The Calendar of Public Walks & Zoom tours
Walks in standard text, Zoom tours in italics
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Tuesday 13 April
6pm Manchester: An Intimate History by Zoom
This is the story of Manchester (and Salford) in twenty Zoom tours and talks. It is an ‘intimate history’ because it will look not just at dates and episodes but explore the people behind the stories.
Part 4 Manchester: An Intimate History
Insurrection, executions, crazy characters and a canal - Years 1688 to 1780
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 17 April
11am Discover Manchester
A general tour around Manchester city centre showing off the buildings and telling loads of stories both profound and humorous while describing many of the rich personalities who have graced the city. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £12. Book here.
Saturday 17 April
11am Discover Manchester
A general tour around Manchester city centre showing off the buildings and telling loads of stories both profound and humorous while describing many of the rich personalities who have graced the city. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £12. Book here.
Saturday 24 April
1pm Castlefield, St John's and First Street
A stroll through a fascinating part of the city centre pausing at the main sites and some hidden ones as well. This is the area of the city where the earliest industrial artificial waterway in the kingdom meets the oldest passenger railway in the world. It's where Manchester began with the Romans, but it also tells a story of Manchester's present and perhaps its future. As usual lots of information but also lots of fun. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £15. Book here.
Tuesday 27 April
6pm Chorlton-cum-Hardy – Zoom tour
Chorlton-cum-Hardy has a rich history and some stirring stories along with some frankly ridiculous ones. This tour traces the history, the buildings (remaining and lost), the music, the literature and the personalities associated with this most mercurial of suburbs. There will be superb images both old and new, lots of laughs and entertainment.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 1 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. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £15. Book here.
Tuesday 4 May
6pm Engels & Marx in Manchester: Zoom tour
Any contributions will go to Chetham's Library as part of their fund raising campaign. As with the walking tour on the previous Saturday this is 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.
Wednesday 5 May
6pm The Manchester Guardian is 200 tour
The Manchester Guardian was first published on Saturday 5 May 1821. This tour tells the story of how it came into being amid the turmoil following the Peterloo Massacre, but it will also reveal the story of the city and the 'paper as both grew into international importance. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £15. Book here.
Tuesday 11 May
6pm Manchester: An Intimate History by Zoom
This is the story of Manchester (and Salford) in twenty Zoom tours and talks. It is an ‘intimate history’ because it will look not just at dates and episodes but explore the people behind the stories.
Part 5 Manchester: An Intimate History
Steam power, slavery and the attack on the Exchange - Years 1780 to 1812
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 8 May
3pm Irk Valley & Angel Meadow Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Sweet air, scuttlers, cholera, lost churches, the impossible bridge and the improbable hill. This is a popular and exciting tour. £15. Book here.
Saturday 15 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. There will be some grave digging (so to speak) and a refreshing treat to conclude. £15. Book here.
Saturday 22 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.
Tuesday 25 May
6pm Didsbury – Zoom tour
This tour will bring Didsbury to life – virtually. It will tell the story of the village that became a suburb through cracking images, old and new, and with a sparkling commentary. From an ancient church through civil wars, daft celebrations, music and literature to the posh commuting suburb with its centre of axis moved by the arrival of the railway, there will be lots to reveal. There’s even a Les Dawson joke about Didsbury.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 5 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.
Tuesday 8 June
6pm Manchester: An Intimate History by Zoom
This is the story of Manchester (and Salford) in twenty Zoom tours and talks. It is an ‘intimate history’ because it will look not just at dates and episodes but explore the people behind the stories.
Part 6 Manchester: An Intimate History
The Industrial machine, Peterloo, railways and reform - Years 1812 to 1832
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 12 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.
Saturday 19 June
3pm The Prestwich Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Learn the stirring story of a significant suburb visiting the lovely and ancient St Mary’s Church and hearing tales of the many and various important and interesting residents. This tour finishes in a pub.
