Tameside Voyage Tips and guide

Tameside is a conurbation on the east side of Greater Manchester, with Ashton-under-Lyne its main town. Its visitor attractions reflect its role as a junction of the canal network, which revolutionised industry and transport in the 19th century. In 2024 the population was 240,000.

The River Tame, which in the 19th century powered the local cotton mills, was historically the boundary between Lancashire to the north and Cheshire to the south. The cotton industry slumped in the 20th century, and the area became a mix of commuterland, light industry and derelict brownfield. In 1974 Tameside was created from townships both sides of the river, notably Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Droylesden, Denton, Hyde and Stalybridge.

The town is often abbreviated to "Ashton" but that is a very common place name, so when taking transport always refer in full to "Ashton-under-Lyne".

53°28′48″N 2°4′48″W

Tameside

Leave M60 at jcn 23. From central Manchester follow A635 for Ashton or A57 east for Denton and Hyde.

M-Sa an hourly train from Manchester Victoria takes 10 min to Ashton-under-Lyne and continues to Stalybridge. (These start from Southport, via Wigan, Bolton and Salford; no Sunday service). Change at Stalybridge for Huddersfield, Leeds and York. Change at Victoria from Manchester Airport and most other destinations.

53.4913-2.09431 Ashton-under-Lyne railway station has a staffed ticket office M-Sa plus machines, toilets and a waiting area. There is step-free access to all platforms.

Another line runs to the south of Ashton, with trains every 30 min from Manchester Piccadilly via Hyde (North and Central) to Marple Rose Hill.

Ashton-under-Lyne is the terminus of the Metrolink orange and light blue lines. Trams take 35 min from central Manchester via Piccadilly, Etihad Campus and Droylsden, and run every 5-10 min 6AM-midnight. Westbound they run through city centre to Salford Quays and Media City, with the light blue line continuing to Eccles. Change in city centre for trams to Victoria, Bury, Oldham and Rochdale, to East Didsbury, to Wythenshawe and the airport, to Imperial War Museum and Trafford Centre, and to Old Trafford, Stretford, Sale and Altrincham. You must buy your ticket from machines on the platform before you travel: Ashton is in Fare Zone 3

Long distance coaches don't come this way, change at Manchester Chorlton St Station.

Bee Network Metroline buses 216 & 219 run from central Manchester every 5 min, taking 35 min to Ashton. Buses 230 & 231 take a slower route via Droylsden.

Bus 409 runs from Rochdale via Oldham every 15 min and bus 330 runs from Stockport via Hyde every 30 min. Bus 237 runs from Glossop every 20 min via Stalybridge.

The bus station is across the street from the railway station.

Frequent buses run between Ashton, Hyde and Stalybridge.

Taxi firms include Stamford Cars (+44 161 339 4411), Tameside Taxi (+44 161 344 5555) and Cavalier Cabs (+44 161 338 5500).

• Ashton town centre is on a grid pattern, red-brick low-rise with modern frontages.
• 53.4877-2.08981 St Michael's Church (Anglican) dates back to the 13th century, but has been much altered. What you see now is a Victorian pocket-sized version of Manchester cathedral.
• 53.4826-2.09972 Portland Basin or Dukinfield Junction is the meeting of three canals: Peak Forest Canal, Ashton Canal and Huddersfield Narrow Canal. All three are worth exploring, see below. There's a museum in a converted warehouse, open Tu-Su 10AM-4PM, free.
• 53.483-2.0573 Stalybridge is a former mill village along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. It has a turbulent history: in the 19th century there were riots by Luddites against mill mechanisation, and agitation against Catholics (codeword for Irish immigrants). Its main sight is the Astley Cheetham Art Gallery, upstairs in the library.
• 53.518-2.0614 Hartshead Pike is a hill of 308 m (1010 feet) that rears up north of the golf course, with views on a clear day to Snowdonia. Near its summit is a stocky tower rebuilt in 1863. The entrance is bricked up: an inscription reads "Look well at me Before you go, And See You nothing at me throw". This advice is still relevant.
• 53.5112-2.01785 Buckton Castle east of Mossley was a medieval enclosure castle. There's not much left of it and you come for the moorland views, spoiled to the east by an active quarry.

• 53.457-2.10136 St Anne's Church (Anglican) in Haughton, opened in 1881, is an outstanding example of Gothic Revival style.
• 53.457-2.0777 Hyde Park has a memorial garden to the victims of Dr Fred Shipman, the local GP or family doctor. He was much admired by his patients, but many died unexpectedly, were certified as "old age" and cremated leaving no evidence. In 1998 Mrs Grundy was so certified and had recently changed her will to cut out her family and benefit Shipman. Her body was exhumed and found to contain diamorphine (heroin). Shipman explained that she was an addict and showed investigators the computerised medical case-notes. It was quickly apparent that these had been re-written after her death - Shipman had simply no idea that his computer retained edits. He was found guilty of 15 murders by lethal injection of diamorphine, and of the forgery of Grundy's will. A wider enquiry across places he'd worked in northern England concluded that he'd killed some 250, the most prolific serial killer in British history. There were widespread reforms to UK medical practice in the wake of this. Shipman hanged himself in Wakefield prison in 2004.
• 53.434-2.0548 Werneth Low is a 279 m (915 ft) hill south of Hyde, bordering Stockport. "Werneth" is from verno an old Brythonic word for alder trees, while "Low" is equivalent to the Scottish law meaning a hill. It's an open area of country park, with views towards the Welsh mountains. On it stands Hyde Cenotaph.
• 53.441-2.0119 Broadbottom is an old mill village perched on a bend of the River Etherow. One mill is still working, and there are 18th-century mill cottages and an impressive railway viaduct.

