Walking the M62

TRIP 2008

TRIP stands for Territories Reimagined: International Perspectives. Their website is here and it points towards some other tricksters who perhaps I may encounter on the Manchester leg of my walk, such as the Manchester Area Psychogeographic:

"MAP is a psychogeographic newsletter for Manchester and its surrounding area. Psychogeographic publications have poured out of London in recent years - we think it's time Manchester was looked at and recorded. Our aim is to bring to light the truth about Manchester that remains hidden by time, buried under layer upon layer of concrete, shoveled aside by banal culture. Our interests lie in the hidden history, the ulterior motive, and the suppressed geography that the consumerised city centre masks. To detect that geography we are prone to the use of disorientating and de-normalising methods in language and testimony."

Oh yes, their raison d'etre (as I think they say in Crumpsall) resonates quite deeply with me.

You rang, sir?

Researching my walk it's quickly become clear that the publicists of Leeds are keen to promote it as the most up-and-coming, the fastest growing city in the UK. Chapeltown residents may not quite see it this way, but Leeds is now the 'Knightsbridge of the North', destination Harvey Nichols. All this hype got me thinking that if I'm going to stay there a week on my travels then I ought to test-drive this Leeds lifestyle to see if it's all it's made out to be.

And so, before I could stop myself, today I booked myself a week in a luxury Leeds serviced apartment. Well, after slogging across East Yorkshire, meandering around Wakefield Europort and sleeping in pub rooms and Travelodges maybe I'll be ready for a little pampering.