Manchester-based walking tours■
A series of architect-led walking tours that read Manchester’s evolution first-hand… routes that trace change from Roman and medieval beginnings, through canals, mills and railways, to the city’s post-industrial reinvention and its new skyscrapers.
Using archival photos and maps alongside today’s streets, we’ll reveal what changed, why it changed, and what those decisions mean for people and place.
Expect clear, down-to-earth explanations with an architect’s eye for materials, design and the public realm… small groups, a modern pace… come and explore this city, here, then and now.
[ About ]■
Guided by Manchester-born architect Ric, the tours use historic images on location to make sense of the city’s fabric… from medieval roots to current projects. Expect clear, jargon-free explanations of the decisions that shaped the streets and public spaces, that will leave you seeing familiar places differently.
Manchester library archives[ TOURS ]■
Walking Tours
This is where it all began. Well, almost. After the Romans left, the Anglo-Saxons moved upriver to the Irwell–Irk confluence, laying the roots of the city we know today.
The Medieval Quarter
Starting in the Medieval Quarter, the tour traces Manchester’s oldest street patterns around the Cathedral, Hanging Bridge and Chetham’s… exploring lost lanes, river edges and market sites that shaped the first town. Using archival images layered onto today’s streets, guests uncover how the city’s fabric was patched, replaced and reimagined across centuries, from timber and stone to brick and glass.
From Exchange Square and the post-1996 rebuild to Cathedral Gardens, the Glade of Light and the Shambles, we explore moments of loss and renewal, conservation and commerce. The route reveals how decisions - bold, flawed or forgotten - left their mark, showing a city that’s resilient, progressive and deeply human, long before and long after its medieval walls came down.
Starting at Castlefield’s Roman fort (Mamucium) reconstruction, the tour traces Manchester from frontier outpost to industrial powerhouse. Guests read the city’s earliest layers… ramparts, road lines and river crossings…before stepping into the canal age at Castlefield Basin, where the Bridgewater Canal rewired trade and growth.
From there it’s a short walk to the Science and Industry Museum and Liverpool Road—the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station (1830), to unpack how steam, warehouses and rail reshaped the district. The route loops back along Deansgate, finishing among the great Victorian viaducts and locks, where canal, rail and road stack in dramatic layers.
Expect clear, architect-led stories that connect Roman origins to modern reinvention, with “then & now” moments all along the way.
Photos: Manchester Libraries Archive
From a Roman castle to an ever-growing number of skyscrapers… this area has changed beyond recognition, but for the better?
Castlefield & Deansgate
Photos: Manchester Libraries ArchiveCross street / corporation street junction, manchester
BFI National Archive■
We’ll take you back in time to Manchester, one of Britain’s great industrial powerhouses at the turn of the last century. Picture horse-drawn trams rattling past, streets thronged with people and carts, and the pulse of progress quickening with every step. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Manchester rose to global prominence. Canals forged vital links from inland mills to coastal ports, while an ever-expanding railway network carried goods and people faster than ever before. At the heart of the Industrial Revolution, and driven by the booming cotton trade, the city became a world hub of manufacturing, commerce and innovation.
[ Architect-Led Tours ]■
Your Guide
Ric is a Manchester-born architect who’s worked in the city centre since his teens. He’s fascinated by how places evolve… how design, planning and everyday life leave their marks, blending architectural insight with social history, a little nostalgia and the human stories behind brick, stone and glass.
He loves unearthing hidden facts and reading the city’s clues, and Manchester is the perfect scale for it: big enough to be global, small enough to feel connected. Its resilience, progressive streak and cultural diversity… from music to making… give endless material.
Through these architect-led walking tours, Ric helps guests see the city afresh: why it looks the way it does today, what those choices mean for communities, and where it might go next.
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[ Group / corporate bookings ]Group Bookings
We offer private bookings for companies, hotels, residential buildings, coworking spaces and other organisations who would like to provide an engaging activity for their staff, residents or guests.
Tours can be arranged at times that suit your group, and are designed to be welcoming, informative and easy to follow.
Our Medieval Quarter tour is an excellent introduction to Manchester, giving groups a clear sense of how the city first developed and why this historic area still shapes the streets around it today.
It’s also particularly valuable for concierges, front-of-house teams and workspace managers who support visitors or new residents and want to feel more confident talking about the city.
If you would like to arrange a private or corporate booking, please contact us and we will be pleased to organise a tour for your group.
[ testimonials ]■
Testimonials
The tour was excellent really informative and interesting. The use of a screen to show various pictures of the city at different points in history in relation to where we were stood was a great idea and brought the whole experience to life. Very enjoyable would strongly recommend.
Helen (via Get Your Guide)
I went on Ric's tour where he recreated the history of manchester through his vivid descriptions, wonderful photographs and interesting maps. He had a thorough knowledge of the history of the city and it's development through time and his professionalism as an architect was clear. The tour was both absorbing and entertaining.
Laurel
What an amazing experience! Ric was a very passionate, knowleadgeable, friendly and warm guide. This is such an interesting and well organised tour, we absolutely loved it. I am from Manchester and I greatly recommend this for a tourist or mancunian alike. It made me see the city in a different light and i absolutely LOVED the visuals that Ric had collated and shown us throughout the trip, it added a layer of interest and excitement. I am looking forward to Ric’s future tours elsewhere around the city! an absolute must for anyone interested in architecture and/or history - WOW! thank you Ric!!!
Gina (via Get Your Guide)