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Essential Hotels > England > Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is one of the smallest counties geographically in the country and yet is home to a large number of people – more than 2.5 million – thanks largely to the city of Manchester which is located within its borders. The 500-square-mile county was born in 1974 having formerly been known as SELNEC, or south-east Lancashire and north-east Cheshire although it various parts have all been around for many years and developed to their current state in that time.
It is Manchester city that the county clusters around, while other well known towns and cities include Salford, Oldham, Bolton Bury, Rochdale, Wigan, Stockport and Altrincham. The Pennines and the Peak District flank Greater Manchester to the east and to the west are the West Pennine Moors. Another geographical feature is its rivers, among which are the Mersey and Tame. Man-made facets in the area come in the form of a number of motorways – the M60 rings Manchester while also in the vicinity are the M62, M67, M602, M61 and M66. For air travellers meanwhile Manchester Airport is found in the southern part of the county.
Plenty of sporting might is associated with this apparent hotspot in the north-west of England: there are two major football stadiums – Old Trafford and the City of Manchester Stadium, the latter of which was used for the 2002 Commonwealth Games; Old Trafford Cricket Ground is situated in Manchester and is, in fact, home to Lancashire country cricket club; a series of other top football stadiums at the likes of Wigan and Bolton are located here; and Rugby League is also high on the list of activities here too, with Wigan a major force over the years.
It’s not all about sport here though; there are a number of other attractions and draws to this part of the country, not least the numerous businesses and industries in the area. Greater Manchester is also home to the Trafford Centre which is a major shopping centre, four universities, the Manchester Evening News Arena which can hold 21,000 for gigs and concerts, galleries, theatres and museums. Of particular interest is the Oldham Playhouse which helped launch the careers of Laurel and Hardy a number of years ago. An attraction of sorts, the town of Royston plays host to the world’s first cotton mill and it is for reasons such as this that Greater Manchester became a world leader during the Industrial Revolution.
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It is Manchester city that the county clusters around, while other well known towns and cities include Salford, Oldham, Bolton Bury, Rochdale, Wigan, Stockport and Altrincham. The Pennines and the Peak District flank Greater Manchester to the east and to the west are the West Pennine Moors. Another geographical feature is its rivers, among which are the Mersey and Tame. Man-made facets in the area come in the form of a number of motorways – the M60 rings Manchester while also in the vicinity are the M62, M67, M602, M61 and M66. For air travellers meanwhile Manchester Airport is found in the southern part of the county.
Plenty of sporting might is associated with this apparent hotspot in the north-west of England: there are two major football stadiums – Old Trafford and the City of Manchester Stadium, the latter of which was used for the 2002 Commonwealth Games; Old Trafford Cricket Ground is situated in Manchester and is, in fact, home to Lancashire country cricket club; a series of other top football stadiums at the likes of Wigan and Bolton are located here; and Rugby League is also high on the list of activities here too, with Wigan a major force over the years.
It’s not all about sport here though; there are a number of other attractions and draws to this part of the country, not least the numerous businesses and industries in the area. Greater Manchester is also home to the Trafford Centre which is a major shopping centre, four universities, the Manchester Evening News Arena which can hold 21,000 for gigs and concerts, galleries, theatres and museums. Of particular interest is the Oldham Playhouse which helped launch the careers of Laurel and Hardy a number of years ago. An attraction of sorts, the town of Royston plays host to the world’s first cotton mill and it is for reasons such as this that Greater Manchester became a world leader during the Industrial Revolution.