Manchester - day tripper city centre, backstreets and canals

Manchester – day tripper city centre, backstreets and canals

My previous post was quite a contrast to this one.

Last time out, I posted about our trip to The Torrs Riverside Park and the Millennium Walkway at New Mills. This time we headed into the central Manchester, a world away from the countryside setting at the Riverside Park.

However you care to judge it and by any measure, the city is a pretty diverse and energetic place.

Apparently it was named as one of 25 global destinations that were included in the Where to Go 2024 list by a notable American travel journal. Manchester was also named in the New York Times’ 52 Places to Go list for 2024.

Not only that, but Manchester was the only UK city in National Geographic’s influential ‘Best of the World’ list, an annual list setting out 25 of the must-see places to visit around the globe.

More than a days worth, more than a weeks worth

There is so much to see in and around Manchester that I means I’m never really surprised at the accolades the city receives. After all Manchester was the birthplace of the industrial revolution and has a remarkable history in science, politics, music, arts and sport.

I think when you live somewhere you never quite see through the eyes of a tourist, but when I do stop and think about Manchester being promoted as a global destination – it makes nothing but perfect sense. There is so much to see that neither a day nor a week in Manchester would come close to scratching the surface of this extraordinary city.

No plan just a wander around

We had a really enjoyable few hours, took the local train and walked just shy of nine miles for the day. It was only last month we had been in central Manchester and my home city isn’t one I think I will ever tire of.

We had no particular plan other than to pass some time wandering through some of the back streets including taking in a stretch of the Rochdale Canal which was first opened well over 200 years ago and way back in 1804.

I really can’t imagine I will ever get bored of wandering around towns and cities whether here or across Europe. There’s a sort of fascination for me when I look at the buildings – some of them faded and past their best, some in disrepair and unused whilst others look impossibly modern and all of them with stories to tell.

Undoubtedly Manchester is a city full of stories – if you haven’t strolled around the city centre, you should try it, I doubt you will be disappointed.