Well ‘almost’ is a slight exaggeration.

We set off from Norwich at about 10am for the drive back to Manchester to return the car and spend a couple of days before heading for France. We took a route back north of that which we came on across to Norwich. This took us into the northern part of the Peak District via a road just south of the bottom of The Wash. The land is so very flat here one can understand why the climate change doomsayers consider this whole area to be very susceptible to inundation if sea levels rise. Back in time it was all actually under the sea as far back as Cambridge. Nobody seems to be heading for high ground though.

We could not resist the temptation of going on a short diversion to have a walk to Froggats Edge. Around this area there are a number of these types of landforms. High ridges that look down into valleys, the tops of the ridges are called ‘edges’. People come and climb these. Homealone didn’t understand why anyone would want to climb them. Apparently,  they do it for training purposes before greater challenges are tackled in Europe. Anyway there are some great views to be had. The walk took about 30 minutes each way so we were running a little late heading off to Manchester.

View from Froggats Edge

View of climbing action at Froggats Edge

Homealone on the track heading back

Fly fishing at Calver

The run into Manchester was pretty straight forward. Our hotel The Britannia was right smack in the middle. We were going along nicely until a turn was missed and we ended up going the wrong way. Some nimble work got us on track again only to be caught almost in a one way street, going the wrong way. Allthego had noticed a black car following  and as this manoeuver ( going the wrong way down the one way) was about to be executed a sharp ‘toot’ was heard from the black car. A gentlemen leaned out of said black car and asked Allthego if he was ‘lost’.  Allthego said ‘sort of’ and asked him if he was lost too. At this point the gentlemen said they were police (he had a offsider) and their uniforms became apparent. Some friendly discussion ensued about it being unwise to go down the one way street the wrong way as there had been a number of accidents in the past here and they didn’t want to do any more paperwork that evening. Allthego filled them in on our destination and, after a bit of consultation with his colleague’, one of the officers announced that we should ‘follow them’. So off we went with a police escort for several blocks and side streets to The Britannia. They even found a parking spot down a side alley for us and guided us in. What a wonderful constabulary!  No arrest!

The Britannia

Britannia foyer

We scored an upgraded room at The Britannia

The Britannia is one of those old buildings that have been restored and converted into a hotel. It dates from the 1860s and was originally a cotton warehouse. Back in the late 1800s Manchester produced nearly 70 % of the world’s cotton fabric and cloth. It now produces less than 1%. This is why we call sheets and towels and the like ‘manchester’, just in case anyone was interested.  The Britannia is a little ragged in places and could do with a touch up here and there. The ambience, period furniture and decor though more than compensate. The internet connection though was lousy and I am doing this blog from Avignon. Will catch up on the Manchester adventures next time.