A nostalgic trip to Manchester

After several busy days at work, today we set off early for a two-day trip to Manchester where we were meeting up with Gill and Paul. I was last in the city in 1988 when I graduated after 4 years at university there. It's been a very long time and I wondered how much I would recognise!!

We caught the bus from the village to Scarborough and then the train to Manchester with a change at York. We arrived at Victoria station at 1.15pm and had about an hour and a half before meeting Gill and Paul at Piccadilly. We decided to walk between the two stations. On the way, I was looking for Afflecks Palace, a vintage clothes market where I used to shop as a student. I was delighted to find it just as I remembered! Perhaps there are more cheap Chinese imports now and fewer genuine garments, but the atmosphere remains the same, and I swear the secondhand vinyl stall is the same one that was there 40 years ago! 😂

I thoroughly enjoyed mooching around down memory lane - I even bought a beanie for our upcoming South America trip. It'll be something to remind me of Afflecks every time I wear it!

Once we arrived at Piccadilly Station, we paused to take photos of Victory Over Blindness, a poignant statue to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. More than 3000 veterans lost their sight as a result of their service in the conflict.

Gill and Paul's train arrived on time. Having met them, we walked to our centrally-located AirBNB. It was a very smart two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with all mod cons in a lovely old building - a great base for our city break.

(The photo of Burger King is because I worked there during my first year at uni - it was a Wimpy back then! 😅)Read more