The Calendar of Public Walks 2024
More tours than any other guide in Greater Manchester
You can purchase gift vouchers for these tours HERE
Not all tours will be conducted by Jonathan Schofield
All the tours are available as private or corporate tours
Most tours are dogfriendly
What guests have said...
REMEMBER THERE ARE VOUCHERS AND DEALS AVAILABLE HERE
2024
Monday 1 January
Noon New Year's Day Tour
Start 2023 with a fresh, informative and amusing tour of the city.
Saturday 6 January
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday.
Saturday 13 January
10.30am Secrets of Ancoats and New Islington
Has any area of the UK been transformed so utterly than this fascinating area of mills, canals, new development and controversy? The answer is no. So join me for a stroll around the most interesting urban story in modern Britain with an extra special visit inside an 1820s mill.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 20 January
10am EXCLUSIVE TOURS: New Century, 1963 design perfection
Even though completed in 1963 this remains state-of the-art auditorium after a splendid restoration. It comes with the bonus of a fabulous new food hall and college.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 27 January
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 3 February
10.30am EXCLUSIVE: Salford Lads Club Tour
(plus Middlewood Locks and Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal)
The finest and last lads' club in the country with stunning interiors and moving stories.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 10 February
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 11 February
11am EXCLUSIVE: The Secrets of Heaton Hall and Park
This is a love story in stone, the passion between a young married couple turned into architecture. At the same time the utterly stunning interiors are all about music, so naturally amongst the lovely stories there will be playing music. This is one tour not to miss.
Saturday 17 February
10.30am Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel Tour (Refuge Assurance)
The most spectacular terracotta building in the North of England. The Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel is a beauty and on this tour you learn its secrets.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 18 February
11am The Secrets of Chorlton: The Surprising Manchester Series
From a hamlet on a road to nowhere to a desirable suburb the story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a fascinating tale of people, places and events. This tour will explore the characters that inhabited the suburb, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Saturday 24 February
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 2 March
10.30am The Tour of Uninteresting Objects
We miss so much strolling the city centre because they aren't obvious yet often they provide delight and real insights into the story of Manchester and the country. Come on this tour to find out about some of the secrets of the city.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 9 March
10.30am Alexandra Park and Whalley Range
A fine park and a fascinating suburb with loads of stories to tell, there'll be music too.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 10 March
10.30am Secrets of Knutsford
An amazing town with amazing architecture and great stories. This is a really fun tour with some darker moments to add definition, some crazy sports, a mad Irishman, Elizabeth Gaskell, Richard Harding Watt and the tragedy of Alan Turing.
Saturday 16 March
10.30am: Architecture & Planning: why does Manchester look like it does?
A story of how the city was formed and the forces that shaped it.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Thursday 21 March
3pm EXCLUSIVE: Secrets of the University of Manchester with interior visits
Interior visits to superb buildings old and so brand new the polish still shows through. Some of these places will make your jaw drop. There are wonderful stories of truly world-changing importance.
Saturday 23 March
10am Secrets of Stockport
We go up and down and all around exploring the great stories of this sandstone town. Fine buildings to see, music to listen to, tragedies to weep over and how to count your life by moons.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
THESE ARE SOME GUEST COMMENTS
Saturday 30 March
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 6 April
10am Southern Cemetery Tour
A stroll through a tranquil landscape stopping at the monuments and celebrating the lives of fascinating individuals.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 13 April
10.30am Secrets of Ancoats and New Islington
Has any area of the UK been transformed so utterly than this fascinating area of mills, canals, new development and controversy? The answer is no. So join me for a stroll around the most interesting urban story in modern Britain with an extra special visit inside an 1820s mill.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 14 April
11am EXCLUSIVE: The Secrets of Heaton Hall and Park
This is a love story in stone, the passion between a young married couple turned into architecture. At the same time the utterly stunning interiors are all about music, so naturally amongst the lovely stories there will be playing music. This is one tour not to miss.
Saturday 20 April
10am EXCLUSIVE TOURS: New Century, 1963 design perfection
Even though completed in 1963 this remains state-of the-art auditorium after a splendid restoration. It comes with the bonus of a fabulous new food hall and college.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 27 April
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 4 May
10.30am Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx in Manchester
Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx were the fathers of communism. Engels lived, on and off, for 22 years in Manchester and during this time Marx would stay with Engels for long periods. The remarkable tale of two men who changed the political world is told on this tour - the day before Karl Marx's birthday.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 5 May
11am Worsley & Monton, loopline and canal
This is a fascinating and attractive area of Greater Manchester with international significance. The opening of the Bridgewater Canal in 1761 revolutionised infrastructure and was a key moment in the Industrial Revolution. The Delph is beautiful but the walk along the old loopline is lovely too.
Wednesday 8 May
9.45am Chetham's Medieval Buildings
The library and the school at Chetham's, close to Victoria Station, are among the most beautiful and venerable buildings in the North West of England. They are beautiful for their design and age but they also have a very significant history and have hosted influential people from across the world.
Saturday 11 May
10.30am Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel Tour (Refuge Assurance)
The most spectacular terracotta building in the North of England. The Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel is a beauty and on this tour you learn its secrets.
