To be honest, Manchester wasn’t at the top of our list of places to visit in the UK. The only reason we we came here was because I had a business meeting in the city. But I’m glad we did. There has been a lot of building in recent years, and various quirky art installations. We loved these lamps near the train station. Note the person by one of the lamps for scale.

But Manchester has also managed to incorporate aspects of the city’s history into the downtown scene. We were near a canal that once served the industry in the city. The canal and locks are still there and appear to be in working order. These look a lot like the locks on the Rideau canal in Ottawa.

The street beside the old canal is called … wait for it … “Canal Street”… and local businesses take advantage of it and set up tables all along the canal.

We stayed in one of the old mills that had been converted into a hotel. They took advantage of the high ceilings and created one of the nicest and most interesting hotels we have ever stayed in.

We will be back.