This is the last day of our short visit to Manchester. Our train departs at 15:15 (or a quarter past three in old money) so we still have some time to spend in this city.

‘Bye, room

We showered, packed and left our pokey room for the last time. We checked out but left our suitcases for later.

Dull with rain

It’s a dull day and raining, not suitable for rambles on foot.

Walking to the station

Despite the rain, and because the free buses start running only at 10 am on Sunday, we walked to the station.

Arriving at the station

We had planned to have breakfast at Caffè Nero. They are just out of sight behind the bus shelter on the right.

Coffee and croissants
Photo by Tigger

Today, there were enough plain croissants without resorting to raspberry ones which we are not keen on,

Crossing the Rochdale Canal

Afterwards, we went for a short walk, crossing the Rochdale Canal on the way.

Victorian buildings abound

There was once an important “basin” (canal dock) here. It is now filled in, leaving many buildings that might once have been warehouses and merchants’ offices, now repurposed in various ways.

Free bus stop, Piccadilly

We arrived back on the main road, called Piccadilly, where there is a stop for the free bus. Both the 1 and the 3 call here but the 3 is apparently not running at present.

Here comes the bus
Photo by Tigger

The bus arrived at last and…

Aboard the bus

…off we went!

Ask Italian

As we need to return to the hotel to recover our cases before going to the station for 15:15, we went for an early lunch. We went to Ask Italian. It wasn’t yet midday and we were the first customers though not for long.

Spaghetti lentil ragu

The spaghetti lentil ragu sounded good and we both chose it. It was good, too.

Tea with lemon
Photo by Tigger

We had tea to drink, not very Italian, perhaps, but we did at least have it with lemon!

Honeycomb cheesecake

We had honeycomb cheesecake as a dessert.

Queen Victoria

After lunch, we paid a visit to Queen Victoria who hangs out nearby.

Fountains

The fountains were founting, as they are apt to do.

Emmeline Pankhurst

We also visited Emmeline Pankhurst on her chair. I can’t help thinking that we need someone of her calibre still today. The process she started still has a long way to go.

Sackville Gardens

We walked back to the hotel and reclaimed our suitcases, then waited at the bus stop beside Sackville Gardens for the free bus, route 2, which carried us to the railway station.

Coffee at Caff Nero
Photo by Tigger

We settled at Caffè Nero to wait until it was time for our train.

We join our train

With a little time to spare, we made our way to platform 5, where we joined our train. It is due ti reach Euston at 17:27, a journey of two hours 12 minutes. Thus ends our short visit to Manchester.