Going....going....gone!!

---

I arrived into Manchester early afternoon so only had a few hours to go sightseeing. I had been to Manchester only once before and had seen most of the town centre, the main shopping area and the observation wheel so this trip i decided i would catch a train and go somewhere. Where, i wasn't sure but would decide at the train station. Our hotel was conveniently at the airport anyway so i made my way to the lower floor to the station. I had enough time to go anywhere within 2-3 hours away so decided on going to the Lakes District. Apparently the scenery is really beautiful and there are many small villages throughout. I did think about hiring a car but after my previous experience in Scotland getting totally lost, i thought it would be a lot safer to go on the train. As i didn't really know where to go i asked the ticket agent to decide for me and book me a ticket to wherever he thought was a nice village to visit.

I had about half an hour to wait so went to a coffee shop on the platform and got something to eat and coffee to keep me awake. I was happily sitting away reading a magazine, watching the trains coming and going. I saw a train pull up and thought that would probably be the one i was getting on as it was due to leave in another ten minutes. All of a sudden the whistle blew and the train was getting ready to go, I had a split second to decide whether that was my train leaving early and whether to jump on it, or hope that mine was still yet to come. I decided it was better to make sure than chance it, so decided not to get on. To my horror i realised that WAS my train!!!! My watch had been ten minutes slow!! Instead of looking at the time on the platform, I had been sitting in the coffee shop relying on my watch!! The next train to the Lakes District wasn't due to leave for another hour which would mean i would only have fifteen minutes at my destination before having to come back again. I decided it wasn't really worth it and would go to the Lakes District the next time i come to Manchester.

Thankfully i was able to get a full refund on my ticket so went back to the hotel. I met up with one of my colleagues and we decided we would go into the town centre for dinner. The last time i was in manchester i had found this gorgeous four storey tudor style pub which is apparently the oldest in Manchester, dating back to the 1700s. So we walked around in the freezing cold trying to find it. Eventually we found it and it was just as nice as i had remembered and had a really good meal. It wasn't long before we were both struggling to stay awake so soon after we made our way back to the hotel.

---