Secret interiors tour of Manchester with some blogging mates?
I couldn’t get throughout the Paypal checkout fast enough.
I’ve known about these tours for a while, just never having the chance to to go on one. Finally the stars aligned, and I booked myself onto the Incredible Interiors tour.
The tour is a walking tour around the city centre of Manchester and lasts two hours. I’m not going to tell you every place we went to as that would kind of spoil it if you wanted to go on one.
One place I’ve wanted to go to for ages is the Vault in the old HSBC/Midland Bank on King Street. It is a stunning building, at 100 King Street and now houses Jamie’s Italian on the ground floor and the Gotham hotel on the floors above. The Vault is actually part of Jamie’s and is now a private dining area.
The vault has basically been kept as it was with just the addition of the dining table and chairs inside. Safe deposit boxes cover the walls. Found inside these when the bank officially closed and sold the building, were a variety of interesting things- Joy Division and New Order Master tapes, property Deeds- some of which dated back to 1935. I’d love to have been there when they were opening all the boxes that hadn’t been claimed.
Sadly I didn’t get any shots of the vault, there were a lot of people in a tiny room and the light isn’t great, there are photos online though so if I’ve piqued your curiosity then do have a look.
Just having the time to stop and appreciate the surroundings, outside and inside. Bliss!
Jonathan Schofield is the brains behind the tour and he runs many others. His knowledge is so in-depth about the history, myths and legends of Manchester, that I felt I could’ve asked him anything on the subject and he’d know the answer.
It felt like such a treat to be taken into these spaces with someone who knows what they’re talking about. Even more so to be on the tour with my interior blogger buddies. We geeked out a lot as you can imagine, and we barely stopped talking.
Find out more about these fantastic tours here. There’s loads of different ones to choose from.
Huge thanks to my Manchester blogger buddies Kimberly, Karen, Antonia, Karen and out honorary member for the day Emily.
susan earlam 
Gorgeous shots! Was such a lovely way to spend a few hours and it was so great to see you and the rest of the gang! xx
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Ah thanks Kimberly- we’ll have to do another x
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Aww look at me being all famous on your blog! 😉
It really was fab – always recommend his tours to my friends. Let’s book in another ❤ xx
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Ah yeah! I’d love that- was looking at the Palace one x
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What a fun idea, I’m off to check out what else he does. Glad you had a good time and enjoyed the chance to see some stunning places.
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Rachel you’d love it! Totally book on one x
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A great reminder of a fantastic afternoon out with great gals – I loved it and would like to try another of Jonathan’s tours, he really know his stuff and the buildings we visited were fab! xx
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Ah thanks, we should book another
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This sounds and looks so cool! It’s a little bit like the LivingEtc tours, but possibly more interesting in terms of history 😉 Fab post! xo
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Hehe yes! Reckon you’d love one of these Carole x
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I bet you guys had great fun. I love nothing more than geeking out over interiors with people who actually get me.
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Ah you’d love one of these xx
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I’ve only been to Mwnchester twice but loved it. This looks great – will do this next time. X
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Beautiful shots and what an interesting tour! I’d love to do somehthing like this in Oxford. xx
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Gorgeous shots, looks like a wonderful day out, it’s always nice to explore your own city! x
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beautiful shots, what a great place to explore
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Nawww, wished i’d been there. Looked like it was ‘mazin from all your insta pics!!x
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Now that sounds like a great way to spend a couple of hours – no wonder you jumped at the chance! I love your images and fascinating details re the Vault. I wonder if they returned the demo tapes to the band members?
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Ah you’d love it Kat- I’ll let you know if we do another xx
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I love these kind of tours. I go on them a lot in Brighton. You really feel like you learn a ton about the place you live in. In fact, I’m going to do my own one soon – on stylist shops and street art. I really need a trip to Manchester soon.
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I would love a tour! Thank you for sharing!
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Not heard of these before but sound very intetesting. Wonder if other cities have similar
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The tour sounds interesting. I love the vault in Jamie’s, it has so much character.
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I have never been to Manchester, this looks like a great way to be introduced to the city.
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You should come for a visit!
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Ah what a cool tour! Some great pictures – think I saw one on your Instagram and was absolutely floored!!
Bec x
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Ah thanks Bec- thats nice of you you say!
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This sounds like a fab day out and great seeing spaces and understanding the history behind them. X
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This looks so interesting! My sister will be back in Manchester next year so I’m going to show her this! X
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Wow, I didn’t know that tour existed, sounds the perfect way to discuss something new about Manchester.
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well that does it I’m coming up very soon! this looks so interesting and I love your images xx
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Sounds like great fun!
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Wonderful Photos! Thank you for your sharing!
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