MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Hello and welcome to the National Trust

podcast. I'm Michelle Douglass podcast producer at the National

Trust.

Today, we're heading to Manchester, a metropolis famous

for its football, music and industrial history. But you

might not know that in the centre of the city lies a very

unusual green oasis because to find this hidden garden, you've

got to look up.

DYMPNA GOULD: This is really unusual. This garden is in the

heart of one of the busiest cities in the country.

It's on 19th century viaduct. I've described this as secret

gardens in the sky.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: With around 2.8 million people living here.

Manchester is currently the UK's second most populated urban area

after London and right in the heart of this north-western

metropolis, rising up out of centuries of construction is a

green cloud above the city.

The Castlefield Viaduct Garden is one of the newest sites in

Manchester's skyline. This contemporary urban park reveals

a hidden story of British history, industrial innovation

and community.

JONATHAN SCHOFIELD: Where we are is where Manchester began. So

the Romans come here in AD79.

This is a pretty significant date in its own right because

that's when Vesuvius blew up and killed Pompeii and Herculaneum.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Historical tour guide and writer, Jonathan

Schofield has been showing people around Manchester for

nearly 30 years. Today he's starting at the beginning of the

story at the site of the ancient Roman fort'Mamucium'.

JONATHAN SCHOFIELD: The Roman Fort disappeared largely through

industrialization. So there's very little left.

There's this one tiny bit of genuine, genuine Roman fort.

What you can see here was a reconstruction of the north gate

of the Roman fort. It would have been a fort that was military

then outside it grew a town.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: The neighbouring settlement known as

a Vicus, meaning village serves as a home for the soldiers and

their families. And it attracts merchants from all corners of

the Roman Empire.

JONATHAN SCHOFIELD: I mean they have furnaces, workshops. One of

the earliest evidence of Christian worship found here.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Centuries later, the city of Manchester

earned its place in history once more. In the 1760s, it opens a

new transport network that would change British industry, the

canal system.

JONATHAN SCHOFIELD: So you get to the lower end of Castlefield

to where you have the canals because the problem was the

roads were terrible.

That one connected us to the west coast. This one went over

the hills and connected to the navigable river system of

Yorkshire and took you to the east coast.

They would be carrying everything, food, stuffs, raw

materials, to manufacture, stuff, everything you can.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: The next century brings an even more

powerful age of transport with Manchester, right at the

forefront.

JONATHAN SCHOFIELD: But something else happened here

first, which is the Liverpool To Manchester Railway.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: On September the 15th, 1830, the Liverpool To

Manchester Railway opens for the first time to great excitement.

JONATHAN SCHOFIELD: On the opening day, it begins with

blood, William Huskisson from Liverpool, he doesn't understand

trains and how quickly they move. And unfortunately, he

can't get out of the way quick enough and he runs over his leg

and he dies.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Despite tragedy. On the first day, the

new railway system is a huge success for the first time,

goods and people can travel between two major cities en

masse and at speeds of up to 35 miles or 56 kilometers per hour.

In the following years, railway engineers construct a network of

viaducts across the city.

JONATHAN SCHOFIELD: You've got these ludicrously massive steel

and iron bridges, huge columns.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: And in 1891 construction commences on a

magnificent 17m high, 330m long, steel viaduct built by the same

engineers behind the iconic Blackpool Tower.

This bridge would become known as the Castlefield Viaduct.

Through the 19th and into the 20th century, Manchester's

industry grows and its population swells.

One former resident who grew up in the city's railway workers

houses in the 1950s remembers what life was like in the close

community.

BEVERLEY SMEE: I came off a family of eight children, plus

my mother's sister.

I'm Beverley Smee. I was born in Dean's Gate. I believe it's

called Castlefield now. And I have very fond memories of the

place.

The house that we lived in only had gas light and that was

downstairs and candle light on the rest of the roof.

There's no such thing as television. So consequently, we

kept ourselves entertained on the street.

Games like hopscotch, hide and seek, tig or draw a snake across

your back. I don't know if you heard that?

My elder siblings would come home and say that they'd been to

the wharf, jumping from barge to barge and I always wanted to go

because I thought, oh, that sounds like a wondrous place.

However, we did jump from cart to cart on the horses and carts

which were parked up at the goods yard.

My father worked for the railway and he drove a horse and cart

and his horse was called Mary and we love that horse.

I remember one time it tried coming up the lobby, it was

pulling a cart at the time, they tried to get into the house and

it frightened the life out.

All I could see this massive head around this door.

My mother forever complaining that they were slum houses and

she was so sorry when we did get moved out of that house that it

was a very, very close knit community.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: In the 1960s, the viaduct railway system

closes down for good and the Castlefield Viaduct lies

abandoned for 60 years.

For years residents imagined what this hulking derelict

railway viaduct looked after by the Department Of Transport

might be repurposed into to benefit the city.

