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2019/20 PUBLIC WALKS CALENDAR
These are the confirmed tours so far: there's always a new tour on the way
They can all be converted to bespoke private or corporate tours.
Thursday 12 December
6pm Pub walk: Seasonal Madness Tour
A seasonal and daft excursion around some classic Manchester pubs. Lots of stories, lots of laughs and even a ridiculous and tiny quiz.
Saturday 14 December
10.30am Halle St Peter's Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A beautiful space, a beautiful new addition, an exclusive opportunity to visit a superb building rarely open to the public.
12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature
3pm The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture.
PLEASE NOTE THE TIME OF THIS TOUR HAS CHANGED
5pm The Ghosts of Manchester – spooks guaranteed
A rip-roaring and fascinating tour of the haunted areas of Manchester, finishing in a dark place for a surprise.
Monday 16 December
6.30pm The Mayfield abandoned station tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
An early evening tour of Manchester most spectacular abandoned building. Not to be missed. Limited availability.
Tuesday 17 December
6.30pm The Mayfield abandoned station tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
An early evening tour of Manchester most spectacular abandoned building. Not to be missed. Limited availability.
Saturday 11 January
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421 & the best of their type & date in the country: charm, beauty & great literature.
Saturday 18 January
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
3pm Old Trafford Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
This is one of the most significant suburbs in the UK, from massive politics to the world’s greatest temporary art exhibition and of course sport.
Sunday 19 January
10.30am The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture.
3pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
Saturday 25 January
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
3pm Literary Manchester: Prose & Verse
Manchester in poetry, prose and reportage. This features the some of greats of British literature and is serious and very funny in turn.
Saturday 31 January
6pm The Ghosts of Manchester – spooks guaranteed
A rip-roaring and fascinating tour of the haunted areas of Manchester, finishing in a dark place for a surprise.
Saturday 1 February
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
3pm The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture.
Sunday 2 February
3pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
Friday 14 February
6pm Forget Paris, Manchester is the city of romance: A Valentine's tour
An evening tour filled with I’amour. The greatest romances in Manchester’s history, their joys and tragedies. The tour finishes in a pub.
Saturday 15 February
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
Sunday 16 February
1pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
3pm The Incredible Interiors Tour
The most beautiful, significant and curious interiors in the city centre. Some may be familiar, but there is always one guaranteed to surprise.
Thursday 20 February
3pm The Rollicking Pub walk
A funny and moving excursion around some classic Manchester pubs. Lots of stories, lots of laughs and even a ridiculous and tiny quiz.
Friday 27 February
6pm The Ghosts of Manchester – spooks guaranteed
A rip-roaring and fascinating tour of the haunted areas of Manchester, finishing in a dark place for a surprise.
Saturday 7 March
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
3pm The Universities Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
25 Nobels and counting. This tour looks at the achievement of this beautifully landscaped part of the city but also the human stories and the fine architecture.
Saturday 21 March
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature
3pm Architecture & Planning: why does Manchester look like it does?
A look at the architecture and planning of the city, how it evolved and what forces, industrial, commercial and social created its ‘look’ and ‘feel’. Also, what does the future hold?
Sunday 22 March
1pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
Friday 27 March
6pm The Ghosts of Manchester – spooks guaranteed
A rip-roaring and fascinating tour of the haunted areas of Manchester, finishing in a dark place for a surprise.
Saturday 28 March
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature
3pm The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture.
Wednesday 1 April
6pm The April Fools Day Tour
The most ridiculous tour in the city. There are twenty three absurd Manchester stories but only three are false. Can you identify which ones and win a prize. The tour finishes in a pub.
Sunday 12 April
3pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
Thursday 16 April
3pm The Rollicking Pub walk
A funny and moving excursion around some classic Manchester pubs. Lots of stories, lots of laughs and even a ridiculous and tiny quiz.
Saturday 25 April
3pm The Didsbury Tour: the surprising Manchester series
A tour around a suburb filled with rich history, great buildings and human stories.
Saturday 2 May
3pm Engels & Marx in Manchester
The story of two men and Manchester’s role in creating a world ideology. Fascinating, entertaining and important tales of the two Germans in this city.
Saturday 9 May
3pm Irk Valley & Angel Meadow Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Sweet air, scuttlers, cholera, lost churches, the impossible bridge and the improbable hill.
Sunday 10 May
10.30pm The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture
Saturday 16 May
3pm The Chorlton Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
From love stories to murders via pigs and pop music, learn about Chorlton’s fascinating story.
Saturday 23 May
3pm The Quays and MediaCityUK Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Two days after the 126th anniversary of the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, here’s a tour of the life and times of a fascinating part of the city.
Saturday 7 June
10am The Bicycle Magical Mystery Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Three and half hours of fun on a route around the city centre that is full of surprises and full of green spaces.
