Bolton guidebook

His Majesty may have upped sticks, taken the other heavy industries with him and gone to rule elsewhere but he left behind a serious conurbation that absorbed surrounding parishes and villages and welded them into a vibrant and cosmopolitan town.

Perhaps no other place, leaving aside the twin cities of Manchester and Salford, epitomised the heavier end of the Industrial Revolution than Bolton.

In truth, it had a hard time saying goodbye to the textile, mining and railway industries that had turned it from a market town into a world player.

But visitors to Bolton now would find it difficult to see any deadweight in its industrial past.

Instead, they would find a perfectly square and large town centre boasting superb markets and modern malls, lively individual shopping streets and impressive cultural showcases, all of it surrounded by some beautiful countryside and open spaces (the Pennines and some great parks).

The town centre, graced by fine Victorian architecture, is due for expansion and regeneration and Le Mans Crescent, home to the library, museum, art gallery and aquarium, will form the hub of a new cultural quarter.

Not that it isn't already proving successful on this front. Tourism is not the first thing that comes to mind when considering Bolton, but 9.3 million people thought otherwise last year.

Three thousand people work directly in the tourist trade in the town and Bolton Metro, the local authority, are doing all in their power to increase the share.

 
But there's more to Bolton than the replacement of industry with culture, tourism, leisure and shopping - a healthy mix enlivens the town's economy.

The noisiest of industries may have been consigned to the museums but manufacturing, engineering, retail and wholesale trade still account for 40 per cent of local employment (it's perhaps most famous as the home of the Reebok brand).

Healthcare and construction are other great job providers within the town itself and further education is available from Bolton Community College and the University of Bolton (one of the fastest growing universities in the UK).

Bolton also provides a great dormitory for Manchester and Salford, a mere 15-minute hop away by train. This, and its many other assets, has led to an influx of new residents and, inevitably, a substantial rise in house prices.

The many small parishes of Bolton lie apart from one another, allowing for acres of green space, but gradually they cohere into a pleasingly large and compact centre.

Like most of the towns surrounding Manchester and Salford it escaped the scourge of the high rise. The city fathers sidestepped tower blocks for improvements to existing housing - enlarged and rebuilt back yard and garden walls are a common sight here.

Of course, the wheel has now turned full circle, and the solid Victorian housing which dominates Bolton is high in demand.

One thing Bolton did not escape, though, is spiralling house prices: average prices rose from £56,000 in 1999 to £123,000 in 2006.

The centre of Bolton, busying itself with plenty of commerce, is not particularly known for accommodation.

One great exception to this is the recent demolition of the Bolton Lido Cinema on Bradshawgate. The 44 flats replacing the old fleapit have been sold on a shared ownership scheme with the sole aim of helping people get on the property ladder.

Moving out of Bolton town centre, the remainder of the town can be split into four geographical areas:

Flat fronts, The Haulgh

The recent beneficiary of government-sponsored regeneration, East Bolton includes the Haulgh, Breightmet, Tonge Fold, Tonge Moor, Darcy Lever, Harwood and Ruins.

- The Haulgh: you come to The Haulgh, family-oriented and split into rectangular grids of wide flat and terraced fronted housing north of Bradford Street; some large detached properties with spacious gardens to the south; and a more modest collection of quiet bungalows and semis running downhill to the River Tonge.

- Tonge Fold:Tonge Fold is split between Sixties' houses to the north and classic redbrick terraced houses and stone-faced cottages to the south. It is here that Bolton town splits up courtesy of three huge parks, some countryside and an equally sizeable cemetery.

- Lever: south-east of Bolton is made up by Darcy Lever and Little Lever. Darcy is separated from the rest of town and is a happy amalgam of colliers' cottages and Seventies' semis.

- Little Lever: is a small town unto itself with a bustling centre and every type of property under the sun catered for.

- South of Bury Road it has a wide selection of good inter-war redbrick semis and to its north a winding network of streets offering more semis and a sprawling Seventies' housing estate.

- Harwood and Ruins: This in turn leads to Harwood and Ruins, very wealthy areas redolent of their country backgrounds and with large properties hiding shyly behind their lofty hedges.

- Tonge Moor: Pointing ourselves back toward Bolton, we come to Tonge Moor, perhaps the heart of eastern Bolton and always busy with a family vibe reflected in its differing pre-war and post-war semis and Sixties box houses.

