Prestwich has become a magnet for young professionals in recent years, a slightly more affordable cousin of Greater Manchester suburbs like Chorlton and Didsbury.
But it’s not just the house prices that draw people to this neighbourhood in Bury.
It’s the green space, the blossoming food and drink scene, the easy-peasy transport links, and the community.
This is a suburb where you can walk for miles through fields and woods without crossing a road – but can be sipping a negroni just minutes later.
Despite its proximity to the M60, it’s not uncommon to spot deer strutting around just beyond the housing estates of the main village.
There’s plenty more going on that will sell the appeal of this booming little suburb, too. Here’s our guide to Prestwich.
Food and drink
Curry sauce on a Chips @ No 8 chippy tea. Credit: The Manc GroupChips @ No 8 in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc GroupChips @ No 8 in Prestwich. Credit: Chips @ No. 8 / The Manc Group
In the world of chippies, that’s a very big deal indeed.
With fish and spuds sourced fresh and fried in beef dripping, this place alone is almost enough to sell people on the pull of Prestwich.
They’re expanding into the unit next door too, where there’ll be more space to dining in as well as a bar where you can grab a pint while you wait.
But there’s plenty more to the neighbourhood’s food and drink scene.
Cuckoo, a neighbourhood bar in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Some of the frontrunners here include Cuckoo (a cosy neighbourhood bar hosting cinema nights and serving top-notch pizzas), All The Shapes (seasonal brunches and out-of-this-world Mexican food, plus loads of craft beers and cocktails), and the Crooked Man (a charming beer bar that feels like you’ve wandered into someone’s living room).
Hospitality businesses from elsewhere in the region keep heading here too, like Croma (which has now shut its city centre site but says Prestwich is thriving), Wine & Wallop, and Dokes, a pizza joint from the same team behind Elnecot in Ancoats. Rudy’s is also eyeing up a site in Prestwich for the first time.
Soon, Codi’s Kitchen will be opening a sushi spot on the high street, another relative newcomer is The Pearl, a delightful neighbourhood bistro with a wine window.
There’s a phenomenal Middle Eastern restaurant scene in Prestwich, with Lebanese restaurant Remal happily rubbing shoulders with the always-busy Anatolian Grill and Istanbul Grill.
Dokes Pizzeria in PrestwichThe Pearl in Prestwich
A little further away from the main drag of Bury New Road is The Goods In, from the same team behind the aforementioned All The Shapes.
They’ve taken an old MOT garage and turned it into a sunny yellow hangout spot, serving loaded flatbreads, great beer and top-quality coffees right on the edge of Heaton Park.
And further towards the city centre is Osma, a Scandinavian-style restaurant fronted by Michelin-trained Danielle Heron which calmly marched its way straight into the Michelin Guide.
When you merge Prestwich with its neighbouring suburbs, you come up with the second-largest Jewish community in the UK – and that means this is the best place in Greater Manchester to come for bagels and deli goods.
Coopers Let’s Fress deliTriple B in Prestwich
Cooper’s Let’s Fress is one of the big players, drawing queues out the door every Sunday with its £6 bagel special (five bagels, with sides of smoked salmon, cream cheese, tuna mayonnaise and egg salad).
There are less traditional bagels too, with Eat New York’s Triple B now based in Prestwich serving cheeseburger bagels and buffalo chicken burgers.
Put the stretchy pants on before you come for a day out in Prestwich, basically.
Shopping
Grape to Grain wine shop in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc GroupGrape to Grain wine shop in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
Prestwich’s high street isn’t one that’s necessarily been designed for visitors.
There’s not much in the way of achingly-cool boutiques or artisan bakeries.
But what it is is actually much better – it’s a rare example of a high street full of essential, independently-operated retailers.
There’s a bike shop, an optician’s, a hardware store, a pet shop, beauty salons, newsagents and gift shops with barely a big chain in sight (just don’t look over there at the Costa and Superdrug on the precinct).
Some of the most exciting shops you’ll find here specialise in food and drink, like Keg Cask and Bottle, where you can pick up a few cans of craft beer and sit in the shop to drink them – they recently expanded into the unit next door too, for extra drinking room.
