Friday 15 March 2024 - A Visit to Castlefield Viaduct

Sue and I found time for a short tram ride to Castlefield Viaduct, where the National Trust and some of its partners have created a green space where a railway used to run until 1969. I arrived a few metres away at Central Station on my first visit to Manchester in 1967 when I had to visit UMIST for an interview to study biochemistry.

I have no recollection of the Manchester Bee from those days, but beer was less than one and six a pint (7.5p).

There's quite a bit flowering in the garden - the staff have lost count of the species, "which must be a good thing", suggested Sacha as she guided a dozen or so visitors around the site.

The viaduct opened in 1892/3, very close to where in 79AD a Roman fort, Mamucium, was constructed at the meeting point of two rivers, the Medlock and the Irwell. The nearby Bridgewater Canal was built in C18, and that remains in use nearby, despite the railways becoming dominant for the transport of goods in the late 1800s, when this would have been a very busy place.

These days it's a busy spot for trams heading in and out of Manchester in a variety of directions, including Altrincham, on which tram we returned home.

The visit to the viaduct doesn't take long, so it could be combined with one or more of the walks suggested in the National Trust's flier, replicated below (click on the images for more readable versions).