IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Moorland Road, MANCHESTER, M20 6BE

The "Slug and Lettuce" chain are widespread. I've never been in one.

A large bar and restaurant on Wilmslow Road. Across the road is a smaller, traditional drinking establishment Image

No, I have not followed Thomas Woodrooffe into the arms of Bachus, I am just quoting him. "The Station" public house can trace its name to when there was a railway station on the other side of the road.

The Slug and Lettuce is the first of many restaurants. A modern building no doubt functionally efficient. I can't say I am a fan of the tanalised wooden uprights (fenceposts!) along the boundary and upstairs on the balcony. Still, others may love them. Good to see no encroachment on the pavement.

On a drizzly Manchester morning.

Across the road, a small sign under Moorland Road reads "PRIVATE ROAD ACCESS ONLY". Such roads are remnants of the past which have somehow escaped into the present. There is a sign which indicates 15 mph limit, but for where? Not Wilmslow Road. Yet 20 is painted on Moorland Road's surface. The rowan tree on the corner has berries and has been protected with wire, but from what? Surely there are no wild deer? In the garden there look to be large bay trees, but I may be wrong. Certainly there are rhododendrons and privets (one golden), those old favourites in Manchester suburbs. What an impressive Edwardian house it is, too, on the corner, with fine brick chimneys as vertical as the day they were constructed. An extension has impressive brick built pillars topped with sandstone caps. The low boundary wall may have been rebuilt later as it appears to have more modern concrete capping, though there are decorative sandstone inserts which are normally used to promote drainage or ventilation. These may be original. Perhaps the original builders had some spares. Not sure what the small metal box FP46 is for? Some sort of service box, maybe. Pushbike riders are guided with a sign and have a separate lane.

The planted trees across the road look to be Magnolia grandiflora "Exmouth", similar to such trees found in Italy where they produce fruits a little like small pineapples, though I doubt they are edible, but they are very attractive. Here in Didsbury, they are in flower. The planted container also has a begonia as well as geraniums.

West side Wilmslow Kitchen Shop. Didsbury Pharmacy, which is certainly an essential service.

Little traffic at this hour in the morning (which the EXIF digital data on this image will show to have been an hour later than it actually was) as the camera was set to Central European Time. Thus a quiet Wilmslow Road, ideal for the solitary cyclist and the solitary photographer for that matter. The containers, largely planted with geraniums, do indeed beautify the bland uniformity of the tarmacked road and parquet effect brick pavement. This part of the pavement is pleasingly wide. What does the black and white sticker on the post mean? It seems to represent a sitting person, but it may also be alphabetical, i.e. a word, a brand, etc. It can't be aimed at me. What is the function of those lateral thin metal rods on the lampposts on each side of the road. Some form of informational electronic transmission or receiving system? The row of shops opposite includes Tesco Express, Head of Steam, Costa Coffee. The row of shops stands, I think, where the old Didsbury railway station stood.

East Side. Didsbury Day Nursery