THERE’S a last chance to see the Busy Bee in the North West from tomorrow as HMS Manchester pays her final visit before decommissioning.
The veteran destroyer, which has served her nation for nearly 30 years, pays off later this month in her home port of Portsmouth.
Before doing so, however, she is saying ‘thank you’ to her friends and affiliates across Manchester and Lancashire (aka God's Own County).
Low(ish) bridges over the Manchester Ship Canal and the Type 42 destroyer’s tall mast preclude the ship herself sailing into the heart of the northern metropolis.
Instead, the Busy Bee (she takes her nickname from the insects on her ship’s badge which, in turn, traces its history back to the city’s role in the industrial revolution) will berth at Liverpool’s Cruise Liner Terminal around 10am tomorrow with the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Cllr Mark Hackett, aboard.
