We visited Chorlton (Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, to be exact), a suburb south of Manchester, to try our hand at a dog sit to see how we'd like it. We found Chorlton a charming place and the dog we cared for, Floki (any Vikings watchers out there?), absolutely adorable. The accommodations were a great change from the typical uncomfortable apartments in which we generally stay.
Let's start with Floki, since he's our main reason for being in Chorlton. Yes, he has one brown eye and one blue (heterochromia). He's very well behaved and quick to pick up on habits (i.e., training humans). Needless to say, Melissa was smitten.
The furniture included a low ottoman, which Floki would back up on to sit. He also used it to his advantage to guilt you into giving him something.
But most of all, Floki loves being outside. His most favorite thing is playing ball. He's quite good at catching; line drives, high arches, long bombs - he rarely drops it. If he could hit, I'd sign him up for cricket. He brings the ball back, drops it, and takes off in anticipation of the next throw. The only problem is getting him to stop. He takes short breaks when he's tired, but immediately drops the ball and takes off again as soon as he catches his breath. I believe he'd do this all day if we let him. There is a small park a couple of short blocks away and a large nature reserve around a half mile from our stay - the latter of which Floki would occasionally take off from us to jump in the river. We went to a park every day.
On to Chorlton. It has a population of only ~15,000, so a small-town feel while being part of the larger metropolitan borough of Manchester. The River Mersey runs along Chorlton's southern border and it has a tram that takes you directly to Victoria station in Manchester. Chorlton has a number of great eateries without the high costs we experienced in London (and Switzerland!). Everything we needed was in convenient walking distance (a block or two). People visit Chorlton from other areas for the shopping and food. The people are quite friendly and we've found England in general to be very dog friendly, especially the many pubs.
Fun fact: Manchester has adopted the worker bee as a symbol of the city being built by the people, for the people rather than being grown from royalty. The emblem shows up in various places.
Melissa captured examples of street art (and other stuff) we encountered.
And the southern cemetery. Some graves are quite old and others rather new. The North Chapel in the middle is really cool.
Floki also enjoyed the visit, as it's outdoor time.
We really enjoyed Chorlton. It is a quaint suburb and a great place for us to relax from our usual on-the-go tourist travel. We'll work some additional pet sits (no cats, Chuck is mildly allergic) into our near future to become more familiar with it and decide whether or not it becomes part of our longer-term plans. It's definitely a cost saver at the expense of some flexibility. With Floki it wasn't much of a problem as he was ready to go anywhere we went but able to be left for hours at a time.
