 54 metres high, it still affords views for miles over the city and the Yorkshire countryside. It has 54 pods that are climate controlled including a VIP pod for private hire. You go around several times in pods that can hold a maximum of 4 or 6 adults and 2 kids but that would be a bit crowded for me! We had a pod with 2 aside and that was plenty! The views were indeed very good, you could really see the height of York Minster in relation to the rest of the city center. As I mentioned, it was a breezy day. Windier than I realized, though, and when we started to rise up we could hear a fierce whistling sound! The wind was really blowing against the pods though it wasn't really swinging them much. The noise was a bit disconcerting, however. The National Railway Museum is free but it was 6 pounds per person (less for children and seniors) for the wheel.

We were quite footsore by now and not sure how far away the car park was so we took a cab from the nearby train station back to where the car was. Again we were lucky with very little traffic back to Manchester on the M62, normally quite a busy motorway. The Pennines were sweeping away from the road and I think the scenery was nicer coming back than going over. Not sure how that worked! The sun was bright but then the clouds got thicker and darker closer to Manchester, similar to when we returned from sunny North Wales the other day. We joked that we were returning to Mordor! (dark city of doom in Lord of the Rings!) In fact, it had rained most of the day there and by the time we arrived back, the sun was only just starting to break through and we saw first one rainbow and then a double rainbow as we entered the city.

Today's plan is a day outing to our favourite historic city, York, meeting a friend called Richard for lunch. It's raining this morning. I'm hoping the weather on the other side of the Pennines is better. Graham has an appointment this morning and it took longer than expected so we were a bit late arriving. Another glitch but this time, having a shiny new mobile phone was very handy! We found the lovely historic pub, The Last Drop Inn without any trouble. This pub is one of three that are owned by a York micro brewery, all using the theme of the gallows. The other two actually have replicas of Gallows which would be very cool to see. Will have to make a point of drinking in the other two next time! This pub has memorabilia reminiscent of the highwayman Dick Turpin and has no ugly modern intrusions like pool tables or gambling machines. We had a few drinks and a nice meal. We could have sat there all afternoon talking but our friend had to get going and do some work. Or at least that was his plan. He didn't end up doing a stick of work and accused *us* of being bad influences!

We went to Monk Bar, one of the old York city gates. There is a small museum in this old city gate that honours the memory of Richard III, the last of the medieval kings and the most notorious one. He has long been rumoured to have killed two princes, his nephews, in the Tower of London and thus claim the throne for himself. There is a Richard III Society that maintains this is a scurrilous piece of bad publicity generated by the Tudors who wrestled the throne from Richard a few years later and this museum is run by that Society. It basically puts forth the against arguments and counters them with positive evidence and arguments. Visitors are invited to vote. There are posters all over that emulate the kinds of tabloid headlines that would have been written if the scandal had hit in today's world.

After leaving there, we walked some of the walls that surround much of the city, the stretch that circles behind the mighty York Minster looks over beautiful gardens and probably has the prettiest views. It's still a bit cloudy but warm and the sun is evident most of the time.

We walk through the older narrow lanes and window shop, admiring one particular store that specializes in armour and swords. We check out the Shambles and have a peek into the grand Minster. The old architecture is one of the main reasons I love York. We really haven't time to go to any of the other museums so another visit in the future is definitely in order. York is a very old city going back to the Roman times and flourished with the Viking occupation. York Minster is one of the largest cathedrals in the UK and is very impressive from the inside and from the outside, dominating the skyline.

We head back to Manchester by train in the early evening and arrive home by about 8:30. A quiet evening in to rest our feet.

I was to catch the train at 9:37 which takes about 45 minutes to get from Manchester Piccadilly station to Liverpool Lime St. The bus into Manchester was late. And when I got off the bus, the heavens opened and I got wet. The ticket machines were out of order and there was a queue at the ticket windows. I got the ticket but the platform was way the back of beyond. I get to the platform to see a train, my watch indicating it was about 38 seconds before departure so I hopped on and found a seat, trying to rearrange my damp hair, purse, bag etc.

About 10 minutes after the train pulled away, the conductor came around and inspected my ticket. He frowned. I'm on the wrong train? Well.. he started, you *can* get to Liverpool from here but you'll have to change at Wigan! That's not all, apparently I also have to change train STATIONS! Later on I checked my notebook...I had written the train should be green and say something about a Central line. Which this one wasn't and didn't. I sat there stressed, wet, and chilled. If there's one thing I HATE is being late! Neither of us had a mobile phone and I had about 20 minutes to run across the road in Wigan to the other station. I tried calling but of course he had already left for Lime Street. The damp clothing wasn't the only thing causing steam to rise off my body!

