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Home , Cottonopolis, Mark Addy (oarsman)

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Manchester, Liverpool & the Northwest

Why Go? ...... 629 Music, history and hedonism. Three great reasons to ven- CHESHIRE ...... 650 ture into ’s once-mighty industrial heartland, the cradle of capitalism and the . Among Chester ...... 650 the hulking relics of the region’s industrial past are two of LIVERPOOL ...... 656 the most exciting cities in the country, a picture-postcard ...... 677 town dripping with Tudor charm and the most stomach- turning roller coaster we’ve ever been on. If you fancy a Blackpool ...... 677 bit of respite from the concrete paw-print of humankind, ISLE OF MAN ...... 683 there’s some of the most beautiful countryside in England. Oh, and a rich musical tradition that defi nes your MP3 playlists as much as anywhere else in the world. The northwest helped defi ne the progress of the last Best Places to Eat two centuries, but these days it’s all about making an im- » Lime Tree (p 643 ) print on the 21st. A tall order, but the region knows a thing or two about mighty achievements, urban redesign and » Italian Club (p664 ) bloody good music: look and listen for yourself. » Mark Addy (p 643 ) » Upstairs at the Grill (p653 ) » Tanroagan (p 685 )

Best Places to When to Go Stay Steeplechase lovers should head to the world-famous Ain- » Green Bough (p 651 ) tree Grand National, run just outside Liverpool, on the fi rst weekend of April, while petrol heads should make a beeline » Eleven Didsbury Park (p 642 ) to the Isle of Man’s TT Festival, held for two weeks in May/ June. For fans of the region’s most important sport, football » Hope St Hotel (p662 ) (soccer), August/September is a good time to visit as it’s the » Velvet Hotel (p640 ) start of the season. » Number One (p678 ) Those with an appreciation of culture shouldn’t miss the Manchester International Arts Festival, a biennial show- stopper held in July. To appreciate the area’s rich musical past visit Liverpool in the last week of August for madness at Creamfi elds (dance) and Matthew St Festival, an ode to all things Beatles. 2 Activities Although predominantly an urban area, WANT MORE? 629 the northwest does have some decent walk- ing and cycling options, most notably in the For in-depth information, reviews and Ribble Valley in northern Lancashire, home recommendations at your fi ngertips, to plenty of good walks including the 70-mile head to the Apple App Store to pur- chase Lonely Planet’s Manchester City Ribble Way. The historic village of Whalley, in the heart of the Ribble Valley, is the meet- Guide iPhone app. ing point of the two circular routes that make Alternatively, head to Lonely Planet (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ up the 260-mile Lancashire Cycle Way. The Isle of Man has top-notch walking england/northwest-england/manchester) and cycling opportunities. Regional tour- for planning advice, author recom- ism websites contain walking and cycling mendations, traveller reviews and information, and tourist offi ces stock free insider tips. leafl ets as well as maps and guides (usually £1 to £5) that cover walking, cycling and other activities. were given theoretical legs; and where the fi rst computer beeped into life. 8 Information Manchester was raised on lofty ambi- Discover England’s Northwest (www.visit tion, so it stands to reason that it likes to northwest.com) is the centralised tourist au- plan on an impressive scale. Its world-class thority; for the Isle of Man, check out the main museums and heavyweight art galleries – Isle of Man Government (www.gov.im) site. spread across the city centre and west in Quays – are noteworthy, but what 8 Getting Around

makes this city truly special are its distrac- MANCHESTER The towns and cities covered in this chapter are tions of pure pleasure: you can dine, drink all within easy reach of each other, and are well and dance yourself into happy oblivion in linked by public transport. The two main cities, Manchester and Liverpool, are only 34 miles the swirl of nightlife that once made the city apart and are linked by hourly bus and train a key stop on the global party tour, from the services. Chester is 18 miles south of Liverpool, boho Northern Quarter to the elegant eater- ies of the southern suburb of Didsbury.

but is also easily accessible from Manchester HISTORY by train or via the M56. Blackpool is 50 miles The future looks very bright indeed for to the north of both cities, and is also well Manchester, beginning with the arrival in connected. Try the following for transport 2011 of fi ve departments of the BBC to the information: purpose-built Media City in Salford – proof Greater Manchester Passenger Transport that when it comes to representing the na- Authority (www.gmpte.com) Extensive info on tional interest, Manchester is the obvious Manchester and its environs. choice. Merseytravel (www.merseytravel.gov.uk) Tak- ing care of all travel in Merseyside. History Canals and steam-powered mills National Express (www.nationalexpress.com) Extensive coach services in the northwest; were what transformed Manchester from a Manchester and Liverpool are major hubs. small disease-infested provincial town into a big disease-infested industrial city. It all happened in the 1760s, with the opening of the between Manches- MANCHESTER ter and the coal mines at Worsley in 1763, POP 394,270 and with patenting his ‘Manchester has everything but a beach.’ super in 1769. Thereafter, Man- Former Stone Roses’ frontman Ian Brown’s chester and the world would never be the description of his native city has become same again. When the canal was extended Manchester’s unoffi cial motto – and even to Liverpool and the open sea in 1776, Man- accounting for a bit of northern bluster chester – dubbed ‘Cottonopolis’ – kicked Brown isn’t far wrong. The uncrowned cap- into high gear and took off on the coal- ital of the north was the world’s fi rst mod- fuelled, steam-powered gravy train. ern city and the birthplace of capitalism; There was plenty of gravy to go around, it is where the Industrial Revolution blos- but the good burghers of 19th-century Man- somed; where communism and feminism chester made sure that the vast majority of