Photo treasure hunt: Manchester

I like to think I know Manchester pretty well, but there are times when my newbie status is given away. (9 years is nothing here!) 

bike in front of the Hotspur Press Manchester

On Sunday I joined the boy to take part in a photowalk organised by Mark Prime, who runs The Photography Sessions. Now I don’t profess to be a photographer. My abilities extend to what I can capture on my iPhone so I don’t usually get involved in these events, but a photo treasure hunt in Manchester sounded like lots of fun.

The premise was simple. Mark had taken 100 photos around Manchester and we had to recreate as many as possible.

Photo clues were emailed out on Saturday night, causing a late one trying to work them out and plan our route (sometimes that’s just how you end up spending a night in!). Even though I walk round the city with my eyes open and love noticing the variety of old and new architecture that somehow works together to make Manchester so exciting, there were loads of places that had me stumped.

I figured that we’d be able to guess a few just by being in the vicinity of the other photo spots and, as it turned out, that technique worked for one or two.

We tried to get ahead of the game by setting off on our bikes, which have seen very little activity since we got back from Italy. We knew we could cover more ground and with photos to take all over the city, you’d have to be extremely dedicated to try and find them all on foot.

Starting at the Whitworth Art Gallery then heading in to town via Oxford Road and Castlefield, we managed 25 of the 100 photos before the wind picked up and, in typical Manchester style, the heavens opened.

bike on the bridge in Castlefield Manchester

With the rain showing no signs of stopping anytime soon we called it a day and opted for cycling home over completing the challenge. You can’t say you’ve experienced a Manchester summer unless you’ve been drenched from head to toe at least once, but choosing to stay out in it is just stupid. 

Anyway, lack of photography skills aside, here are some ‘cycle selfies’ from around the city on my first day out on the bike for almost a year (I’m definitely a fair-weather cyclist). And what better place to be reunited with my trusty steed than in the heart of Manchester. 

Handlebars outside Manchester University Faculty of Arts building

Handlebars outside University of Manchester University Place

Water bottle outside the Corner House Manchester

Bike outside interesting student accommodation Manchester

bike outside the car park shell Manchester

bike outside Vita building Manchester

Bike leaning against Peveril of the Peak Manchester

bike against a post in front of the Beetham Tower

For more things to do in Manchester click here

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