On going out we discovered it had rained and was probably going to rain more later. Happily, we have rain jackets and umbrellas.

Tigger brought me to this emporium of tea called Bird & Blend. They sell various teas, including my favourite, Russian Caravan.

Many tea merchants sell “Russian Caravan” without specifying what’s in it, so you can be pretty sure that it’s some idiosyncratic blend of their own. In this shop, however, it’s the correct blend of Oolong, Keemun and Lapsang Souchong. You can buy tea to drink on the premises or take-away or buy leaf tea over the counter or by mail order. They have a good range if types and blends.

Despite the rain we continued exploring and noticed this building. (Photo by Tigger.) I mentioned on the old blog how we are interested in old Burton’s stores and this looked very much like one such. Burton’s stores always had at least one, and up to three, foundation stones bearing the date they were laid and the name of the Burton family member who laid it.

We crossed the road for a closer look and, sure enough, found this foundation stone, bearing the name Stanley Howard Burton and the date 1934, leaving no doubt that it is the genuine article, though no longer in use by the firm that built it.

This is just a more or less random picture, showing a road junction and a mixture of buildings of different ages and styles.

This structure bears the name of Smithfield and a date of 1857. Large lettering incised across the façade declares that it was built “BY THE CORPORATION OF THIS CITY”. Panels on the side indicate later modifications. The name Smithfield clearly indicates that this was the city’s meat market, the gruesome place, on what was then the outskirts of the city, to which cattle were driven to be slaughtered.

All one can say about this probably Victorian edifice without further research is that it was originally a bank because that word, in large letters, is inscribed on the façade. The bank’s name may have been deliberately removed as I cannot imagine why else it would be missing.

The rain seemed to have set in for the rest of the evening and so we turned towards our borrowed home. Tomorrow is another day and let’s hope the weather is friendlier.

The train arrived a little late, not that it matters unduly to us as we are not on any hurry.

This view of Manchester Piccadilly Station is from the terrace where we have retired pending availability of our accommodation. Tigger has reserved us an apartment and as seems the norm in apartment-world, it will not ready until 3 pm.

So we chatted and set the world to rights. We knew from previous visits that there are free buses that run around the centre of town. One of these will take us near our apartment. It runs in a loop going only one way.

First, though, we spotted a branch of Sainsbury’s in the station and here bought a few goodies to take to the apartment to have for lunch.

Free bus number 2 would normally have been convenient for us but it route has been affected by the environmental protests the will last several days so we took number 1 instead.

Reaching the closest point on the bus route to our apartment, we walked from there. On the way we passed this fine pub, the Old Wellington. It was first built in the 16th century but was altered and a extended later and changed usage a few times before settling into its current role.

On reaching the apartment building, we were able to summon the caretaker, concierge or whatever title he bears, by one of the keys on the keypad beside the door. Money and keys changed hands and we took the lift to our flat on the second floor.

The sparsely furnished lounge cum dining room has a kitchenette at one end.

These conditions might seem cramped if one lived here permanently but for as temporary accommodation it’s perfectly fine.

There are plenty of power points, including a double socket on each side of the bed so we won’t even have to break out the extension leads as we did in Brussels and other places.

After a post-lunch rest, we are setting out to visit the town.

The temperature here is on the cool side and it looks as though it might even rain. Fortunately, we are prepared for such meteorological vagaries!

From the train

The landscape rushes past the window. (Photo by Tigger.)

Before the railway was the canal. The canal is still there but its usage has changed. It is now more likely to carry pleasure craft and houseboats than barges loaded with freight. (Photo by Tigger.)

Popcorn!

Stoke- on-Trent – Photo by Tigger (who has the window seat 😉 )

Stockport – last stop before Manchester. We are running a little late. (Photo by Tigger.)

Today we start on that trip that I mentioned, returning, on Saturday. As the title indicates, we will be based in Manchester.

Why Manchester, you might be tempted to ask? Surely not a popular holiday destination?

Manchester is a fine city in its own right with with many attractions for anyone interested in history and architecture. All being well, some of these subjects of interest will become manifest as my account of our trip develops.

This morning, we prepared ourselves and our minimalist baggage so efficiently that we were ready much in advance of our train’s departure time. So we have come to Jusaka for coffee and croissants. As you can see from the sun-dazzle on the left of the photo, it is a fine sunny day.

As we are starting our journey on a weekday, the streets are busy with people on their way to work. The Angel is an intersection point for many bus routes and has a tube station as well, leading to crowds hurrying from bus stop to bus stop and to and from the station.

We arrived at Euston with time to spare and retired to Caffè Nero to wait for our train to be announced. This is the 10:20 to Manchester Piccadilly. (Photo by Tigger.)

The last time we waited for a train here was when we went to Glasgow. On that occasion, they cancelled our train. We are keeping our eye on the departures board (just to the right of the window in the above photo) in case they do the same thing with this train!

At Euston (and some other stations, for that matter) they have the bad habit of announcing the platform number only a few minutes before departure time leading to a rush to board the train in time, especially as our seats are in coach A, right at the front.

Made it! (Photo by Tigger.)

We can relax now until 12:27 when we should arrive at our destination.