Life in Northern Towns

Just 11 miles from Otley , over the border in North Yorkshire, is the spa town of Harrogate .   I love spa towns, they are always classy places and Harrogate is no exception. It takes about an hour and a half to get to Harrogate from Manchester.   There is no quick way to get there. It’s 55 or so miles using M62 and then a variety of A roads, or 72 miles using M62 and A1.   Either way it’s one and a half hours.   At the moment even longer as there are road works on the M62 with the average speed limit of 50 miles per hour.   I’m seriously considering curtailing trips to Yorkshire on the basis of these road works. We’ve been to Harrogate a few times over the years.   My friend Shaun loves Harrogate and can always be found here in December doing his Christmas shopping.   I’ve stopped overnight here on a business trip and it’s all very civilized apart from the kids hanging around outside the supermarket at night.   As we spent more ti...

We’d been meaning to go to Otley in West Yorkshire for some time.   Neil knows one of the former Mayors of Otley, Jonathan Kirkland, who is a fellow pop quiz fanatic and Boris Johnson lookalike.   So we were curious to find out what Otley was like.   To get to Otley from Manchester is a bit of a pain.   We took the route via Bradford so you need to take the turn from the M62 onto the M606 and follow the signs leading to LeedsBradford International Airport .   Go past the airport, turn left onto East Chevin Road and this takes you into Otley.   Whilst it’s a real chore driving on the A roads to Otley, the final bit is worth it.   You see fantastic views of the surrounding countryside as you drop down into Otley, which is situated in the bottom of the valley.   I’m still sure there is a better way to get there.   Parking in Otley was a chore too.   I don’t know how long we whizzed around the streets looking for parking, but th...

Normal services have resumed after a brief foray down South.   We’re back in the North – hurrah!!!   So where do you go on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Manchester?   Not far for sure.   So after a short trip over the M60 ring road we visited Sale. Sale is a nice little suburb in south Manchester.   Sale is a part of Trafford Council , one of the rare Conservative controlled areas of Greater Manchester .   The Trafford borough is an area of extremes from the uber wealthy areas of Hale and Bowdon compared to the down - at - heel areas such as Old Trafford and Stretford.   Sale firmly fits in-between them – a middle class neighbourhood with chav elements from Sale West and Northern Moor . We have quite a bit of a back history with Sale .   Neil lived there as a kid.   My best mate lives there.   More recently , for the last 14 years , we’ve been regulars at the Pop Quiz at the Railway Pub . One of the plus points of choo...

Our final day in London and we decided to go ‘up west’ to Chelsea and South Kensington .   We were definitely going up in the world from Soho , but would I like it? As I’d done in my Achilles tendon we had to face the tube.   We hopped on at Euston and took the Northern line to Leicester Square and took the Piccadilly line to South Kensington.   Obviously the tube is the work of the devil, but needs must when the Achilles tendon is busted. Our destination was the Victoria and Albert Museum .   At South Kensington tube station there is a tunnel which leads you directly to the doors of the museum.   This is great as you avoid killing yourself on the busy roads above. I dragged poor Neil through the exhibitions and hoards of school kids looking bored doing assignments.   He only got interested when we found some of the 70s and 80s exhibits with bits of gadgetry.   It’s a nice museum, which is all very lovely and civil with their helpful staff. ...