Manchester Trafford Centre – Saturday 9th September 2023

The Trafford Centre is a large out of town shopping centre which opened in 1998 – it’s currently the third largest in the UK.  The style of the centre was chosen to prevent it looking dated, and it really is quite spectacular!  The centre boasts the largest chandelier in the world, which hangs in front of a staircase based on one from the Titanic, and the main dome was modelled on St Paul’s Cathedral.   I forgot to take photos of the outside, and I could kick myself as that is also highly decorative.  The Waterstones here is located on the ground floor of the centre.

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Manchester Trafford Centre map

The Chandelier and Staircase

The Dome

Arthur Brooke

Arthur Brooke founded the tea trading business Brooke, Bond & Company and opened his first shop in Manchester in 1869.  This sculpture, by Anthony Stones, was donated to the centre by the Brooke Bond Tea Company. 

Various Statues

Stockport – Saturday 9th September 2023

Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester which, in the 1800s, was famous for its hat-making industry which gave the town’s football team, Stockport County, its nickname of ‘The Hatters’.  At the height of the industry the town exported over £6 million hats a year!  The last factory closed in 1997. There is a Hat Works Museum in the town but it’s currently closed for refurbishment, which is a shame as I should have liked to have gone.  Stockport is also the location of the start of the River Mersey, which is formed by the meeting of the Rivers Tame and Goyt, and is the location of the largest brick structure in the UK – the Stockport Viaduct – which was built in 1840 and contains some 11 million bricks!  The Waterstones is located in the Merseyway Shopping Centre in the heart of the town.

Stockport map

Stockport Plaza

This stunning Grade II listed Art Deco building first opened as a cinema in 1932, and its equipment included a Compton organ which is still used today.  It was refurbished in the 1950s to include a stage for performances.  It became a bingo hall in 1967.  More restoration work took place in 2009 with some of the funding coming from the National Lottery, and further renovations took place between 2012 and 2016 and is now fully restored to the original 1932 décor.  As well as being used as a cinema and theatre, the Plaza has been used as a filming location for various TV shows.   We timed our trip to Stockport perfectly, as the Plaza was open for the Heritage Open Day scheme so we got to look round it.  It’s absolutely stunning as you can see from the photos.  I took LOTS! 

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Below, clockwise from top left

Underbank Hall (a 15th century town house), Two of Stockport Market (1962), the Stockport Viaduct (1840) and The Stockport Pyramid (1992 – originally offices for the Cooperative Bank, but currently empty).

Barrow-in-Furness – Thursday 7th September 2023

Barrow-in-Furness is a town in Cumbria that is possibly best-known for its shipbuilding.  The shipyard was founded in 1871 as the Barrow Shipbuilding Company and the first ship was launched in 1873.  Vickers & Sons bought the company in 1897 and later they began producing naval vessels.  With the arrival of the first world war, production of munitions was stepped up, and in WW2 the town became the target of the Luftwaffe in 1941 and 1942.  The Vickers shipyard is now owned by BAE.  It’s also famous* as the town where my paternal Grandad was born (*but maybe only in our family)!  He worked for Vickers his whole working life, starting at the age of 14 working his way up to become a chartered secretary, working in the London offices until he retired in the early 1960s.  The Waterstones is located in a modern, open air shopping centre.

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Barrow-in-Furness map

Nella Last’s Diaries

In 1937 the Mass Observation Project was started in order to record the lives of everyday people for future posterity.  On 5 September 1939, just two days after World War 2 broke out, Nella Last started keeping a diary – a habit she kept up until 1966.  She lived in Barrow-in-Furness with her husband and two sons.  Her story was dramatised as Housewife, 49, written by the late, great Victoria Wood who played the Nella.

Emlyn Hughes

Footballer Emlyn Hughes was born in the town in 1947.  He started his footballing career at Blackpool and played for various clubs during his career, as well as for England.   He later went on to host the BBC quiz A Question of Sport.  Hughes died of cancer in 2004, and there is a statue commemorating him in the town outside an office block called Emlyn Hughes House.

The Spirit of Barrow

This sculpture dating from 2005 was created by Chris Kelly.  The four workers depicted represent Courage, Labour, Progress and Skill which represent the town’s industrial heritage.

Anson Street – my Grandad was born here!

Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall

Kendal – Wednesday 6th September 2023

Kendal is a market town in Cumbria, possibly best-known for its Mint Cake, which has a reputation as being popular with walkers and climbers as a source of energy.  Another, perhaps less well-known fact about Kendal is that the post office in Postman Pat is based on a former post office called Beast Banks in Greenside in the town!  The Waterstones is located in Westmorland Shopping Centre with entrances from there and from the street and is set on two floors.

