Manchester: Still A City of Firsts

This weekend saw the Tony Wilson Experience staged in Cathedral Gardens. The twenty-four hour talkathon was held to commemorate the late Manchester impresario Tony Wilson and try and encourage new creative talent in the city. Wilson died in August 2007. During his working life, he was the catalyst who pushed music acts from Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays onto a national and global stage.

The Haçienda nightclub has now closed. It was the epicentre of 'Madchester' during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Visitors to Manchester can see a timeline - on the Rochdale Canal side of the building - showing the dates when acts first appeared at the club, which has now been converted into flats. Independent travellers can explore Manchester on foot with the Manchester: Then & Now audio downloadable walking tour. The podcast guided tour passes the back of the Haçienda.

The Then & Now Manchester travel guide also guides listeners to the Museum of Science and Industry. The world's first passenger railway station, Liverpool Road, is now part of the Museum.

A replica of a Manchester built computer, which signalled the arrival of modern computing, was unveiled 60 years ago. The computer was called The Small Scale Experimental Machine. A bit of a mouth full, I'm sure you'll agrees, so it became known as The Baby. It was a big baby weighing in at one tonne. The Baby evolved into the Manchester Mark I. This in turn was the predecessor of Ferranti Mark I. The Ferranti Mark I was the first general purpose computer available for commercial use. Listeners to the Manchester: Then & Now mp3 guided tour can hear about the sad fate of the leader of the project, Alan Turing. To hear an audio sample from the Manchester: Then & Now iPod travel guide, please click here.

Visitors and interested locals can discover the city's rich heritage with the Walk Talk Tour, Manchester: Then & Now audio downloadable walking tour. With a Walk Talk Tour city guide you're in charge. No need to feel conspicuous with a guidebook in your hands, or struggle to follow - let alone hear - the guide with the umbrella.

Each Walk Talk Tour consists of commentary points. In the case of Manchester, the instructions detailing how to get from A to B are included on a separate track, so if you're not sure where to go next, you can easily repeat the instructions. In addition, the Manchester: Then & Now visitor guide comes complete with a downloadable map - for you to print off - so you won't miss a thing!

Undercover tourists in Manchester can make the most of their Walk Talk Tour by consulting our Where & When pages to find out the opening times of attractions en the tour's route.