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15 Best Things to Do in Stockport (Greater Manchester, England)

In the southeast of Greater Manchester, Stockport is a historic market town that was swept up in the region’s textile industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In this time Stockport became the capital of the UK’s flourishing fur felt hat industry, which was pumping out millions of hats for export each year.

A former hat works is home to the country’s only dedicated hat museum.

This is one of a few great museums run by Stockport Council, and they offer a multi-site pass granting discounted access to this and a number of interesting sites around the town, like the astounding 15th-century Staircase House on the historic Market Place.

Let’s explore the best things to do in Stockport :

1. Staircase House

You wouldn’t know standing outside on the Market Place, but this building holds the oldest townhouse in Stockport, dating from around 1460. Many of the earliest timbers are still in place at Staircase House, while the building is named for its finest feature.

This is an extraordinary Jacobean cage newel staircase from 1618 – one of only three remaining in the country – with highly ornate carvings on its timbers.

With help from an audio-guide Staircase House paints a picture of domestic life in Stockport down the centuries and details the painstaking restoration efforts after a fire in 1995. The house is fully interactive, allowing you to lift the quilt on the bedroom’s four-poster bed and try writing with a 17th-century-style quill.

Afterwards pop next door to the elegant Blackshaw’s Cafe for lunch or a snack.

2. Hat Works

The stirring Wellington Mill (1831) is the venue for a charming museum about Stockport’s hat-making industry, appealing to everyone from fashion fans to industrial historians.

The Wellington Mill started out as a cotton-spinning factory before being converted into a hat works in the 1890s.

You can explore two floors of interactive exhibits taking you back to when Stockport was the UK’s hat-making capital.

There are 20 completely restored machines and a collection of more than 400 top hats, bowlers, trilbies and Homburgs, from all ends of the Earth, many dating from before 1900. On special days budding designers can get to know the art of millinery on courses by professional hat-makers, and there’s a Family Fun Zone with hands-on educational displays for little ones.

3. Bramall Hall

This newly restored Tudor manor house is in 70 acres of landscaped parkland to the south of Stockport.

The half-timbered mansion was expanded and refined over hundreds of years between the 14th and 19th centuries when it was home to the landowning Davenport family.

Bramall Hall reopened in 2016, and you can appreciate the ornate studwork on the facade, the enigmatic wall paintings from the 1500s, masterful Elizabethan plasterwork and the Victorian kitchens and servants’ quarters.

The gardens, once part of a huge 2,000 acre estate, were remodelled in the Romantic Victorian style in the 1880s.

They are dotted with towering ancient trees and have a terrace leading down to a tangle of brooks and little lakes.

4. Stockport Museum

On the Market Place, in the same complex as Staircase House, the Stockport Museum has wide-ranging exhibits investigating various aspects of Stockport’s past.

You can examine finds from the Iron Age settlement in Mellor and find out about life in Medieval Stockport.

Special attention is paid to the industrial expansion of 18th and 19th centuries and Stockport’s older rope-making trade.

The museum has been given a makeover in the 2010s to make the displays more engaging for younger attention spans.

In 2017-2018 there was a great exhibition, “I am in Love”, charting the history of the epoch-changing Strawberry Studios, with recording equipment and profiles of people like Martin Hannett who helped define the sound of bands like Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays.

5. Stockport Air Raid Shelters

In preparation for air attacks on this industrial centre, the red sandstone underneath Stockport was burrowed with nearly a mile of underground tunnels.

The warren of tunnels was started in 1938 and eventually expanded to accommodate up to 6,500 people.

The shelters are owned by Stockport Council, and in 1996 the biggest tunnel was opened to the public.

In these galleries there are makeshift living quarters, a loo, sick bay and kitchen.

You can see life through the lens of a war-time Stockport resident, and using an audio-guide you’ll feel what it might have been like to await an air raid in this space.

Self-guided tours are available on weekday afternoons (except Monday) and all day on weekends.

6. Stockport Town Hall

A shining piece of Edwardian Baroque Revival architecture, Stockport Town Hall dates to 1908 and has bold pediments with Ionic columns, below a resplendent open clock tower.

On weekdays take a guided tour if you call in advance, and it’s well worth taking the chance to go inside.

The entrance hall is clad with Italian marble and leads to a splendid ballroom, installed with a Wurlitzer organ (one of only 16 of its kind remaining) that used to be at the Paramount Theatre in Manchester.

Stockport’s town council sits at the Council Chamber, decorated with delicately carved oak benches, brass chandeliers and spectacular plasterwork.

In the hall outside you can also find the town’s silverware collection made up of pieces dating from the 1400s.

