Four Men leave Manchester and head for open water

Once out of of Manchester's urban sprawl, the scenery started to get a little greener.  The region's industrial heritage was never very far away, though.

The submerged "keep left" sign had us puzzled for a while until we realised it had been placed in the canal deliberately to stop boats running aground in the shallows.

The wall decoration hinted at the multi-cultural nature of the area.

What we hadn't expected to see on the towpath in a major industrial city were orchids: dozens of them.

The canal was derelict when we walked it in 1979, but it is now navigable thanks to major restoration work around the turn of the millennium.  The dates on the lock gates are testament to the amount of work which when into the task.

Also in evidence was the "good taste" of some of the area's residents.

Who could resist buying an ice cream from this particular emporium?

I started to collect "sunken trollies" until they became too easy to find.

Now, a swan-shaped pedalo - I didn't expect one of those.  Nobody expects...

The sun came out for a few minutes, prior to a series of rain showers, but at least we had left most of the industrial dereliction behind.

We came across a lock which, from a distance, looked like someone was having a birthday party there owing to the number of balloons in evidence.  Sadly the reason for the balloons became all too clear as we got closer, as the side of the lock was littered with floral tributes to a 13 year old boy who had just drowned there.  It was very touching, and heart-breaking, to hear the story from his friends who had come to pay tribute after school.

By now we were all footsore and looking forward to a break, but at least there was some attractive scenery to look at.

Soon things started to get more urban again as we approached the metropolis which is Rochdale.  Whatever you say about the Lancastrians (and, let's face it, who doesn't?) they certainly have a talent for inventing memorable names.

As we left the canal to walk back to the car, we saw a signpost which confirmed we actually been on "Route 66".  Who'd have thought it?

Then it was back to the B&B in order to nurse swollen feet and manifold blisters.  If only I'd heeded my daughter's advice and brought some Compeed with me...

Four Men and a Canal in Central Manchester

Once upon a time - December 1979 to be exact - four fresh-faced undergraduates decided to walk the length of the Rochdale Canal, starting in Sowerby Bridge and ending up in Central Manchester.  Although I was one of that intrepid band, I remember very little of the trip other than it being cold and extremely wet for the entire journey.

A year or so ago, one of the four (let's call him "Julian" to protect his identity) came up with the cunning plan that - almost 40 years later - we should revisit the scene of our former triumph.  It seemed a great idea at the time, but the closer we got to "RC" day, the more ambitious - and foolhardy - the whole scheme appeared.  In recognition of our advancing years, the decision was taken to base ourselves at a good B&B high up on the moors outside Hebden Bridge rather than slumming it in Youth Hostels (a bit of an oxymoron at our age), and June seemed a better month to tackle the walk than December since (allegedly) the weather is better in "summer".  We also decided to do the walk in reverse, starting at the "grotty" end in Central Manchester, and ending up in the idyllic surroundings of God's Own County.

Enough preamble - on with the walk.

The four of us (myself, another Ian, Peter and the aforementioned Julian) started off by driving to Rochdale and then catching the tram into Manchester.  According to the advertising on the tramway, the whole transportation system was clearly aimed at "cool dudes" rather than a bunch of geriatrics attempting to recapture their mis-spent youth.

I should point at at this juncture that I was the "normal" person on this trip, being the only one not obsessed with some form of transport system (Canals for the other Ian, and trains for Peter and Julian).  Ok, so I was obsessed with taking pictures of everything - including Rochdale's highly attractive Fire Service Museum and Hindu Temple - but that's perfectly normal.  Isn't it?

Rochdale might have been a bit down at heel, but the new tram network was shiny and exciting.  The track area had also been planted with a covering of alpine flowers, which made it rather attractive if one was prepared to ignore all the litter.

The official start of the Rochdale canal happens to be at the basin just behind where Frances, my elder daughter, lived for her Master's year while at University in Manchester.  All very gentrified nowadays.

The walk then started in earnest.  Note the glorious blue skies which had been promised for our outing during "flaming" June.  Sweaters and waterproofs were the order of the day, sadly.

There were a couple of places where we almost had to wade along the towpath since the locks were overflowing.

The area below clearly has pretentions, naming itself "New Islington Marina".  I'm not sure the inhabitants of the London borough would recognise it as anything to do with them, however...

Rather symbolically, while leaving the city we had to walk through a tunnel covered in graffiti.  It would have been wonderful if, at the other end, there had been a green and pleasant vista after the grime of the city...

...but there wasn't!

Watch out for the next unexciting (and, let's face it, utterly self-indulgent) episode in this saga.

More from the Lowry Outlet Mall

After visiting the Lowry Centre, it was back to earth with a bump as I needed to meet up with the rest of the family in the Outlet Mall.  Quite an impressive place (if you like that kind of thing) but it's clear that there were several empty spaces remaining to be filled.  I love the euphemism involved with such announcements: Exciting New Retailer Coming Soon sounds so much better than Boring Old Retailer Went Bankrupt...

Everything had a "Sale" on, including a rather large kitchen and household goods store.  A bit like a warehouse, with all the charm which that entails.  At least the escalators were rather more aesthetically pleasing!

My final view of the Mall, which seems to sum it up for me.  Several people wandering aimlessly about, buying "stuff" which they don't need and eating fast food which is bad for them.  The bin just about says it all.

Salford Quays and The Lowry Centre

Exactly like the last time I visited, the Manchester weather closed in as soon as we'd reached Salford Quays.  Typical.  This didn't worry Izzi, however, as her prime interest was a retail experience in the Outlet Mall rather than admiring the architecture.  Again, typical!  No problem, as this gave me an hour or so to wander round taking pictures.

I was determined to go into the Lowry Centre as I'd heard the interior was well worth a look.  The exterior wasn't bad either...

I never got to the Lowry exhibition itself as I was overwhelmed by the foyer and theatre.  The whole place is made up of either polished steel or solid blocks of vivid colour: primarily red and orange, but also yellow, blue and purple.  It was one of those places where the main question is "where do I start?".  Well, the following selection of pictures is in no particular order, but I hope will give some flavour of the place.

As you can probably tell, I was totally bowled over by the place.  It was pleasantly empty too, which is more than could be said for the Outlet Mall...