JONATHAN SCHOFIELD: And then, well, I was part of a campaign

in 2007 where I suggested why don't use it as a garden and it

took a while but seems to be on the way now.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: In 2020 after months of negotiations,

fundraising and paperwork, the National Trust confirms a year

long pilot project that will transform the viaduct into a

free access urban garden.

Here's Duncan Laird Head of Urban Places at the National

Trust.

DUNCAN LAIRD: We drew a little bit of inspiration from other

projects around the globe that have turned redundant heritage

into spaces that people can visit and have a moment of joy.

New York High Line is perhaps one of the biggest projects in

the world that is similar to Castlefield viaduct.

It's an elevated walkway and park within the heart of New

York.

Welcomes millions of tourists a year as well as serving the

local community. So that one I think is a real diamond in terms

of these type of projects.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: But as the team would find out a big idea

like the Castlefield Viaduct brings big challenges. Here's

National Trust Program Manager, Dympna Gould.

DYMPNA GOULD: This is one of the most ambitious projects for the

National Trust.

In November 2021, all the permissions were in place and

then it was ok, let's go.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: The work is accelerated by the urgent need

for urban green spaces highlighted in lockdown.

A date is set, July 2022 and in spring work begins.

DYMPNA GOULD: In March, Manchester and Cheshire

Construction came on site and they had literally four months

to take it from the abandoned disused railway viaduct to the

wonderful secret gardens. [

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Background chatter] As work begins,

Castlefield Viaduct holds a press day inviting people to

walk on the structure for the first time.

The old railway has been taken over by Buddleia plants. A few

empty bottles are scattered around. The strong lattice

ironwork is rusting and flaking. But it's possible to see the

potential of what this site could be.

National Highways manages the UK's disused rail network

tracks. But few of these retired railways get a chance of a new

lease of life. Here's director Richard Marshall

RICHARD MARSHALL: From our point of view of National Highways,

we've got over 3000 structures in our portfolio with the

historical Railways estate.

But this is going to be a signature item, to preserve this

sort of industrial heritage is so important.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: One resident who's been eagerly anticipating

the opening of the viaduct is Lou Pullan, Vice Chair of

Residents Group Castlefield Forum.

LOU PULLAN: And we've been gazing up towards this structure

for about 10 years hoping that someday something would happen.

This is actually the second time I came on to the viaduct. I must

add that the first time I cried! Happy tears!

Clearly, there's a lot of ground work to be done. But, you know,

everyone loves a challenge.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: But not all the locals are so enthusiastic

about having a park in the sky.

GENERIC: No, I wouldn't visit it. Better things to do just,

you know, enjoy myself, play on my Xbox, something like that

rather than look at plants on an old bridge.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: There's a lot to do between now and July to

give this old bridge a full makeover. Here's Dympna Gould.

DYMPNA GOULD: We had to create a whole new walkway. We couldn't

bring heavy machinery onto the viaduct.

So we had to crane up the event building and these huge

structures which would contain the wonderful planting.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: And for a Victorian age viaduct, a little

thoughts needed to get it ready for the 21st century.

DYMPNA GOULD: He had these real practicalities, getting

broadband up here, electrical supplies.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: And then there's the staff to consider.

DYMPNA GOULD: People who could take tours, who could talk about

the history, fundraisers, gardeners!

The gardeners didn't get on site till eight weeks before we

opened. I think you'd be looking at two years easily to develop

it.

AMY WATSON: It was black rubble, diggers, kind of a wasteland.

I'm Amy Watson and I'm the gardener at Castlefield Viaduct.

It was pretty much a building site that we had to get ready

incredibly quickly because the first stage is the pilot

project.

It's more of a kind of show garden planting. So it's all

very instant. Wow!

We also had all of our partner gardens move in.

Oh, we've had so many existential crises up here!

Growing a container garden on a bridge in 40 degree heat with no

water source was a real challenge.

We were schlepping 100L containers of water up and down

the bridge to try and keep these trees alive.

We planted 7000 bulbs with our volunteers. I was so excited to

garden somewhere that didn't have rabbits or squirrels or any

of the usual pests but rats ransacked our plantings. There

have been interesting urban gardening learns for sure.

DYMPNA GOULD: In the middle of all that, it landed in the

press, but it landed so well.

Manchester Evening News were on it from the start, The Guardian,

The Telegraph. It just caught people's imagination.

But then you have the pressure of that audience from the

Metrolink almost on a daily basis going, "They're wrong I

can see some things happening." So we felt the weight of

expectancy on us.

We opened our bookings to the public a couple of weeks before

the end of July opening.

All the tickets were free. You didn't have to be a National

Trust member and the booking system virtually blew up.

If we've had any complaints, that was probably the point we

got them because we do have limitations in terms of how many

people we can have on the site at any one time.

AMY WATSON: Up to the very last moment. It was nerve wracking.

It had been very, very up to the wire.

You know, we were shoving plants and we were getting last minute

deliveries. We were trying to figure out how to keep it alive

in this very hostile growing situation.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: And then, the day the team has been working

towards its opening morning.

DYMPNA GOULD: We're all waiting on the inside of the gates.

