North Manchester
North Manchester is the area of Manchester north of the centre bounded by the M60, the A6, and A57. The main area of interest is just north of Victoria railway station, along the Cheetham Hill and New Bury roads. The area also includes Sportcity, the big sports complex to the east. Towards the M60, some of it falls within other townships of Greater Manchester, such as Bury to the north and Salford to the west.
The area is multi-cultural with significant Polish, Ukraine, Irish, Punjabi, Sikh and other communities; but most notably it has a large Jewish community, with many schools and synagogues, and a museum. One member of that community was Michael Marks, from Slonim (nowadays in Belarus), who met up with Tom Spencer and Isaac Dewhirst and founded the retail chain Marks & Spencer.
Get in
1 Manchester Victoria railway station is just south of this district, with trains across the Pennines and to Rochdale.
Victoria station is a hub for the Metrolink trams, serving Bury, Oldham and Rochdale.
See
- 1 Manchester Jewish Museum, 190 Cheetham Hill Road, M8 8LW (500m north of Victoria station, buses 135 & 41 CrossCity), ☏ +44 161 834 9879. Su-Th 10:00-16:00, F 10:00-13:00, closed Sat & Jewish holidays. Manchester has Britain's largest Jewish population outside London; this museum tells their story. From being barely tolerated in the 18th C, they prospered in the 19th C (as did the entire city) in textiles and tailoring, and moved out of the centre to the new suburb of Cheetham Hill. The museum is in the former Spanish-Portuguese synagogue in what was once the heart of that community; later generations have moved upmarket further out. Adults £6, Concs £3.50, U16 £4..
- 2 Museum of Transport, Boyle Street, M8 8UW (down road to the left hand side of the Go North West bus depot; 10-min walk from Queens Park Metrolink), ☏ +44 161 205-2122. W Sa Sun 10:00-16:30. Large collection of old buses & similar memorabilia in a former depot. Adult £5, concs £4, U16 free.
- 3 Heaton Park (Take Metrolink Bury line). Manchester's largest open space and one of the largest municipal parks in Europe. The park is home to a former stately home, vintage trams (run Apr-Oct Sa Su) and golf course.
Do
- 1 Sportcity. This big complex was developed for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Its main components are Manchester City football stadium (now the Etihad), the Regional Athletics Arena, the National Squash Centre, and the National Cycling Centre which includes the Velodrome and the BMX Arena. In 2022 the Academy Stadium hosted games in the UEFA Women's Euro Finals, postponed from 2021.
- 2 Manchester City FC, Ashton New Road, Sportcity M11 3FF (2 miles east of Piccadilly railway station, take tram to Etihad Campus), ☏ +44 870 062 1894. Museum M 11:30-16:30, Tu-Sa 09:30-16:30, Su 11:00-15:00. City play soccer in the Premier League, England's top tier, and since 2013 have overtaken old rivals Man United. Their home ground is Etihad Stadium, capacity 55,000. It has a museum and a stadium tour, adults £7, conc £4.50, hours as above. The women's team play in Women's Super League, their top tier, with home games at Sport City.
- You can also watch football, while making a point of not watching Man United, at 3 FC United of Manchester, Broadhurst Park, 310 Lightbowne Road, Moston M40 0FJ (400 yards from Moston railway station), ☏ +44 161 769 2005. This breakaway club was formed in 2005 by Man United supporters alienated by Malcolm Glazer's takeover, and it continues to be entirely supporter-owned. They play in Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. Their home ground is Broadhurst Park, capacity 4400. Match tickets adult £12, concs £7, U18s £3, pay on the gate.
- 4 National Cycling Centre (Manchester Velodrome), Stuart Street M11 4DQ, ☏ +44 161 223-2244. Britain's first indoor Olympic cycling track; a great place to try out the sport and to see the self-proclaimed 'home of British cycling'. Check website for times as the track is often booked out for Team GB training.
- Golf: lots of courses dotted around the edge of the city.
- 5 Infinity, 819 Ashton Old Rd, Openshaw, M11 2NL (bus 219 or 220 from Manchester Piccadilly), ☏ +44 161 223 5512, admin@infinitymanchester.co.uk. 10:30 - 20:30 daily. A wellness club just outside the city centre. The main entrance is in the back of the building. Very friendly staff and modern infrastructure. £80.
- Speedway: Bellevue Aces race in the SGB Premiership, the top tier of motorcycle speedway racing in Britain. Their home track is the National Speedway Stadium on Kirkmanshulme Lane.
- Rugby Union: Sedgley Park Tigers play in National League One, the third tier. Their home ground is along Park Lane in Whitefield just north of M60.
Buy
- 1 Manchester Fort, Cheetham Hill Road. big retail complex
Eat
The main collection of small eating places is along Cheetham Hill Road (A665) and Bury New Road (A56).
- 1 Kebabish Grill & Steakhouse, 170-172 Cheetham Hill Rd, ☏ +44 161 834 4544.
- 2 Ta'am, 5 Bury New Rd, ☏ +44 161 773 1645.
- 3 Real Taste, 815 Ashton Old Rd, Openshaw, M11 2NL, ☏ +441614781313. Th-Tu 11:00 - 15:00, 17:00 - 21:00. Asian takeaway and eat-in restaurant.
Drink
- 1 Joseph Holt Brewery, Empire St (just off Cheetham Hill Road), ☏ +44 161 834 3285. Beers on sale and managed pubs throughout the city.
Sleep
- 1 Park Inn by Radisson, 4 Cheetham Hill Rd M4 4EW (just north of Victoria station). Convenient chain hotel. B&B doubles £150.
- 2 Travelodge, Great Ducie St, M3 1RR (200m north of Victoria station). Mid-range chain hotel. B&B doubles from €40.
- Premier Inn has a dozen hotels around the city, including three on its northern edge by M60 ring road.
- These are Prestwich M25 3TG, jcn M60 & A56; Heaton Park M8 4NB on A576; and Chadderton / Oldham Broadway OL9 8DW jcn M60 & A663.
Go next
Take the train from Victoria for sights in Lancashire, such as Clitheroe.
Leeds, another easy train ride from Victoria, like Manchester has a large Jewish community to its north, especially around Moortown. It was in Leeds that Marks first met up with Spencer and Dewhirst, and opened the first of his "penny bazaars" in Kirkgate Market.
| Routes through North |
| Burnley ← Bury ← | NW  SE |
→ Victoria → Spinningfields-Albert Square |
| Castlefield ← Piccadilly ← | W  E |
→  → Hyde → Sheffield |
| Northern Quarter ← | SW  NE |
→ Oldham |