Bob and I are now settled into our new temporary home in Levenshulme (Levy), a suburb or district of Manchester. We are getting acquainted with the local supermarkets (quite a selection!) and starting to learn our way around the neighborhood and larger area as we have begun our sight-seeing. Our first full-day out we walked to the Fletcher Moss Parsonage and Garden in Didsbury — another district of Manchester. It was a little over an hour walk there. The parsonage has a lovely garden and is still used for art and other classes. There is a church with very old tombstones, a visitors center with educational information on the local birds, a rockery, and a large green space with a walking path that goes close to the River Mersey across which is a golf course. In the visitors center we picked up a brochure for one of the health walks that starts at the park. It took us close to where we are staying but had us walk through a number of local, community parks on our way back. Very nice. It was also the nicest day weather wise with a high of about 12 C and no rain. Both of us were jacket less for a bit in the afternoon.
Yesterday we walked into the city center of Manchester to find the Visitor Information Center. This was also about an hour walk. We got a great map of the downtown area as well as a free brochure on things to see and do in Manchester. We had googled some free activities so did some of these as well while we were in town. The first stop was the Manchester Art Gallery which was 3 stories and had everything from impressionist paintings, landscapes and portraiture and a fun modern exhibit inspired by Alan Turing (WWII code breaker — see Imitation Game movie) and his query as to whether we can teach computers to think.
From the Art Gallery we headed to the Ryland Library where we got to see a huge array of old volume books in a gorgeous old building and an exhibit on the beliefs and prosecution of witchcraft.
We found the Manchester canals, some of the local big shopping centers, and some parks. We stopped in the People’s History Museum for a high-level overview of Manchester’s history. Who knew that it plays an important role in the sale and pricing of cotton?
Peckish Travels 