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These pages will introduce you to some of the key sights in Manchester and Salford. The Manchester section will follow the east to west axis along Deansgate, beginning at the Cathedral Quarter and concluding at the Castlefield Heritage area. There will also be a brief overview concerning other aspects of Manchester’s Culture. This will be followed by a section on Salford and the key attractions.
MANCHESTER.
MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL: Open: Daily 0900-1700. Admission is free but a donation per group visitor is appreciated. Please inform the Cathedral if you are bringing a group on 0161 826 8018. Guided Tours are available. The Cathedral has a café, open Monday to Saturday, 0930-1600, which is located directly opposite the main cathedral entrance.
URBIS CENTRE: Urbis is now home to the National Museum of Football. Open: Monday to Saturday, 1000-1700, Sunday, 1100-1700. Admission is free and the museum is housed over three floors, but an entrance payment is appreciated. Contact: 0161 605 8200. Café: 0900-1800, shops and toilets are housed on the ground floor.
CHETHAM LIBRARY: A true gem, founded in 1653. Open: Monday to Friday, 0900-1230 and 1330-1630. Contact: 0161 834 7961. Free admission but suggested donation of £3. Groups of 6 or more requested to telephone in advance.
EXCHANGE SQUARE: High end shopping and home to two of Manchester’s oldest pubs, (Old Wellington, and Sinclair’s). Royal Exchange Theatre, with the Great Hall Café, Monday to Friday, 0930-1900, Saturday 0900-2000, Sunday 1100-1700. Afternoon and Cream Teas are available.
ARNDALE CENTRE: Manchester’s indoor shopping centre has a food mall with options ranging from Harry Ramsden Fish and Chips to Taco Bell.
ST ANN’S SQUARE: Shopping and Church. Seasonal markets and Saturday café in Church.
Continuing along Deansgate you will come to the junction with Bridge Street and John Dalton Street. WC’s available.
MANCHESTER ART GALLERY: From Deansgate head along John Dalton and Princess Street to the junction of Mosley Street. Open: Monday to Sunday, 1000 to 1700. Admission is free and café is available. Contact: 0161 235 8888. Gallery houses a fine collection of art mostly purchased by the Cotton Spinning and Cloth Weaving industrialists of 19th Century Manchester.
PEOPLE’S HISTORY MUSEUM: From Deansgate head down Bridge Street towards the River Irwell. The People’s Museum is on the left. Open: Monday to Sunday 1000-1700. Admission is free. Café: Open Daily 1000-1700. Contact: 0161 838 9190. Museum offers a Social and Trade Union history. Groups requested to pre-book for free at phm.org.uk/learning/enquiry-form.
JOHN RYLAND’S LIBRARY: Open: Monday 1200-1700, Tuesday to Saturday, 1000-1700, Sunday 1200-1700. Contact: 0161 306 0555. Café: Monday to Friday, 0830-1630, Saturday, 0900-1630, Sunday 1100-1630. John Ryland’s library is connected to the University of Manchester and the excellent collection, formed by a Manchester Weaving Tycoon, is housed in a 19th Century Neo-Gothic gem.
A little further along Deansgate will bring you to Lloyd Street, turn left up towards LINCOLN SQUARE. Here you will find a statue to President Abraham Lincoln. Manchester supported the Union during the American Civil War. Continue along and this will bring you to ALBERT SQUARE, dominated by the monument to Prince Albert, which is situated in front of the magnificent town hall.
MANCHESTER TOWN HALL: The Town Hall is the key symbol of 19th Century Manchester. The sculpture hall is open, Monday to Friday, 0900-1700, but if you ask nicely and if available then a visit upstairs to the Main Hall is well worth the effort. The hall is decorated with murals by Ford Maddox Brown. These murals are monuments to the ideas of Victorian Manchester, portraying science, invention, education, trade and textile industry. From Albert Square it is a short walk around the corner to ST PETER’S SQUARE, with Manchester’s Central Library and the Midland Hotel.
Return to Deansgate and continue along to junction with Quay and Peter Street. Peter Street is the location of the Free Trade Hall. Built, in 1853, to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws. Now a hotel it was before 1996 the main concert venue for classical and rock concerts. Peter Street was the site of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, when 60,000 people assembled for a demonstration in favour of parliamentary reform.
Return to Deansgate and continue along to junction with Liverpool Road and Great Bridgewater Street.
CASTLEFIELD: This is an Open Air Urban Heritage Park. A gateway to Roman, AD79, Mamucium has been recreated and scant remains can be viewed. Mamucium was on the main Roman road from Chester to York. Castlefield became the terminus for the innovative Bridgewater Canal, 1764 and Liverpool to Manchester Railway, 1830. WC’s available. The Castlefield area houses some fine examples of industrial architecture and features in ‘The Condition of the Working Class in England’ by Frederich Engels.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY: Liverpool Road: Open: 1000-1700, free admission, voluntary contribution appreciated. Restaurant, Daily 1100-1600, Café: Daily Open from 1000 Contact: 0161 832 2244. Groups visits contact 0161 666 0177.
