Tours and Activities in Manchester and the North

Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor

Last Updated 30 July 2020

As glimmers of normality start to creep back into daily life, it’s a great time to get out and explore your local surroundings. In this month’s Tours and Activities Guide, we’ve rounded up some of the best walks and tours exploring the urban sprawl and outer countryside of Greater Manchester.

Meet the Manchester and District walkers, a walking group aimed at 20 – 40 yr olds, who hike all over the North of England. With the most recent relaxations on restrictions, they have once again started trekking into the Peaks, Edale and beyond.

For something more local and informative check out Skyliner and Manchester Guided Tours. Their inner-city explorations of Manchester’s modern history give you the tools to form your own judgements around the city’s ongoing development.

If you’re still feeling more comfortable at home, take a tour through a virtual world with Brooklyn-based artist Molly Soda and MIF. She will be sharing her thoughts as she travels through the virtual world Your Progress Will Be Saved. This landscape created by the avatar artist LaTurbo Avedon is the first in a series of online artworks which can be found through the Factory Online website.

If you’re looking for a new living room hobby, have a go at circus, with online classes from Circus House. These sessions focus on the physical skills you need to tackle intense aerial equipment and prepare you for one day getting onto (or getting back to) hoops and silks.

Scroll down to find out more, alongside some other tops picks of tours and activities.

Stay well folks.

Here are our picks

1. Manchester and District Walkers (MAD Walkers)

pexels

Manchester and District Walkers (MAD Walkers), Until 30 September 2020, £36.60 for annual membership - Book now

MAD Walkers (Manchester and District Walkers) are a walking group for people in their 20s and 30s looking to get out of the city and back into nature.

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2. Skyliner: Alternative Tours of Manchester

Hayley Flynn

The Modern History of the Northern Quarter, Until 27 September 2020, from £9 - Book now

Join Skyliner for the anti-tour of Manchester’s Northern Quarter. The route interrogates current developments in the city as well as visiting the area’s most notable pieces of street art.

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3. Ancoats: Mighty Mills and Little Italy Guided Tour

Elizabeth Sibbering

Ancoats: Mighty Mills and Little Italy Guided Tour at Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, 26 September 2020, from £12 - Book now

Manchester Guided tours are returning to the streets with a collection of one off special tours. Including this exploration into Ancoats’ industrial past.

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4. Molly Soda tour: Your Progress Will be Saved

Tour with Molly Soda, Until 28 October 2020, free entry

Join Brooklyn based artist Molly Soda, as she tours the virtual artwork Your Progress Will Be Saved, the first in MIF’s online Factory series.

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5. Life Drawing Manchester Online Classes

Life Drawing Manchester, online, Until 27 August 2020, from £6 - Book now

The popular Northern Quarter community, Life Drawing Manchester, have migrated to Zoom, opening up their classes to models and artists from all over the world.

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6. Be Inspired with Manchester Art Gallery

Be Inspired - Online, online, Until 6 September 2020, free entry - Visit now

Be Inspired with Manchester Art Gallery is a collection of activities gathered by their team to help inspire your creativity at home.

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7. Manchester Craft and Design Centre: Craft at Home

Manchester Craft and Design Centre

Manchester Craft and Design Centre: Craft at Home at Manchester Craft & Design Centre, Manchester and online, Until 31 August 2020, free entry - Visit now

‘Craft at Home’ is a new online space where you can continue to support Manchester Craft & Design Centre’s resident makers, pick-up bespoke gifts, and get busy with bee-related craft.

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Activity Until 19 December 2020, from £55

Local Leeds Food Tour

Fresh local produce is always on the menu of the Local Leeds food tour. Visit six pubs and restaurants serving up some of Yorkshire’s finest cuisine.

Activity Until 19 December 2020, from £55

Leeds Street Food Tour

Eat your way through some of the best street food Leeds has to offer, with insights into the people and stories behind each bite. Try something new with the Leeds Street Food tour.

Activity Until 2 September 2020, FREE

Whitworth Art Gallery Daily Tour

Take a closer look at some of the Whitworth Art Gallery’s collection while gaining a better understanding of the context in which the pieces were created. The free tours run daily from 2 pm.

Activity Until 1 December 2020, from £75

Liverpool Beatles Walk and Ticket to Ride Tour

Immerse yourself in the world of John, Paul, George and Ringo as you walk in their footsteps through The Beatles’ home city in this six-hour extravaganza of a walking tour.

Activity Until 1 December 2020, from £20

Two hour Beatles Guided Walk & Cavern Club

This Beatles Guided Walk & Cavern Club is the perfect way to learn more about The Beatles while discovering the city of Liverpool.

Activity Until 31 December 2020,

Wait I’m From Wuhan with HOME

Follow Jasmine’s story, as she struggles to decide whether or not to search for her birth family in Wuhan, told via a series of Instagram and blog posts.

Activity Until 12 August 2020, from £5.5

Stockport Air Raid Shelter Explorer Tour

Every second Wednesday of the month guided tours of the mile long stretch of Air Raid Shelter under Stockport give you the chance to see a more personalised view of the tunnels.

Activity Until 30 September 2020, FREE

Science Learning at Home with Jodrell Bank

Science Learning at Home with Jodrell Bank is a perfect way to keep children (and their adults) busy while learning from home.

Activity Until 31 December 2020,

Homelands

Very different from what we’re seeing elsewhere during the lockdown, Homelands is for anyone who needs a creative outlet and a sense of connection during this time.

Culture Guides

Cinema Online

We look at the outdoor screenings and digital releases you can enjoy as cinemas prepare to reopen safely.

Family of Lord Alf Morris, image courtesy of Manchester Histories

Exhibitions

Art and women’s wrestling, Ancient Akkadian gravesites and invented artefacts – check out this month’s pick of exhibitions from across the north.

Families Online

Need some inspiration for online activities and creative family fun? Look no further than our top picks online for families across Manchester and the North.

Writer Olivia Laing. Photo by Manuel Vazquez

Literature

From book launches to poetry and prose readings and from open mics to creative writing workshops and masterclasses, Live Literature Land has online activities and events nailed.

Music

Discover the best live-streamed concerts, broadcasts, musical activities and exhibitions on offer during the lockdown.

Theatre

We can’t wait to be back in the stalls again…until then our theatre guide brings the best of online theatre and interactive performance to enjoy at home.