The afternoon after we came down the nine nasty locks, Polar lifted us into the bear bag ready for another adventure. We were going to explore the area around Castlefield Basin, including the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.
On the way there, we saw some signs about the people who restored the canal basin, so we could moor there and enjoy it. We bears are very grateful to these people and those who carry on looking after our canals today.
Some of it was being repaired and wasn't open to the public, including the Turbine Hall where the railway locomotives are kept. We were sad not to see them, although there was a very special locomotive in the main building - the original Rocket!
There was a Textile Hall where we could watch the machinery that made cotton working. We were reminded of Quarry Bank Mill, where we got the fabric for our best boating shirts.
Hanley Bear found another of his red transport plaques celebrating the oldest railway station in the world, which is now part of the museum. We had lots of fun sliding on the counter in the ticket office!
Upstairs in the main building we got to try some experiments. I found a puzzle where I had to arrange some wooden wedges into a pyramid shape. It took me ages to get it right - with a little bit of help from Polar!
Hanley Bear thought he had found a shaft that went right to the centre of the Earth and was scared that he might fall in and never get out again, but it was actually a clever illusion using mirrors.
Little Endon had lots of fun exploring with us and made friends with an astronaut bear who was in the shop, waiting for his next mission into space.
Before we left the museum, Grizzly bought us an ice cream, because it was so hot and, having fur, we really needed to cool down before we set off on a short walk through the city.
On the way down Deansgate, we were shown a big swarm of bees on one of the buildings. We thought this was very special, as the bee is the symbol of the busy city of Manchester!
We were amazed at the number of huge tower-blocks being built all around the city. As we came back towards Castlefield, we felt much more at home beside the boats and under the trees. Polar and Grizzly found a nice pub where we all had dinner, with more ice-cream for dessert. Then our human guardians carried us back across as very unusual bridge to Uppie.
We were sleepy bears by then and started settling down in our bed on the cushions, until we heard music outside. A group of people had started gathering in the amphitheatre area near the moorings and were doing juggling and fire-eating - not for an audience but to entertain each other.
We bears watched from the windows. The young humans practicing their circus skills were very clever but we didn't want to get too close, in case we singed our fur.
The music stopped and they all packed up before it got too late, so we slept very soundly, ready for more adventures in Manchester the following day, when we were going to meet some very special and very small friends.
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