7. Plaza Cinema

Opened in 1932 as a Cine-Variety venue that mixed films and live shows, the Plaza Cinema was restored in the early 2000s after decades as a bingo hall.

This gorgeous Art Deco theatre can seat more than 1,300 people and has a busy programme all year round.

You can watch musicals, performances by Britain’s top comedians, plays, tribute bands and talks by prominent personalities like the historian Dan Snow.

There’s also a schedule of live screenings from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.

The choice of movies is just as diverse, and includes new Hollywood releases, classics Hitchcock and Billy Wilder, as well as fun sing-along events for musical films like the Sound of Music.

8. Stockport Market

Integral to Stockport’s community, the market is in a painted iron and glass hall dating to the 1860s and affectionately called the “Glass Umbrella”. A market has traded in roughly this location since the 1260 at the latest.

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday there are more than 50 independent traders at the market, selling farm fresh groceries in the Produce Hall, as well as flowers, handicrafts, clothes, toys, jewellery, homewares and vintage knickknacks.

Keep an eye out for special weekend events, like a Makers’ Market where you can get hold of speciality goods such as gin distilled in Cheshire.

9. Underbank Hall

On Great Underbank in the centre of Stockport, take a moment to savour this wonderful 16th-century timber-framed townhouse, which is in near-perfect condition.

Underbank Hall houses a branch of NatWest Bank, and has been a bank since 1823 when it was sold off by William Arden, a friend of the Prince Regent.

On the street, cast your gaze at the continuous fenestration on the ground floor, and look up at the intricate patterns on the cornices forming the gables, which also have dainty finials.

Inside, the mantelpiece in the main banking hall and the manager’s room are exceptional.

10. Avro Heritage Museum

A brief drive south of Stockport there’s a captivating aviation museum for the Avro brand on the site of its former factory at the old Woodford Aerodrome.

Storied aircraft like the Anson, Lancaster, Shackleton and Vulcan were built at this very place.

Part funded by BAE Systems, this museum evolved from a former Avro heritage centre and opened in 2015. It’s housed in the aerodrome’s refurbished former fire station and displays the collection of the Avro Heritage Trust, with tens of thousands of aviation artefacts and documents.

There’s a complete Vulcan outside, as well as nose and cockpit sections of another Vulcan, a Lancaster bomber, an Anson, an Avro 748 series, English Electric Canberra and a Vickers VC10.

11. Stockport Viaduct

The largest brick built structure in the UK cuts through the centre of Stockport.

Built in less than two years for the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, the Stockport Viaduct (1840) is now used by the West Coast Main Line and crosses the River Mersey with 27 arches and at a maximum height of almost 34 metres.

The statistics involved in this half-kilometre construction are mind-boggling: 11,000,000 bricks went into this structure and 600 workers laboured in shifts around the clock to get it made.

If you’re inspired by feats of industrial engineering there’s a good view from Wellington Road by the Hat Works Museum.

12. Etherow Country Park

Once an industrial site encompassing a mine, cotton mill and mill pond, this green space was one of the UK’s first country park’s when it was set up in 1968. Still surrounded by beautiful 19th-century industrial architecture, the park is on the River Etherow in the foothills of the Peak District.

That river feeds the man-made reservoirs that used to power the mills.

On a summer’s day you can watch dinghies belonging to the local sailing club gliding over the reservoir and can take a seat outside the cafe by the water.

The Compstall Nature Reserve in the park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its blend of swamp, reed beds, fen, carr, open water and mixed woodland.

For a hike to remember, Etherow Country Park is the trailhead for the Goyt Way, winding southeast for ten miles to Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire.

13. Strawberry Studios

A pilgrimage site for fans of Manchester’s music scene, Strawberry Studios is an unassuming building in Waterloo Road.

These former recording studios are now private offices, but the facade bears a blue plaque detailing the building’s place in pop history.

The studios were founded in 1968 by future members of the band 10cc, and were named after the Beatles song Strawberry Fields Forever.

Over the next 25 years Paul McCartney, Neil Sedaka, Joy Division, the Smiths and the Stone Roses would all record here.

If you want to go inside, the building has started opening once or twice a year for heritage days.

14. Reddish Vale Country Park

In the Tame Valley, the Reddish Vale Country Park is 161 hectares of greenery along the banks of the river.

This environment is tranquil woodland, riverside meadows and hillside fields for grazing horses.

Crossing the Tame is a striking 16-arch railway viaduct, built for the Hope Valley Line in 1875. The vale is woven with paths, cycle trails and bridleways, and the abundance of water attracts breeding kingfishers and sand martins, as well as visiting grebes, herons, coots, ducks and geese.

Hardy walkers can use the park as a stepping stone for Transpennine Trail or Midshires Way.