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 12 May
10.30am EXCLUSIVE: The Secrets of Gorton Monastery
A special building, a great history and a totally remarkable story of reinvention. Get the lowdown on a beautiful structure in east Manchester. 50% of proceedings go to the charity of Gorton Monastery.
THESE ARE SOME GUEST COMMENTS
Saturday 18 May
10am The Didsbury Tour
A trip around this lively area of the city revealing fascinating facts, curious buildings and fine buildings and lots of local personalities.
3pm Suffragettes, Women & the City: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
On 13 October 1905 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.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 25 May
11am Trees, flowers and Manchester city centre green spaces tour
Celebrating central Manchester's green spaces as part of Manchester Flower Festival
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 26 May
11am Trees, flowers and Manchester city centre green spaces tour
Celebrating central Manchester's green spaces as part of Manchester Flower Festival
Saturday 1 June
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 2 June
1pm Death, Beauty & Beer Tour of Brookland, Sale
Start at Sale Cemetery with so many illustrious dead, then to beautiful Walton Gardens and we finish in a pub for more chat and stories - and beer, if you wish.
Saturday 8 June
11am Secrets of Angel Meadow and the Irk Valley
(The Impossible Bridge and the Improbable Hill)
In the north of the city centre changes are afoot in one of the most historic areas of the city. This tour tells tales of bravery, misery, love and death and passes fascinating architecture and landscapes. Oh and a story about when a lot of naked people arrived in 2010.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
THESE ARE SOME GUEST COMMENTS
Sunday 9 June
11am EXCLUSIVE: The Secrets of Heaton Hall and Park
This is a love story in stone, the passion between a young married couple turned into architecture. At the same time the utterly stunning interiors are all about music, so naturally amongst the lovely stories there will be playing music. This is one tour not to miss.
Saturday 15 June
10.30am EXCLUSIVE: Salford Lads Club Tour
(plus Middlewood Locks and Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal)
The finest and last lads' club in the country with stunning interiors and moving stories.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 16 June
11am The Secrets of Chorlton: The Surprising Manchester Series
From a hamlet on a road to nowhere to desirable suburb the story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a fascinating tale of people, places and events. This tour will explore the characters that inhabited the suburb, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Saturday 22 June
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 23 June
11am-1pm Liverpool, port city tour (part one)
As a qualified tour Blue Badge guide for the North West of England, Liverpool is on my patch. I've guided it many times but never included it on my public walks schedule. The first two-hour walk of the day will take in Liverpool Town Hall and the Pierhead.
2pm-4pm Liverpool, cathedrals, houses and monuments (part two)
The second tour of the day will stroll from the cathedrals through the Georgian town houses to the monumental structures and buildings on St George's plateau.
Saturday 29 June
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 6 July
10am Secrets of Angel Meadow and the Irk Valley
(The Impossible Bridge and the Improbable Hill)
In the north of the city centre changes are afoot in one of the most historic areas of the city. This tour tells tales of bravery, misery, love and death and passes fascinating architecture and landscapes. Oh and a story about when a lot of naked people arrived in 2010.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
3pm Truly Madly Brutal
The architecture of the sixties and seventies is often derided and sometimes that is justified but there are also splendid examples in Manchester that were built in an atmosphere of hope and excitement.
Sunday 7 July
7am EXCLUSIVE: The Secret Tunnels Tour
APOLOGIES THIS TOUR HAS BEEN CANCELLED. ALL GUESTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN INFORMED
You have to be fit and you have to have waders but this is a very special totally bizarre experience.
Saturday 13 July
10.30am Secrets of Ancoats and New Islington
Has any area of the UK been transformed so utterly than this fascinating area of mills, canals, new development and controversy? The answer is no. So join me for a stroll around the most interesting urban story in modern Britain with an extra special visit inside an 1820s mill.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 20 July
10am EXCLUSIVE TOURS: New Century, 1963 design perfection
Even though completed in 1963 this remains state-of the-art auditorium after a splendid restoration. It comes with the bonus of a fabulous new food hall and college.
Saturday 27 July
10.30am EXCLUSIVE: Salford Lads Club Tour
(plus Middlewood Locks and Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal)
The finest and last lads' club in the country with stunning interiors and moving stories.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 3 August
3pm Secrets of Stockport
Due to unforeseen circumstances this tour has been postponed until Saturday 7 September and Saturday 2 November. Both tours at 10am. All guests should have been notified.
We go up and down and all around exploring the great stories of this sandstone town. Fine buildings to see, music to listen to, tragedies to weep over and how to count your life by moons.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 4 August
7am EXCLUSIVE: The Secret Tunnels Tour
You have to be fit and you have to have waders but this is a very special totally bizarre experience.
Saturday 10 August
1030am Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel Tour (Refuge Assurance)
The most spectacular terracotta building in the North of England. The Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel is a beauty and on this tour you learn its secrets.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 11 August
11am EXCLUSIVE: The Secrets of Heaton Hall and Park
This is a love story in stone, the passion between a young married couple turned into architecture. At the same time the utterly stunning interiors are all about music, so naturally amongst the lovely stories there will be playing music. This is one tour not to miss.
