LS Lowry

Salford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, close to the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Salford Quays was previously the site of Manchester Docks and, following the closure of the dockyards in 1982, became one of the largest urban regeneration projects in the UK.

On your private walking tour, you will: 

• Discover Salford Quays on a private walking tour led by a local expert guide;
• Pass by The Lowry, a vibrant cultural centre with theatres, galleries, and events dedicated to enriching lives through the performing arts;
• Visit BBC Manchester (BBC Salford), home to both BBC and ITV studios, including the famous Coronation Street set;
• Stroll along the Manchester Ship Canal, the 36-mile waterway linking Manchester to the Irish Sea;
• Learn about the history of Salford Quays, once the bustling site of the Manchester Docks;
• See Old Trafford, the legendary home of Manchester United and a mecca for football fans;
• Walk the Centenary Walkway and discover 24 stainless-steel plaques commemorating the history of Salford Docks and the merchant seamen who worked there. 

Manchester, once an industrial powerhouse, is a major city in the northwest of England with a rich industrial history. During your private 2-hour walking tour of Salford Quays, you'll learn that it was one of the first urban regeneration projects in the UK. The Quays was originally part of the Victorian expansion of the Manchester Ship Canal, which opened at the end of the 19th century to provide improved services for the bustling world trade centre that was Manchester or Cottonopolis as it was known at the time. 

There's plenty of history to learn at The Quays, now a bustling area home to the Lowry shopping mall, complete with a cinema and shops, the Imperial War Museum, Old Trafford, home to Manchester United, cafés, bars, restaurants and the Lowry Arts Centre, home to a large collection of Salford-born LS Lowry (1887 - 1976). The Centenary Walkway, which you'll visit, starts near The Lowry and is a poignant point of interest with 24 stainless steel plaques, each one telling the history of Salford docks and details of some of the 16,000 men who dug the canal and the hardships they endured while doing so. They were installed in 1994 to commemorate the 100 years of the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal by Queen Victoria and are the work of poet Su Andi. 

The BBC's first Big Screen was erected in Manchester and has become a permanent feature of Exchange Square. ITV now also have their base in Salford Quays. The area of Salford was depicted in many paintings by Laurence Stephen Lowry, an English artist famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of North West England in the mid-20th century.

You'll hear stories of regeneration, hardship and celebration from your local expert who has lived and breathed the city, making this Private Walking Tour of Salford Quays the best way to get to know the history of this bustling area.