Saturday 14 June
3pm Platt Hall, Birch Fields and Rusholme Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
A remarkable set of buildings, remarkable stories, handsome parks and an entertaining tour around some of the more influential districts of Manchester, and as with the bike tour, there is plenty of sweet green space to enjoy.
Sunday 16 August
11am Peterloo: The Reality & Drama: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
The last chance in the 200th anniversary year to tour the epic & dramatic events in the struggle for democracy.
Saturday 12 September
3pm The Day the World Got Smaller: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
Three days before the 190th anniversary, this tour looks at the day the Railway Age began in speed, smoke and blood.
Sunday 13 September
1pm Kersal Moor and the River Woods: The Surprising Manchester (and Salford series)
An urban yet rural tour crossing over one of the oldest continuously used sporting grounds in the UK, and one full of curious human stories, a richly populated graveyard and a pretty and antique building.
Saturday 26 September
3pm Bombed and Besieged Manchester at War: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
The Civil War siege of Manchester began in September 1642. This tour covers the siege but other conflicts and outrages since that date plus the surprise 1939 arrival of Picasso’s Guernica.
Saturday 10 October
Suffragettes, Women & the City: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
In October the Suffragettes raised their first ‘Votes for Women’ banner. This was an epic moment in the fight for equal rights, this tour marks that and so many other heroic moments.
Saturday 24 October
3pm The Pan-African Congress, Slavery, and Thomas Clarkson Tour: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
The city was at the heart of the anti-slavery movements in the UK and Empire yet its mainstay product, cotton, was largely slave-picked. Epic history and a contradiction explored.
Saturday 28 November
3pm Engels & Marx in Manchester
On the occasion of Friedrich Engels 200th birthday we trace the story of two men and Manchester’s role in creating a world ideology.
More tours will be announced soon
Please check the website 24 hours before the tours
Your Paypal receipt is your ticket, the receipt may have gone into you spam folder so please check that if you can't find it in your main email inbox.
These are the confirmed tours so far: there's always a new tour on the way
They can all be converted to bespoke private or corporate tours.
Thursday 12 December
6pm Pub walk: Seasonal Madness Tour
A seasonal and daft excursion around some classic Manchester pubs. Lots of stories, lots of laughs and even a ridiculous and tiny quiz.
Saturday 14 December
10.30am Halle St Peter's Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A beautiful space, a beautiful new addition, an exclusive opportunity to visit a superb building rarely open to the public.
12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature
3pm The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture.
PLEASE NOTE THE TIME OF THIS TOUR HAS CHANGED
5pm The Ghosts of Manchester – spooks guaranteed
A rip-roaring and fascinating tour of the haunted areas of Manchester, finishing in a dark place for a surprise.
Monday 16 December
6.30pm The Mayfield abandoned station tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
An early evening tour of Manchester most spectacular abandoned building. Not to be missed. Limited availability.
Tuesday 17 December
6.30pm The Mayfield abandoned station tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
An early evening tour of Manchester most spectacular abandoned building. Not to be missed. Limited availability.
Saturday 11 January
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421 & the best of their type & date in the country: charm, beauty & great literature.
Saturday 18 January
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
3pm Old Trafford Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
This is one of the most significant suburbs in the UK, from massive politics to the world’s greatest temporary art exhibition and of course sport.
Sunday 19 January
10.30am The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture.
3pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
Saturday 25 January
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
3pm Literary Manchester: Prose & Verse
Manchester in poetry, prose and reportage. This features the some of greats of British literature and is serious and very funny in turn.
Saturday 31 January
6pm The Ghosts of Manchester – spooks guaranteed
A rip-roaring and fascinating tour of the haunted areas of Manchester, finishing in a dark place for a surprise.
Saturday 1 February
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
3pm The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture.
Sunday 2 February
3pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
Friday 14 February
6pm Forget Paris, Manchester is the city of romance: A Valentine's tour
An evening tour filled with I’amour. The greatest romances in Manchester’s history, their joys and tragedies. The tour finishes in a pub.
Saturday 15 February
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
Sunday 16 February
1pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
3pm The Incredible Interiors Tour
The most beautiful, significant and curious interiors in the city centre. Some may be familiar, but there is always one guaranteed to surprise.
Thursday 20 February
3pm The Rollicking Pub walk
A funny and moving excursion around some classic Manchester pubs. Lots of stories, lots of laughs and even a ridiculous and tiny quiz.
Friday 27 February
6pm The Ghosts of Manchester – spooks guaranteed
A rip-roaring and fascinating tour of the haunted areas of Manchester, finishing in a dark place for a surprise.
Saturday 7 March
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature.
3pm The Universities Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
25 Nobels and counting. This tour looks at the achievement of this beautifully landscaped part of the city but also the human stories and the fine architecture.
Saturday 21 March
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature
3pm Architecture & Planning: why does Manchester look like it does?
A look at the architecture and planning of the city, how it evolved and what forces, industrial, commercial and social created its ‘look’ and ‘feel’. Also, what does the future hold?
