Manchester, Manchester, Manchester.
As a Yorkshireman, I always grew up with a slight disdain for Manchester. It was always the slightly larger than Leeds metropolis on the wrong side of the Pennines - moody, cloudy and always pouring with rain. Why would you ever want to visit that, let alone live there? Besides, Leeds has everything good that Manchester has anyway. What more do you need?
Now this outlook on our Lancastrian friends meant that I have never really spent very much time in Manchester. Travelling through Manchester from Bradford is usually fairly pointless (especially given how much better the East Coast mainline is than the West Coast mainline), but on occasion it has meant I could avoid disruption, or more frequently, Birmingham New Street station, which is my least favourite train station in Britain and one that I will go to pretty extensive lengths to avoid. That means that the most time I’d ever spent in Manchester was the twenty minutes it takes to walk between Piccadilly and Victoria stations.
Until now! This week, I got out of the Big Smoke and spend three whole days in Manchester. Whilst it might be the wrong side of the Pennines, it’s the right side of the M25, and so I jumped at the chance to spend some time in the North.
And oh what a place Manchester is. I got in on a Monday morning and getting off the train at Piccadilly and walking in towards St. Peter’s Square was surprisingly graceful. No one was rushing, everyone seemed to be in a good mood and it was busy sure, but no where near as busy as anywhere central in London. The light traffic was punctuated by the regular beeps from the trams as they made their way around the city. Those beeps are one of those things that make up the fabric of a city that I’m sure very quickly becomes a part of the furniture, but as a visitor, I thought it was fantastically whimsical.
I spent Monday evening with some old friends and have to say that the bars in Manchester are very cool. We went to a few places in the Northern Quarter - one sold fried chicken out of the back (called Public - brilliant, would recommend), and I have to say that the other was slightly questionable. I walked in and found a group of people queueing for their drinks which felt, and still feels, inherently wrong to me. I mentioned it to my Mancunian colleagues the next day, and they reassured me that it was just a weird bar and not reflective of Manchester as a whole. They also all had rows and rows of outdoor seating, which I was a big fan of, and was slightly reminiscent of the continental culture and atmosphere around public squares. Also, it’s no secret but my Cokes and zero percents were all fantastically cheap.
We later got a burger at Burgerism on Piccadilly Gardens, which my friends described as the Manchester equivalent of eating out in Huddersfield town centre. I didn’t actually see any crackheads whilst we were there, but I’m reliably told that they are regulars. Nonetheless, that didn’t detract from the burger, which was a pretty solid 8/10. It was very respectable in its own right and I would very happily go back, but it was undeniably a level below the very best burgers in the world. They did get extra points for how fantastic their chips and sauces were, and for the sweets and coaster they put into the bag.
Another unexpected delight was the widespread prevalence and availability of Vimto! Everywhere had Vimto as an option and that very quickly became my default again everywhere that I went. I do wonder whether it would replace a full-fat Coke as my go to drink if you could get reliably get them in London, and I think it probably would, which most of you will know is an incredibly high bar.
Food in Manchester more generally was very positive. Their portion sizes were fantastic (I daren’t look at the scales tomorrow…), and I never left a meal unsatisfied. Last night, I went to the infamous Fat Pat’s, which interestingly is sold out of a window down a back alley in Manchester’s Chinatown. The sandwich was so big that it came with a rubber band around it, and was a pretty solid Philly Cheesesteak (although I would say Passyunk Avenue does them better). Again, the chips and sauces were phenomenal. Would strongly recommend (there’s one around Brick Lane in London now as well…)
I also spent yesterday evening wandering around the city to get my bearings. Candidly, Manchester City Centre isn’t huge, but it makes up for that by having a strong set of towns in their own right in the immediate periphery that are quite easy to get to. I didn’t venture beyond the City Centre, and so I think my experience is broadly comparable to that of wandering around Soho - except in Manchester, that holds the whole city. That’s pretty cool though because it means you leave the office and you’re not surrounded by the same kind of people as you, which I think adds something to a city.
The various areas are quite cool and I’d love to spend more time getting to know the history behind them all, but my very quick immediate thoughts were that Spinningfields was quite corporate but then Aviva Studios is pretty cool and then you’re basically in Salford which didn’t feel very corporate at all. St. Peter’s Square was fantastic and to me, felt like the middle of the city. Arndale and the shopping areas were fine, Printworks was pretty cool though, I really, really like how they’ve merged old and new there. The Northern Quarter was fun and I can see why people spend a lot of time there. It’s a bit gritty and it’s certainly not polished but that adds to the charm. I like that about it. Ancoats was also interesting - felt very middle class, although I only passed through and didn’t get a proper feel for it. At first glance, I’d say it’s maybe Islington-esque, but then they do also have a place called New Islington that I didn’t make it to.
And finally, the coffee! There’s only so many coffees you can safely consume in a few days, but I managed to get myself around to three spots whilst I was there. Two were pretty standard and nothing worth writing home about (which is a shame as they were the ones right by the office…). But, that was all made up for by the incredible place that is Federal! They have three in Manchester (I went to the one on Deansgate) and one in Leeds. I originally walked past on Tuesday and went back to grab a bagel to go for breakfast before work. The people were incredibly warm and friendly and the bagel was so good that I made a point of getting up earlier this morning so I could go sit in and have a coffee there. As soon as I walked in, the ladies recognised me from yesterday and were the most incredible hosts. They were all very bubbly and in a great mood and I mean what a great way to start your day. And then the coffee came and it was the best coffee I’ve had. That’s a bold claim, and you all know I have my favourites here in London, but Federal’s coffee was incredibly smooth, basically no bitterness at all, and fantastically thick milk. Brilliant coffee, and one that I will be thinking back to quite a lot. Would recommend making the visit if you’re in town, even if only to experience their fantastic hospitality.
General friendliness was also a massive plus. I had a conversation basically every time I went outside, which was absolutely fantastic. All those small moments of positive human interaction really add up and give something to your day that you just don’t get when everyone defaults to being a bit closed off, like we see here in London.
So on the whole, a very very positive trip. It’s a lovely place and despite our transpennine rivalry, northern company and spirit are always warmly received by this Yorkshireman.
We should all spend more time in the North of England. It’s the best place in the world.
RH