Drink Manchester !

[Scouse]

I'm off to see notorious and vicious antisemite Roger Waters glorify the life and times of Adolf Hitler on Saturday. Well, I am if you judge it by the recent press coverage anyway.

Not been to Manchester in a long time. Anyone got advice on where's good that I shouldn't miss? My preference is beardy real ale venues and fooking amazing curry but old Manc has been transformed as of late.

I'm staying at a Manchester United supporter's hotel (lol!) as it was the cheapest place I could find. So I'll probably end up walking to the Oxford Road end of Deansgate. The concert is at the AO Arena so that's the other end of Deansgate somewhere so I'm guessing down that strip is sort of the way to go. However, I'm getting off the train at Picadilly so if there's owt around there I shouldn't miss?

Obviously a shout out to @Tom - but anyone else been recently?

 

[Tom]

I rarely go there tbh, but for getting around you can now hire Beryl bikes on an app. The centre isn't great for cycling around but it's improving lots, Deansgate is about to get a big upgrade, as are other parts of the city. No driving down most of Deansgate now. You will be amazed at just how many skyscrapers Manchester has now, and how much stuff has been tarted up.

The MEN (I refuse to call it anything else) is next to Victoria Station. You could see the monument to the stadium bombing victims, it's very pretty. That's in front of the cathedral (which is pedestrianised).

I can recommend this place if you like Sushi, it's superb and quite close to the arena although not in a pretty area, but who cares, the food is great, ignore Streetview, it's very tastefully done with outdoor seating - Unagi Street Food & Sushi Manchester · 10 Park Pl, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M4 4EY

The Northern Quarter is worth a mooch around in the day, Afflecks Palace is probably worth a look too. Plenty of bars etc in the NQ, go around Thomas St, Stevenson Sq, etc. Mostly pedestrianised now. Printworks is popular but I think it's full of AIDS so can't recommend it.

Deansgate has lots of bars and is popular at night. So is Whitworth St at the other end of it, but it's probably a bit far to go (unless you hire a Beryl Bike).

Oddly enough I went to see Waters at the O2 this week, I replied in the random thread.

 

[Scouse]

I'm good for walking. Funnily enough we're staying in the fucking Manchester United hotel (cheapest we could find on the night) - so I'll be walking from Old Trafford to Picadilly to meet a mate, then a few beers, then drop his shit off at the hotel, then walk up deansgate, maybe Northern Quarter as you've recommended. We'll see about sushi - I like it but my mate is a bit vanilla in his tastes. (Up near strangeways?).

Danke.

What's put a dampener on it is that I was going to train it and then drink Sunday morning/early afternoon with my mate too but my fucking mother just fell and skinned her shin badly, down to the bone, so I think I'll be having to go by hers Sunday, which means driving.

 

[Tom]

If you're walking then go via the old Chester Road here A5081 to Chester Rd don't go on the A56 Bridgewater Way, it's not designed for walking. You could walk along the BW canal but it's fairly boring at that point. Or Pomona Strand, but there have been some access issues along there so I don't know if it's open at both ends.

Beryl Bikes are available near your hotel, best way would be something like this (would let you check out two of our cool CYCLOPS junctions) Trafford Park to Rochdale Canal Tow Path Most of that route is fully protected cycleways.

 

[old.Osy]

I've seen Waters live twice I think. But honestly, recent media character assasination aside, dude's missing a few screws, fuck him and his ideology. His solo stuff sucks anyway.

 

[Scouse]

I tell you what @Tom - we both downloaded the bike app hoping to hop from one place in Manchester to the next, but reality was that we not only couldn't find two bikes together, anywhere, despite quite a lot of walking.

What did work was Uber. For 7 quid we've had a beer near Victoria, been picked up outside the pub we were at snd deposited outside our hotel five minutes later (way faster than if we'd been able to find bikes).

@Bodhi probably has his smug face on, but despite it being a glorious day with perfect conditions if a metroplitan city like Manchestrr can't make it work for visitors, nobody can.

Much more investment needed. But goven the rest of the council led shite in Manc, I'd be wary of giving them an extra penny.

 

[Bodhi]

I tell you what @Tom - we both downloaded the bike app hoping to hop from one place in Manchester to the next, but reality was that we not only couldn't find two bikes together, anywhere, despite quite a lot of walking.

What did work was Uber. For 7 quid we've had a beer near Victoria, been picked up outside the pub we were at snd deposited outside our hotel five minutes later (way faster than if we'd been able to find bikes).

@Bodhi probably has his smug face on, but despite it being a glorious day with perfect conditions if a metroplitan city like Manchestrr can't make it work for visitors, nobody can.

Much more investment needed. But goven the rest of the council led shite in Manc, I'd be wary of giving them an extra penny.

I probably don't, as the wife is in Manchester at the moment trying to get around. She's going to see The Weeknd at the Etihad, and Parklife is on as well to add to the fun.

I did make sure she had the Uber app before she left though

 

[Tom]

Probably because Parklife and other concerts are on. The bike hire scheme is pretty new, they're still expanding it.

 

[Scouse]

Probably because Parklife and other concerts are on. The bike hire scheme is pretty new, they're still expanding it.

So there was indeed a beryl bike station outside the hotel. Two bikes this morning. Minimal faff (one of the bikes wouldn't unlock but there was a 3rd bike).

Went from there, down the canal, 2.7 miles to drop 'em off at the ports outside House Of Fraser on Deansgate. 27 minutes.

£8.70. Each. So £17.40 in total.

It cost me £6.59 to for us to do the same trip (actually a tiny bit further) yesterday in an uber.

I like the idea, but that cost is a joke tbh.

 

[Scouse]

Oh, and the bikes are heavy and geared in a way that even with e-assist they're shit going up inclines. I can't see older people running them along that canal towpath without having to get off and push occasionally.

 

[Bodhi]

I had to pick the wife up after her gig at the Etihad - fuck me, that traffic was biblical. I managed to hit Manchester just as the football finished just to add to the fun.

When I left Google told me I was 1hr 15 away from the Etihad. 3 hours later I finally picked the wife up....

 

[Scouse]

Manchester's traffic is always awful. For a city of half a million people it's a disaster tbh. (Although it's, what, 2.5 million in greater manchester?)