Kendal map

AW Wainwright

Alfred “A W” Wainwright, the famous fell walker and guidebook writer, moved to Kendal when he was 34 and took a job working for the council having fallen in love with the area on an earlier visit.  He wrote seven books in the series Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, which were originally self-published, and were written by hand, with his own drawings as illustrations.  The desk shown below was Wainwright’s desk in the council office (also shown).

Mrs Goggins’ Post Office

Postman Pat’s creator, John Cunliffe, was friendly with the sub-postmistress here, and is said to have based Mrs Goggins on her.

Kendal Library

The Carnegie library in Kendal opened in 1909.  We stuck our heads in the door – it really is a beautiful building.

We loved this signpost in the town!

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Blackburn – Wednesday 6th September 2023

We stopped in Blackburn on our way to the Lake District where we were spending the first few days of our holiday.  Blackburn is an industrial town in Lancashire in the north west of England and was an important centre for textile manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution, in fact, it was once known as “the weaving capital of the world”.  Blackburn is also famous as the location of the first mass-fingerprinting following the murder of a three-year-old girl.  Over 45,000 fingerprints were taken, leading to the murderer’s conviction.  The fingerprints were later destroyed.  The Waterstones is located in The Mall shopping centre and only opened last month.

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Blackburn map

Blackburn Cathedral

The building was consecrated as a church in 1826, eventually becoming a cathedral one hundred years later in 1926. We had hoped to visit, but unfortunately there was a service taking place for a local school, so we weren’t able to go inside, although we have been inside before several years ago. 

Transition Sculptures

These sculptures are located in Church Lane, just around the corner from the cathedral.  The artist is Ian Randall and the pieces are made from various materials and represent the town’s heritage.

The Postal Order

Now a Wetherspoons’ pub, this is the former post office – it’s an Edwardian building dating from 1906 according to an ornate carved date above one of the doors

Currently reading:  Anne of Windy Poplars by L M Montgomery

London – Liverpool Street Underground Station – Monday 4th September 2023

I was spending the day in London with my good friend Helen before heading north to meet Peter for our holiday the following day.   Helen and I planned a day in Kew Gardens, where neither of us had visited before.  I got up early and had a walk around Westminster where I was staying before meeting Helen and heading to Kew.  We had the most wonderful day there, including a trip up the Pagoda.  Unfortunately, the high walkway was closed for repairs, so we will have to go back to do that another time.  After we parted I had a trip booked to go up London’s newest (but not tallest) viewing platform at 8 Bishopsgate. Before that, I had time to pop to the Waterstones located at Liverpool Street station.  It was a little difficult to find, and it only opens on weekdays, but although tiny, it’s a beautiful purple colour.

Liverpool Street Station map

An early walk around Westminster

Kew Gardens

8 Bishopsgate and The City

Currently reading:  Anne of Windy Poplars by L M Montgomery

Epsom – Saturday 19th August 2023

Epsom is a market town in Surrey which is probably best known as the place where Epsom Salts were first found, and also for the location of the Epsom Derby on the nearby Downs. The Epsom Derby is notable for being the event where the Suffragette Emily Davison lost her life in 1913, four days after running onto the course in front of King George V’s horse.  There is a statue to her in the town, as well as a plaque at the racecourse.  She was buried in Morpeth, and we saw her statue there in 2021.  The Waterstones in Epsom is located at the east end of the High Street. 

Epsom map

Emily Davison Statue

Evocation of Speed Sculpture

This sculpture is located in the market area of the west end of the High Street, not far from the Emily Davison Statue, and, like that, it is a nod to the nearby Epsom Racecourse.  The sculptor is Judy Boyt.  According to her website, it represents the first ever horse to win the Derby, named Diomed, and the horse that won in 2001, Galileo.

Epsom Clock Tower

Built in 1847 and designed by James Butler and Henry Hodge, this clock tower stands on the site of an earlier one which was demolished the same year.

Before we arrived in Epsom, we popped to Chessington so I could take a photograph of the blue plaque on the house where Enid Blyton lived between 1920 and 1924.  Whilst some of her books are rather dated by today’s standards, she was one of my favourite authors when I was a child, and definitely fostered my love of reading.

Currently reading: Waiting for the Miracle by Anna McPartlin and Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

Ilford – Saturday 12th August 2023

Ilford is a town in east London and part of the London Borough of Redbridge. It’s nine miles from Charing Cross – the place from which all London distances are measured!  In 1864, naturalist Antonio Brady discovered part of a Woolly Mammoth’s skull in the town – the most complete example to have been found in Britain.  It is in the Natural History Museum, but there is currently a full-sized replica in the museum located in the local library, but the museum is currently closed (although we did spot the tusks sticking up above the line of the wall!).   The Waterstones is located in the main shopping area just past the town hall.

