I'm going to Manchester this weekend (Thursday to Monday) with my dad to watch Utd. play.
Besides visiting the 2000AD book signing in Shrewsbury on Saturday, any other suggestions what to do during Friday and Saturday?
Are there perhaps guided tours to the neighborhood where Karl Pilkington grew up perhaps ;) ?
If you're a football fan (in addition to being a Utd fan ;)) there's the National Football Museum (http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/). There are a few things to do around Salford Quays very close to Old Trafford - the Imperial War Museum North, the Lowry gallery & arts centre, Media City (BBC) plus lots of shops and restaurants all around a nice waterfront setting.
Other (free) museums and galleries include the Museum of Science & Industry, the City Art Gallery (excellent collection of pre-Raphaelites), The Manchester Museum (dinosaurs, stuffed animals and mummies), and the Whitworth Gallery (textiles and modern art) - these last two are based at the University.
If you want comic shops, there's the obligatory Forbidden Planet, but I'd recommend Travelling Man around the corner. Also nearby, if you like rooting around under tables through boxes of old comics, records and magazines in a dusty junkshop, you can do a lot worse than the legendary Empire Exchange (https://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/empire-exchange-manchester).
There are a number of walking tours on various themes: http://www.visitmanchester.com/what-to-do/walkstours/ (http://www.visitmanchester.com/what-to-do/walkstours/)
Not sure what sort of night-life you like - I can suggest quite a few good real ale pubs and places that have bands, but I'm well out of touch when it comes to happening trendy bars and clubs.
Yeah, get yourself outside The One Show window wearing a 2000 Ad T-Shirt, for when they go live at 19:00 ;)
I got so, so many back issues from the Empire Exchange...great guys. Go there! Z
and play the game I do when I go,look people in the eye as they leave the curtained section at the back of the shop..minutes of fun! dirty buggers...
ddd I've never been to the mummy and dino museum where is that? only been to science one.
The Manchester Museum is actually part of the uni - you know the main building, the big gothic one on Oxford Rd that's in all the photos?- it's in there - My faavourite exhibit is the giant Japanese spider crab that was in storage for years, which disappointed me no end - it's now back on display in the front window. They've also got a vivarium with giant tanks full of frogs and lizards etc.
nice one, hopefully , be able to have a trip down during half term with my wannabe vet she loves all that stuff....beats the brain exhibit she made me walk around on an empty stomach!
God the exchange brings back memories! I remember gettin a complete set of new statesman books from there and i was dead chuffed.
Shrewsbury is lovely. Be sure to take a walk by the river if you have time. The Quarry park usually has something going on, and features The Dingle, a beautifully landscaped sunken garden. You could also grab some food at the Peach Tree restaurant which is very nice (though a little out of the centre) and revel in how it inspired the block in the Dredd movie.
If you like grand old architecture, check out the Central Library (newly reopened) and its beautiful reading room & the John Ryland's Library on Deansgate.
For food, Home Sweet Home in Northern Quarter does an excellent brunch-y style thing but is a little shoreditch for some. The best burgers in all the land can be found at Almost Famous (keep your byrons, your honest burgers and your five guys London).
If you like boardgames and the like, Fanboy 23 just up the road from Travelling Man is well kept, well organised and extremely well stocked.
I'm told that Affleck's Palace is still there?
Quote from: Theblazeuk on 28 September, 2016, 10:03:37 AM
The best burgers in all the land can be found at Almost Famous (keep your byrons, your honest burgers and your five guys London Five Guys Lorton, Virigina).
FTFY.
Afflecks is still there aye tho was looking a little quieter than I remember last time I checked. Not sure if it's still all alt rock like it was a decade ago.
OH another recommendation if you just want to rest your feet for a bit with unlimited coffee and tea; Ziferblatt, one of those 'pay for your time' places. £3.50 an hour and all the tea, coffee, cakes, cereal, etc etc you can have. Lovely place, was a bit dubious about the idea myself but checked it out recently and it's reet lush inside.
Quote from: Theblazeuk on 28 September, 2016, 10:03:37 AM
For food, Home Sweet Home in Northern Quarter does an excellent brunch-y style thing but is a little shoreditch for some. The best burgers in all the land can be found at Almost Famous (keep your byrons, your honest burgers and your five guys London).
The Northern Quarter is the place to go if you like trendy bars and don't mind an over-abundance of check shirts, groomed beards and twatty haircuts. The bars off Deansgate and Deansgate Locks are the place to go for expensive cocktails and orange girls trying to pick up footballers; and if you just want to get pissed and have a fight, try the bars in The Printworks.
My current fave bars:
The Knott Bar - by Deansgate station - mutiple Camra awards, great beer and good food.
The Britons Protection - proper old fashioned no-telly-or-jukebox pub, massive 300+ selection of whisky (and whiskey)
The Odd bar - Northern quarter - quirky, friendly, great food
The Fab Cafe - Portland Street - geek bar (compete with resident dalek, Tardis and oodles of memorabilia)
The Piccadilly Tap - on the Station approach. Unassuming storefront bar but a fantastic selection of beers.
Dry Bar/Night & Day cafe - side by side on Oldham St (opposite Forbidden Planet) - the spiritual home of the Manchester music scene
The Castle Hotel - a little further up Oldham St - old fashioned, slightly shabby pub with live bands (had a great afternoon with John Wagner and other droids in here after a signing once)
Some really nice suggestions! Thanks a lot :)
Im quite sure therell be one or two museums, least one pub as well as comic book store. Probably also that pay per hour-eating place :)
Btw. Any good record stores? Vinyl.
Also. Any local beers that are essential?
You could always drop in on my sister in Glossop and say hello. Do not drop in on my sister in Glossop and say hello.
Quote from: Apestrife on 28 September, 2016, 06:42:46 PM
Btw. Any good record stores? Vinyl.
The famous old Vinyl Exchange looked like it had closed down last time I passed (probably ages ago knowing me)- shame, this was always absolutely packed shoulder-to shoulder with a strict etiquette of crowd control as rows of people flicked through records before shuffling one box down. There are vinyl shops, but it's not my area so can't really help there.
Quote from: Apestrife on 28 September, 2016, 06:42:46 PM
Also. Any local beers that are essential?
Now beer on the other hand ... I was going to suggest anything by the Marble brewery, and when I checked here (https://www.timeout.com/manchester/bars-and-pubs/manchesters-best-craft-breweries) to see if I knew any others, I was surprised to see that Shindigger was local - that's been my recent tipple in the Piccadilly Tap, lovely strong Pale Ale, and I thought it was American! Another brewery that's not mentioned in that list is Red Willow from Macclesfield - all their beers end in ~less (Reckless, Headless, Aimless etc) You'll often find them as guest beers all over the place, and although they sometime scrape the barrel coming up with new names (I'm sure I ordered a pint of Hopeless once, which was a bit too ominously metaphorical for my taste), I've never not enjoyed their beers.
I'd offer to join you on a pub crawl, but I'm off to Majorca this weekend!
Surely Piccadilly Records is still going? Remember that being a great shop.
Thanks :)! hope you have an nice time in mallorca!
first day we (me and dad) wandered round and round. found a small recordshop as well as a cellar full of stuff. Everything from old progs, dc marvel to "adult magazines". Will try to visit some of the suggested places today.
Lots of people seem quite chatty here. its good. my dad needs to exercise his english :)