Three cities - well if you count Media City alongside Manchester and Salford, two canals, the Ship Canal, Canal Street, the River Irwell, a beautifully preserved Tudor Hall in the middle of an industrial estate, a long flat former railway line cycleway home and a bit of urban meandering - oh and two spectacular simultaneous punctures - and two cafe stops!!
It might have been three cafes had Portland Basin cafe been up and running but we decided to set off and have a brew at the Velodrome cafe. Unfortunately bowling along the Ashton Canal towpath we suddenly heard the sound of two tyres simultaneously and suddenly flattening - pssssst! Alan's little Brompton tyres seemed especially difficult to remove and replace so our first stop at the Velodrome cafe was a little later than planned - too late for elevenses and too early for lunch but most of us managed a little put you on!
Heading towards Piccadilly it became evident that there were some major refurbishment works going on by the Canal and Waterways trust with long pounds being drained and the general detritus dumped into the canal was revealed - shopping trolleys, the odd old bike, wheelie bins and sadly etc etc etc! Picking our way under Piccadilly and along Canal Steet we were met by the Duke of Bridgewater welcoming us to his canal and an opportunity to walk along the temporary staging over the actual bed of the canal and wonder at the sheer number of empty bottles discarded from the bars above the deep cutting!
On along the Bridgewater before crossing over the Irwell and along the towpath of the Irwell towards Media City but we followed the signe to Ordsall Hall just off the riverfront - an amazing Tudor Hall in the iddle of a housing estate and industrial estate. A gem - well worth re-visiting with time to wander round.
http://www.visitsalford.info/ordsallhall.htm
Pokusevsky's deli and cafe was our lunch stop and, despite a rather random approach to fulfilling orders, we all managed to re-fuel.
After lunch we crossed over the Ship Canal - never really sure when it ceases being the Irwell and starts being the Ship Canal - to the Imperial War Museum and headed towards Old Trafford football ground then alongside the cricket ground and over the tram tracks into Firswood. Here we relied on Alan's local knowledge to navigate us through back streets and along ginnels to the start of the Fallowfield loop, where Alan said goodbye, which we then followed all the way back to Ashton under a beautiful roseate sky!
Not a bad day out at all and thanks to the other 10 members who came along for excellent company.
Rob Newton
You can view John Kemp's photos on Flickr here:
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