This little detour made me 45 minutes late but Phil wouldn't leave the station without me. I was tired, grumpy, damp, stressed and hungry. The first thing I needed to do was get fed and watered so we landed in a café near the train station for a sandwich and cup of tea and decided what our plan of action would be.

Liverpool is a large port city that has been the gateway to thousands of emigrants over the years. The waterfront in Liverpool has been restored into a large tourist complex called Albert Dock. We headed there first but our attention was taken by a city tour that you can take in an old WWII amphibian vehicle that drives you around the city then splashes down in the waters around the docks.

We bought our tickets for the Liverpool Duck tour which didn't leave for about 30 minutes and had a browse through the souvenir shops in the Dock complex. Liverpool is the home of the Beatles so there's lots of souvenirs relating to the Fab Four. I like the Beatles but I'm more of a Rolling Stones girl I was more interested in seeing the city itself, the buildings, the atmosphere.

The Duck tour takes about 3/4 hour to drive around the city, with an audio broadcast of the history of the city and interesting points. The city center is fairly compact between the Docks and the Cathedral and the architecture of Liverpool is really beautiful. There was a lot of bomb damage here during WWII and in Manchester but it seems like a lot of the buildings still survived. Arriving back at the Dock for the water journey, the co-captain took the microphone for some live commentary. He was very good and had an ironic and droll sense of humour.

There are three huge buildings on the waterfront, the most famous being the Royal Liver Building, an insurance company. This was built around 1907. The corners are topped with 2 18 foot "Liver" birds based probably on cormorants. The other two buildings are the Cunard building and the Port of Liverpool and together they are known as the Three Graces. We went inland away from the waterfront past the Victoria memorial that is on the spot where Liverpool Castle used to stand.

I thought that I might as well have a look-see down Matthew street, where the Cavern Club was but first, I had to buy some film. On the way back towards Matthew Street I spied a small building on a small narrow street leading off the one we were on. It was painted yellow and had timbers on the outside and looked interesting enough to run across the street and investigate. We discovered an old inn, now a pub, with a 1726 date on the building and it was called Ye Hole in Ye Wall. The street is called Hackin's Hey and is one of the oldest streets in Liverpool. No question about it, I HAD to have a drink in a pub with a name like that so in we went. Low ceilings, lots of wood and comfortable chairs. It looked old and felt old aside from a television behind the bar and a radio on. This seemed like the genuine article. The irony of it all was that the pub is built on the spot where an old Quaker meeting house once stood!

Off we go again to admire the buildings, always looking up to see the detailing on them which sometimes isn't evident unless you look above you at the windows and eaves. We go down Matthew St., a narrow cobbled pedestrian street strewn with Beatles' shops, statues and posters. The Cavern Club that stands today is not the original where they played. The opposite side is marked by a wall of fame consisting of bricks with names of hundreds of artists that played in the Club over its 40 year history.

There is a life sized statue of John Lennon leaning against a post.There's also a monument that depicts "Mother Liverpool" holding three cherubs while a fourth flies off to one side with the motto "John Lives" above it. I didn't bother shopping for Beatles souvenirs nor did I take a photo of the lonely looking sculpture of Eleanor Rigby on a bench around the corner.

There is another cluster of large stately buildings around a square reminiscent of Trafalgar Square, with a fountain and column in the center topped with a statue, this one representing the Duke of Wellington. There is the mid Victorian St. George's Hall which is definitely worth a look into and another pillared building, circa 1860, with a sweeping staircase houses the Liverpool Museum. There's the circular Picton library and reading room dating from 1879 and the Walker Art Gallery in a building constructed in 1887. It's cloudy so the granite buildings look particularly imposing. There really isn't' time to go look inside all the buildings nor spend time browsing the gallery this trip.

It's been a long time since lunch so Phil took me to a Chinese restaurant on Hanover Street, the Golden Phoenix where we took advantage of a 3 course fixed price "lunch" that they stopped serving at 5 p.m. We got there just under the wire.

After our meal we walked up to the huge Anglican Cathedral, the largest of it's kind in the world and 5th largest cathedral of any denomination. This cathedral was built inthe 20thC. and was finished about 30 years ago. Unfortunately it was after 6 when we got there and closed to the public. The stained glass, judging from the outside, looked like it would be very intricate.

We stopped to admire the new arch on the street that leads into Liverpool's small Chinatown district. Liverpool actually had a larger Chinatown for many years, with immigrants there working at the port but it's shrunk in size and there is now a larger Chinatown centered in Manchester. We walked along an elegant row of Georgian houses on Rodney Street on our way back to the train station. It's getting dark now and I hadn't been planning to stay on to sample any of the night life. I made sure Phil directed me to the right train this time and with hugs and kisses I took my leave.

