The weather (as you will be very aware if you’re in the UK or NW England) has been a little up and down in a more than strange way so planning for the weekend walking has been a bit more challenging than usual.
Last week we started our new thing of walking to town in the morning before getting to work which, I have to say, has been an incredible addition to my routine. (I can’t say for Jit, but I think he’s enjoying it too as we’re still doing it …and smiling!) On Saturday morning, I woke at 7 am. The cats were still asleep and I could see that Jit was just dozing, so I very romantically whispered ‘do you want to walk to town?’, to which Jit opened his eyes, seemingly a bit bemused at first then agreed. Through whispers we concocted our plans and set about getting ready without disturbing the cats (successfully, I may add!)
A mug of tea inside both of us we set off for our wander into town along our usual route through the houses and along most of our bus route (the track we take of a morning during the week) It was pretty rainy, but nothing that’s too much for us with our super rain coats and preparedness.
It was amazing to be out when the streets were so quiet. We saw many more trucks, but very few people. The streets were still, you could hear the birds and the hum of the traffic could barely be heard – oh and it was free from sirens/quad bikes/scramblers etc too. It was bliss! Just me, Jit and our feet pounding the pavements.
The walk seemed to be quicker, but it could have been because of the feeling of ease with little going on around us and it gave us the opportunity to explore areas that we never wandered before – underneath the high rises, around the back of the houses and around the boats. Turning when something caught our eye and taking no notice of time. We even spotted an absolutely gorgeous example of a Ford Capri (my Dad’s first company car) which I of course had to snap a shot for Instagram!
We used to wander around Manchester and Oxford Road a lot may moons ago when we were students and I was working on a project about ‘Hidden Manchester’ (about the places where the homeless would spend their time and what would happen there) so it was fun to play about in the spaces that used to be there. It is absolutely incredible how much things change in 10 years!! Especially in a city!
We saw old haunts…
New restaurants… Intrigued by the New Yorker! I wonder what kind of veggie stuff they’ll have on the menu?!
New places to visit… (which we initially read as ‘International Anthony Burgers Foundation’!! We must have been hungry!)
The Anthony Burgess Foundation is right near our Halls of Residence from our first year and I don’t remember it being around when we were there so it was nice to discover something new AND somewhere else to visit on a rainy day too. I’ll let you know more about it once we have been!
and stations without people… Deansgate Station.
It was really fun playing in town without the usual hustle and bustle of our morning and evening walks about the place. I can honestly say that I think we’ll be doing it a lot more often – both here and while we are away too!
Anyway, we clocked up our step count exploring town, grabbed some shopping while the shops were quiet and fully stocked and made lightly for the bus to get home for some breakfast which took us to a mere 10:30am!
And this was where the brain wracking went on as we tried to work out what to do with the day being that it was rather damp, could have been sunny, but was definitely warm. Which was when I remembered Rufford Old Hall and the fact that we could use our National Trust membership to go. Free day out, a house to wander about if it’s wet and a garden and lakes to wander if dry. Perfect.
The best part is that it is only 58 minutes from our house – I do love a less than an hour away adventure! So with a quick rustling up of lunch and a flask of tea we were off and on our way.
To read about A Ramble about Rufford, click here…
Keep walking!
