2 August 2016 Burrs Country Park Caravan Club site, Bury, Greater Manchester

In contrast to yesterday’s minor frustrations, today ran smoothly and pretty much according to plan. We drove into Bury, found an all-day park for £5, purchased day tram tickets at a further £5 each, and boarded the tram for Manchester. 

Half an hour later we stepped out onto the Piccadilly Gardens station and straight into the city Information Centre. There we were served by one of the very best “officers” we have encountered, one who very soon gauged what did and did not turn us on as far as sightseeing, and helped us select the attractions for the day and those ahead, and advise the best way to get to each. The order of the day was to set out on foot to see today’s scheduled spots, which suited us well today because our ticket was for tram only, not a “multi-pass”.

Our first stop was the Manchester Art Gallery, which has a marvellous collection of 18^th and 19^th century works, including a wonderful group of works by the Pre-Raphaelites. But the first work to catch our attention was that of Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887 – 1976), and his teacher / mentor, Adolphe Valette (1876 – 1942), who recorded the urban landscapes of this city during the early to mid-twentieth century. One of the big draw cards to Manchester was The Lowry. Both Chris and I are big fans of his work, and the gallery of joint work here in the city’s own gallery was a real bonus.

We spent at least two hours exploring the three floors of the gallery, arranged by theme rather than date or artists, which does make for some adjustment of appreciation. However the only fault I could find with the gallery was the interactive section, positioned slap bang in the middle of the second floor, which is a draw card for mothers and uninhibited little children. The noise or exuberance was most distracting!

It was almost 1pm by the time we emerged out onto St Peter’s Square, little of which is available for al fresco sandwich eating; there is massive construction work going on in the middle of the city. Drizzly rain was falling so our dining experience was less than ideal, however once fed and watered, we headed over to the Town Hall, which we could only poke our nose into as security was tight and the public were not welcome.

This massive civic structure in neo-Gothic style was completed in 1877, and our guide book suggested we should check out the first floor Great Hall, which boasts iron candelabras, stained glass windows and wall paintings by Ford Madox Brown, another artist we are fans of.  Alas, we had to be satisfied with a quick glance at the stone-vaulted corridors.

The Town Hall

Next on the list was the John Rylands Library, truly an enigma. This impressive Victorian Gothic building was built as a library by Enriqueta Tennant in memory of her husband who died in 1875. Wandering through the various floors and into the warren of rooms, it seemed more like a church than a library, however any confusion is quickly dispelled when one sees the shelves and cabinets of rare and old books and manuscripts, many ancient sacred texts in a special exhibition. Mr Tennant had been an extremely wealthy textile merchant, and the excessive nature of this memorial probably did not dent the bank account much, however it has provided the city with an amazing treasure chest. The library opened in 1900 as Enriqueta’s gift to the people of Manchester.

On we went, through the rain, through the streets of the city, busy with folk all going about their business, further west toward the River Irwell, that which passes through the country park where we are camped. The People’s History Museum was also busy, parents using it to fill the wet day in an instructive manner for their families. This, like the John Ryland’s Library, has free entry which is always welcome to us who seek such places. 

The museum is housed in a former pump house and explores the social history of industrialisation, and even more specifically, the political movements that arose from this new society. It is very interesting, although I had thought I would glean a more in depth understanding of the Peterloo Massacre that took place here in Manchester in 1819. This formed the catalyst for the agitation that led to the 1832 Reform Act. Protest movements right up to modern gay rights are touched on here, and there is an excellent exhibition of banners. Again it was the distraction of noisy children that tainted my own experience, but then if one chooses to travel during school holidays, it is simply a fact of life. Personally I found the museum to be very left leaning, however I was not surprised with this; Manchester has a long working class history and a strong history of ties with socialist figures.

From here we found our way back to the same station we had disembarked from, immediately catching a tram and soon back to Bury, and to camp. The rain has cleared a little and tomorrow should be a better. We already have our tour schedule planned; we may well need our estimated four-days-in-Manchester, however we do have a whole week should we need it.