hidden village? AS Manchester prepares to host the Commonwealth Games of 2002 -- and greet thousands of tourists from around the world -- we should ask three questions.

How did the city evolve, what has it got to do with East Lancashire and can we find a peaceful stroll from the city centre to the games site?

The River Irwell rises in the hills between Burnley and Bacup and drains upland Rossendale.

No river has been more ill-treated by industry than the poor old Irwell, which has been cut and culverted, poisoned and diverted and dammed and used as a dumping ground.

The Irwell divides ancient Salford from the more modern Manchester and then flows on to merge with the River Mersey, which has its origins up on the Derbyshire Hills before flowing on through Stockport.

The original village of Manchester is still there around the cathedral, which was once just a parish church.

It later became a collegiate church, which meant that it trained priests.

The kitchens obtained much of their food from the fish-rich waters of the River Irwell, which is now culverted under the main road into the city.

The new concept is to develop a stroll from the steps of the cathedral to the Commonwealth Games site.

This should achieve a balance between natural history, history of tourism.

The Mersey Basin Campaign has just funded an officer whose task will be to help organise this city stroll to incorporate a rural atmosphere.

The officer started her work in June. Inside the cathedral, dedicated to St Mary, St Denys and St George, is a magnificent screen and carved choir-stalls and misericords. There is also a statue of Humphrey Chetham, who in 1651 gave the nearby library to the people of Manchester.

Part of it was later established as a school for poor boys. The building itself was once the manor house of Thomas de la Warre but he gave it to the collegiate church in 1421.

Chethams only became a music school in 1969 but the library, one of the most famous in the country, is open each weekday from 9am to 5pm. Karl Marx often used this library when he lived in Manchester during the height of the Industrial Revolution. He was appalled by the damage industry was doing to the environment and made this very clear in his writings.

Anyone interested in either books or the environment must visit the library and the area. The Commonwealth Games is now the focus of improvements in Manchester for 2002. What I am more concerned about is what happens after the games.

I want to see our waterways continuing to improve and I want to see Lancashire's architectural and cultural heritage celebrated.

Chethams Library is one of the most important in the world and the river which flows close by should also be a joy to look at.

I would suggest that you stroll in this city centre area before the Commonwealth Games, during the event and then regularly thereafter. All improvements to the watercourses in the area should be sustained.

There is plenty of parking in the area but the best way to get there is by train. East Lancashire is linked to Manchester Victoria Station, which is opposite the cathedral and Chethams. There is a service which runs at least hourly from Clitheroe and Blackburn to Manchester.