On the journey back I made friends with a small blonde four year old girl who was traveling to Bradford with her father. Her name was Etty. Her father seemed to be more interested in sharing his tins of ale with someone he knew or maybe just met down the car further and Etty was left to her own devices. He would call up now and then to see if she was ok. She was curious about my journal, seeing me writing and came over and we chatted. I let her "write" in the back of it while we discussed our journeys. Her father was an avid Everton football team supporter and had her trained well. Once or twice he'd call down to her, "Etty! What's ManU (Manchester United)?" and she'd correctly reply as required "shite, Dad" ! We enjoyed each other's company until Manchester Picadilly where I got off the train and took a cab back to Alan's because I couldn't be sure I'd recognize where to get off the bus in the dark.

Buxton is in the Peak District which is a lovely part of Northwest England, perhaps not as dramatic as the Lake District but still worth a visit. It's actually quite high above sea level, about 1000 feet around Buxton which is an old spa town with baths and a lot of beautiful and elegant Georgian and Victorian buildings. The weather doesn't look promising but that's pretty common for this time of year.

After a 40 minute journey, passing some pretty towns and high rolling hills we reached Buxton. We walked around a bit and then had lunch in a Wetherspoon's pub. The interior was lovely! Teal blues and whites and wicker furniture and the bathroom was so beautiful I even took a picture of it in all it's gleaming marble and chrome glory! Lunch was hot and filling and standard pub style food.

Alan and I did a little window shopping up the precinct and continued up a fairly steep hill to the Market Square where the Town Hall was. There were some pretty shops and one window that caught my eye was a violin store but the window display was all miniature instruments and cases. We walked back down past a hilly park to where the building that housed the baths is. Beside that is a long glassed in Victorian conservatory called the Pavillion Gardens that we had a gander though, mainly to get out of the rain which had started up in earnest. Behind it is the Buxton Opera House. We opted for a tea break at a café beside a very old hotel which may have been a manor at one time that claimed to have been a stopover for Mary, Queen of Scots.

We caught the train back to Manchester, suffering the high spirited noisy chatter of a group of teenagers who obviously travel to and from school on the train. We were on a time constraint which is why we couldn't stay in Buxton longer as we were going to the Royal Exchange Theatre tonight with John, Nikki and Annie to see Uncle Vanya by Checkov.

There was time to head to Bella Pasta on Deansgate before the play for a pizza. I've described the theatre in another review. The play was very good although we found our seats rather uncomfortable. We had tickets for the very top gallery which was cheap but you do miss some of the facial nuances. I really enjoyed the production. We thought most of the performances were excellent. There was a discussion with the director and some of the actors afterwards and we filed down to the main level of the theatre (and the comfy seats) to listen and join in. We all shared a cab home afterwards, and I was looking forward to stretching out in bed.

Today Rose and Malachy are flying over from Cork, Ireland so we were waiting for her call. Chris spent yesterday with Phil in Liverpool doing Beatles touristy stuff. They would be over later today. Rose called and we arranged to meet her and Mal about 2. We just walked around central Manchester, stopping for photos at the Chinatown arch and for coffee later on at Starbucks. Rose and Mal kept us in stitches of giggles all afternoon. Their Irish cheerfulness and devastating sense of humour began the weekend on the right foot! We had a look inside the Exchange theatre and wandered through the Arndale Center but we were all tired and there was a long evening ahead. Alan and I went back to the flat to get cleaned up and changed and shared a cab with Annie and Chris back into town.

Tonight starts off at the Kwok Man restaurant in Chinatown. We were 11 in total, including another two ladies that made the journey to Manchester. The Chinese banquet was tasty, the beer washed it down probably a little too well and the night was still young! We went to a nearby pub, the Old Monkey from there and stayed until chucking out time. John, Nikki and Phil left us here and Annie led the rest of us to a club. We didn't stay there long. The music got progressively louder to the point of pain and mostly it was rap music which didn't suit us in the least. Changing direction again we went to Copperface Jack's, a pub in the Palace Theatre. We gathered around in a boothand saw the night out. Most of us were well into our cups by the time we finally left at closing time and we haunted the wet streets for taxis along with dozens of other clubbers recently released from their places of "worship". I do believe Rose and Annie were yodeling on the sidewalks of Manchester at one point and I'm sure I heard Alan and one or two others burst into some song that I didn't recognize. We got back to Chorlton well after 3 but didn't go to bed for awhile so I guess it was around 4 by the time Alan and I faded into the bedrooms for a few hours kip.

