Culture Guides
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Cross over the River Irwell, and you’ll find yourself in another city entirely – Salford. You’ll barely feel the transition, though; despite locals who are fierce about the fact that Salford is a city in its own right, it’s only separated from Manchester by the width of the river, distance-wise. Which is not to say that you won’t see differences between the two.
Gritty urban realism has been this city’s stock in trade since L.S. Lowry painted his very first matchstick man. Some will have read about it in Love on the Dole. Some will have seen it depicted in kitchen sink dramas or Corrie. And others will forever associate the city with John Cooper Clarke rasping his way through ‘Evidently Chickentown’, or the dystopian anthems of Joy Division.
Now, however, Salford has an up-and-coming feel; the Chapel Street area of the city, the focus of an ongoing regeneration project, is home to a creative community including Hot Bed Press and over 100 artists and 50 innovative businesses at Islington Mill. If you’re visiting around May, look out for the highlight of Salford’s strong music scene, Sounds from the Other City festival, which brings an incendiary mix of live bands, literary readings and art hi-jinks to an eclectic selection of venues.
The Council-run Salford Museum and Art Gallery is a friendly city museum with special appeal to families, and the nearby Working Class Movement Library provides a fascinating look at the past. The personal collection of labour historians Ruth and Edmund Frow, it’s a veritable treasure trove of material dating back to the 1760s. Ordsall Hall, the city’s beautifully restored (and supposedly haunted) Tudor mansion, has a busy programme of events and activities all year round, including events as part of horror film festival Grimmfest.
Salford inspires fierce loyalty among its inhabitants. Spend any significant period of time here, and you may begin to understand why.
Kids and adults alike will be entertained by Little Angel Theatre’s heartwarming and moving adaptation of The Smartest Giant in Town.
A thrilling evening for fans of true crime and those with inquisitive minds. Join The Scottish Detective, David Swindle, to explore the mind of a serial killer.
Any new show by Complicité is a pretty big deal so we’re thrilled that 2023 will see the company bring a new work to The Lowry’s stage.
Akram Khan injects urgent choreography, a blistering original score and cutting-edge visuals to reinvent Mowgli as a climate refugee.
SFTOC has announced its hotly anticipated return with a compelling 2022 edition on May Day Bank Holiday. We explore the line-up.
Jonathan Schofield Is well known for his expertly informed, charismatic and intriguing guided tours, join him on one to find out why.
Salford Museum & Art Gallery presents a ‘homecoming’ exhibition – the first major solo show in the North by the Salford-based, internationally renowned artist Rachel Goodyear.
Fresh from her critically acclaimed Netflix special The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous, the Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner tours the UK – for the first time – with a brand new show.
The Medieval Quarter, or Cathedral Quarter as it is sometimes known, is one of the oldest parts of Manchester and home to some historic gems and cultural must-sees.
Burton Road is the heart of West Didsbury, a beautifully maintained leafy hubbub of shops,…
A laid-back mix of gift shops, independent outfitters, restaurants, pubs and parks, on a sunny weekend afternoon it’s heaving.
Follow Oxford Road South through the Curry Mile, along Wilmslow Road, past Platt Fields Park…
Chorlton is a left-leaning suburb a few miles south of Manchester’s city centre (and only…
As an area, Cheetham Hill gets a pretty bad rep. The foreboding architecture of Strangeways…