Life in Northern Towns

We were going to Saltaire and I had a quick look on Yell.com to see where there were some nearby charity shops.  Both my partner and I like going through charity shops as you never know what gems you can unearth and also you're supporting a good cause too.  So when Shipley came up as a nearby place that had charity shops, I thought we'd head there first.  That was the level of research I had done and had no idea what to expect, which is half the fun of going to different places. The day we went it was a wet and miserable day in Manchester, so obviously we hoped by heading to Yorkshire we would avoid the worst of the weather.   We got on the M60, M62 and made an exit at junction 26 onto the M606.   After that we just looked for the signs to Saltaire.   To be honest the Bradford ring road system is a mystery to me and I’m sure we went the wrong way.   However the main thing was that we got to Shipley in the end, although the weather wasn’t that much...

About 6 miles from Rochdale is Oldham and we took the A671 through Royton.   It’s not necessarily the quickest route to Oldham, but I didn’t realise at the time. I’ve been to Oldham a few times over the years and almost worked there.   On a good day, as the place is so high up, you can see the whole of Greater Manchester and beyond.   On the day we visited, the drizzle hung over the town and we couldn’t see a thing.   We ended up parking in the Spindles Shopping Centre car park as it had a special Saturday offer of 3 hours for a pound. The Spindles shopping centre is like any other across the UK - slightly dated with the usual high street shops and the obligatory E-Cig store and stalls, which have spread like a rash across northern towns.   It does have a Debenhams, which is a touch more fashionable than the Beales in Rochdale.   I swear there must be something inscribed in law that northern towns must have a department store for old ladies to ...