Manchester LG May 2021: Bury Markets & ELR Heritage Railway Photowalk [RECAP]

It seems like ages since Manchester Local Guides were actually able to meet in person, because of Covid restrictions and Lockdowns – although the group has met online on several occasions, and also kept in touch via the various social media.

However, restrictions were recently reduced nationally, allowing an actual real-life meetup, providing we followed the safety requirements still in force, which we did throughout the meetup.

So we took advantage of it and organised a photowalk MeetUp on Saturday 22nd May.

Although different people from Manchester Local Guides came and went through the afternoon, a good group of us attended.

We started at Bury Metro Station for a wander round the nationally famous Bury Market. Bury Market was voted “Britain’s Favourite Market” in 2019 – the most recent time the vote took place. Coach tours and lots of tourists come here to take advantage of the wide range of stalls selling almost everything from underwear, through toys and tools, through sweets and smells (incense), to both international and local food and drink – and very much more.

Local Guide @Maria68, a Bury resident herself, gave the group some helpful hints and tips about which stalls to visit for the best experience, and where to buy the best food.

You can see some of the wide variety of stalls in the photos that the group took here in this link to our shared photo album.

Following our exploration of the market and a leisurely stroll to Bolton Street Railway Station, the main station on the East Lancashire Heritage Railway, we took the opportunity for more photos of live steam locomotives, and some true salt-of-the-earth railway characters, before we took a return trip on the steam hauled train itself.

The round trip itself takes about 90 minutes, at a leisurely pace, and allowed the group another opportunity for photos alongside sitting with each other and catching up – some of us with a cuppa and a snack.

Again you can see photos of the heritage railway in the same album the same album here.

On the journey we passed the field where the UK-famous advert for Lloyds Bank was filmed, in which a horse runs alongside a steam train.

Finally, those resilient few who lasted the full MeetUp from beginning to end celebrated being together again with a drink at The Trackside Bar – a real ale and general drinks bar with a folksy railway theme on the platform alongside moving trains. A toast to each other and a fitting end to the day.

If you’d like to join Manchester Local Guides for our next online or live meetup, we’d love to have you. We are a group open to anyone – and we would value you coming along. Please leave a message in the comments below and we will contact you to let you know when it happens.

Photo Credits: @Maria68 @AdrianLunsong @deadmanjones

@ZoeOooe @George Devine and myself @PeteMHW Thanks everyone!

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Looks like a cool meet-up plus train ride @PeteMHW thanks for sharing your recap.

Paul

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Great recap, @PeteMHW ! Your meet-up plan sounded like a lot of fun when I first read it, and now looking at the sum up, it seems like an epic experience. I’m so happy to see that you all enjoyed yourselves. :slightly_smiling_face: Thank you so much for taking the time to create and share a recap of your adventures with the rest of the community. By the way, I noticed that I wasn’t able to open the photo album. Would you please check if the link was correctly added? Thanks in advance. :slight_smile:

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Great Job, much appreciated, keep more coming

Thanks @KlaudiyaG your comments are much appreciated - and also your hint that the links weren’t working. I think I’ve corrected them now, if you’d like to try again :wink:

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You’re welcome @PaulPavlinovich Thanks for your supportive comments.

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Thanks @susanwwn and also thanks for your supportive comment!

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:grinning: Welcome Too, I enjoyed your Post, waiting for for

It works! Yay! Thank you, @PeteMHW for editing your post so fast. And may I say, I really love the photo album. So many great photos from all the places you’ve visited, and I saw that some of the folks tried blood pudding, something that I’ve always wanted to experience. Next time I’m in England, definitely going for it. :smile:

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Hi again @KlaudiyaG

If you’re interested in Blood Pudding (in England known as Black Pudding) you may like to read my post about them here! Enjoy!

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Great memories from the meet-up @PeteMHW ! Thanks for sharing the recap! And oh, what a grand day it was! My first time (I think) on a steam train. I love the chuga, chuga, choo, choo sound :blush: ! Thanks for organising the meet-up and thanks to @Maria68 for the market tips too!

Many of us sampled the black pudding, garnished with British piccalilli, as Bury market is famous for it.

No one however braved the tripe which is traditionally sold at the same stalls. Whilst it’s a popular ingredient around the world in various recipes, the British take on it is (as is so often the case) unpretentious and ungarnished, and has plummeted in popularity since the last century. In short it’s disgusting.

My preference though is Lancashire’s traditional black peas, served with a dash of mint sauce. Difficult to eat through a mask though.

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