A trip to Manchester

When you live in London you tend to assume that you know Britain very well. But assumption doesn't always represent reality. London, despite being Britain's biggest city with a large population and global prestige, is still a small fraction of what the United Kingdom (UK) is. To avoid that London-centric trap and have a better knowledge of the country, I visit other British cities, towns and villages whenever I get a chance. But Manchester was off my radar - until now. And even now, it didn't come by design; it happened by chance.

I was getting bored in London after spending several months without a trip, which is unusual for me, so I thought of travelling to my home in Nigeria as I usually do. But when I checked the London-Abuja flight prices, I found them to be outrageous. They were higher than the prices of the London-Los Angeles flight, which is twice the London-Abuja distance. I contemplated booking the Los Angeles flight since I have a valid United States (US) visa, but I changed my mind as I had been there a couple times before.

I then checked for UK's domestic flights and found Manchester's quite attractive. And it was accompanied by another incentive of offering me extra tier points to retain my British Airways (BA) executive membership status, as well as more Avios (BA's loyalty rewards) for future cheaper flights. They went even further to entice me with additional points and Avios if I included a hotel booking in my purchase. I went for it.

I felt sad that I wasn't going home, but I was also excited to explore other places. After all, it fits into my know-Britain-well frame. So, I headed to the English city.

First industrial city

A mere mention of Manchester brings vivid images of football. The city's current fame is often associated with its famous Premier League clubs: Manchester City and Manchester United. But it is far beyond that. The world's first industrial city has wider resonance than just in the sporting field. Its role in the 18th-century Industrial Revolution, which changed the course of the global economy, might not feature in daily discourse nowadays, but it is etched in economic history books. The city's Tourist Board is now promoting that.

"Known throughout the world as the birthplace of the industrial revolution, Manchester has a proud history in science, politics, music, arts, and sport," the board proclaims. "Today, Manchester combines this heritage with a progressive vision to be a city that delivers incredible experiences for all who visit."

I didn't read their promotional material before buying my ticket, so I wasn't anticipating any "incredible" experience there. It was just a normal trip for me, and I didn't even make any serious preparations for it as it was just a one-hour local flight.

To compound the situation, I started off the journey on the wrong foot. First, I didn't leave home early because I thought that since it was a local flight, there wouldn't be too much checking and long queues at the airport as there are always many flights to Manchester every day. And second, I took a slow train instead of a taxi or a faster train, to the airport.

The Piccadilly Line train I took from Central London to Heathrow Airport was very slow. By the time I arrived at the BA check-in desk in Heathrow, it was already too late for ordinary passengers. My assumption about the non-existence of queues was wrong. There were long queues with many people trying to travel to Manchester. I had to use my BA executive member status to get a priority check-in to avoid missing the flight.

And luckily, the security check gates had been automated so I didn't spend a long time there before passing them. But I still had to run fast to reach the plane's boarding gate before it was closed. There, too, my priority boarding status saved me from becoming the last to board or even missing the flight.

I heaved a sigh of relief at the boarding desk. What was supposed to be a leisurely journey had had a hectic start, I told myself when I eventually boarded the plane. It was full of passengers - the young and the elderly, males and females of different backgrounds but mostly British. I took my seat by the window and relaxed - the leisure element had returned.

It was a lovely sunny day and I could see many planes landing and taking off at the busy Heathrow Airport. It didn't take long before ours, too, took off.

The sky was generally clear, except for some scattered clouds - and the plane cruised smoothly. I looked through the window and saw below us the beautiful scenery surrounding the towns and villages we were passing in the air. I was really enjoying it when the captain announced that we would soon be landing in Manchester.

We didn't spend more than 45 minutes in the air before reaching the city. It was a short flight. We landed safely in Manchester on the same sunny morning. It has a big airport with many domestic and international flights. A bus conveyed us to the arrival hall.

Manchester tram

I stood there briefly to decide on the means of transport I would use to enter the city. The staff of the Hilton hotel I had booked had told me about the transport options available from the airport. They range from trams to airport taxis and Uber cabs. I chose the tram. Many trams run from the airport to Victoria Station in Manchester City Centre regularly, with one leaving every 12 minutes. I bought a ticket and took the next one. It was convenient for me as it was taking us to Victoria Station, which is close to the Hilton hotel I was going to stay in. The tram was relatively new, neat and nice-looking.

