I have been battling a cold that just won’t break so my wanders have been more limited than usual. Having said that, I did do a bit of a mission to Whitworth Park, Bridgewater Canal and beyond when I had a nice ‘rest’ day with my friend Sam’s dog Cally. I honestly didn’t intend to do 16 miles, but it just seemed to happen. We did have lots of fun though and got to wander through the student areas.
This is Cally!
Borrow My Doggy
I met Sam and Cally through Borrow My Doggy, a site I have been a member of for over 3 years, where you search profiles to find a dog to match your availability. It really is a great way to have fun with dogs when you can’t have your own (with 6 cats, it isn’t really an option for us!)
Cally is my third borrow dog (I used to borrow Belle until she joined the Police and I have Wurst too) and is one of my best friends as she is fun, playful and good to talk to. OK, I could be slightly mad! The great thing about Borrow My Doggy is that not only do I have a dog to borrow to take walking and hiking, but I made a great friend in her owner, Sam! Bonus, I think!
Anyway, I was telling you about our mini adventures, not about Sam and my love for her and Cally!
Whitworth Park
After boring poor Cally while Sam and I caught up over tea and biscuits, I decided that we would head over to Whitworth Park as there is usually plety of space to play fetch and also a good walk to get us there too. Cally thought it was a great idea, obviously!
Whitworth Park is definitely one for the whole family – there is plenty of space for chilling out with a picnic the greatest variety of play equipment (adults, get there at a quiet time so you can have a play too!) and loads of room for dogs to run round too. We have brought Cally to the park a lot of times and she seems to love it. Especially all the sticks she can choose from for the walk back.
It also gave me the opportunity to try grabbing a photo of her catching a treat – you must have seem them doing the rounds on Facebook lately!
Not bad for my first try! 😉
Oxford Road Corridor
One part of Manchester that I like to wander regularly is the Oxford Road Corridor that passes by the hospital and university buildings. Why so fun to wander, you might be asking? Well, it is because I was a student at Manchester Metropolitan University until 2005 and spent a lot of time doing wandering around there then.
I love going back because it changes so often with new buildings being erected and others being pulled down. The changing face of the corridor is always a source of both fascination and nostalgia for me. Oh and listing to and people watching the students is great!
To All Saint’s Park
As we headed down towards the Bridgewater Canal, we passed by the allure of the book stand so quickly dashed past to have a quick wander around All Saint’s Park (one of many great picnic places in Manchester) where they had a lovely Welcome sculpture.
Having narrowly avoided buying lots of cheap books, we enjoyed our little distraction in the park and headed back en route to the canal. Through Deansgate and into Castlefield joining the canal at the Marina.
The autumnal sun was absolutely gorgeous, highlighting the way and of course making photo opportunities rife – much to Cally’s dismay as it paused ball and stick playing!
Canal Time
I really enjoyed walking towards Salford for a change as we are normally walking back and I miss out on some fantastic shots of the buildings, sunshine and water. Cally was not a willing model for many of the shots, but I did try!
Canal Sunshine
It is funny how differently things look when you take the route the other way round! I always love to go both ways around circular routes if time allows as you can feel as though you are in a whole other world, seeing totally new things. This walk on the canal felt just like that. The autumn sun, low in the sky, warming us in the cold breeze and reflecting off the structural parts making them beautiful and exciting!
MediaCityUK
By the time we arrived at Media City, we were pretty tired and ready for a rest. But before we could really settle down, as any good Auntie (yep, I called myself Auntie!) would do, I took Cally to the Blue Peter Garden for a photo!
We even made the security guard laugh as I was directing Cally into a good spot so she could see inside and I could grab a picture. I thought it was fun, but I think Cally was more interested in having the tennis ball out again! 😉
By the time we had a bit of a rest, Jit arrived and it was time to head back into town to drop Cally home. I didn’t take many pictures of the way back as I was having so much fun regaling our tales of our 10 mile walk to Jit. We returned Cally home ready for some sleep, with time for Sam to get on with some other stuff without too much doggy attention!
And that was my random restful 16 mile day of Borrow my Doggy, Whitworth Park, Bridgewater Canal and Ball Throwing! As I am getting better, I’m looking forward to more trips out with Cally, perhaps some more restful than that one was mind you!
Willing recovery to come faster!
Have you heard of Borrow my Doggy before? Would you do it? Borrow or lend your canine companion?
Let me know in the comments below 🙂
Just to let you know that this is not a sponsored post, I just really love Borrow My Doggy and the amazing things that it can bring to borrowers, lenders and most importantly, the dogs!