Grape to Grain has a presence here too on the corner of Bury New Road and Church Lane, where, again, you can crack open your purchase and drink it on a seat by the windows.
Lupo Caffe Italiano. Credi: The Manc GroupInside Lupo in Prestwich
Back down the road towards the city centre you’ll find Lupo, a brilliant Italian business that’s moved onto an industrial estate to sell its homemade doughnuts and pasta dishes as well as imported Italian produce.
It’s a real local highlight, sitting outside Lupo in the car park with an Aperol spritz and a gigantic bowl of freshly-made pasta.
There are beautiful, antique-inspired homewares to be found in Rose & Lee, from stunning furniture to bunches of dried flowers.
And for those who call Prestwich home, there’s the holy trinity of supermarkets all in a row – an M&S Simply Food (for pay day), a big 24-hour Tesco, and an Aldi. Genuinely, what a treat.
Nightlife and hotels
Parklife festival. Credit: The Manc GroupFred Again at Parklife festival 2023. Credit: The Manc Group
As a densely residential suburb of Greater Manchester, Prestwich’s nightlife scene tends to wrap up fairly promptly around 11pm.
Very sensible.
The star of Prestwich after dark is Take Me To Church, a clubnight laced with disco, funk and soul.
They say: ‘We’re not kids, but we still wanted to go somewhere that played the kind of music that we loved to dance to without having to wait ’till daft-o-clock in town for a cab home. We wanted somewhere local, but there was nothing – so we did it ourselves.”
There’s also Cape to Cuba, where Caribbean-inspired burgers and poutine are matched with a buzzing atmosphere, you’ll find a party that runs until 1am.
If you can make it through Cape to Cuba’s door without being handed a shot of rum, you’re a rare breed.
Then there’s events company So Prestwich, which whips up daytime events but also pulls out a banger of an Indie night.
The Makers Market has also recently started holding artisan markets at Prestwich precinct, where locals can pick up freshly-made cakes and handmade gifts.
An, of course, the biggest party of the year takes place on Prestwich’s doorstep – Parklife festival.
80,000 people per day flock here every summer to party in Heaton Park, with this year’s line-up including Doja Cat, Disclosure, J Hus and Becky Hill.
In terms of hotels… erm… there’s a Premier Inn? Probably just stay in the city centre, to be honest.
Culture
Prestwich Clough through the seasons. Credit: The Manc Group
The biggest selling point of Prestwich has to be its green space – and it’s not just Heaton Park.
The neighbourhood is bookmarked on the other end by Philips Park, Drinkwater Park, Prestwich Clough and Waterdale Meadow, all blending into one another.
This is the part of town where you can walk (or run) for miles without having to stop for pesky traffic.
There are mountain bike trails, panoramic views of the city skyline, fishing lakes, historic buildings and play areas.
You can spot the park’s resident heron hanging out, weirdly, right next to the M60, and say hello to the cows and horses who graze in the fields.
A Mark E. Smith mural that was part of Prestwich Arts Festival. Credit: Prestwich Arts Festival
Prestwich’s culture really does revolve around the great outdoors – there are tennis courts, bowling greens and basketball courts at St Mary’s Park too.
This part of town has always hosted one of the suburb’s biggest cultural events every summer, when Festwich pulls up into town – this year it’s getting bigger than ever and moving to Heaton Park.
It’s the largest tribute act festival in the UK and brings fairground rides, live music, and surprisingly affordable festival beers to the fields every year.
Watch out for the Prestwich Arts Festival (a community art trail) and the phenomenal work left behind – like the hyper-realistic murals of Mark E. Smith and Victoria Wood.
Property
Much like the rest of the country, Prestwich’s property prices are on the up – but they still come in significantly cheaper than suburbs south of the city centre.
Properties in Prestwich had an overall average price of £266,646 over the last year.
The majority of sales in Prestwich during the last year were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £283,494. Terraced properties sold for an average of £234,123, with flats fetching £143,959.
There’s a lovely mix of Victorian-era terraces, modern apartments and huge sprawling townhouses (Guest Road is goals).
