Salford Quays: Last week on 19th August 2026 we were in Manchester and took the bus from our hotel to Piccadilly Gardens where we got on another which took us to Trafford Bar. We just missed the bus we had meant to catch to Salford Quays as it took us some time to locate the right stop, but the route we took turned out to be more interesting.
Of course it would have been faster to take the tram, but we prefer travelling on buses and particularly on the top deck of double-deckers, which give a much better view, particularly from the front seats in which we sat. Another small advantage is that buses (at least after 9.30am) are free with a bus pass.
From Trafford Bar we negotiated a huge roundabout to reach Trafford Road and cross the bridge before taking the footpath around the edge of the docks on the Ship Canal. We followed this around the various docks to The Quays where we visited the Lowry.
At the Lowry we spent an hour or so looking at the exhibition of his life and work, from some early pencil drawings from when he was taking evening art classes Manchester Municipal College of Art to many of his better known paintings, before sitting down to a light lunch in the café, watching people outside walking past holding up umbrellas. This was the only rain we saw in our visit to Manchester, despite its reputation. By the time we had finished our lunch the sun was shining again.
I was surprised by the huge extent of the BBC buildings – surely they can’t really need all that! I listen to BBC radio daily, but never watch television at home so at least it isn’t my licence fee they are wasting.
We walked on to the Media City Footbridge, went on to it and then turned back to walk until the end of the footpath on the north bank before making our way back to a bus stop by Huron Basin to ride back to central Manchester. Sadly it was only a single-decker.
More from our 4 days in Manchester in later posts.
Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos
All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.