Roaming the Back Streets

Roaming the Back Streets

This morning I was indeed roaming at least some of the back streets of Manchester. It's the dark corners that reveal so much of the history and in so many ways they are far more interesting than shiny new glass and concrete structures. Let's follow the journey as I entered St Ann's Square and dropped into the Royal Exchange for a quick look at what was happening. Pretty much nothing, apart from some new sets for the next play, but I did find this pretty impressive bowl of artificial fruit:




A short distance away, the centre of the square houses a mysterious stairway that descends to a locked and barred door. Many years ago this stairway was open, but now it's protected by very substantial grillwork. It leads to an electricity sub-station and has the usual warnings plastered over it. Danger of Death!




Across Deansgate and down between buildings to the River Irwell and all along the banks we can clearly see how new Manchester is built upon the old. Brickwalls, wharves, all still exist under the modern buildings. here we are looking towards Blackfriars Street from a walkway attached to one of those aforementioned glass and concrete monstrosities:




I opted for sepia toning as it seemed in keeping with the subject, and I've kept this for these shots of out-of-sight-out-of-mind Manchester and an old side door, found in a tiny passageway on the way back to Deansgate. The final shot of the doorway is colour as I felt this was needed to give more information about that tiny door, high up in the wall:










And finally, back to St Ann's Church where the walls inside were covered with 3000 origami paper butterflies. Not a sentence I write every day for sure.....