Transport
Prestwich is an absolute doddle to get to by tram, with both Heaton Park and Prestwich tram stops only a 15 minute ride from Manchester Victoria.
There are regular buses too, including the express buses that will take you onwards to Ramsbottom and into Lancashire.
For those who drive, the suburb is straight off the M60 and M62 motorways. A breeze.
Featured image: The Manc Group
Bury
Transport ‘masterplan’ announced as more than 300,000 fans hit Manchester for Oasis reunion gigs
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester’s transport ‘masterplan’ has been released ahead of Oasis’ huge run of reunion gigs starting next week.
Manchester is all set for a sensational summer of sound, and as more than 300,000 music fans prepare to descend on our city next week as a little-known band called Oasis (sarcasm detected) reform for the first time in over a decade, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has now announced its plan to transport everyone to and from Heaton Park.
With the Gallagher brothers staging five nostalgia-drenched gigs starting from next Friday (11 July), the transport network wants to make sure no one is left ‘looking back in anger’ over their travel arrangements.
Travel arrangements for the hotly-anticipated reunion shows have involved months of planning by TfGM and its partners, so over the next couple of weeks, you can expect to see additional staff on the network, more frequent, all-double tram services running to Heaton Park from Victoria station, and a shuttle bus service running from the city centre.
TfGM’s state-of-the-art control room will also be operating 24/7 to monitor and coordinate the public transport system and respond to any emerging incidents as they materialise.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Greater Manchester’s transport ‘masterplan’ has been released ahead of the Oasis gigs / Credit: TfGM | Simon Emmett (Publicity Picture)
Travelling by tram
The best way for fans to beat the traffic and get to the 80,000-capacity outdoor venue over the five dates will be to travel using the Metrolink network.
On each night, there will be a six-minute service from Victoria Station to Bury – the only city centre station with a direct tram to Heaton Park – and this service will be capable of carrying 4,000 passengers an hour, with concertgoers travelling from other lines told to change onto a Bury-bound tram at Victoria.
If you have a ticket for front standing, your best option is to get off and on again at Bowker Vale, which is the closest stop to the venue entrance on Sheepfoot Lane, as the Heaton Park stop will be closed at 9pm on all nights.
Both the Bowker Vale and Heaton Park stops are just a few minutes away from the park gates, but as as the Heaton Park stop will be closed at 9pm on all nights, if you have a ticket for front standing, your best option is to get off and on again at Bowker Vale, which is the closest stop to the venue entrance on Sheepfoot Lane.
For the shows on 11, 12, and 19 July, the final trams will leave for the city centre at 2:02am and for Bury at 1:16am, and on 16 July, the last trams will run at 1:32am to the city centre and 12:46am to Bury.
Travelling by tram to Heaton Park is recommended by TfGM / Credit: TfGM
Travel by shuttle bus
Alternatively, there will be frequent shuttle buses from Lever Street in the Northern Quarter from 1:30pm on each event day, with the last bus departing at 7:30pm.
Buses will then start running back to Manchester after the event – with the city centre drop-off point being Shudehill Interchange – from a temporary bus station inside Heaton Park from 10pm, and buses will continue to run until all passengers have cleared the bus station.
Limited shuttlebus tickets, priced at £10, are available, but these must be purchased in advance through the Bee Network app.
Further details on how to buy the tickets can be found on the Bee Network website.
There will be increased congestion and various road closures in place around Heaton Park and the surrounding areas on each of the event dates.
Those who have to drive or need to be dropped off and picked up are encouraged to consider taking advantage of the 24 ‘park and ride’ sites in Greater Manchester, where you can park for free and hop on a tram to your destination.
The park and ride sites on the Bury line are Whitefield, with 331 spaces and 13 disabled spaces, and and Radcliffe with 480 spaces and 22 disabled spaces.
Shuttlebus services will be in operation on all dates of Oasis’ run of gigs / Credit: TfGM
And if all of that wasn’t busy enough as it is, Manchester will also be playing host to a number of other big events during Oasis’ run of shows – including Kool & The Gang at AO Arena and Billie Eilish at Co-op Live.