- Its eastern edge, by Thicketford Brow, has a respectable grouping of semis close to plenty of parkland.

Halliwell: Bolton's first great area of residence is Halliwell. This is a place to explore; a real mish-mash that reflects different plans from different times, some of it still industrial. 

- Unfinished Seventies' estates battle with vast ecclesiastical edifices (not all of them Christian) and a few surviving rows of working-class terraces sit happily with small low-rise council estates.

- Smithills: terminates at its north-western edge in Smithills, a very exclusive set of detached properties that blend modern developments with old country properties on this edge of town.

- Astley Bridge: prosperity shows its hand as we go further north to Astley Bridge, which inevitably focuses itself on a hectic five-way junction at its heart.

- There is plenty of space here for its dominant bay-windowed semis with a plethora of cul-de-sacs and closes that turn their backs successfully on the aforementioned junction.

 Bromley Cross and Bradshaw: Eastwards lie Bromley Cross and Bradshaw, smaller in scale than Astley but if anything more in demand, abutting on to countryside, Ousel Nest Meadows and the Jumbles Country Park. Life here is quiet, well served by the railway and offering a good selection of large properties.

- The roads into town from Bromley and Bradshaw meet at Hall i' th' Wood, a rare uniform estate of inter-war semis that, like Astley, turn their backs of the main drag in a series of roads, crescents and closes. The estate has its own railway station.

- Egerton and Dimple: Bolton tails off to the north in the delightful and picturesque ribbon-developed villages of Egerton and Dimple.

- Properties here may be a lot smaller than elsewhere in northern Bolton but these chocolate-box attractions command similar prices and are sought-after.

 Brownlow Fold: North-west out of Bolton town centre you come to Brownlow Fold. This has shared much the same fate as its immediate neighbour to the north, Halliwell - a virtual museum of housing philosophies.

- Its differences with Halliwell lie in greater but denser survivals of workers' redbrick terraces, more post-war attempts at council re-housing and a few less derelict industrial sites than its northern neighbour; but both areas remain real curate's eggs with what they have to offer.

- Heaton: South of here, and immediately west of the town centre, is Heaton. It feels split in personality between its western half of Markland Hill, with its long drives, mansion blocks, twisting cul-de-sacs, winding avenues and sumptuous gardens, and its tighter eastern section of Victory, split itself between redbrick terraces and semis and a selection of post-war rehousing styles.

Deane: The western edges of Bolton are occupied by Deane and Lostock. Deane is a very successful, popular and quiet group of Seventies' closes and drives which, like some of their northern neighbours, turn inward away from rat-runs and main roads - it's managed to place much of itself between Rumworth Lodge lake and a golf course. 

- Lostock: Arguably Lostock takes the title of millionaire's row when it comes to Bolton. It has a village feel and a dazzling collection of vast properties, all with grounds to match, and is served by its own twee railway station of Lostock Junction.

- Willows and Daubhill: Between Deane and the town centre are Willows and Daubhill. These are both unified areas with redbrick terrace after redbrick terrace and their main roads, Derby Street and Deane Road, are a bustle of Asian wares, foodstuffs and places of worship.

Much of South Bolton is still industrial and this is what tends to greet the visitor coming in on Manchester Road and the railway from the south-east. 

- But between these industrial estates in the east and Daubhill in the west lie Harper Green, Great Lever and Lever Edge.

- Here you will find every shape and form of post-war and inter-war semi-detached you could dream of, offset by the occasional run of bungalows and terraces.

- These areas retain a family feel and have a strong sense of community. There is a railway station next to Harper Green at Moses Gate.

History re-enactment, Ye Olde Man & Scythe pub
Trains: A good town for the railway, connected to the south to Salford Crescent, Salford Central and Manchester Victoria.

Trains heading north from Manchester may ignore every station but one before they get to Preston, and this is Bolton.

North of the station the line splits into three to serve central Lancashire and Yorkshire to the north, coastal Lancashire, the Lake District and Scotland to the north-west and Liverpool and Wales to the west.

Road: Bolton lies conveniently close to the junction of Greater Manchester's orbital motorway the M60 and its M6 feeder road, the M61. The motorway-sized A666 allows rapid access to all parts of the town from the M60/M61 junction.

