On Friday, our final day in the North West, we left the hotel early once again, having packed up everything in the car. We went to Salford Quays, to visit the Lowry Centre. This is a theatre and art gallery, named after the artist L.S. Lowry, who lived locally. We had something to eat in a Cafe Rouge and then went to the Lowry, and then we found that it didn't open until 10 o'clock so we spent some time in the Lowry outlet shopping centre. This is similar to the Galleria in Hertfordshire and the Bicester Village in Oxfordshire, both of which we've visited on several occasions and bought stuff such as shoes.
The Lowry, Salford Quays
The Lowry is a somewhat quirky building, looking as if it's made up of oddments and inside it's all bright colours and at peculiar angles. Even the floor downstairs in at a slight angle, it slopes slightly which is somewhat disconcerting. We eventually went up on the excalator to the gallery area where there is a good exhibition of Lowry's paintings and drawings. I was surprised by the variation in his work, imagining that all his paintings were of 'matchstick men'. Anything but. There are a lot of those familiar scenes of industrial landscapes with the classic 'matchstick' figures, but he did a lot of portraits and scenes that aren't so typical.
Media City UK, Salford Quays
Incidentally, Salford Quays is the location of Media City, UK, which is where BBC Breakfast now comes from. It's a very modern looking building and stands out quite distinctively from the other buildings. Quite a lot of BBC shows are made there, including Blue Peter, In It To Win It etc. ITV is supposed to be relocating later in the year, and the Coronation Street lot (the outdoor set) is being built nearby.
So, on leaving the Lowry, we went back to the car, which we'd parked in a multi-storey carpark, and drove out of Salford towards the M6, Milton Keynes and home. It was a long journey as there were long delays along the motorway, and we got back to Milton Keynes at around 4.30.
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