REVIEW – New walking tours uncover history of Manchester

‘Here, Then, And Now Tours’ offers small-group walking tours for people who want to understand the city in more depth.

As someone who is a born-and-bred Mancunian, I am always keen to delve into the city’s history and hopefully learn something new about the place the Romans once called ‘Mamucium’.

And my chosen tour recently could not have been more apt – treading the cobbled streets of the historic Castlefield area where those centurions once walked and lived.

These relatively new tours aimed at unearthing the glorious history of Manchester are led by local architect Ric Frankland, who brings along a bespoke digital screen that supplements the tour with images of old pictures and maps of how the areas you pass once looked.

It really does bring the tour to life, knowing Romans walked in the same steps or Victorians waited by the same first passenger railway station on Liverpool Road that you are standing by.

Starting at the new Campfield Market, once the old Air and Space Museum building, Ric takes us through the history of the old Roman fort – including a hidden last remaining piece of that building.

Then we saunter to the canal basin past the replicated Roman remains, where once boats would bring in goods and supplies – not just for the old mills but also the Duke of Bridgewater.

As you would expect, architecture is also a key feature with several notable old (and newer) buildings along the route of the two-hour tour.

It all ends near that old railway station – something else Manchester gave the world – and more old images of what commuters may have experienced back in the early 1800s.

You know a tour captures your interest when two hours fly by so quickly, as mine did.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in their history – be them Mancunian, Lancastrian or from further afield.

A chance to get those valuable steps in and learn something along the way.

Manchester may be a growing metropolis, but there are still lots of historic buildings hidden among the skyscrapers.

To understand that changing shape, architect Ric is the perfect guide to offer easy-to-understand explanations of the city’s place in history.

And if you don’t fancy the Castlefield tour first, Ric also offers a variety of others from ‘Medieval Manchester’ to ‘Granadaland’, covering the city’s television heritage.

Tours cost £20 per person and to book or find out more and available dates, visit the website at https://www.here-then-now.tours/