A Day Trip to Salford Quays

Gnome Island, Salford Quays

Today it was hot and sunny, with a blue sky. So, I decided to visit Salford Quays to continue my project of photographing the Manchester Ship Canal. And have a pint or two in Manchester.

There is no station there but there are several tram stops. I decided to get the bus from Marsden to Oldham and then the tram to Salford Quays. A journey that took just under two hours. It would have been quicker if I’d got the train into central Manchester and then the tram. But it would have cost a lot more.

From the tram stop I walked all around the Quays, taking lots of Photos, some of them are in my next post.

After all the walking I was in need of a pint. I had planned to go to a pub in central Manchester. However, waiting for a tram back to town, I noticed on the tram route map that I could get to Eccles easily enough, where the excellent Holt’s pub, the Lamb Hotel is. So, I went there instead. It’s just across from the tram stop.

I had a pint of mild at £2.90 and a few pints of bitter for well under £4 (I’ve forgotten how much!). The cheapest pints I’ve had since my last trip to the pub. Holts beers are really, really good.

None of the pubs I saw in Salford Quays interested me. It’s a place I’ll probably never visit again, once is enough (unless there’s an interesting concert at Media City).

To get home I had to catch the tram back to Oldham, changing at Manchester Victoria station, and then the bus. Hopefully with time for a pint or two at the excellent Fox and Pine in Oldham.

Unfortunately, while I was at Salford Quays a tram broke down in Oldham, resulting in chaos and lots of cancellations. There was an unspecified delay at the station for the next tram. I quickly reached the conclusion that I should catch the train to Stalybridge and then a local to Marsden. I had a fifteen-minute wait and the ticket cost me just over £8. If I’d got the train into Manchester and then the tram, I would have saved money!

Changing trains at Stalybridge meant I could have a couple of pints at the excellent Station Buffet Bar.

On the way home from the station, I bought myself some fish and chips from the chippy, for £9.50. They were not good at all; I’ll need to be desperate to buy them from there again.