We left the airport as scheduled and headed to the city centre. It was a slow-moving vehicle, stopping at every station on the way and taking a longer time than I had envisaged, but it allowed me to see many places and experience a Manchester tram journey. It is an efficient transport system run by Manchester Metrolink.

Owned by Transport for Greater Manchester, Metrolink is a tram and light rail system that covers the whole city and its surrounding areas. It is a by-product of a public-private partnership that Financial Times's economics leader writer Tej Parikh describes as a success story. "Since 2008, its route length has expanded more than any other urban rail transit system in the UK," he says.

We passed through the city's shopping centre, where many passengers dropped off and arrived at Victoria Station, its final destination, where I dropped off. I walked from there to my hotel in less than 10 minutes.

City centre

I arrived before the official check-in time, but as a Hilton Honors member, the hotel staff gave me a warm welcome and allowed me to check in. It was a beautiful building with a big reception hall and friendly receptionists.

They ushered me into my room, a large, spacious place with a captivating city view. I sat on its soft cushion, rested a bit, took a shower and went out to see the city centre up close. It has one of the largest shopping centres in the UK, into which one could easily get lost. I strolled into it, found an appealing restaurant and had my lunch. It was much cheaper than what obtains in London.

I moved around the shops, bought a bag and some gift items before I came out to get a glimpse of the other parts of the city centre. New and renovated buildings, banks and busy people - along with some hangers-on engaged in their daily activities - were the main feature of the place. Manchester's economy is booming, as Financial Times's Tej Parikh observes.

"Old industrial zones have been converted into business space, drawing in higher value-added sectors, including professional services, technology and media. (For measure, from 2015 to 2024 the city's office space grew at a faster rate than that of London, Paris and Barcelona)," he writes.

"Declining manufacturing employment has been more than offset by jobs in the knowledge-intensive business services sector, which have risen faster in Manchester than in any other UK city region outside of London since 2008," Parikh adds.

But there are still many who are struggling to survive. One them approached me with a smile and said: "Hello, sir. Did you have a second for me?" I smiled back but ignored his question. "Just a second, sir," he added and came closer to me. I looked at him carefully to make sure that he wasn't the drug-addicted type before I gave him some coins. "Thank you, sir," he responded with a wider smile and moved to another person.

The more prosperous people and young professionals seemed too busy to even notice this. They were the ones that the city's promoters wanted us to see, along with their shiny cars, posh offices and tall buildings. They were the sign of the thriving economy, and I saw that as I strolled on the city centre's paved streets amid its skyscrapers.

"Manchester's high-rise skyline is a potent symbol of the city's economic transformation," Parikh says. "Over the past three decades, it has developed from post-industrial decline to consistently growing faster than London and other major UK cities."

Future seat of power

Those were the achievements the new UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, used for his leadership campaign. Mr Burnham was the Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 to June this year when he became a Member of British Parliament. He was to challenge the then Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership of the ruling Labour Party, but Sir Keir chickened out and resigned.

Nicknamed the King of the North, Mr Burnham has already announced plans to shift a part of the UK seat of power from London to Manchester, which will further enhance the profile of the historical city.

He said he would set up new "No 10 North" - a reference to the UK seat of power No 10 Downing Street - as the "nerve centre of a rewired Britain" to oversee a devolution of power and resources across the UK. So, Manchester will soon become UK's second seat of power with government departments and civil servants being relocated there - an enticement for a future trip to the city for me.

Old Trafford and Etihad stadiums

I returned to my hotel to have some rest before going to the city's famous sporting venues: Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium and Manchester City's Etihad Stadium. I felt visiting them would make my trip more complete. I asked one of the receptionists to give me directions as I had planned to walk to them. But when she gave me the directions, I realised that they were farther away than the hotel website had described. They were not places I could easily and quickly walk to. And they were on opposite sides of the city. She advised me to use Uber cabs. I told her I would do so the following day.