• Cinema: Cineworld is on the Leisure Park on Lord Sheldon Way.
• Guide Bridge Theatre is at Audenshaw Rd M34 5HJ.
• Walk, cycle or boat along the canals that meet at Portland Basin. All are fully navigable, have multiple access points to the towpath, and pubs along the way.
  • Huddersfield Narrow Canal is 20 miles long and has 74 locks. It heads east up the river valley through Stalybridge (where it wriggles between the legs of a pylon) towards Mossley. See Oldham and Marsden for its upper reaches, where it plunges beneath the Pennines along the 5675 yard (5189 m) Standedge Tunnel. It then descends to Huddersfield, where it joins other waterways eventually leading to the North Sea and into the Trent network. The Narrow Canal is only 7 foot wide so capacity is limited, but when it opened in 1811 it revolutionised transpennine transport.
  • Ashton Canal is broader. It descends west for 7 miles through 18 locks via Audenshaw, Droylsden, Clayton, Bradford and Ancoats to Ducie Junction in Manchester, where it meets the Rochdale Canal. Four other connecting canals have been lost.
  • Peak Forest Canal is narrow. From Portland Basin it crosses the Tame Valley by an aqueduct and heads south for 7 miles through Hyde, Woodley, Bredbury, and Romiley to Marple. At Marple it ascends a ladder of 16 locks to a junction with the Macclesfield Canal, which goes south into Cheshire. The upper stretch of the Peak Forest Canal continues for 7 miles without further locks through New Mills and Whaley Bridge to dead-end at Bugsworth in Derbyshire.
  • Cheshire Ring is a 97-mile circuit that takes a week to putter round in a narrowboat. The Ashton and lower Peak Forest canals form part of it.
• Walk the Pennines: the most scenic parts are just across the border into Derbyshire, but Ashton is a good base if you have a car. The Pennine Way traverses these moors from Edale to the scarp above Oldham and Rochdale then north across Yorkshire.
• Golf: Ashton-under-Lyne GC is a mile northeast of town. It’s a parkland course of 6207 yards off white tees, par 70. Other nearby courses are at Dukinfield, Denton, Audenshaw, Brookdale, Werneth, Oldham, Mossley and Buckton Vale.
• Football: Manchester City's Etihad Stadium is only four miles away on the tram line towards Piccadilly.

• Shopping centres: Arcades and Ladysmith are adjacent in town centre.
• Supermarkets: Asda and Aldi are both central.
• Ashton Market is at Bow St off Wellington St. Regular outdoor and indoor markets are M-Sa, the Flea Market is Tu 8AM-4:30PM, and the Farmers Market is last Sunday of each month 9AM-1PM.

• Pinocchio is at 157 Old St, Ashton OL6 SQ. It's open M-Sa 5-10PM, Su 4-9PM.
• Lily's serves vegetarian Indian and Indo-Chinese food. It's at 85 Oldham Rd, Ashton OL6 7DY and open W-Sa noon-8PM, Su noon-5PM.
• Indish Bistro is at 126 Oldham Rd, Ashton OL7 9AH, open daily 4-10PM.
• Purple Olive is at 83 Stamford St East OL6 6QH, open M-Sa 5-11PM, Su 4-10PM.

• 53.4867-2.098611 The Witchwood, 152 Old Street OL6 7SF, ☏ +44 161 344 0321. Su-Th 4-11PM, F Sa 4PM-3AM. Pub and live music venue since the 1960s; lots of big names have played here.  (updated Apr 2026)
• The Ash Tree is a JD Wetherspoon at 9 Wellington Rd OL6 6DA near the railway station. It's open Su-Th 8AM-midnight, F Sa 8AM-1AM.
• Prince of Orange is at 109 Warrington St OL6 6DW.
• Tapsters is at 31 Old St OL6 6LA.
• The Sycamore is at 4 Stamford Square OL6 6QX.
• The Bowling Green is at 99 Penny Meadow OL6 6EP.
• The Old Fire Station is at Wellington Rd OL6 6XL.
• The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn is the UK pub with the longest name, at 9 Market St Stalybridge SK15 2AL. Known simply as "The Rifleman", it's open Tu-F 4-10PM, Sa Su noon-midnight. It's only 50 yards from the pub with the shortest name, Q. When The Rifleman opened in 2019 they bought the name from the owners of a place southside of the village that then renamed itself "The Original Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn." That was both true and longer, but it's closed down so it doesn't make the record books.

• 53.4865-2.11391 Village Hotel Ashton, Pamir Drive, Ashton Moss OL7 0LY, ☏ +44 161 674 0144. Good mid-range hotel on business park in town centre. B&B double £120.  (updated Apr 2026)
• Village Hotel Hyde is similar price and quality.
• 53-22 Travelodge, Lord Sheldon Way, Audenshaw, OL6 7UB (jcn A635 and A6140), ☏ +44 871 984 6284. Good budget chain near bus and tram stops. B&B double £80.  (updated Apr 2026)
• Posyrooms is a guesthouse at 2 Churchfields, Audenshaw M34 5HZ.

• 53.454-2.0263 Premier Inn Manchester Tameside Hyde, Stockport Road, Hyde SK14 3AU (jcn M67 and A560), ☏ +44 333 321 1293. Reliable clean, comfy chain hotel with pub & carvery on site. B&B double £110.  (updated Apr 2026)
• Premier Inn Manchester Denton is by the M60 / M67 junction.

As of April 2026, Tameside and its approach roads have 5G from all UK carriers.

• Manchester for big city attractions.
• The Peak District rising to the east has attractive karst scenery and moorlands.
• Cheshire has several stately homes and grand mansions, the nearest being Lyme Park in Disley near Stockport.

Bolton ← Oldham ←

anticlockwise  clockwise

→ Hyde → Stockport