Saturday 17 August
10.30am The Peterloo Massacre Tour
The definitive tour about a moment that helped shape the future of the nation.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 24 August
10am Secrets of Cheadle
The tour has been postponed until 9 October due to a personal issue.
Cheadle has a wonderful story to tell and this tour takes in the village and Abney Hall. Famous families such as the Watt's will be discussed along with folklore and more.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Saturday 31 August
10.30am The Tour of Uninteresting Objects
We miss so much strolling the city centre because they aren't obvious yet often they provide delight and real insights into the story of Manchester and the country. Come on this tour to find out about some of the secrets of the city.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 1 September
7am EXCLUSIVE: The Secret Tunnels Tour
You have to be fit and you have to have waders but this is a very special totally bizarre experience.
Saturday 7 September
10am Secrets of Stockport
We go up and down and all around exploring the great stories of this sandstone town. Fine buildings to see, music to listen to, tragedies to weep over
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 8 September
10am Secrets of Knutsford
An amazing town with amazing architecture and great stories. This is a really fun tour with some darker moments to add definition, so crazy sports, a mad Irishman, Elizabeth Gaskell, Richard Harding Watt and the tragedy of Alan Turing.
Wednesday 11 September
9.45am Chetham's Medieval Buildings
The library and the school at Chetham's, close to Victoria Station, are among the most beautiful and venerable buildings in the North West of England. They are beautiful for their design and age but they also have a very significant history and have hosted influential people from across the world.
Saturday 14 September
10.30am Secrets of Ancoats and New Islington
Has any area of the UK been transformed so utterly than this fascinating area of mills, canals, new development and controversy? The answer is no. So join me for a stroll around the most interesting urban story in modern Britain with an extra special visit inside an 1820s mill.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
3pm The Railway Age begins: an anniversary tour
On 15 September 1830 the Liverpool to Manchester Railway opened and a page was turned in human history. This tour looks at the buildings that remain from that day and discusses developments since.
Sunday 15 September
7am EXCLUSIVE: The Secret Tunnels Tour
You have to be fit and you have to have waders but this is a very special totally bizarre experience.
Saturday 21 September
10am Southern Cemetery Tour
A stroll through a tranquil landscape stopping at the monuments and celebrating the lives of fascinating individuals.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Sunday 22 September
11am-1pm Liverpool, port city tour (part one)
As a qualified tour Blue Badge guide for the North West of England, Liverpool is on my patch. I've guided it many times but never included it on my public walks schedule. The first two-hour walk of the day will take in Liverpool Town Hall and the Pierhead.
2pm-4pm Liverpool, cathedrals, houses and monuments (part two)
The second tour of the day will stroll from the cathedrals through the Georgian town houses to the monumental structures and buildings on St George's plateau.
Saturday 5 October
10am The Didsbury Tour
A trip around this lively area of the city revealing fascinating facts, curious buildings and fine buildings and lots of local personalities.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Thursday 10 October
3pm EXCLUSIVE: Secrets of the University of Manchester with interior visits
Interior visits to superb buildings old and so brand new the polish still shows through. Some of these places will make your jaw drop. There are wonderful stories of truly world-changing importance.
Sunday 13 October
11am EXCLUSIVE: The Secrets of Heaton Hall and Park
This is a love story in stone, the passion between a young married couple turned into architecture. At the same time the utterly stunning interiors are all about music, so naturally amongst the lovely stories there will be playing music. This is one tour not to miss.
3pm Suffragettes, Women & the City: A Manchester Anniversary Tour
On 13 October 1905 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 19 October
10.30am 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.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Thursday 31 October
6pm 8pm Halloween 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 2 November
10am Secrets of Stockport
We go up and down and all around exploring the great stories of this sandstone town. Fine buildings to see, music to listen to, tragedies to weep over,
Saturday 9 November
1030am Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel Tour (Refuge Assurance)
The most spectacular terracotta building in the North of England. The Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel is a beauty and on this tour you learn its secrets.
Saturday 16 November
10am EXCLUSIVE TOURS: New Century, 1963 design perfection
Even though completed in 1963 this remains state-of the-art auditorium after a splendid restoration. It comes with the bonus of a fabulous new food hall and college.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
Saturday 23 November
10.30am Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx in Manchester
Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx were the fathers of communism. Engels lived, on and off, for 22 years in Manchester and during this time Marx would stay with Engels for long periods. The remarkable tale of two men who changed the political world is told on this tour - five days before Friedrich Engels birthday.
The Saturday Walkabout Series
The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday.
Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.
Tuesday 28 November
6pm Friedrich Engels & Karl Marx, the pub tour
This tour, on the actual date of Engels' birthday in 1820 is a bit like the one on the previous Saturday morning but boozier because after all Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx loved a drink almost as much as politics. Yet, we'll still do all the facts about these fathers of communism and their lives in Manchester.
REMEMBER THERE ARE VOUCHERS AND DEALS AVAILABLE HERE
More tours will be announced soon
Please check the website 24 hours before the tours
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