A new tour for 2022 – Ramble your way through the royal history in and around The Bridgewater Canal and Worsley
Join Green Badge Guide Royston Futter and, in your imagination, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, The Duke of Wellington and various other Royals and Luminaries who visited Worsley New Hall and the Bridgewater Canal in their heyday.
The circular guided tour, taking in the magnificent gates shown at the 1851 Great Exhibition, St Marks Churchyard, Worsley Delph and The Bridgewater Canal starts and ends in the carpark of RHS Bridgewater so you can visit the garden and have refreshments before or after the walk.
Start 2pm – tour will last approx 2 ½ hrs (Distance around 4.5miles – generally flat but moderate uphill walk back towards the gardens.)
Tour Dates:
Sunday 22nd May, Sunday 10th July and Sunday 4th September 2022
Adults £13 plus booking fee
For children under 12 use promo code CHILD – price £6 plus fee.
Join us for a tour exploring the history of the Bridgewater Canal in Salford and the hidden clues of its link to the coal deep in seams underground.
Worsley Village was once the hub of a thriving industry built upon the coal belonging to the Duke of Bridgewater in the 18th Century.
His life’s work centred around how to make the transport of coal from his land to the growing city of Manchester possible and most importantly profitable!
We follow the path of history and heritage from the Duke and his canal to his descendant the Earl of Ellesmere and his own personal project, St Mark’s Church. A grade 1 listed building designed by the eminent architect Sir George Gilbert Scott.
We finish the walk with included cake and refreshments to digest the incredible changes to industrial Britain, which can in part be credited to the ingenuity of the Duke, his workers and those that followed in his footsteps.
Please note visits to St Mark’s Church may be limited on certain dates according to the church events schedule.
Booking Essential – please message us with any dietary requirements
From the Romans to the present day, we travel through time to see the wonders of industry, transport, technology, art, architecture + leisure
Grab yourself a coffee or tipple and sit comfortably in your favourite armchair. I will then step back in time to show you how our the rural hamlet of Barton evolved and how a Cathedral in miniature came to be built. We will be looking at two major transport routes…the Dukes Cut and the Big Ditch. I will also tell you a bit about Trafford Park a medieval deer park than transformed into the first industrial park in the world. We will visit pleasure Gardens and art exhibitions enroute to Castlefield where I can show you a Roman Fort and some amazing Victorian Infrastructure. Using maps and images, we will discover people and communities that created these areas and the main players and their achievements.
Discover the architecture and history of Worsley’s grand houses and halls of the past, present and exciting future inc a peek at the new RHS
Alexandra, an architectural historian, a conservation & design officer and a qualified guide, will explore the history and buildings of this remarkable village.
Together, using maps and images, and maybe a little music, we will discover the amazing people, the communities and their buildings that created Worsley; a village that changed the direction of the world in the C18th.
Starting at Worsley Old Hall, we’ll travel 500 years to the present day to explore the stately halls and other remarkable buildings in a fun factual way as well as take a little glimpse into the new development of the RHS Bridgewater Garden, on the former Worsley New Hall site, that opens 18th May 2021. Buy your tickets now!!!
Hopefully, afterwards you will look at the place and buildings in a different light.
With Alexandra Fairclough, Green Badge Guide for the Bridgewater Canal
An entertaining and factual tour of the buildings people and places that make this globally important but often overlooked interesting city.
Grab yourself a coffee or tipple and sit comfortably in your favourite armchair. I will then step back in time to show you how our city evolved. Firstly it was a county which included the hamlet of Manchester, then it became the centre of the world.
Unfortunately it was then overtaken in prominence by the powerhouse we know as Manchester. Using maps and images, we will discover people and communities that created Salford and their achievements.
Starting at Greengage Square and travelling up the A6 we will look at Chapel Street and The Crescent and its environment. We’ll also take a peek at a few other important Salford landmarks too, including a glimpse of Worsley.
Hopefully, afterwards you will look at the streets and buildings in a different light. I look forward to meeting you all online.
The Bridgewater Canal in Salford contains the oldest and the youngest parts of the 39 miles of the UK’s first commercial canal.
Explore this five-mile stretch of history where we will learn about how the area embraced coal, cotton, Suffragettes, brilliant engineers (and their engineering – mostly but not always.)
See the Castle in the Air and a cathedral in miniature – and how this all came about because of a lovelorn nobleman and a very important wheel of Cheshire cheese.
Look out for ‘God forgotten’ Worsley, the church built to enlighten them, a lighthouse 30 miles from the sea and the world’s only swing aqueduct at Barton.
Tickets to America, ghost stories, royalty and the weight of the world all feature in this virtual tour by Elizabeth Charnley, Green Badge guide for the Bridgewater Canal in Salford.
with Alexandra Fairclough, Green Badge Guide for the Bridgewater Canal
We all love nursery rhymes but do we understand the possible meanings behind them? Join me to explore the dark side of the nursery rhyme!
When? Wed, March 17, 2021 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM GMT
Every culture in the world has invented songs and rhymes for its’ young. Did you know they were a way of spreading news through a generally illiterate society much like social media were a method of gossiping too.
Of course the distinctive sing-song metre, tonality and rhythm that characterises ‘motherese’, has a proven evolutionary value and this is reflected in the very nature of nursery rhymes. Whilst we all know the benefits of nursery rhymes which includes emotional connections and language development do we really understand their possible meanings. They tell us the history of our island through coded words. Its truly fascinating.
Join me, a former early years music practitioner, to learn the amazing histories and theories behind our great nursery rhymes.
This zoom talk is open to all regardless of age, geographic location, etc. and since it is an online/virtual event via Zoom you can connect from anywhere in the world.
Grab yourself a coffee or tipple and sit comfortably in your favourite armchair. I will then step back in time to show you how wonderful Worsley evolved. Its history is hidden from obvious view. Using maps and images, we will discover people and communities that created this famous cradle of the industrial revolution including famous people and their achievements and lesser known men and women whose blood and sweat we benefit from today.
Hopefully, afterwards you will look at the streets and buildings in a different light. I look forward to meeting you all online.
Bridgewater Guided Tours set fee for virtual tours is £8 per household but as an introductory offer I’m doing a limited number of early bird price of £5 per household plus booking fee. When the early bird tickets are gone – they’re gone, so book now!
I’m donating my profit to Worsley Civic Trust and History Society to help support them.
This zoom talk is open to all regardless of age, geographic location, etc. and since it is an online/virtual event via Zoom you can connect from anywhere in the world.
Zoom events have a limit on the number of people that can participate and therefore the event may “sell-out” once a certain number of registrations has been reached.
Min number is 10 participants to go ahead. (Full refund if it doesn’t go ahead).
Zoom connection link will be emailed.
Login info will emailed approximately 8-24 hours prior to the event to those that registered through the Eventbrite.
If you’ve successfully registered you’ll receive an email confirmation from Eventbrite.
If you haven’t received the Zoom connection an hour before the event feel free to contact me.
Zoom Connection Suggestions:
Connecting to Zoom a few minutes early is strongly recommended.
This is a visual presentation so the bigger device screen that you can use the better.
To join the event simply click the Zoom link that is emailed separately and follow the instructions.
If clicking the link doesn’t work you can try copying and pasting it instead.
Depending on the device Zoom may work better in some browsers/devices than others – if one doesn’t work try another.
If you are disconnected for any reason please just reconnect.
When all else fails please read and follow the directions. : )
