Out and about

I've blogged before about the superb Victoria Baths in Manchester. A temple to exercise and cleanliness, the building is an orgy of green tiles and stained glass. To my delight, the last time I visited (to go to the excellent vintage fair) they had opened up some rooms I'd not seen before. This sign is on the door from the gentleman's first class pool (there were two classes of pool for the men - just one for the women!) 

In at the deep end

This sign is at the luscious Victoria Baths in Hathersage Road, Manchester. Opened in 1906, the baths are a sumptuous celebration of public bathing. With three swimming pools, a Turkish bath, slipper baths and a laundry, the facilities were described at the time as the most splendid in the country.

Victoria Baths closed in 1993, and a gutsy restoration campaign has worked hard to get the building open and to restore the glory of the stained glass, mosaic floors, terracotta and tiles that make it so gorgeous.

If you’ve not yet visited, you’ve probably seen it without realising, as the Baths have often starred as a TV location (Life on Mars,  Floggit, Antiques Roadshow and Peaky Blinders to name a few). They run an imaginative programme of arts events, open days and vintage fairs – but it’s worth a visit for the tiles alone. Find out more here.