Salford Quays

Salford Quays is a place of residence and work. So why are the Quays (with I feel suspect metrics) Manchester’s (Salford’s!) most popular visit attraction? Perhaps people go for the BBC and ITV buildings—Media City on Dock 1—but we call Media City as ungood. The reason people go is to wander the docks, mainly Dock 2, as urban park. The Quays may be inland, but were built for ocean ships (via. the Manchester Ship Canal), so as impressive as any major port. The area was rebuilt with access roads outside, so is largely free of traffic. Wide walkways by the quays, which most people regard as safe to let children run free, cycle along, and so forth. As for views, this is a futuristic environment, a Transformer Godzilla stirred from the earth. A park can also have attractions—15mins walk over the bridge is IWM North, there’s the medium‐sized shopping arcade (pleasant, but see transport notes), and clusters of mid‐level eat‐and‐drink places which serve the workers, The Lowry Theatre and Art Gallery. An unusual day out, can be deserted, but for the right people, pleasant—maybe magic.