Sadly both the Leica Store Wigan and the M246 Monochrom Pier edition are figments of my febrile imagination. Please do not visit Wigan expecting to find a Leica Store in the Makinson Arcade. But do visit Wigan for its many other attractions. You are unlikely to be disappointed in Wigan itself, which is very real and very ancient — it was the Roman settlement of Coccium nearly two thousand years ago. A traditional market town, Wigan opened its first coal mine in the 15th century and during the 19th century and the first half of the last century it was the centre of the South Lancashire coal field and an important part of the cotton spinning belt. It is the very essence of the industrial revolution.
Wigan is my birthplace and the people are wonderful and kind. The meat and potato pies are very real, too, and invariably delicious — the best pies in the world in my opinion, even without my imagination at work. The World Pie Eating Championship is an actual event taking place annually. Wigan is worth a visit, just don’t go to the Makinson Arcade hoping to find a Leica Store. The baked beans are also real. Wigan is home to the largest food processing plant in Europe and the biggest H.J.Heinz facility in the world.
If you are in the area and fancy a Leica, visit the real Leica Store Manchester where you will find a full range of Leica cameras and lenses, including the real M246 Monochrom, sadly without the WIGAN PIER engraving. But it will be a lot cheaper than the Wigan Pier edition……
If you came to this page by other means, you can find the original article on the Wigan Pier edition here.