The Magical Mystery Bike Tour

Johnny James, Managing Editor

Book now

The Magical Mystery Bike Tour

3 August 2025
Date
Time
Session Features
03 Aug 2025
10:00 am-1:00 pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Manchester Town Hall
Visit Britain
Book now

Join Jonathan Schofield Tours for a BYOB (bring your bike) tour around some fascinating areas of the city centre and its surroundings.

You’ll meet your guide at Central Library in St Peter’s Square before setting off for a three-hour bike tour. But where to? Well, that would be telling. Whether it’s north, south, east or west – you’ll have to find out on the day.

What we can tell you about this mystery tour is that it will encompass parts of the Manchester conurbation you’ve likely never visited before. And some of them will really surprise you.

Another certainty is that your tour guide will bring stories. Magical stories, entertaining stories, silly stories – the lot. There’ll also be many facts to enjoy as you stop at sites of interest along your meticulously planned-out route. A bit of entertainment, a bit of information. Perfect.

The tour is suitable for reasonably fit cyclists of all ages, with those information stops doubling up as breathers for those who haven’t put foot to pedal for a while. There’ll also be a refreshment break partway through the tour.

If you’re looking for a unique, eco-friendly and healthy way to explore the hidden gems and scenic routes of Manchester – often missed by traditional tours – then look no further.

Where to go near The Magical Mystery Bike Tour

St Peters Square Manchester
City Centre
St Peter’s Square

St Peter’s Square is a public space in Manchester – home to the city’s iconic library, town hall, Pankhurst statue, art gallery and famous Midland Hotel.

Manchester Art Gallery. Photo by Andrew Brooks
City Centre
Gallery
Manchester Art Gallery

The Charles Barry-designed, Grade I-listed Manchester Art Gallery is one of the city’s leading galleries and is back open for visitors once more.

Chinatown
Hotel
The Alan

This high-end city-centre restaurant has an excellent afternoon tea option that more than matches up to the superb main menu.

Salut Wines
Chinatown
Bar or Pub
Salut Wines

Salut wines pride themselves in offering “wider horizons beyond the safe choices.” With 42 wines by the glass and a regularly changing selection of bottles in their Enomatic wine preservation machines (or  “wine jukebox,” as they’re colloquially known), this is one of be best bars in Manchester for exploring new vintages.

Manchester
Restaurant
Friska

Latest branch of Friska, the independent healthy fast food chain.

Manchester
Restaurant
Don Giovanni

Traditional Italian restaurant, serving everything from pizza to steak. All this in a large modern venue with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Chinatown
Restaurant
Manchester Art Gallery Cafe

Summery bakes, seasonal salads and fresh light meals at Manchester Art Gallery’s in-house café, courtesy of highly-regarded Head Chef Matthew Taylor.

City Centre
Tourist Attraction
Manchester Town Hall

Re-opening in 2024, Manchester Town Hall is a monument to Victorian Manchester’s ambition, and one of the city’s most-loved landmarks.

City Centre
Tourist Attraction
Albert Square

A public square in the heart of Manchester which plays hosts to festivals and major events. Home to the Albert Memorial and statues of Bishop James Fraser, John Bright, Oliver Heywood and William Ewart Gladstone.

Contemporary Six, art gallery in Manchester
City Centre
Gallery
Contemporary Six

Contemporary Six is an independent commercial art gallery in Manchester city centre, set up by Alex Reuben in 2010.

What's on: Tour

Salford Lads Club Exterior
TourManchester
Salford Lads Club Tour

Salford Lads Club shot to global fame as the iconic backdrop on The Smiths’ album The Queen is Dead, but its significance goes far beyond its musical ties.

From £20.00
Horse and Jockey Chorlton
Walking TourManchester
The Secrets of Chorlton

From a hamlet on a road to nowhere to one of Manchester’s most desirable suburbs. What’s the story behind Chorlton-cum-Hardy?

From £20.00
Peterloo Tour
TourManchester
The Peterloo Massacre Tour

Visit key locations associated with a moment that helped shape the future of the nation, tracing the footsteps of those who stood for change.

From £20.00
Southern Cemetary Chorlton by Tom Jeffs
Until
TourChorlton
Southern Cemetery Tour

Within Chorlton’s Southern Cemetery lie fascinating stories, beautiful architectural details, and the inspiration behind one of The Smith’s best songs.

From £20.00
Knutsford Tour
TourKnutsford
Secrets of Knutsford

From wild buildings to wilder characters, explore hidden histories and architectural oddities in the Cheshire town of Knutsford.

From £20.00

Culture Guides

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Harry Baker
Literature Events in the North

From environmental to experimental, our poetry and prose picks from around the North are focused on the unusual and the fun.

A young boy with a white sash around his left arm cries.
Cinema in the North

Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
Exhibitions in the North

From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.