If the Manchester suburb of Chorlton is (in the words of an acquaintance) home to “bohemians and beatniks”, then it’s southern cousin Didsbury is definitely home to the bourgeiouse. It’s also an area I had mostly neglected to explore in the years I’ve lived in the city, although friends had raved about it’s “cafe culture” and other things.

Didsbury is home to Manchester’s only botanic garden, named after the area’s former alderman Fletcher Moss who donated the land upon which the garden was developed to the city of Manchester. With the arrival of a sunny August Bank Holiday, it seemed the ideal time to venture to the south of the city.

The garden is actually split in two, biseected by Stenner Lane. Our first stop was the smaller of the two, known as Parsonage Gardens. Entrance to the gardens is via a stone gate topped with an eagle carving, the…