Salford Quays – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Salford Quays is on the site of the old Manchester Docks – I see some people rushing to an atlas as they were sure that Manchester (UK) is not on the coast. Come to that, neither of the two Manchesters I know of in the US are either.
This one is definitely the one in England and is on The Manchester Ship Canal, which was once the third busiest port in England, after London and Liverpool.

Manchester Docks c1900 

Times change. The growth of container ships, the change to sourcing grain from Europe instead of America and, most of all, the decline of the cotton trade in England caused a catastrophic decline in trade and in 1982 they were closed.
In 1983, Salford City Council purchased the site and planned to develop them to allow ships up to 12,500 tons to come close to Manchester centre.
What do we have now?
Let’s start with the good.
A derelict area has been given a new purpose.
There are some beautiful buildings in a lovely setting.
It has given a sense of purpose to many people. There is an elegant footbridge (named ‘The Lowry Footbridge’ – more of that later).
 
As I approached, lo and behold – the bridge started to open.

Alas, no ship was in sight.After I had crossed the bridge and the workmen had descended, I asked them what they were doing.  They were greasing the cables and the evidence was spattered all over their overalls and faces. Their obvious delight in being asked spilled over into the information that they had worked on the building of the bridge and pointing out where two new swing bridges are being built. They were so pleased to be asked and their beams as I thanked them for opening the bridge for me, made up for a lot of other faults in the area.
The Bad
NO signposting – we stumbled across the Lowry Centre and the Imperial War Museum – supposedly the top tourist attractions.
NO obvious help for the disabled – we (first time visitors) advised a couple in the car park on disabled access!
A sterile, soulless feel to the place. All trees and plants were regimented and confined, vast stretches of paving, looking empty and forlorn.

Why didn’t they do more to stress the heritage of the docks. They have a Lowry Centre which is an Art Gallery/Theatre. A Lowry footbridge and – they have this

A discount shopping centre with all the charm, inside and out, of any out of town Mall – located opposite the Lowry Centre on Lowry Plaza. 
The Ugly
OK, so call me a philistine if you like but the Lowry Centre is an eyesore.
Yes, it really does lean like that. The structure in front is ‘a nod to a tidal barrier. It is clad in metal shingles and, in my opinion, is Post Soviet Brutal architecture.
It was Friday morning and all the rubbish bins were overflowing. Worse still was this floating in the corner of an attractive stretch of water.
I know that the people who have dropped the stuff in the water are to blame but it hardly gives a good impression to leave it there.
To sum up.
Did we enjoy our visit?  Yes, though two hours was probably enough.
Would we go back? Yes, to go inside the Lowry Centre – but only because it is nearby (around 35 miles).
More pictures on Picasa

The Weavers Seaport

A seagull lands on our car

Seagulls on ice

Despite the seagull, Hollingworth Lake is high up on the hills above Rochdale. The sun shone yesterday morning so we were quick to get out by 10 am to drive over to this lovely place, which is only 15 miles away..  Like Blackstone Edge Reservoir, it was built to provide water for the Rochdale Canal but it is considerably bigger. 

The perimeter path is 2.5 miles (4.0 km), covers 130 acres (0.53 km2) and was completed in 1800, four years before the canal.  It must have been a huge job for the time as it is not in a natural depression and has three earthen walls to hold in the water.  Water was raised from the lake by a steam engine to a channel which led to Summit, the highest point on the canal.

However, the fame of the lake lies in the fact that, in the middle of the 19th century, as the population grew rapidly in the area around Rochdale, Hollingworth Lake became a recreational resort offering a grand day out for visitors from near and far.  It became known as the Weighvers Sayport (spelling was a bit less standardized in those days and reflected the Lancashire accent).

Boating was one of the first developments and the first Rowing Club was founded in 1860. To provide accommodation and refreshment to the many visitors, hotels began to appear along the shore.

The Beach Hotel is still there and is now a family restaurant. In 1872 it bragged that it offered, "Private as well as Public Refreshment Rooms" and if notice were given, "any number of Persons up to One Thousand" could "be accommodated with a Place of Meeting Entirely to Themselves." Stabling was available for horses and vehicles and there was a "large and commodious Dancing Stage, which is brilliantly illuminated with gas at dusk."

The Lake Hotel, set on a promontory which projected into the lake on the south shore, was accessible on the ground along the eastern shore, but you could also cross the lake aboard the steamer for 2d. The 3 steamers offered a ferry service to the Lake Hotel and its Pleasure Grounds, as well as trips around the lake. There was even an underwater telegraph cable between the booking office and the hotel to summon the ferry. At the peak of its popularity, there were seven hotels nearby.

My parents, from Rochdale, visited it often when courting in the early 1930s and I first visited aged around 3 during a visit with my Grandma when we were bombed out during the war.  I then took my father to see his old haunts in the early 1980s and he could point out things he remembered, including some which are still there and we ate at the Beach Hotel.

Now the area is a Country Park which attracts fishermen, walkers, birdwatchers, dinghy sailors and, in the quiet weekdays, a host of people of our own age, just glad to get out into the countryside and celebrate the hopeful arrival of spring..

More photos in my album.