Life in Northern Towns

I’ve been going to Westhoughton for the past few years for work, specifically to the leisure centre.  However in all that time I’d never been to the town centre.  So one sunny Saturday afternoon Neil and I took the journey up to Westhoughton. Getting to Westhoughton is straightforward.  Take the M61, exit at junction 5 and head along the A58 towards the town centre.  You can either park near the tiny retail park opposite Sainsbury’s on Cricketers Way, or as we did in the free car park on Bolton Road, around the corner from Market Street. It was a nice sunny day and the streets were deserted.  Quite a few of the shops were closed too, though the Pottery Studio appeared to be busy doing a pottery party.  Thankfully the two charity shops, Bolton Hospice and The Children’s Society , were open.  So we had a browse, but sadly there was nothing to be found, although I was impressed by the Children’s Society’s Bond-themed window display. The...

I found myself with an hour to kill on a particularly hot day so, instead of baking myself in my car reading, I decided to take a nearby detour to Burton Road – the heart of West Didsbury . Many moons ago in the 1990s I lived in nearby Withington and occasionally ventured up Burton Road to the swimming pool (not the best), Withington Hospital (never good) or the Nepalese restaurants (pretty good).  Back then it was just another road on the edge of Didsbury which was on the way to The Woodstock and The Yewtree (now sadly closed) pubs on Barlow Moor Road.  In recent times I’d heard things were happening along Burton Road and I’d been meaning to check it out. Getting to Burton Road is quite simple from Manchester city centre – head down Princess Parkway, take a left down Nell Lane, go to the end of the road and turn left.  It’s slightly trickier from the motorway – you take the M60, take junction 4 which leads to the A5103/M56, then you take the first slip road you...

It had been years since we had been to Stockport and was a glaring omission from Life in Northern Towns. I’d heard things weren’t going too well in Stockport during the recession with a significant number of shopping units empty.  In the end Stockport became part of the Mary Portas Pilot to revitalise the high street.  I’m not entirely sure whether this has been successful from the articles I found online about the project and also from my visit I’d say the debate is still out on this one. Anyway, back to the trip.  Getting to Stockport from North Manchester is relatively straightforward as you hop on the M60 and get off at Junction 1.  However getting past the queues at the Trafford Centre are becoming a real pain at the weekends and I would suggest going clockwise (past Oldham / Ashton) instead.  It can be slightly longer, but definitely quicker.  If you are coming from central Manchester then there is always the A6 to contend with.  Person...