A walk in a town for a change, I thought. So I jumped on a train to Piccadilly. Down Piccadilly I went. Then left down Portland Street. Then right along Oxford Street, past the Albert Memorial where there was a demo going on about green belt protection, past what was once Free Trade Hall in what was once St Peter’s Fields, now a swanky hotel in heavily built up central Manchester. Right up Deansgate, past the Rylands Library to the Corn Exchange – now lots of restaurants and stuff – and the Cathedral. Then Chapel Street and Blackfrairs Road took me to Broughton Bridge. Left along Lower Broughton Road. Right down Frederick Road and across the river again. Down its banks on Salford Way then right on Great Cheetham Street and back over river on Cromwell Bridge to resume march down Lower Broughton Road. When this met the A56, or Bury New Road,. I turned left and followed it to Park Lane where I turned right, then left down Singleton Road. I had a wee look at Kersal Moor, then carried on down Kersal Road till I swung right down Hilton Lane. After crossing the A56 this turns into Scholes Lane which took me to Heaton Park where I make my way to the temple behind the house, that being the highest point in the city of Manchester. From the Bury Old Road a 135 bus took me back to Piccadilly and my train ride home which was shared with drunken football fans but mercifully short.
It all went more or less to plan. But it was a mistake, with hidsight trying to do an urban walk with the OS Explorer map that doesn't show street names. I really needed an A-Z. I hadn't really planned to detour so far off to the west down Kersal Road but got a little confused in Higher Broughton. Here the Ordnance Survey helpfully identify one building as a synagogue so I kept my eyes open for it plannikng to use it as a landmark to find my way. What they didn't tell me and I didn't know at the time was that there are in fact several synagogues round here. I passed loads of Jewish folk in their Saturday best that should have made it really clear to me that this was a very Jewish part of town. In any case, I went and navigated by the wrong synagogue. As one does.
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