Tours and Activities in Manchester and the North
Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities EditorIn this month’s Tours and Activities guide we’re highlighting some literary activities and independent shops to keep your minds and homes filled with the good stuff.
Chapter One Books in the Northern quarter has long been established as an excellent spot to dive into your current read while enjoying a coffee and cake. They are now encouraging people to go one step further and embark on their own text-based projects with a creative writing group. The sessions run every Tuesday evening and are open to all levels of writers. Join them to embrace your own literary creativity in a supportive and welcoming environment.
For something more international, Instituto Cervantes are hosting a Latin American Book Club, which will have you exploring the stylistic breadth of Spanish language literature with expert Dr Mariana Casale. The centre also hosts Spanish language classes and cultural activities including performance, music, cinema and art all year round, and you get to sample it all for free at the Summer Open Day this July.
We’ve dedicated a small part of our guide to the independent shops of Altrincham. It’s all too easy to get stuck within the confines of the city centre or your particular suburb but there is a lot to be gained from venturing further afield and spending a day exploring somewhere new that isn’t necessarily far away. Get the train, tram, cycle or drive over to Altrincham and discover hidden gems of shops such as IDAHO and Dot. These warm and community focused retailers come across as shrines to good taste and striking yet practical design. And coming back to that literary theme, Dot also runs book clubs for both adults and kids.
Why not carry on the shopping trip back in the Northern Quarter with a trip to Bags of Flavour. This high end expertly curated vintage shop is the place to go for rare and high quality garments of former eras.
Scroll down to find out more, alongside some other top picks of tours and activities, and stay well folks.