“I am often drawn to the Quays” ………..

We will all have our own favourite  picture of the Quays, and most of mine fall into that category of “water and iconic buildings”.

And Andy Robertson has taken his fair share of such pictures, after all he readily admits that “as you may know by now I am often drawn to the Quays”.*

Nor is it just the Quays.  Over the years, he has roamed across Greater Manchester, photographing what he encounters and in the process has inspired over 600 stories on the blog.*

They range from parks, and fine houses, to interesting city landscapes. 

But he is also a keen observer of the grimy and unromantic side of places, which leads him to photograph derelict buildings and abandoned industrial sites.

And having started he turns them into projects, returning regularly to record their transformation.

It starts with that old building, moves on to show its demolition, and then bit by bit offers up the story of how after the site has been cleared, the builders break the ground and begin the construction of something new.

All of which makes these projects a unique record of how the twin cities, and indeed Greater Manchester have changed over the last three decades.

And so back to the Quays, which is one of those places which continues to develop, and staring with an acknowledgement of water and iconic buildings I have included two panoramas, along with the grimy one, which includes one half finished structure, a tower block which looks to be going through refurbishment and an unpromising piece of open land.

Just what the same view will look like in six months’ time is anyone’s guess, but I am confident Andy will have been back to see.

So, in the meantime I shall finish with another “water and iconic building”.

Location the Quays

Pictures; the Quays, 2020, from the collection of Andy Robertson

*Andy Robertson, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Andy%20Robertson