Oldham

城市概覽

Historically Oldham was in Lancashire, while the area of Saddleworth just east was in Yorkshire, including the villages of Delph, Diggle, Greenfield and Uppermill. In 1974 the county border was moved east onto the crest of the Pennines, and Saddleworth became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham within Greater Manchester. The area was little more than sheep farms until well into the 18th century. Oldham became a centre for manufacture of hats, but the early industrial revolution passed it by: the town is perched on a bleak ridge some 700 ft (200 m) above sea level, with no rivers to drive waterwheels or canal routes to transport materials. 19th-century steam power made all the difference, fired by coal from the town's own coalfield, and Oldham suddenly became the world's leading cotton-milling town, outstripping Manchester and Bolton. This textile industry crashed in the late 20th century and the town has yet to reinvent itself.

如何抵達

By plane Manchester Airport (MAN IATA) to the south of the city has frequent trains to city centre. Pick a train that continues through Piccadilly to Victoria, where you change for the tram to Oldham as below. You can ride the tram all the way from the airport and change trams at Deansgate, but it's much slower for scant fare saving. National Express Bus NX381 calls at the airport and Oldham on its route between Chester and Leeds, see below. So does the London Bus NX540 but you can't use it between airport and Oldham. Oldham is something of a motorists' shortcut to the airport: A663 through Chadderton cuts off an angle between M62 and M60 for transpennine traffic.

By tram Oldham has no mainline train service. It's served by the Metrolink trams (pink and grey lines), which take 30 min from Manchester Victoria via Newton Heath and South Chadderton to 1 Oldham Central and other stops in town. Oldham is in Fare Zone 3 so a single journey from city centre is £3.80; trams run every 5-10 min 6AM-midnight. The pink line continues east to Shaw, Milnrow and Rochdale, all in Zone 4. Westbound, the lines run through Victoria to St Peters Square, Deansgate, Chorlton and East Didsbury. Change in city centre for the other lines to Bury, to Piccadilly station, Etihad stadium and Ashton-under-Lyne, to Wythenshawe and the airport, to Old Trafford, Stretford, Sale and Altrincham, to Imperial War Museum and Trafford Centre, and to Salford Quays and Eccles. The only mainline railway station in the area is at Greenfield near the Pennine village of Uppermill. This has hourly trains from Piccadilly via Stalybridge and Mossley (both near Ashton-under-Lyne) and continuing from Greenfield via Marsden to Huddersfield.

By car You'll probably approach either on M60 which circles Manchester, or on M62 from the Leeds / Bradford area then take the A627(M) spur into town. A62 leads from central Manchester, 20-45 min depending on the traffic.

By bus National Express Bus NX381 runs three ti

當地交通

Transport in Greater Manchester is co-ordinated by GMPTE, see their website for fare deals and journey planner. A day ticket is often a good option. See "Get in" above for tram routes: these may be the quickest method of transport even if you have to go into city centre then out again. It's worth riding one extra stop beyond town centre just to get off at a place called "Oldham Mumps" — a mumper was a beggar. The main bus routes (all run by First Group) from central Manchester are:

Bus 83 / 84 is the quickest, from Piccadilly via Newton Heath and Hollinwood to Oldham in 40 min, 5AM-midnight every ten min. Bus 84 continues every 30 min to Uppermill and Saddleworth. Bus 76 takes an hour from Piccadilly via Ancoats, Holt Town, Newton Heath, Failsworth, Hollinwood, Limeside and Coppice to Oldham, running every 15-30 min. You might also use:

Bus 184 M-Sa hourly from Oldham via Uppermill, Diggle and Marsden to Huddersfield, 80 min. Bus 409 every 15 min from Rochdale via Thornham and Royton to Oldham, continuing via Hathershaw to Ashton-under-Lyne. Bus 58 also plies between Oldham and Rochdale.

必看景點

Gallery Oldham, 35 Greaves St OL1 1AL. M-Sa 10AM-5PM. Art gallery in a former Friends Meeting House, with a few museum exhibits also. The gallery remains open while the town's original museum, library and art space have closed, until completion of a new building in 2021. Free. (updated Dec 2019) 1 Alexandra Park, half a mile south of town centre, is a pleasant green space with gardens and a boating lake. 2 Daisy Nook Country Park (Bus 409 towards Ashton-under-Lyne). Attractive area in the Medlock valley, with the disused Hollinwood Branch Canal running through. There are woodlands, a lake, and open meadows with bridleways and footpaths. There's a cafe and toilets with access for wheelchairs and pushchairs. (updated Dec 2019) 3 Tandle Hill (Bus 409 towards Rochdale). Upland park with a mixture of beech woods and open grassland with a panorama of the surrounding countryside: the woods were planted early in the 19th century to prevent radicals using the area as a marching and drilling space. (updated Dec 2019) 4 Saddleworth Museum and Art Gallery, High St, Uppermill OL3 6HS (Bus 184 from Oldham or 350 from Ashton or train to Greenfield), ☏ +44 1457 874093. Daily 1-4PM. Small museum in a former textile mill, gallery features work by contemporary artists and travelling exhibitions. Adult £3, conc £2. (updated Dec 2019) 5 Huddersfield Narrow Canal. This canal runs for 20 miles, connecting the Ashton Canal in Ashton-under-Lyne with the Huddersfield Canal on the other side of the Pennines, via 74 locks and the 5675 yard (5189 m) Standedge Tunnel. Opened in 1811 (after huge expense, labour, and two disastrous floodings of the village of Marsden), it operated until 1943, fell into disrepair, but was completely re-opened in 2001. It's only seven feet wide, and the tunnel has no towpath: "leggers" had to lie atop the barges and apply feet to walls, for one shilling and sixpence per load. The canal above Oldham climbs out of the Tame valley at Uppermill to Diggle, where it plung

體驗活動

1 Oldham Coliseum, Fairbottom St OL1 3SW, ☏ +44 161 624-2829. Theatre with a full programme of repertory and an annual pantomime. Local talents Eric Sykes and Dora Bryan learned their trade here, as did many others such as Charlie Chaplin. (updated Dec 2019) Walk the Pennine Way which follows the crest of the ridge bordering Yorkshire, and there are other walking trails around Saddleworth Moor, Wessenden Moor and Standedge. It's not the most scenic part of the Pennines, being a plateau of impervious millstone grit topped by a peat bog, without the limestone that embellishes the Peak District to the south and the Yorkshire Dales further north. But the trails are well marked, with boardwalks over the boggier sections, and the landscape is haunting and spare. Saddleworth Moor has a dark history: it's where the "moors murderers" Ian Brady and Myra Hindley buried four of their young victims 1963-65. One of the bodies has never been found