And that was what I did. After taking a delicious buffet breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, I got an Uber to Etihad Stadium. It started raining before we reached the place. Although it wasn't heavy rain, it made the visit less exciting as I was virtually the only new visitor to the stadium at that time, which is unusual for a sporting place of such importance. It wasn't during the competition season or on a match day when multitudes of fans would defy any rain to be there.

Manchester City are a rich and famous club that have won many trophies, including this year's FA Cup. They were and still are the home of great players and coaches (including their immediate past manager, Pep Guardiola, one of the world's best-known coaches) who have supporters and admirers across the globe. They have a big stadium, but it is not well located. Apparently, the original design didn't envisage that the stadium would be serving a club of this magnitude. But they were trying to rectify that. I saw construction works being done to that effect.

After the tour, I took another Uber back to my hotel because I didn't want to go to Man United's Old Trafford while it was still raining. The rain stopped in the afternoon and I headed to United. They are luckier with their stadium than City. It is a huge edifice, well-constructed and better located, with a handful of visitors touring and taking pictures. I joined them.

United have a longer history and more trophies than City, but their performances in recent years were below City's. They have made a big recovery this year and seemed determined to regain their former status in the English footballing industry. They have been home to great footballers and coaches (including their legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson) who have fans all over the world. Sir Alex, one of the greatest coaches in footballing history, is so revered in the club and in Greater Manchester that a major road leading to the stadium was named after him. Called "Sir Alex Ferguson Way", it takes you directly to the junction that links the stadium to other roads.

Football is a big industry in the UK and a significant soft power resource for the country. Manchester is a major beneficiary of this. Hotels, transport services and a wide range of other businesses and people in the city thrive on it. This is not to mention the visitors it attracts to the city, the global prestige it confers on it, and the international investments it generates for it. So, to demonstrate the importance of football in Manchester, the National Football Museum, a tall edifice, was erected in the city centre. The World Cup might have eluded England for 60 years now, but the country always pays great attention to the beautiful game, with Manchester being an integral part of it.

Late arrival

I left Old Trafford Stadium, walked around the area and saw the nearby hotels (one of them called 'Hotel Football', the other 'Premier Inn') before returning to mine for lunch. I spent the remaining period of my stay visiting other parts of the city before I took the tram again to the airport for my return journey to London.

This time, too, I made a mistake of arriving late at the airport. The tram I took spent longer than expected on our way to the airport. It was the holiday season, and many parents and their children were joining or leaving the tram at every station, causing delays. By the time I arrived at the airport, the check-in desk for my London flight had officially been closed. I was only lucky that the British Airways last staff member was left behind to handle another late passenger who had a connecting flight to Germany.

When she saw me coming to the desk, she became angry. I noticed it on her face and greeted her politely. She answered impolitely and told me that the check-in desk had already been closed. I said nothing but waited patiently as she handled the other passenger's case. She then looked at me and demanded to know why I came too late. I told her about the tram delays. She said that wasn't a good excuse. "You should have come here in time," she said furiously and asked for my ticket. I gave her.

Her angry face lightened up a bit as she saw it was a business class ticket and my BA membership status appeared on her computer screen. "Okay," she said, this time politely. "I will do it for you, sir, but next time, don't come too late."

She did it quickly and gave me the boarding pass. "You have to move fast," she said. "Otherwise, you will miss the flight." I thanked her and rushed to the security gate. The queue was very long. There was no way I would catch my flight if I followed it. Luckily, my business class guarantees me priority service. I left the ordinary people's queue and walked quickly to the priority lane. I was the third person in the line and didn't stay long before I successfully passed the gate.

The real challenge was reaching the boarding desk before the departure of my flight. It's far away from the security checkpoint - the longest of such distance I have ever seen. I now understood the lady's warning and the strictness of check-in timing. Once again, I had to run very fast to catch my flight. And once again, I did so successfully. And this time I was among the first people to board the plane.

It was a very enjoyable flight, where we were served delicious food; and I met friendly passengers, most of them elderly and apparently well-to-do, who were travelling for a holiday. But it didn't last long - within an hour we landed in London. I can't wait for another delightful trip.

Kaynak: Daily Trust. Telif hakkı kaynak yayına aittir; buradaki metin özet/atıftır.

Orijinal haber: https://dailytrust.com/a-trip-to-manchester/