An urban adventure in Manchester, bee hunting! Not your average Sunday afternoon wandering a big city by any means. I met some ladies from the England Peakers, who I’ve walked with before, and one Sunday we spent the day bee hunting. Big Bees! The giant bee sculptures are part of Bee in the City, a public art event with over 100 bees dotted around the city. Each bee is designed by a different artist and there was a real buzz (ha,ha, sorry couldn’t resist!) about the place as we saw other groups on the trail. We saw bees at landmarks and others hidden away that helped me discover parts of Manchester I might never have come across.
One of the ladies lives locally so it was nice to have a guide who knew the area. Having already done the trail she had discovered a great place for us to have lunch. Mackie Mayor’s a Grade 2 listed market building, refurbished and now offering craft beers and a range of foods. We sat on long tables in the middle of the building and around the edge were different foods and a coffee and cake place. A great place if you all fancy eating something different. I had an amazing bao pork dish, which is a Taiwanese steamed bun, it was delicious.
All fed and watered we carried on our bee hunt. The weather was typical for Manchester and a bit wet and drizzly. We still managed to find an impressive 61 bees out of the 100 or so. A great adventure discovering Manchester. I’m only sorry that the bees aren’t permanent, you’ll have to bee quick if you want to see them as they buzz off 23rd September.
Have you seen the bees? Which was your favourite? I loved most of them!
I’ve received no incentive to write this.
These look gorgeous, I love these city trail ideas for getting people out and about in urban areas
They were really beautiful. It’s a great idea isn’t it?! just a shame its not permanent.
ohh.. what a fun way to get a walk in! I haven’t really walked Manchester and this would be a great way to see it.
Yes it really was. I said I was going to stop taking photos of them, but every one was so different and beautifully done that I took a pic of nearly of of them! you’ll have to be quick though if you want to see them.