Tuesday 22 June
6pm New Manchester Buildings – the good, the average and the ugly. A Zoom tour
In the last 25 years the central area of Manchester and Salford has been transformed. It is now easily the tallest urban area outside London and it hasn’t finished yet with many more towers are planned. There have also been lots of lower new build across these areas at the same time. But are the buildings any good, will they last, are they something to look up too or are they slums of the future, is there anywhere near enough social housing being built. Join this feisty and opinionated Zoom tour and bring you own opinions.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 26 June
3pm Whalley Range & Alexandra Park: The Surprising Manchester SeriesA stroll around a lovely with a big history and then a turn through a fascinating suburb. This tour finishes in a pub.
Tuesday 20 July
6pm Folklore, tall stories and crazy early sport – Zoom tour
This is the stuff of legends you might say. This tour looks at the myths and folktales associated with the Manchester area but also includes some of the madcap games and pastimes people enjoyed from chasing greased pigs, playing clout ear, treacle loaf eating, nude male racing. In superstitious times people worried about spirits, faeries and sprites lurking in canals, under bridges or in leafy dells. This is an amusing excursion into a past where the urban and natural landscape was alive with supernatural and also the people’s playground.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 24 July
3pm Chapel Street & Peel Park: The Surprising Manchester Series
A stroll around a lovely with a big history and then a turn through a fascinating suburb. This tour finishes in a pub.
Sunday 25 July
8am The Secret Tunnels Tour
An early start for a crazy and wet tour under the city streets. This is weather dependent but nonetheless a glorious tour.
Monday 16 August
6pm 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.
Tuesday 24 August
6pm Prestwich & Heaton Park - Zoom tour
Prestwich is a fascinating place as its neighbour Heaton Park. This Zoom tour will tell the stories of the pair through wonderful imagery of the past, present and maybe even the future. Prestwich has ancient origins, on the line of a Roman road with one of the most prestigious regional parish churches. It has a rich Victorian and 20th century story to tell as well. Heaton Hall is one of the most important neo-Classical houses in the country while the surrounding estate has stirring story to tell.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Sunday 29 August
8am The Secret Tunnels Tour
An early start for a crazy and wet tour under the city streets. This is weather dependent but nonetheless a glorious tour.
Saturday 11 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 12 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 25 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 9 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 23 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.
Sunday 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.
6pm Manchester: An Intimate History by Zoom
This is the story of Manchester (and Salford) in twenty Zoom tours and talks. It is an ‘intimate history’ because it will look not just at dates and episodes but explore the people behind the stories.
Part 4 Manchester: An Intimate History
Insurrection, executions, crazy characters and a canal - Years 1688 to 1780
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 17 April
11am Discover Manchester
A general tour around Manchester city centre showing off the buildings and telling loads of stories both profound and humorous while describing many of the rich personalities who have graced the city. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £12. Book here.
Saturday 17 April
11am Discover Manchester
A general tour around Manchester city centre showing off the buildings and telling loads of stories both profound and humorous while describing many of the rich personalities who have graced the city. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £12. Book here.
Saturday 24 April
1pm Castlefield, St John's and First Street
A stroll through a fascinating part of the city centre pausing at the main sites and some hidden ones as well. This is the area of the city where the earliest industrial artificial waterway in the kingdom meets the oldest passenger railway in the world. It's where Manchester began with the Romans, but it also tells a story of Manchester's present and perhaps its future. As usual lots of information but also lots of fun. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £15. Book here.
Tuesday 27 April
6pm Chorlton-cum-Hardy – Zoom tour
Chorlton-cum-Hardy has a rich history and some stirring stories along with some frankly ridiculous ones. This tour traces the history, the buildings (remaining and lost), the music, the literature and the personalities associated with this most mercurial of suburbs. There will be superb images both old and new, lots of laughs and entertainment.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 1 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. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £15. Book here.
Tuesday 4 May
6pm Engels & Marx in Manchester: Zoom tour
Any contributions will go to Chetham's Library as part of their fund raising campaign. As with the walking tour on the previous Saturday this is 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.
Wednesday 5 May
6pm The Manchester Guardian is 200 tour
The Manchester Guardian was first published on Saturday 5 May 1821. This tour tells the story of how it came into being amid the turmoil following the Peterloo Massacre, but it will also reveal the story of the city and the 'paper as both grew into international importance. There's refreshing treat to conclude. £15. Book here.
