South Manchester’s Little Libraries: How a Burnage book stand has blossomed into a literary trail
Helen Beesley set up a small table piled high with spare books for neighbours to borrow - and after interest soared, she's encouraging others to do the same.
The organiser of the South Manchester Little Library Trail is urging residents to set up their own book-borrowing sites outside their homes and keep the literary route stretching across more neighbourhoods.
Helen Beesley, a resident of Burnage, was inspired last August to set up her own library in a little nook on her garden path after noticing a friend in Pontefract who had done the same.
Helen’s first steps were to gather all of her spare books and source a small side table off Facebook marketplace.
Her original plan was to pop a few books out when the weather was nice. But, within a few days, Helen’s little library was getting more interest than she could have anticipated – with nearby residents both borrowing and donating books.
It was then she decided to make the little library more of a permanent feature.
ADVERTISEMENT
Helen set up the first little library in Burnage
Helen said: “It was such an uplifting experience as the public libraries were closed and shops were shut so people were finding it really hard to get books and many just couldn’t afford the expense.
“We usually have many more books than we need and so we don’t mind if books are kept when someone finds them extra special.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I have found that having the libraries so accessible has meant some people who have never visited a public library have popped to one of ours. There are no rules and no need to sign up, no barriers physical or otherwise to accessing any books.”
Due to the success of the Burnage Little Free Library (LFL), Helen decided to set up a trail of local little libraries and started a community group.
Soon, The Hutch Withington LFL and The Fair Weather Library Levenshulme LFL were set up outside the homes of local residents – and the trail had officially come to life.
ADVERTISEMENT
More recently, as the UK’s lockdown restrictions have continued to loosen, further libraries have been added in Didsbury, Wythenshawe and Withington.
Helen and her team are also planning a virtual meeting next week to help others set up their own little libraries – with plans for sites in Hulme and more in Withington and Burnage.
A map of the libraries currently on the trail can be found online.
As well as urging people to start little libraries outside their own homes, Helen and her team are also raising money for improved book storage in a bid to keep expanding the route – with a GoFundMe page set up online.
It’s already proven to be a hit – with the South Manchester Little Library Trail generating some great feedback from visitors.
ADVERTISEMENT
One visitor said: “My daughter is a little book monster and theses libraries are an absolute God-send. We have loved coming by to borrow and donate and I have also loved being able to read lots of brilliant books. We are so grateful to the people who run and set them up so a big thank you to all of you.”
Another added: “I have really appreciated the Burnage Library, because I was off work sick for a few months and ran out of books to read… I borrowed some books off a friend, but didn’t like them all! So it was really give myself the challenge of walking a couple of miles to the library and having a choice of material.”
Details of the libraries on the trail can be found on the South Manchester Little Library Trail Facebook page.
Any South Manchester residents interested in setting up their own little library or have a library they would like to be added to the trail can contact Helen on: [email protected]
Feature
You can get a mobile massage treatment in your office – just like us
Thomas Melia
We’d like to introduce you to the pioneering personalised service offering massage treatments on the move at practically any location including direct from your office– including to those of us here in Manchester.
In a world where you can get practically anything delivered straight to your door, it wasn’t going to be long until some genius invented a way to get a massage from the comfort of your own office.
Named ‘London’s first digital beauty concierge’, Ruuby have been pampering the nation’s capital for almost a decade before branching out to further locations.
The gorgeous set up provided by RuubyLook at that lovely branding on the towels.They did wonders with our otherwise plain downstairs office space. (Credit: The Manc Group)
In October 2024, the company expanded beyond its domestic reach in the likes of the capital, the Cotswolds and Surrey into Europe, making its first mark Switzerland: the perfect country for both luxury and essential beauty treatments with a tailored experience.
The month following saw the group moving up North and all the way to Manchester, where people can now book professional treatments best suited to them, right on their doorstep.
If you’re feeling scepticalstill, you can take it from us here at The Manc; we couldn’t tell you how relaxing and comforting these massages are.
There are a range of treatments available and we opted for two bespoke massages, a sports massage and a deep tissue massage.
Each experience is suited to your personal needs meaning each massage therapist will be able to fine-tune their relaxation abilities to what benefits you best.
After choosing the bespoke massage that I felt would work best for me, I went into this with no prior massage experience and I came out feeling taller, broader and more refreshed. Highly recommend.
Mid-day office massage? Yes, please.How relaxing. What a shame you have to go back to work after!Credit: The Manc Group
My masseuse guided me throughout the whole process and we soon discovered that I was able to tolerate much harder pressure than I thought which helped release tension I didn’t even know I had!
The same applies to how firm you’d like your session to be, as the masseuse can help with a brief overview of your time together, but the amount of pressure you like is down to personal preference.
It’s not just massages either: there’s everything from waxing, nails and hair to physio and IV drips; how about getting Marbella ready in less than an hour with a spray tan service set up wherever you are?
As Ruuby is a mobile and remote work environment, there are a number of at any time up and down the country, meaning your next beauty slot could be as little as an hour away, find out more HERE.
Farm shops are cool now – and Albion Farm Shop is the best of the best
Daisy Jackson
At some point in life, your idea of a great day out switches from drinking and clubbing to visiting a farm shop, or a garden centre, or something similarly wholesome.
And up in the hills above Manchester is surely one of the best in the UK – Albion Farm Shop.
This Saddleworth favourite is half-cafe, half-shop, with produce all either grown right outside, or sourced as locally as possible.
And while places like Hollies Farm Shop in Cheshire pull in seriously big, glamorous crowds (maybe it’s the Molly-Mae effect), there’s something much more charming and authentic about Albion Farm Shop.
Maybe it’s the tractors parked outside, the fact the produce section is in a drafty barn, the mismatched shelves and cabinets. It’s not curated like this – it just is.
The food in the cafe itself is up there with the best British grub in the North West, and I say that with my hand on my heart.
Whether it’s a full breakfast spilling over the edge of a plate, sandwiches served in a doorstop of bread, or a full menu of burgers made with British beef cap and smoked bone marrow patties, you can’t steer far wrong.
Rag pudding at Albion Farm ShopChips with a side of bone broth gravy Those huge burgers
There are chunky chips served with a full bowl of bone stock gravy on the side (hello, this is Oldham), onion rings so big you can wear them as a bangle, and big bowls of homemade soup.
And it would be remiss of me not to mention the rag pudding, a traditional dish from this neck of the woods. Famously, she’s not a pretty menu item, but this steamed suet pastry stuffed with braised beef shin is comforting and delicious.
If you want to stick northern fare but don’t fancy rag pudding, you can also grab a wedge of cheese and onion pie, lambs liver with mash, or any number of seasonal specials (for us, it was roast pork).
There are cracking views of the surrounding countryside, a resident cat who’s usually sleeping in the entranceway, and charm packed into every square foot.
Albion Farm Shop is at Oldham Road, Delph, Saddleworth OL3 5RQ.
The resident cat at Albion Farm ShopRoast pork in the cafeThe Albion Farm Shop cafeAlbion Farm ShopInside the shop itselfThe produce barn Local cheesesBakery itemsThe produce barn
Olivia Stringer -
26th April 2021 