The team have all got the crisp new National Trust uniform on.

It's a gorgeous sunny morning.

We've rehearsed our tours, the gardens look great.

To see a crowd of people on top of the city and clamouring to

get in. It was absolutely momentous.

For all of us on that weekend, there was just one big

collective intake of breath.

Walking up the staircase. I think there's 50 steps in all.

But if you're not great on steps, there is a lift.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: It's summer 2023, a year since opening day

this morning, Dympna Gould is climbing the metal staircase

from the street below to the top of the Castlefield Viaduct where

she's giving a behind the scenes tour before visitors start

arriving.

DYMPNA GOULD: And then all of a sudden you're above the city.

You can see the Metrolink, the lovely yellow trams whizzing by

and we're at the gates to Castlefield Viaduct and we're

about to go in.

The first thing that they come into is what looks like a

gorgeous green outdoor waiting room.

We've come onto the wonderful stretch ahead of us. So we've

got all sorts of plants and dandelions and you name it,

thriving here where we try and recreate the viaduct as it was

in the 1890s.

And then we move into the secret gardens and proliferation of

green.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: The walkway leads to a set of distinct mini

gardens. These are partner plots, each carefully designed

and cultivated by local community groups, highlighting

stories from Manchester's past and present.

DYMPNA GOULD: So this is a wonderful organization

called'Sow the City' and on their slot, they have got a

pond.

Two ducks waddled on literally days after this plot was

finished and jumped in and had a swim. We call them the via-ducks

we've had via-ducklings.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Other plots are from'City of Trees' whose

garden showcases a variety of trees significant to

Manchester's story.

There's Castlefield Forum with their sculptural pocket garden.

And Hulme Community Garden Centre with their edible forest

garden.

KATH GAVIN: I wanted the garden to be a really practical example

of how people can grow in small inner city spaces.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Here's Kath Gavin on the surprising foods

you can grow in a small urban plot.

KATH GAVIN: This is quite a large planter. It's just over a

meter square and it contains what's known as an'apple tree

guild'.

An arrangement of plants that grow well together and makes the

most of a small amount of space.

The ground layer is wild strawberry.

There's also a hardy kiwi growing up the back.

We've got Babington's Leek, which is a perennial leek so it

will come back year after year.

And then in the centre we've got the apple tree and at the back

there's rhubarb. So there's quite a lot going on.

It's worth growing things that are maybe expensive in the shops

as well. So things like soft fruit. Salad leaves are another

really good one.

If you're just adding just a few leaves to your meal every day,

that can make quite a difference to your diet and to your pocket.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: It's 11am which means it's opening time.

DYMPNA GOULD: So now it's time for us to do what we like doing

best every day. We're going to throw open our gates to the

public and welcome them on to Castlefield Viaduct.

GENERIC: This is our third time visiting cos my children are six

and three and they absolutely love it. They love seeing all

the flowers. We just found some mushrooms that we've been

looking at and we've found some snails in the pond as well.

I didn't even know it was here and I was born and bred in

Manchester. I just think it's a little oasis in a really busy

overbuilt city.

I thought it would be a lot more noisier, but it's quite soothing

here. You could sit here and just listen to the trams and the

trains coming past every day.

And I think for people's mental health, taking the time to go

out, explore new places and just stay away from electronics for a

while is really good. You feel a lot more calmer.

You go to cities like Paris or New York and Paris has got the

Promenade Plantee and Brooklyn's got the, I think it's the high

line and to have something like that in Manchester shows what

sort of city it's become.

I think it's crucial as like a society to have places like this

where people can go to, especially in cities where you

don't find a lot of green spaces.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: By 2023 Castlefield Viaduct has cost

£1.8 million from funding and donations that's seen thousands

of visitors through its gates.

It showcased dozens of community gardens and run a cultural

events program with city skyline views.

Public opinion will help gorge the long term plans for the

Castlefield Viaduct. But could there be a bigger future for

recycling our industrial heritage into something new,

green and socially beneficial?

DUNCAN LAIRD: There's a massive opportunity to repurpose these

historic bits of infrastructure within cities and provide value

to the local communities and local places.

BEVERLEY SMEE: Anything that can preserve any of the beauty that

I remember as a child gets full marks from me.

DYMPNA GOULD: All I can say really is a big thank you to the

people of Manchester Salford and beyond who just come and visited

and fed all their ideas in.

And because of that, we've got confidence going forward that we

will find a permanent future for this viaduct and that makes me

so happy.

MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Thanks for listening to this episode of the

National Trust podcast.

The Castlefield Viaduct Sky Park is extending its pilot program

till summer 2024. If you'd like to find out more, visit the

Castlefield Viaduct or donate to the project, please follow the

links in this episode's show notes.

And if you'd like to be updated with every new episode of the

National Trust podcast, please follow us on your favorite

podcast app or you can find all our audio programmes at

nationaltrust.org.uk/podcasts

For now, from me, Michelle Douglas. Goodbye.