Sandwiched between Emporio Armani and a titty-bar on Manchester's Deansgate, you'll find the most beautiful and atmospheric building in the city — The John Rylands Library. It really is something. When you've had your fill of ogling scantily clad Eastern European jailbait and you can't quite decide between the monogrammed velvet pumps and the 'discreetly' branded statement handbag, pop in to this red sandstone cathedral of books and check out the buttresses on this. The building itself is accessed through a bright white, modern architectural foyer. Go up some stairs, across a glass bridge and then you will find yourself rather incongruously in an ancient gothic world of dimly lit caverns and exquisitely carved pillars and vaults.
So why the picture of A Clockwork Orange? Well, as an added bonus, on the top floor you'll find a fascinating exhibition of artifacts about Anthony Burgess and his controversial novel and its journey onto the silver screen. There are marked up film scripts, stills from the movie and letters between Burgess and the director Stanley Kubrick (a hero of mine).
