UK trips #7- Manchester

I'm a massive fan of Joy Division, so I knew from the very beginning of my time in the UK, that I would have to visit their home, Manchester. And finally my wish came true, with a few of my friends and I spending a couple nights in this historic city. But not only am I a Joy Division fan, I'm also a bit of a history nerd, who is currently studying 'Victorian literature and culture', making Manchester even more of a perfect place to visit for a mini holiday, as it played an integral role as one of the biggest Industrial cities during that era.

My friends and I spent several hours travelling, with a forty minute train to London and then catching the 5 hour coach to Manchester, so when we arrived we got settled into our hostel and then went out for dinner at the local fish and chip shop, having an early night in preparation for the busy next day.

Chetham Library

We walked around the city, admiring the old buildings that exhibited incredible grandeur and I couldn't help but imagine how it would have been like during the Industrial Revolution. It would have been so rich and breath taking, and still today the architecture certainly does have the same effect, with me wanting to stop and take photos of everything. We also visited Chetham Library, which is the oldest public library in England, dating back from the 1600's. It felt as if we walked into the library in Harry Potter and the old leather bound books were magical.

"Joy Division recorded here"

I am so glad that my friends are the incredible people that they are, because they put up with me in exploring the city while searching for different Joy Division landmarks without them knowing who Joy Division was. It was a bit awkward how this pilgrimage meant dragging them to dodgy looking alleyways and abandoned buildings, with me saying things like "in the 1970's, this empty lot was where Joy Division recorded their first album" and "this empty store that's locked, used to be the record store where Ian Curtis had a part time job." But despite most of the places no longer existing, I was so happy to have gone and seen these places and to have walked the streets that the band would have walked down on a daily basis. 

After a full day of exploring the city and a hearty dinner at the local Witherspoons, the four of us joined our hostels pub crawl evening, which was so much fun, making new friends and dancing the whole night long. It was definitely my favourite part of the trip, especially the first bar we went to playing David Bowie songs, which I sang along to and danced to. We then moved to the table tennis bar which also had a dance floor with great dancing songs, then to a gay bar before going to the club Factory, where we finished the evening before all of us hanging out in the hostel lobby. It was such a great night and a fantastic way to finish our time in Manchester before travelling the next morning back home.