BRIDGEWATER HALL: Home to Manchester’s Halle Symphony Orchestra, 1858. Contact: 0844 907 9000. Café: 1100 to 1530.
BEETHAM TOWER: The newest highly visible addition to Manchester’s skyline is the Beetham Tower. Beetham is a residential and hotel development.
OTHER CENTRAL MANCHESTER ATTRACTIONS:
Manchester City Centre is broken down into various quarters. Three that maybe of interest are:
CHINATOWN: Oriental restaurants with Chinatown arch.
NORTHERN QUARTER: Creative quarter, home of many independent retailers and cafes. AFFLECKS PALACE, Church Street, is its main attraction, with fifty traders spread over five floors. Open: Monday to Friday, 1030-1800, Saturday, 1000-1800, Sunday, 1100-1700. To the north of the Northern Quarter is ANCOATS, designed on a grid system and claims to be the world’s first planned industrial suburb.
GAY VILLAGE: Canal Street area contains eating and entertainment establishments, with Gay Pride each August.
OTHER MANCHESTER ATTRACTIONS:
MANCHESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB: Located on the eastern side of the city at the former City of Manchester Stadium, now the Etihad Stadium, M11 3FF. Stadium and Club Tours, Monday to Saturday, 0900-1700, Sunday, 1000-1700. New Friday night tours run from 17.00. Reduced tours on match days. Tour length is 60 minutes. Contact: 0161 444 1894.
MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY MUSEUM: Located on Oxford Road, next to Manchester University (1824). Open: Monday and Sunday 1100-1600, Tuesday to Saturday 1000-1700. Contact: 0161 275 2648.
ELIZABETH GASKELL HOUSE: 84, Plymouth Grove. Contact: 0161 273 2215 for information concerning opening hours. Gaskell wrote ‘North and South’ a novel that has Manchester at its heart.
RUNWAY VISITOR CENTRE, MANCHESTER AIRPORT: Opening varies during time of year. Tours of Concorde available. Contact: 0161 489 3922. Restaurant: 10am
TRANSPORT: Manchester has a tram system known as Metrolink. The system has two central hubs based at Piccadilly Gardens and St Peter’s Square. Tickets must be purchased at the platform booth before boarding the tram. Single (used within 90 minutes) and return tickets available. Cost depends upon destination. Contact: 0161 205 200 or www.metrolink.co.uk
TOURIST INFORMATION: The Manchester Information Centre is located at Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square. Open: Monday to Saturday, 0930-1700, Sunday, closed. www.visitmanchester.com
SALFORD
Salford has historically been an independent city to Manchester. It is now classed as a city within the Metropolitan Borough of Greater Manchester. It has a rich industrial heritage with its crowning glory being the terminus of the 35.5 mile Manchester Ship Canal which opened in 1894. This ocean going vessel canal meant that Manchester could bypass the port of Liverpool. The docks were closed in 1982 and are now the central part of the regeneration of this area. The key attractions are highlighted below:
MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB: Formed as Newton Heath in 1878 on the eastern side of Manchester, the club has been based at Old Trafford since 1910. Museum and Tour Centre Open: 0930-1700. Contact: 0161 868 8000/ toursenquiry@manutd.co.uk Stadium Tour combined with Museum visit, operates daily 0940-1630. Tours and Museum access limited on match days. MUFC advise to arrive one hour and fifteen minutes before scheduled stadium tour in order to fully enjoy the museum. Museum and Tour entrance is in the North Stand. Coach Parking is available. Café: Red Café, 1000-1630, Café has a varied menu. MUFC Megastore located in the East Stand, behind Sir Matt Busby statue. Open: Monday to Saturday, 0900-1800, Sunday 1030-1630. Stadium Location: M16 0RA/ Old Trafford can be reached westwards from Manchester City Centre via the A56 (Deansgate) and the A5081. To reach the M62 either head north on A5063, join the M602, which becomes the M62 or travel west on A5081, join the M60 at the Trafford Centre and north to the M62.
LOWRY ART AND ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE: The Lowry houses a fine collection of paintings by the celebrated local artist LS Lowry. Galleries Open: Sunday to Friday, 1100 to 1700, Saturday, 1000-1700. Free Admission. Tower Café: Daily, 1000-1700, Restaurant, Daily 1200-1500
IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM NORTH: Open: Monday to Sunday, 1000-1700. Free Admission. Contact: 0161 836 4000. Café: Monday to Saturday, 1000-1600.
MEDIA CITY UK: New home of the BBC in the north of England. Pre-booked tours are available each day except Thursday/Friday. www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/tours/salford.shtml for prices and further information.
The Imperial War Museum is located only five minutes from Old Trafford and a bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal connects it to the Lowry Art and Entertainment Centre. Beside the Lowry is an Outlet Mall, which has various eating establishments.
TRAFFORD CENTRE: A mammoth shopping complex that is situated next to the M60, only a few minutes from the M62/M602 Junction. Open: Monday to Friday, 1000-2200, Saturday 1000-2000, Sunday 1200-1800. The Trafford Centre is only a ten minute drive from Manchester United’s Old Trafford Stadium, along the A5081. The centre has a very large food court and coaches can be booked in on 0161 749 1717/18.