Smultron mellan blåbär: Manchester and Chester

Over mid-term week I visited Manchester and Chester. Not surprisingly, my trip included many libraries and book shops! I stayed at a place close to Elizabeth Gaskell's House in Manchester. Gaskell's house is now a museum celebrating just over 10 years of restoration of the residence. They've put in reproduction wallpaper and fixtures and arranged the rooms according to how it probably looked when the Gaskells lived there based on descriptions from letters and auctioneer inventories. Another highlight was the Manchester Poetry Library, operated by Manchester Metropolitan University. There I found back issues of The Caterpillar, an Irish magazine full of writing for children that I'd been wanting to see. I got a community library card from Manchester University, and I also stopped in at The Portico, a historic subscription library, where they had an exhibit about the Chinese literature collection. Of course, I visited Central Library and got to browse around there. It holds an impressive music library collection, and there was a display of materials from the folk music archive. I also ran into someone I know from Birmingham there, which was an amazing coincidence! She recommended visiting the Whitworth Art Gallery. I did, and saw the collection of J.M.W. Turner on exhibit right now, as well as a little illustration they have by Walter Crane. I visited Manchester Cathedral, too!

Central Library, Manchester

Shakespeare window

Folk archive display

Piccadilly Gardens, lunch spot
(soundtrack: The Hollies and Graham Nash)

Cute Bee Network bus!
(the bee is a symbol of Manchester)

And the 'Magic Bus'!

Elizabeth Gaskell's House

Reproduction wallpaper

Wives and Daughters illustrated by George Du Maurier

The Study

The Gaskell Game

Manchester Poetry Library

The Caterpillar

Manchester University

The Whitworth Art Gallery

The True Union by Walter Crane

King Edward VII statue

Snowdrops are out!

Largest Bookshop in the North

Yes, this is true

Manchester Cathedral

Gandhi statue

I really enjoyed seeing Chester, and would love to visit again sometime when everything's in leaf. There is a pretty walk along the River Dee where I heard early birdsong. (And I loved hearing people's accents— the accents from this part of the country are among my favourite.) Maybe I was just glad to be in a walkable town again after the big cities! It is a bit touristy, with a lot of cafés and ice cream/gelato shops. The Market, too, is mostly cafés and places to eat. In addition to the city walls, I explored the Tudor Rows. These are raised shops set back from the street (including a very good Waterstones book shop). There's a grand view of Eastgate Street from the city wall path under the Eastgate Clock. The library is in a building with a theatre and cinema called Storyhouse. It is one of the most futuristic-looking libraries I have visited, though it doesn't seem so from the outside photo. At the Cathedral, what I liked most was the Victorian Mosaics in the nave. It rained one day while I was here, but that was no problem now that I have decent boots. It really does make a difference when your feet are dry in the rain!

View of Eastgate Street, Chester

City Walls

Roman Gardens

Chester Cathedral

Victorian Mosaics

Chester Cross

Storyhouse

Chester Market

The Tardis has landed!

And it is a drinking fountain

Chester in Lego

At the end of the week I met up with a friend in Lincoln and we went thrifting. Lincoln is an excellent place for that! We also visited the Usher Gallery and had lunch at Stokes. I stayed at a charming place near the Arboretum.