Manchester and Leicester

Last week I had a trip up to Manchester for meetings up there. I love going by Pendolino, although the early start means a bit of shut-eye is usually taken. I managed to get a picture during a tilt though a station, can you tell?

That evening instead of going home, I went to Leicester to see old Uni friends, James and Wayne. Nick travelled up from London. A bit of a cock-up on my journey across the Pennines.

It wasn't exactly clear at Manchester's departure boards, since they don't show trains, they show destinations, so I took the first train to my destination. This turned out to be a slow, cramped Northern Trains train. I should have asked really, before I got on the train "Shouldn't this be a Trans-Pennine Express?", but it didn't occur to me that the two trains could leave within minutes of each other. Anyway I got to Sheffield about 15 minutes after my connection had left, so I took the next train (Virgin), which only went to Derby, and the train from Derby (MML) was cancelled. I was an hour late in the end.

Anyway had a great time, some curry, some drinking, some clubs and a nice walk around the old town. I finally visited the city museum on New Walk, which I had walked past countless times on my way into town, when I was studying in Leicester.



I was expecting, yes, the dinosaurs, but not much else. Instead, it's rather good with exhibitions on the Egyptians, and endangered species and other stuff, some of it tied in with recent BBC documentary series. Good stuff for kids, although I didn't stay too long as I had to go into town to meet up with the others.