Well it is not summery today. We definitely needed jackets when we departed Nottingham at 9am en route to Manchester. Steve and Fiona very kindly had offered to take us back to Manchester so that we can continue with our flight to Dublin. They are also coming to Dublin but will leave from East Midlands airport in Nottingham so it is a 4 hour round trip for them.
We stopped off at a motorway service centre for a coffee and to change drivers after an hour on the M1 and then again after another hour on the outskirts of Manchester. Because of the insurance rules only the insured drivers can drive so I’ve been a passenger throughout for a change and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It was colder and rainy when we got to Manchester and our hopes of eating out at a cafe next to the canal evaporated instantly in favour of a cosy pub in the central city.

Manchester is much leafier than I imagined with loads of new construction happening, including multiple skyscrapers. As with Nottingham, there are heaps of new student accommodation buildings under way. The photos are from out the car window so not the best but enough to get the general impression.

This is one of the older buildings that is getting progressively squeezed by construction all around.

Steve and Fiona dropped us and our bags off at the Radisson Blu Hotel at the airport just after lunch. It was not an afternoon for mooching around a city we don’t know! Fortunately we could check in immediately and it has been good to have some down time. Our room is typical for an airport style hotel but definitely a step up from the Premier Inn (which was nevertheless conveniently located and functional).

We had a light dinner and carafe of Argentinian wine at the Radisson, which set us back £91 for 2 meals and a shared plate of cheese and crackers. The room had air conditioning which was both noisy and set at a temperature too cold for no covers but too hot for the duvet. They don’t seem to provide top sheets for hotel bedding, jus duvets. 
We have a relatively short walk along a covered sky path to the terminal for a 7.50am check in tomorrow and it’s off to Ireland!