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Ilford map

The Town Hall

 Redbridge Town Hall, opened in 1901 and now Grade 2 listed.  We didn’t see inside, but the outside is gorgeous so it’s easy to see why it was listed.  I think it’s mostly used as a venue for parties or Civil Ceremonies and Partnerships these days.

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The Cultural Quarter

Mural of Joyce Guy outside the library and museum.  She was awarded an MBE in 2009 for her services to Redbridge’s Senior Citizens.

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A beautiful Goddard & Gibbs’ stained-glass window in the library. 

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SPACE – Art Gallery and event space in this lovely Art Deco building which used to house the library. 

Murals commissioned by the town council for Ilford’s cultural quarter.   Survival by Ben Eine and End of the Line by an artist known as Dotmasters.

The Kenneth Moore theatre in a street also named after the actor. 

Currently reading: Letter to an Unknown Woman and other stories by Stefan Zweig.  Dead List by Helen H Durrant and Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

Portsmouth – Wednesday 12th July 2023

Portsmouth is a large port city, most of which is located on Portsea Island on the south coast, and is probably best known for its maritime connections.  Portsmouth has many distinctive areas.  The main high street shopping area is a mile inland from the harbour area.  The area by the water has been developed over the years and now includes a large shopping centre, Gunwharf Quays, shops, restaurants and the Spinnaker Tower, which is an observation tower that stands 170 metres high and commands impressive views.  Its design reflects Portsmouth’s maritime history and looks like a large spinnaker sail.  The Waterstones is located in Commercial Road in a building that used to be part of the Capital and Counties Bank (later taken over by Lloyds Bank).  The original bank building was destroyed in WW2, and this new building was completed in 1955.  You can read more about the building here

Portsmouth map

Views of and from the Spinnaker Tower.  In one of the views you can see Osborne House on the Isle of Wight (click on the photo to enlarge it).

Portsmouth Dockyard

The dockyard is home to many attractions including HMS Victory and Henry VIII’s flagship warship, The Mary Rose, which sank in 1545 and was recovered in 1982.  The dockyard used to be free to enter, with the attractions charged separately, but in 2021 they introduced a ticketing system for entry, which varies in price.  As we didn’t have long to spend here, we decided to save it for another day, but I did take some photos of HMS Victory and HMS Warrior, an 1860 40-gun steam-powered armoured frigate built for the Royal Navy, the last time we visited, some of which are included in the photos shown below.

Clockwise from top left.  1. and 2. HMS Warrior. 3. Statue of Lord Nelson

HMS Victory

First launched in 1765, HMS Victory was Lord Nelson’s flagship at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.  Nelson famously died aboard the vessel during the battle.

Charles Dickens

Dickens was born in Portsmouth on 7 February 1812 and lived here for the first three years of his life until the family moved to London.  The house he was born in (then called Mile End Terrace, now 393 Commercial Road) is now a museum.  I’d really love to visit, but sadly it only opens on a few select weekends.  There is a statue to the great man outside the Guildhall (also pictured below).

Below, clockwise from top left.  1 and 2. The New Theatre Royal – a Victorian Grade II listed building.  An earlier theatre on the site featured in Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby.  3. The Seagull – a pub from 1900 to 1970, and now an estate agent located in Old Portsmouth. 4. The Queen’s Beasts – Queen Elizabeth Fountain for the Silver Jubilee in 1977 – sculptor Anthony Woodford.

Fareham – Wednesday 12th July 2023

Fareham is a market town in Hampshire located between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton on the south coast at the north-west of Portsmouth Harbour. Fareham used to be renown for brick making, and local bricks known as ‘Fareham Reds’ were used in the construction of the Royal Albert Hall in London.  The Waterstones is located in a modern shopping centre in the middle of town. 

Fareham map

Henry Cort Sculpture Project

This project to commemorate Henry Cort saw statues placed along the one of the main shopping streets in Fareham, West Street. Cort was credited with a process which allows wrought iron to be mass-produced from scrap. He was known as ‘The Father of the Iron Trade’ after his death, and had an ironworks near the town.  The photo of the little statue is known as Anvil Man in tribute to Henry Cort.  I was unable to find out any information about the others apart from their names and the names of the sculptor.  They are, clockwise from l-r, Anvil Man by Stephen Lunn, Tipping Scale by Jouko Nieminen, Figurines by Ryszard Mazur, Still Moves by Chris Brammall