So as you can see, public transport and roads will be busier than usual during this exciting time, so TfGM encourages everyone to allow plenty of time for their journey and check the Bee Network app or website for the latest travel advice.
All the latest travel updates for Oasis Live ’25 shows can be found here.
Featured Image – TfGM
Bury
Gig review | Catfish at Heaton Park, Manchester – are the Bottlemen properly back?
Danny Jones
10 months on from their last gig and more than a year since they officially ended their hiatus, Catfish and the Bottlemen finally returned to Manchester for a sold-out show at Heaton Park, and while the reviews online have been mixed, we had a blast heading back to the fields again.
Making their Manc comeback just hours before this year’s Parklife Festival got underway, the beloved Welsh band had stirred lots of worry leading up to the day itself and, in truth, even in the moments leading up to (and after) their stage time.
Apart from their huge headline slot at Reading and Leeds, 2024 was the year of cancellations and controversy, so their fans had plenty of reason to be concerned. Nevertheless, we had faith and kept our spirits high, especially with the weather holding out.
Local legends and indie rock veterans James certainly helped on that front, delighting both die-hards watching from up on the hill and younger gig-goers who may have only heard a few of the big hits like ‘Sit Down’ – though they certainly didn’t heed that message, there was merely jumping up and down.
Some great computer-generated imagery backdropped the set.We watched this thing like a hawk.You can read our recent interview with them HERE. (Credit: Audio North)
Once the main support act had wrapped up their pretty perfectly timed set, we’ll admit, standing on that grass felt like an eternity, especially considering Catfish had us waiting an extra 15 minutes beyond their expected arrival at Heaton Park.
You could call it fashionably late, but in this case, it saw several people around us uttering, ‘they’re not coming on any time soon’, and some even beginning to walk off.
However, they did eventually arrive just over a quarter of an hour past schedule, and the eruption of cheers from the crowd and a fair few screams from those nearest the barrier signalled what summed up the entire night: we were just so happy to have them back.
We’ve heard people debating the sound quality and taking issue with parts of Van’s performance, but we’ll just leave this here and let you decide for yourselves:
One thing’s for sure: the energy was immaculate from start to finish.
From kicking things off with ‘Longshot’ for a limb-worthy intro, to hearing a fully acoustic version of ‘Hourglass’ as the lead singer stood alone on the dramatically lit main stage, soon to be followed up by a plethora of Parklife acts, we’d wager you they’ll remain a tough act to follow all weekend.
Other highlights included an entire park’s worth of people belting every word to ‘Kathleen’, ‘Fallout’, ‘Pacifier’ and pretty much every track they played, as well Van having the crowd repeat the chorus of ‘Cocoon’ as he hung up his guitar from the stand to deliver an ice-old mic drop.
We would’ve loved to hear a fuller set filled with the extended live versions of ‘Oxygen’, ‘Heathrow’ and ‘Glasgow’ too, especially given how many sections of pure instrumentation felt like they were going to transition into another track, but you can’t have everything, I guess.
Inflatable crocodiles and cracking flagsCredit: The Manc GroupEyes and arms wide openWe’re here to urge you not to be drawn in by TikTok reviews – as far as we’re concerned, Catfish were made to headline Heaton Park.
Sure, there might have been a few minor fluffed vocal notes and slightly over-lengthy solos here and there, but after all, it’s a rock show: we want a bit of mess.
The same goes for Van McCann himself, too; we worry that people are starting to forget what a proper rockstar is, and we’re not talking about contriving some kind of Hollywood lifestyle, but certainly getting lost in the music and trashing your guitar so hard that your face is draped in nothing but hair and sweat? Absolutely.
All in all, we think Catfish and the Bottlemen‘s massive outdoor show at Manchester’s Heaton Park and de facto ‘comeback after the last comeback’ was a triumph and even when they’re not absolutely 10/10, they’re still bloody good value live.
As for the question of ‘are they back?’ We think so and certainly hope that ‘Showtime’ wasn’t just released as a way of signalling fans to come along for one last ride before the final curtain call.