Castlefield

Manchester on mobile

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Earlier this year I admitted that I didn’t like using my smartphone to take photographs. That was a good starting point to try to make more use of my phone camera.

My Samsung A51 is classed as ‘affordable’, so its camera doesn’t have superpowers. But it slides into my pocket easily and has been coming on more trips, including daily walks around Manchester city centre.

I’ll admit that I’m getting used to it and the results are fuelling stories on my Instagram account. Editing is minimal and the content is good enough to last for 24 hours.

Everything is still shot in portrait and I spend a lot of time looking up at Manchester’s varied architecture. Despite this progress, my camera has its own life which I still value more.

How do you juggle your smartphone and conventional camera? Let me know in the comments below!

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Manchester’s new sky garden

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Take a railway viaduct that’s stood dormant for decades and turn it into a brand new green space. Does that sound like a good idea?

Well it’s happened here in Manchester, right in the heart of my neighbourhood of Castlefield. This elevated platform has been turned into a space for all to enjoy. 

Take a look at the images and I’ll tell you more below. Please share your thoughts!

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Castlefield Viaduct was built in 1892 to carry rail traffic to and from the mighty industrial city of Manchester and was eventually closed in 1969. Fast forward to 2022 and this lofty structure has been given a new lease of life with a smooth pavement to carry many pairs of feet.

Elegant gardens featuring a wealth of plants line the walkway – even silver birch trees nestle among the weathered might of the viaduct.

It’s a pleasure to explore the gardens with the expert input of National Trust guides, an organisation more associated with country estates than the heart of the city.

But as a local who’s been observing and photographing the local skyline for six years, I was really struck by the fresh perspective the viaduct provides. New high rise developments like Deansgate Square wrestle with the framework of the structure, and you really sense how old and new Manchester sit together.

The ‘sky garden’ is being piloted for a year and visitors are being asked which direction this slice of nature in the city should take in the future. For starters, there’s another stretch that’s yet to be reclaimed – the possibilities are many!

Visits to the Castlefield Viaduct can be pre-booked here.

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Manchester at dawn

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Summer mornings start very early, so I got up, grabbed my camera and had a wander around Manchester city centre. But this wasn’t a normal Saturday… CONTINUES BELOW

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This was a extra long weekend to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Both Thursday and Friday were designated public holidays, very unusual in the UK.

As I wandered around the centre of Manchester from 5am in the early summer light, I got the distinct impression that this was the morning after the night before.

The streets and squares were practically deserted as most Mancunians decided to sleep in after their celebrations.

It meant I had the place to myself and could go about photographing some familiar landmarks that can be difficult in a bustling city centre.

What gets you up early to go out and take photos? Let us know below!

An empty Deansgate in Manchester on an early summer morning

You can’t usually stand in the middle of Manchester’s busy Deansgate

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Manchester wildflowers

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Here in the middle of Manchester you look for every scrap of nature – and it can flourish in the most unexpected places.

A stone’s throw away from my Castlefield home is a vast, very busy interchange where major traffic routes meet.

One central section has burst into life with yellow, white and pink wildflowers – a stunning show bringing nature alongside a stark man-made creation.

Less than a mile away is a rust-coloured branch of a self-storage company where alium flourishes, while cow parsley grows undisturbed on an area of the canal towpath. 

We need wilderness more than ever, especially in our urban centres. Why mow it down for the sake of neatness? Please share your thoughts on this below

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The January album

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January 2021 promised so much, mainly because it wasn’t 2020. But the UK has been plunged into further lockdown restrictions to battle a more infectious strain of coronavirus.

A rapidly rising death toll and widespread closures in the middle of winter are doing nothing to bolster hope and good cheer.

I have remained close to home here in Manchester city centre. Going far isn’t an option, while overseas travel remains off the table.

Photographing snowy weather, park life, some of Manchester’s new architecture and indoor blooms have been the hallmarks of a cold, introspective and at times gloomy January. How has the start of 2021 been for you?

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