Life in Northern Towns

Over the years I’ve either studied, worked or lived in Salford and have seen Salford Quays evolve from just a piece of wasteland in the mid-90s to a media city in 2013.   So it’s about time I wrote about the place. One of the more bizarre facts about Salford is the fact it doesn’t have a city centre, despite it being classed as a city.   I’ve been having a good ponder about this and have come to the conclusion Salford Quays is about the closest Salford has to a city centre.   I’m certainly not classing Salford Precinct as the centre of Salford, despite its starring role in the 2011 riots.   Whilst Swinton is considered Salford’s Civic Centre, it just hasn’t got that city centre vibe.   Getting to the Quays is fairly straightforward – turn off the M602 and follow the signs.   However I normally scoot into the Quays down Langworthy Road as it’s quicker and has less traffic.   The traffic can be a nightmare at rush hour or when United are playi...

It has been years since I’ve ventured into Didsbury Village.   We had been to a family meal at The Didsbury pub which is just next to Fletcher Moss Park , so we decided to have a look around the village. Didsbury Village is on Wilmslow Road, the main road between Manchester and Stockport.   Whilst relatively easy to find, it’s a pain with all the traffic to get to the village.   Parking is pants too.   There is some parking on the main road, but getting a space is another matter.   We eventually parked on a tiny side street.   I reckon residents must have a nightmare with the parking situation in the Village.   Eventually I did spot a sign for parking behind the main shops, but I had parked at that point.   One thing is for sure in Didsbury the locals have a great choice of bars, cafes and restaurants .   I reckon you could easily eat out in Didsbury every night.   There is a good mix of chain and independent cafes and restauran...

Blackpool … I have to admit I’ve been avoiding this place.   We’ve been to nearby Lytham St Anne’s over the years, which is lovely.   However it was time for us to bite the bullet and visit Blackpool. It’s very easy to get to Blackpool from North Manchester. Just jump on the M61, M6 and M55 and you are there in an hour.   Once you get into Blackpool it’s like entering the largest car park ever.   On a good sunny day or during the illuminations Blackpool can be heaving.   So it’s understandable the local council has worked hard to provide adequate parking.   We had decided to go to the town centre, as the Pleasure Beach doesn’t hold much fun for a couple of 40 odd year olds.   So we parked up and paid £3.50 for 3 hours parking.     Blackpool is very much a Victorian town, which was its heyday.   Red brick buildings dominate the town.   The vast majority of pubs are of the traditional variety.   The shop fronts are bold...

We were supposed to go to Newton-Le-Willows but ended up in Formby instead.   Stupidly I didn’t check the map before heading out and thought the junction on the M62 would be clearly signposted.   It wasn’t and we ended up in Liverpool.   I’ve been meaning to visit more Liverpool suburbs and I remembered that Formby was to the north on the coast.   So we headed north on the ring road. A special mention needs to be made about the north ring road.   Apart from being terminally boring with the constant stop start with the countless road junctions, there are some crazy road markings.   This means on one side of a junction there will be three lanes of traffic, whilst on the opposite side there will be just two lanes of traffic.   There are no warning signs and no road markings to indicate two lanes merging into one.   God forbid if you find yourself in the middle lane as once you cross over you are faced with the choice of left or right lane an...

For quite some time I’ve been trying to get Neil to revisit Congleton .   The last time we went it was rather a depressing day, however I noticed there were plenty of charity shops to explore and I was itching to return.   This time I bribed him – I will take him to Nantwich so he can look in Oxfam and have a battered burger (barf), but we had to visit Congleton as well.   So our deal was struck. We took the A534 from Nantwich to Congleton.   You can also take the M6 and get off at Junction 17 then pick up the A534 as it’s quicker.   However there was a traffic jam so we took the cross country route. Congleton is not your typical leafy Cheshire town, as you drop down the hill into the town centre you notice old mill factories dotted around.   Apparently Congleton had an industrial past making textiles and these mills are the last remaining remnants of that past. Parking in Congleton is straightforward and we parked at the pay and display next to th...