Tuesday 11 May
6pm Manchester: An Intimate History by Zoom
This is the story of Manchester (and Salford) in twenty Zoom tours and talks. It is an ‘intimate history’ because it will look not just at dates and episodes but explore the people behind the stories.
Part 5 Manchester: An Intimate History
Steam power, slavery and the attack on the Exchange - Years 1780 to 1812
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 8 May
3pm Irk Valley & Angel Meadow Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Sweet air, scuttlers, cholera, lost churches, the impossible bridge and the improbable hill. This is a popular and exciting tour. £15. Book here.
Saturday 15 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. There will be some grave digging (so to speak) and a refreshing treat to conclude. £15. Book here.
Saturday 22 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.
Tuesday 25 May
6pm Didsbury – Zoom tour
This tour will bring Didsbury to life – virtually. It will tell the story of the village that became a suburb through cracking images, old and new, and with a sparkling commentary. From an ancient church through civil wars, daft celebrations, music and literature to the posh commuting suburb with its centre of axis moved by the arrival of the railway, there will be lots to reveal. There’s even a Les Dawson joke about Didsbury.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 5 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.
Tuesday 8 June
6pm Manchester: An Intimate History by Zoom
This is the story of Manchester (and Salford) in twenty Zoom tours and talks. It is an ‘intimate history’ because it will look not just at dates and episodes but explore the people behind the stories.
Part 6 Manchester: An Intimate History
The Industrial machine, Peterloo, railways and reform - Years 1812 to 1832
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 12 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.
Saturday 19 June
3pm The Prestwich Tour: The Surprising Manchester Series
Learn the stirring story of a significant suburb visiting the lovely and ancient St Mary’s Church and hearing tales of the many and various important and interesting residents. This tour finishes in a pub.
Tuesday 22 June
6pm New Manchester Buildings – the good, the average and the ugly. A Zoom tour
In the last 25 years the central area of Manchester and Salford has been transformed. It is now easily the tallest urban area outside London and it hasn’t finished yet with many more towers are planned. There have also been lots of lower new build across these areas at the same time. But are the buildings any good, will they last, are they something to look up too or are they slums of the future, is there anywhere near enough social housing being built. Join this feisty and opinionated Zoom tour and bring you own opinions.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 26 June
3pm Whalley Range & Alexandra Park: The Surprising Manchester SeriesA stroll around a lovely with a big history and then a turn through a fascinating suburb. This tour finishes in a pub.
Tuesday 20 July
6pm Folklore, tall stories and crazy early sport – Zoom tour
This is the stuff of legends you might say. This tour looks at the myths and folktales associated with the Manchester area but also includes some of the madcap games and pastimes people enjoyed from chasing greased pigs, playing clout ear, treacle loaf eating, nude male racing. In superstitious times people worried about spirits, faeries and sprites lurking in canals, under bridges or in leafy dells. This is an amusing excursion into a past where the urban and natural landscape was alive with supernatural and also the people’s playground.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Saturday 24 July
3pm Chapel Street & Peel Park: The Surprising Manchester Series
A stroll around a lovely with a big history and then a turn through a fascinating suburb. This tour finishes in a pub.
Sunday 25 July
8am The Secret Tunnels Tour
An early start for a crazy and wet tour under the city streets. This is weather dependent but nonetheless a glorious tour.
Monday 16 August
6pm 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.
Tuesday 24 August
6pm Prestwich & Heaton Park - Zoom tour
Prestwich is a fascinating place as its neighbour Heaton Park. This Zoom tour will tell the stories of the pair through wonderful imagery of the past, present and maybe even the future. Prestwich has ancient origins, on the line of a Roman road with one of the most prestigious regional parish churches. It has a rich Victorian and 20th century story to tell as well. Heaton Hall is one of the most important neo-Classical houses in the country while the surrounding estate has stirring story to tell.
FREE but contributions are very welcome.
Sunday 29 August
8am The Secret Tunnels Tour
An early start for a crazy and wet tour under the city streets. This is weather dependent but nonetheless a glorious tour.
Saturday 11 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 12 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 25 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 9 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 23 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.
Sunday 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.