Buses: There is a large bus station behind the Town Hall serving all points of the compass and a further bus interchange at the railway station at the town centre's southern edge.

Air: Trains go directly from Bolton on a 25-minute journey to Manchester Ringway Airport.

Bolton Car Boot Market
Bolton's trump card. The town has two separate market halls. The privately-owned Market Place (open every day), in the north of the centre, is a magnificent building and a happy blend of old-style market hall and modern shopping mall.

But the real gem is the council-owned Bolton Market (open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays) in the south-west of the centre.

Indoors it's split into the eastern half - selling anything under the sun - and the western half, justly famous for its fish, meat, vegetables and victuals in general.

A further outside general market is sandwiched between here and the bus station, and this takes on a life of its own as a frenetic flea market every Sunday.

The more conventional shopping mall is Crompton Place, full of the usual chains. The smaller, more intimate, St. Andrews Place mall lies somewhat uneasily in its shadow.

Just south out of the town centre lie some titanic supermarkets, many of them now 24-hour affairs, while the rest of central Bolton boasts a galaxy of shops, a heady mix of national chains and local one-offs.

This is a big town centre, and you will need plenty of time if you are to mooch around in style. All of this is gracefully supervised by the monster of Victorian civic pride that is Bolton Town Hall.

For those who want to keep their motor close to hand, the place to go is Middlebrook on the western edge of town.

Many of the largest stores have gravitated here to a shopping extravaganza in the orbit of Bolton Football Club's impressive new stadium (and accompanying railway station).

Deansgate pub
Beyond the well represented usual chains Bolton has an understandably large selection of Indian restaurants scattered throughout the town.

Italian and Chinese cuisines also feature strongly, and there are also Caribbean, Greek, Spanish, American and Thai options to choose from.

Food is also available in varying degrees of palatability in the numerous pubs of Bolton. For pubs in general there is as wide a selection as could be hoped for, from fiercely guarded locals to the 12th century Man & Scythe ("Britain's Fourth Oldest Pub") to town centre four-in-the-morning palaces.

Be sure to sample the hugely successful beers of the town's own Bank Top Brewery when you pass through.

Bolton Wanderers, Reebok Stadium
The recent runaway fortunes of Bolton Wanderers Football Club has been one of the town's most sustained successes, and is celebrated in the Reebok stadium at Middlebrook on the western edge of town. Finished in 1997, it seats 28,000 and plays host to concerts out of season.

The town is also a hotbed for league cricket, with not one but two thriving cricket leagues, while the local rugby union club can be found on Avenue Street.

Council leisure centres, each boasting their own wonderful menu of activities, are plentiful, with thirteen scattered around town. There's also a good selection of private health centres and gyms.

The Octagon Theatre
Bolton prides itself on its cultural showcases. Across the road from the Central Library, Art Gallery and Museum lies one of its three central theatres, the eternally busy Octagon Theatre.

A little to the north, taking up one side of the Town Hall complex, is the equally sizeable Albert Halls, while the hard-working and long established Bolton Little Theatre, close by the main market, provides a consistent dramatic output few towns could match.

The stately homes of Smithills Hall, Turton Tower and Hall i' th' Wood can be found on the northern edge of town, the latter once the home and now a commemoration of industrial revolution pioneer Samuel Crompton.

Bolton Festival, a ten-day affair in late August, puts on an admirably catholic choice of events while the Beer Festival at the Howcroft Inn close by the town centre is always a riotously over-subscribed affair every October. The Asian Mela Festival each August regularly draws crowds of 20,000 every summer.

Winter Hill is not only the tallest hill west of the Pennines but also plays host to the iconic 1,000' transmitter, visible long before anything of Bolton can be seen.

To ascend the hill is to be rewarded with a 360 degree view of much of northern England (and a fair slice of north Wales) - weather permitting, of course.

Within the town there are some huge parks, such as Leverhulme, Queen's and Moss Bank, but the more recent and welcoming developments have been conservation and ecological areas such as Ousel Nest Meadows, Shooterslee, Gale Clough and Red Moss.

The country parks, vast and rambling affairs, have been very successful: these are Seven Acres, Smithills, Moses Gate, Lever and The Jumbles.