By Athena Lucero
There's an unconventional side to England, and it's in the north. Even a young Londoner I met who had traveled from the more reserved south for Manchester's 2015 International Festival was mildly aghast.
"I didn't realize so much is happening here," he said as we shared a crowded grassy patch at Castlefield Amphitheater waiting for Bjork to take the stage at her opening concert.
As I would later learn, the energy electrifying the outdoor venue mirrored the spirit Mancunians (Manchester residents) share for their "industrial city," a label they might never shake. After all, it was Manchester's pioneering history as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution that put it on the world map, the first modern city that dominated the international cotton trade during the 19th century, earning its nickname Cottonopolis.
At around the same time in the neighboring countryside of Yorkshire, wool manufacturing was reaching global status, too. The region's mountainous geography and fast-flowing rivers provided the source to power the textile mills that employed thousands, and the ports of Manchester and Liverpool enabled the import of raw material and the export of finished fabrics.
But history changed and the good times waned when industrialization spread, reducing demand for cotton from England. Then came the Great Depression of the 1930s and the bombings of World War II (the Manchester Blitz) that destroyed major landmark buildings — the Free Trade Hall built in 1853 on the sight of the Peterloo Massacre, and the Royal Exchange, the headquarters of the cotton industry.
Manchester was devastated again with the 1996 IRA bombing — an event that ignited the city's rebirth as described in an article I spotted in The Guardian newspaper while savoring a breakfast of fried eggs and grilled kippers at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Manchester, the luxury hotel that with the utmost respect and care has preserved the facade of the Free Trade Hall when it became the building's proud occupant in 2004.
"The creation of MIF in 2007 was a direct result of the 1996 IRA bombing ... to effect civic revival in a post-industrial city that had reached rock bottom," Alex Poots, creator and director of the Manchester International Festival was quoted as saying.
Poots' trailblazing brainstorm — the first festival to showcase premieres and original works in music and the visual and performing arts — gave birth to the biennial event considered the most radical festival in the world — like the premiere of the surprise musical "wonder.land" that rocked the audience — a brilliant digital coming-of-age take on Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" that went on to London's Royal National Theater.
Manchester's modern-day pioneers and progressive community pulled together, reinventing their beloved city of more than 514,000 inhabitants that is today young, a music mecca, tech-centric and forward-thinking city. And just as industrial Manchester had attracted adventurous workers and entrepreneurs during the height of cotton manufacturing, professionals from London, chefs included, are escaping the crowded capital in the south for the culturally rich and authentic north.
The city's visual story unfolded as I explored the reincarnated powerhouse on foot — Victorian warehouses repurposed into loft apartments amidst a mosaic of ancient and modern architecture from the magnificent neo-Gothic Town Hall and Chetham Library founded in 1653, the oldest surviving library where Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto, to high-tech Media City UK at the Manchester Ship Canal (BBC North opened offices here in 2011) and the all-glass 47-story Beetham Tower (half hotel, half apartments), the tallest building outside of London completed in 2006 and a poignant symbol of Manchester's revival that can be seen for miles.
Endless offerings beckon visitors to indulge, be it shopping at Harvey Nichols, H&M or indie boutiques; immerse the senses at world-class art, history and science museums (Manchester was awarded 2016 European City of Science, the first city in the United Kingdom to receive this honor); visit entertainment venues; and enjoy glorious food and drink — comfort meals at pubs, trendy dining spots, Hangingditch Wine Merchants in a cool sliver of a space where, vinoteca-style, patrons enjoy hand-picked international wines by the glass and wickedly wonderful sweets at the most stylish tea and coffeehouses.
A visit to Northern England without a drive through Yorkshire's countryside would be like going to Switzerland and not seeing the Alps. So from Manchester Piccadilly Train Station I left the bustling cityscape and journeyed an hour and a half to the wild hills of Yorkshire, the largest county in the United Kingdom, stretching almost coast to coast. During antiquity the region also caught the eyes of the Romans who founded the walled city of York (calling it "Eboracum") followed by the Vikings in 866 who renamed their kingdom Jorvik — or York in Old Norse. That explains the Scandinavian influence on the distinctive accents proudly spoken by born-and-bred Yorkshires.
Had it not been for my driver guide, Alan Rowley, proprietor of Yorkshires True Tours, I might still be circling the roundabouts. Impeccably attired and with a lovely formality (such a rarity these days), Rowley's go-with-the-flow style and sense of humor made for a lively country drive that was entertaining, always on point, and never without a fascinating tale or anecdote that only a Yorkshire native could tell. And with his mastery of highways, history and pubs (he used to manage them) — where we chowed down on glorious fish, chips and mushy peas — GPS and search engines were moot (but I was grateful to check emails in his Wi-Fi-equipped car).
It was impossible not to be humbled when I came face to face with vestiges and monuments that brought Yorkshire's timeline alive — the Roman-built walls of York; inside the walled city York Minster, among the largest medieval cathedrals in the world; and in the wilderness of the North York Moors Rievaulx Abbey, founded in 1132 — the first monastery of the reforming Cistercian order that became one of the most powerful monastic centers in Britain. Its haunting ruins have inspired writers, artists and the curious since the 18th century.
It's no wonder some of the world's most renowned literary and artistic works have sprouted from the pens and canvases of those who lived day-to-day life here — the Bronte sisters (Charlotte wrote "Jane Eyre" and Emily "Wuthering Heights"), Frances Hodgson Burnett ("The Secret Garden"), James Herriot ("All Creatures Great and Small") and David Hockney, painter, photographer, printmaker and stage designer - to name only a handful.
Navigating through miles of enchanting villages and landscapes stretching to the horizon, Rowley led me straight to the stomping grounds of the Brontes, Herriot and Hockney — the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth where the family lived and wrote; the World of James Herriot museum in Thirsk where James Alfred Wight lived, practiced and penned his famous stories about life as a country vet using his pseudonym James Herriot; and Bradford, where Salts Mill Gallery in the UNESCO World Heritage Village of Saltaire is home to the world's largest permanent collection of works by David Hockney.
WHEN YOU GO
My American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Manchester International Airport was direct with no stop in London. In May 2016 Thomas Cook Airlines begins direct flights from Manchester to Los Angeles and Boston.
For more information, check out www.visitmanchester.com, www.yorkshire.com and www.yorkshirestruetours.com.
My hotels:
Radisson Blu Edwardian Manchester: www.radissonedwardian.com
Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport: www.radissonblu.com
Monkbar Hotel, York: www.monkbarhotel.co.uk
Athena Lucero is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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