Like many parts of Greater Manchester, textile production played an important part in the development of Okdham. Many of the towns in the Oldham metropolitan area were built on textile manufacturing in the 19th century making the area one of the UKs most important textile manufacturing centres. Oldham’s architecture is characterised by classic red brick terraced housing for textile mill workers and large ornate factory mill buildings.

Visiting Oldham is easy as it is well connected to Manchester. There are regular bus services to Oldham and the bus station is located in the heart of the town centre. Oldham is on a rail line and there are regular services to Manchester. Oldham’s railway station, Oldham Mumps, is located on the edge of the town centre so expect a short walk when you arrive in the town.

The town of Oldham is well served with a wide range of shopping and cultural facilities. The bus station is located next to the main shopping thoroughfare and Oldham Mumps railway station is situated a few minutes walk from the centre.

Oldham town centre is full of bustling shops and there are two interlinked shopping centres in Oldham town centre – Town Square shopping centre and The Spindles shopping centre.

No visit to Oldham would be complete without a visit to Gallery Oldham. Gallery Oldham is a state of the art exhibition centre and art gallery that includes social and industrial history items, works of art, decorative art, natural history specimens, geological specimens and historcal books, pamphlets and documents. The gallery is part of Oldham’s Cultural Quarter that includes Oldham Library and Lifelong Learning Centre, Oldham Theatre Workshop, Oldham Arts Development and Asian theatre company Peshkar.

Bolton is home to football team Bolton Wanderers, who are based at the very impressive looking Reebok Stadium. This 28,000 seater venue is located in Middlebrook in Lostock, Horwich.

Outside the town Oldham, Saddleworth is home to the quaint and attractive villages of Saddleworth such as Uppermill, Greenfield, Diggle and Delph. The beautiful Saddleworth Moors are located nearby.