Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county which covers 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 the ceremonial counties of Cheshire (inc. Warrington), Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire (inc. Blackburn with Darwen) and Merseyside.

It is made up of ten Metropolitan boroughs - Bolton, Bury, Manchester proper, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

Greater Manchester was established as a Metropolitan county in 1974 from areas that had previously been part of Lancashire and Cheshire, and a number of areas that had previously been county boroughs independent of county administration. It also took in a tiny portion of the West Riding of Yorkshire around Saddleworth.

From 1969 to 1974 most of the area had been known as the 'SELNEC' (South East Lancashire North East Cheshire) metropolitan area, which had its own Passenger Transport Authority. SELNEC covered not entirely the same area - for example, including Glossop but excluding Wigan.

It was initially administered by the "Greater Manchester County Council" but this was abolished in 1986 with most functions being devolved to the metropolitan boroughs.

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

The boroughs jointly own the Manchester Airport Group which controls Manchester Airport and several other UK airports.

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, Stretford, 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