Just photos: Manchester

One recent sunny Sunday afternoon I cycled around Strangeways Prison here in Manchester.

You may have heard about the Americans touring Manchester on a 'ghosts and ghouls' tour where they were being told about mysterious sightings, strange happenings and heartless crimes.

The tour guide mentions that in one particular instance that the criminals were apprehended and hung in Strangeways. To which a tourist pipes up: 'And in what strange ways were those?'

The Victorian prison is surrounded by warehouses, old factories and empty lots all earmarked for development now that the former Boddingtons brewery has been flattened.

Cycling down Derby Street, I noticed how many of these vast industrial buildings had grand featues like marble entrances, classical columns and clock towers despite the rest of the structures being built from plain brick.




Here is the Manchester Ice Palace, built in 1901 and home to the World Ice Skating Championships in 1911.

The skating rink used to work in tandem with a nearby ice works, in the days before refrigeration and television. These days it's a handbag warehouse.

Even in an industrial wasteland, it's still possible to find vibrant colours...

...odd juxtapositions...

...and interesting contrasts.