Escape from Manchester's ring of steel - go walk about

Manchester will welcome 15,000 delegates, journalists and politicians from across the globe to the Labour Party Conference. This is the third consecutive year in which the annual get-together will be held in Manchester. A 'ring of steel' will be erected round the three main conference venues - Manchester Central (formerly the GMEX, the Midland and Radisson hotels) - which together form a conference village dubbed the 'island site'.

The conference begins on Saturday September 20 and conclude on Wednesday September 24.

Members of the general public will be excluded from entering the 'island site' unless they have passed checks imposed by Greater Manchester Police to ensure that they do not pose a risk to anyone inside the 'ring of steel'.

Despite the disruption caused by the conference, Manchester City Council and the City's Chamber of Commerce are delighted that Labour have chosen Manchester as their conference venue again. Manchester City Council believe that the conference will generate up to £20m for the city's economy.

Labour Party members, journalists and politicians can use the opportunity that the conference provides to explore the world's first industrial city.

Visitors can explore the city with the Manchester: Then & Now audio downloadable walking tour. Customers purchasing the Walk Talk Tour Manchester travel guide from walktalktour.com pay just £5. The tour represents excellent value for people wanting to explore the city in groups. The larger the group, the smaller the cost per head.

Delegates and people in the city for the conference who do not have an iPod, MP3 player, BlackBerry etc - or the means to download it - can still listen to the tour. Visitors can hire the Manchester: Then & Now city walking tour on a preloaded MP3 player from the city's Visitor Information Centre on Lloyd Street, just off St Peter's Square. The package includes a set of disposable headphones and a copy of the tour map.

Listeners to the Walk Talk Tour Manchester travel guide can hear about the origins of the word Manchester. Discover how an aristocratic landowner helped kick start the city's industrial revolution. Hear about some of the pioneering discoveries and firsts that occurred in the city. And much, much more. To hear an audio sample from the Walk Talk Tour of Manchester please click here.

The Manchester: Then & Now city walking tour can be completed in two hours or so, though listeners are free to take as little or as long as they wish - or as the weather dictates - to walk the route and explore the attraction's along the way.

Attending conferences can be extremely tiring. Why not go walk about in Manchester with the Manchester: Then & Now audio walking tour? You will be able to burn a few calories, refresh your mind and you'll learn a thing or two, to boot.