Sunday 22 March
1pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
Friday 27 March
6pm The Ghosts of Manchester – spooks guaranteed
A rip-roaring and fascinating tour of the haunted areas of Manchester, finishing in a dark place for a surprise.
Saturday 28 March
10.30am and also 12.30pm Chetham's Library and Medieval Buildings EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Buildings from 1421, the best of their type and date in the country: charm, beauty, wizards and great literature
3pm The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture.
Wednesday 1 April
6pm The April Fools Day Tour
The most ridiculous tour in the city. There are twenty three absurd Manchester stories but only three are false. Can you identify which ones and win a prize. The tour finishes in a pub.
Sunday 12 April
3pm Manchester's 'Boldest Building' Tour, The Edgar Wood Centre EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A flamboyant architect, an incredibly advanced 1903 building. Features Daisy Bank Road associated with Emmeline Pankhurst, Ford Madox Brown, Charles Halle and Juana Maria de los Delores Leon Smith. Of course.
Thursday 16 April
3pm The Rollicking Pub walk
A funny and moving excursion around some classic Manchester pubs. Lots of stories, lots of laughs and even a ridiculous and tiny quiz.
Saturday 25 April
3pm The Didsbury Tour: the surprising Manchester series
A tour around a suburb filled with rich history, great buildings and human stories.
Saturday 2 May
3pm Engels & Marx in Manchester
The story of two men and Manchester’s role in creating a world ideology. Fascinating, entertaining and important tales of the two Germans in this city.
Saturday 9 May
3pm Irk Valley & Angel Meadow Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Sweet air, scuttlers, cholera, lost churches, the impossible bridge and the improbable hill.
Sunday 10 May
10.30pm The Principal Hotel Tour EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
A festival of terracotta in one of the most ambitious commercial buildings in the country, we see places where most people never venture
Saturday 16 May
3pm The Chorlton Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
From love stories to murders via pigs and pop music, learn about Chorlton’s fascinating story.
Saturday 23 May
3pm The Quays and MediaCityUK Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Two days after the 126th anniversary of the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, here’s a tour of the life and times of a fascinating part of the city.
Saturday 7 June
10am The Bicycle Magical Mystery Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Three and half hours of fun on a route around the city centre that is full of surprises and full of green spaces.
Saturday 14 June
3pm Platt Hall, Birch Fields and Rusholme Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
A remarkable set of buildings, remarkable stories, handsome parks and an entertaining tour around some of the more influential districts of Manchester, and as with the bike tour, there is plenty of sweet green space to enjoy.
Sunday 16 August
11am Peterloo: The Reality & Drama: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
The last chance in the 200th anniversary year to tour the epic & dramatic events in the struggle for democracy.
Saturday 12 September
3pm The Day the World Got Smaller: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
Three days before the 190th anniversary, this tour looks at the day the Railway Age began in speed, smoke and blood.
Sunday 13 September
1pm Kersal Moor and the River Woods: The Surprising Manchester (and Salford series)
An urban yet rural tour crossing over one of the oldest continuously used sporting grounds in the UK, and one full of curious human stories, a richly populated graveyard and a pretty and antique building.
Saturday 26 September
3pm Bombed and Besieged Manchester at War: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
The Civil War siege of Manchester began in September 1642. This tour covers the siege but other conflicts and outrages since that date plus the surprise 1939 arrival of Picasso’s Guernica.
Saturday 10 October
Suffragettes, Women & the City: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
In October the Suffragettes raised their first ‘Votes for Women’ banner. This was an epic moment in the fight for equal rights, this tour marks that and so many other heroic moments.
Saturday 24 October
3pm The Pan-African Congress, Slavery, and Thomas Clarkson Tour: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
The city was at the heart of the anti-slavery movements in the UK and Empire yet its mainstay product, cotton, was largely slave-picked. Epic history and a contradiction explored.
Saturday 28 November
3pm Engels & Marx in Manchester
On the occasion of Friedrich Engels 200th birthday we trace the story of two men and Manchester’s role in creating a world ideology.
More tours will be announced soon
Please check the website 24 hours before the tours
Your Paypal receipt is your ticket, the receipt may have gone into you spam folder so please check that if you can't find it in your main email inbox.
Here's my favourite quote about Manchester in its nascent industrial days from Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1875. Its meaning is self-evident and although it refers to science the sentiment applies to every other field of endeavour.
‘Men, however great their learning often become indolent and unambitious to improve in knowledge for want of associating with others of similar talents and improvements. But science, like fire, is put in motion by collision. Where a number of such men have frequent opportunities of meeting and conversing together, thought begets thought, and every hint is turned to advantage. A spirit of enquiry glows in every breast.’
‘Men, however great their learning often become indolent and unambitious to improve in knowledge for want of associating with others of similar talents and improvements. But science, like fire, is put in motion by collision. Where a number of such men have frequent opportunities of meeting and conversing together, thought begets thought, and every hint is turned to advantage. A spirit of enquiry glows in every breast.’