What does Manchester's water do? Where is it from? Should we swim in it? [nope]. Find the answers deep in the Rochdale Canal on this tour.

The Tour

Manchester is renowned for being damp. But where does this water even come from? [don't say "the sky"] And how has it changed the city over time, and how has it changed us over time? Come on this tour and we'll go peer into a canal to find out. There'll be hard water, soft water, some pollution and cholera, class issues and graveyard flooding.

We'll gaze at canal locks, geese [cannot guarantee, but its likely], a river, a hidden river and more. We'll think about what happens when humans try and control water, and what water has meant to us over time.

And then we'll ask ourselves: "how much power do we really have over water?"

The Admin

We start in front of the Museum of Science and Industry; we end near the New Union at the start of Canal Street. [Iconic]

Attendance free for kids under 12. [Educational]

We cover about 1 mile over 2 hours. [With stops along the way]

A walking tour with a difference- come and learn theories and fancy words. [Edifying]

The Guide

I am Dr. Charlotte Coull [history PhD from the University of Manchester] and I run a project called The Material City where I collect bits of the city in jars, sometimes update a website, and lead walking tours. My aim is to give you something different: a new way of looking at the city of Manchester that focuses on what it is made of. This is history with a material twist. I want to get you to think about what you otherwise don't notice, and my favourite thing is explaining the influence materials like stone, water, and air have over humans.

This is part environmental history, part heritage, part philosophy, and part art project. Join a tour- find out what materials mean.

Description supplied by the event organiser.