Another of my ‘always wanted to do that’ tick-the-box activities is to visit the mysterious hinterlands adjacent to the M60 motorway. I persuaded Sig Other to accompany me to Bolton, situated on the A666 a short distance from the M60, for a day out in this north England industrial town.
In the centre there is a square outside the rather glorious architecture of the town hall. A temporary exhibition was housed in a marquee in the square. On entering, I found a small, but fascinating display featuring items of interest on the lives of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people which was part of GRT History Month.
http://www.grthm.co.uk/index.php
Like many (I suspect) I am ignorant of the history of these minority ethnic groups in our local and European population and have no appreciation of lives lived, in some cases, so differently from my own. The link above goes to a truly educational site where I spent a considerable time being enlightened and humbled by the history of people who have contributed in many ways to our society.
The Bolton exhibition highlighted some examples of GRT people’s lives in north England where people live(d) and travel(led) on the canal system, while others bring their circuses and fairgrounds round the cities. Other exhibition boards outlined the terrible destruction of GRT lives in the run up to and during the holocaust. The link above gives harrowing details about this often neglected aspect of those years.
On leaving behind the exhibition, we walked about the town centre which in terms of shops is largely interchangeable with anywhere else, except for the statue of Fred Dibnah cast by sculptor Jane Robbins.
http://www.janerobbins.com/gallery.html
Bolton also has a little aquarium in the basement of their library building. It has been there since 1941 and now has a collection of fish from international waters. The long tailed knife fish is particularly impressive.
http://www.boltonmuseums.org.uk/aquarium/fish-collection/giant-green-knifefish/
The countryside around Bolton is hilly and when I visited, it was looking its best in the sun. A run through the hills on windy country roads then back down the A666 completed this day out.
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