Oldham to Wakefield

Greater Manchester’s Metrolink tram delivers Michael to the former cotton town of Oldham on the edge of the Peak District. In the stalls of the Oldham Coliseum, the town’s Victorian repertory theatre, Michael hears how the lifting of censorship allowed theatres to stage risqué productions from playwrights such as Tennessee Williams.

Michael takes the Hope Valley Line to Edale in the Peak District with a hiking guide, who is encouraging black women to enjoy the national park. Next stop is Sheffield, where Michael visits Cutlers’ Hall and sharpens his skills at a knife-making workshop.

Michael ends this part of his journey by admiring the striking postwar sculptures of Barbara Hepworth in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.