Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester refers to an area roughly encompassing the conurbation[?] of which the city of Manchester is the centre. It is situated in North West England. It has a population of about 2.5 million.

It borders onto Cheshire, Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire and the unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen[?] and Warrington.

It is made up of ten Metropolitan boroughs[?] - Bolton MBC (Metropolitan Borough Council), Bury[?] MBC, Manchester City Council, Oldham MBC, Rochdale MBC, Salford City Council, Stockport[?] MBC, Tameside MBC, Trafford[?] MBC and Wigan MBC.

Greater Manchester was established as a Metropolitan county in 1974 from areas that had previously been part of the county of Lancashire and the county of Cheshire. The Metropolitan boroughs[?] are now mostly independent councils, although they pool certain resources to run several Greater Manchester-wide services, including:

• Greater Manchester Police Authority[?]
• Greater Manchester County Fire Service[?]
• Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive[?]

Other services are directly funded and managed by the local councils.

Towns and villages

• Ainsworth[?], Altrincham[?], Ashton-in-Makerfield[?], Ashton-under-Lyne[?], Ashton upon Mersey[?], Astley Green[?], Atherton[?]
• Blackrod[?], Bolton[?], Bowdon[?], Bramhall[?], Broadbottom, Bury[?]
• Carrington[?], Chadderton[?], Cheadle[?], Cheadle Heath[?], Cheadle Hulme[?], Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Crumpsall[?]
• Denton, Droylsden[?], Dukinfield[?]
• Failsworth[?], Fallowfield[?], Flixton[?]
• Gatley[?]
• Hazel Grove[?], Heald Green[?], Heywood[?], Horwich[?], |Hyde[?]
• Irlam[?]
• Kearsley[?]
• Leigh[?], Levenshulme[?], Littleborough[?], Little Lever[?], Lowton[?], Lowton Common[?]
• Manchester, Marple[?], Marple Bridge[?], Milnrow[?], Mossley[?], Mottram-in-Longdendale[?]
• Northenden[?]
• Oldham, Orrell[?]
• Partington[?], Pendlebury[?], Pennington[?], Prestwich[?]
• Radcliffe[?], Ramsbottom[?], Rochdale, Royton[?]
• Sale[?], Salford, Standish[?], Swinton[?]
• Timperley[?], Trafford Park[?]
• Urmston[?]
• West Didsbury[?], Whitefield[?], Wigan Withington[?], Woodley[?], Worsley[?]

Places of interest

• Buckton Castle[?]
• Bramall Hall[?], Bramhall[?]
• Salford Quays[?], Salford
• Smithills Hall[?]
• Wythenshawe Hall
• Astley Cheetham Art Gallery[?], Ashton-under-Lyne[?]
• Museum of the Manchester Regiment[?], Ashton-under-Lyne
• Park Bridge Heritage Centre[?]
• Portland Basin Museum[?], Ashton-under-Lyne
• Etherow Country Park[?]
• Etherow Park[?]
• River Bollin[?], River Croal[?], River Irwell[?], River Mersey, River Roch[?], River Tame
• Manchester Ship Canal
• East Lancashire Railway, a heritage railway