Saturday was a pretty quiet day. I got up around 11, feeling not really too much worse for it. A large hot cup of tea *really* hits the spot this morning. Philip called in shortly after. He was his usual bouncy self, abetted by the fact that he had gone back to John's at a reasonable hour unlike the rest of us. Alan stumbled down the hall, having heard the door, and his internal radar led him directly to the kettle first and foremost. About a half hour later, someone knocked on the window. That would be Chris. He was definitely the worst of the four of us, but was upright so that's encouraging. Phil, Chris and I headed out to the grocery store to purchase snacks for Annie's party. Chris decided it was no good, he was going back to Annie's for another sleep. Phil and I found a "greasy spoon" café so I could have breakfast... brunch? It's after 2 p.m., what would you call it?

Alan was out by the time we got back so I dozed at one end of the couch and Phil watched the football match with the sound off. He took off back to John's for his tea after and Alan and I just puttered about until it was time to go to Annie's in the evening. The party was a quiet affair after last night's events and was a wonderful way to end my holiday.

October 7
Chris is driving me to Birmingham today to catch the National Express bus Airport link directly to Heathrow. I've got a room at one of the Sheratons for tonight and I fly out tomorrow at noon. We made good time to Birmingham so he drove me around the center of Birmingham a bit just to see the lay of the land Hugs and kisses and off he goes. The bus journey was about 3 and a half hours I think. I bought a return ticket on the Hotel Hopper and checked in. I turned on the television to discover that the U.S. and the U.K. had began the bombing of Afghanistan. I didn't leave the news on long. It's not really the sort of thing you want to be watching the day before you fly. I had a very expensive burger and chips in the bar at the hotel and watched television the rest of the night.

I thought I ought to get to the airport plenty early, not knowing what it would be like this morning. I expected it to be a zoo, but although there were lots of people, the lineup at the Air Canada check in was surprisingly short. I decided to check my carry on as well. I had three hours to kill in the airport and I wasn't lugging that around on my shoulder. The security checks weren't horrendous as I had expected them to be.

Did some shopping in Heathrow, always an experience! I decided to spend some of the cash I had left on a full breakfast which was probably the most expensive eggs, bacon and sausage I've ever eaten! I didn't really mind, though, I had no used for the cash and didn't want to save it for next time.

The Chatsworth estate is an easy day trip if you're based in Manchester or Liverpool. It's based in the Peak District National Park amid rolling hills dotted with sheep. Chatsworth is the home of the Dukes of Devonshire, the Cavendish family. The first house was started in the mid 16th century and has grown and altered through the years, the present house having it's beginnings at the end of the 17th century. The house has been open to visitors from early 18th century. The present Duke is the 11th. The gardens are very lovely and have been cultured and redeveloped for centuries with the hand of Capability Brown in there along with others. The current Duchess has even written a book on the evolution of the garden as well as other books about aspects of the house and estates. Cost is about 12 pounds to see the house and gardens. Not cheap but average for similar manors and attractions.

The day we went was misty and a bit rainy. The first view of the grand house through the fog across the grounds from the top of the drive was spectacular! There's a car park available and when you finally enter the house, you are in a grand entryway with soaring painted ceilings. You go up one magnificent staircase to the right and at the end of the tour, you come down the one on the opposite side of the entry. We went through all the rooms that were open to the public. Absolutely amazing, the opulence! Walls and ceilings painted elaborately, woodwork intricately carved and molded. There were displays of silver, gold, china, old books, lots of paintings and portraits. There was a spiral of keys from large to tiny set in a picture frame, there was a delicate wood carving and a room/gallery of sculpture. One of the better known things is a door at the back of the music room that looks like there is a violin hanging on it. The whole door and violin are a painting, a "trompe D'oeil". The sculpture gallery and orangerie is the last room before a gift shop. Also in the stable/carriage block are a café, restaurant, a seed shop and another gift shop.

The gardens have miles of paths, fountains, a yew maze, a farm area with animals for the kids. There are lots of sculptures scattered about the gardens, both classic and modern. The Cascade fountain is one of the more famous ones, not far from the house. We didn't tramp around outside in the park too much because of the weather but did have a look at the Cascade Fountain and the rose gardens, warming up after with a hot cup of tea in the restaurant which is situated in the old Stable block along with a shop and cafe.

The house has quite a few steps in all, but is wheelchair accessible if you make prior arrangements. The ground floor is accessible through the gift shop in the back. There is an audio guide available.

A little more about the house, there is a village nearby, Edensor, that was built to house the servants of the house. The house itself was so expensive to keep that the National Trust now owns it and the Duke is now in effect a tenant himself.