There’s a small visitor centre in temporary cabins, an children’s animal attraction at Reddish Vale Farm and the 18th-hole Reddish Vale Golf Club, established in 1912.

15. Marple Lock Flight

Not far east of east of Stockport in the village of Marple is a picturesque set of 16 locks on the Peak Forest Canal.

The canal was completed in 1796, but this tricky hillside section needed a bit longer because of lack of funding, and a tramway had to be used until the lock flight was finished in 1804. Commercial navigation ended with the advent of railways, and the locks were in disrepair until they were restored in the 1960s and 70s.

It takes around 20 minutes to walk through this Green Flag park to the top of the flight, and there’s a small visitor centre at the highest point in a former toll house.

If you’re here in summer you won’t have to wait long to see a narrowboat passing through.

15 Best Things to Do in Stockport (Greater Manchester, England):

• Staircase House
• Bramall Hall
• Stockport Museum
• Stockport Air Raid Shelters
• Stockport Town Hall
• Plaza Cinema
• Stockport Market
• Underbank Hall
• Avro Heritage Museum
• Stockport Viaduct
• Etherow Country Park
• Strawberry Studios
• Reddish Vale Country Park
• Marple Lock Flight

THE 10 BEST Things to Do in Stockport

Things to do in stockport, explore popular experiences, tours in and around stockport.

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The Manchester City Stadium Tour

3-Hour Guided Manchester Food Tour with Lunch

Top attractions in stockport.

Other Top Attractions around Stockport

What travellers are saying

• Robinsons Brewery
• Etherow Country Park
• Stockport Air Raid Shelters
• Avro Heritage Museum
• Reddish Vale Farm
• Bramall Hall & Park
• Woodbank Memorial Park
• Memorial Park
• Marple Locks

An insider's guide to Stockport

By Anya Meyerowitz

It’s never easy being the less fussed-over sibling, sitting on the sidelines, watching someone, or something, else get all the glory. And for Stockport, tacked onto the side of Greater Manchester , the spotlight has been a long time coming. The historic market town and surrounding borough were swept up in the region’s textile industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, climbing the ranks to become the stalwart of the UK ’s flourishing fur felt hat industry, but, as it turns out, this doesn’t equate to an influx of visitors. Now firmly in the 21st century though, Stockport merits a visit separate from its much-raved-about Northern sister, and offers those who make the trip a smattering of culture, an ever-growing foodie scene and walking spots worthy of a place in your camera roll. Here’s a collection of unique things to do in Stockport on your next weekend jaunt.

1. Visit the air raid shelters

Carved into the natural sandstone cliffs, the abandoned air raid shelters are an intriguing network of underground tunnels, offering visitors a unique insight into life in wartime Britain in the 1940's. Built to accommodate 6,500 people, today, the space is much less crowded and means that history-buffs and those just dipping their toe in can meander the subterranean labyrinth, accompanied by an audio guide, at ease. An atmospheric opportunity to bring this key part of British history to life through the rich stories of those who spent a lot longer than a few hours down there.

Website: stockport.gov.uk

2. Fill your boots at Foodie Friday

Post Thirsty Thursdays, the last Friday of every month here has been dubbed ‘Foodie Friday’ and sees the centre of Stockport bubble over with market stalls selling edible-wares. A street café culture pervades the night and a real buzz weaves its way in and out of the craft ale stands, street food counters and live music. The event runs from 6–9pm officially, but the crowds often revel into the night.

Website: facebook.com/foodiefridaystockport

3. It’s showtime at The Plaza

From the outside, the stern façade of this towering building could be mistaken for a factory or a bingo hall (which it was, actually, for many years), but inside, it’s an all-singing, all-dancing jaunt into the glamorous theatricals of yesteryear. In fact, it’s an award-winning example of the finest in 1932 Art Deco architecture , painstakingly restored as the backdrop to a year-round programme of events. From a low-key flick to a live performance, the boards here have been trodden by celebrities and amateurs alike, and they do an enchantingly chintzy afternoon here too.

Website: stockportplaza.co.uk

4. Step back in time at Staircase House

The historical theme continues with a visit to Staircase House, a rare opportunity to walk through the history of a single building, from 1460 to WWII. And, unlike other exhibitions , here, you are invited to smell, touch, listen and relive the narrative of this structure, from pulling back the bedclothes on the four-poster bed to trying your hand at 17th-century quill writing. Linked by narrow passages and a beautifully-restored Jacobean cage newel stairway, this is a whistlestop tour of our island ’s history as it unfolded through one house .

CNT Editors

Olivia Morelli , CN Traveller

Website: visitmanchester.com

5. Pay a visit to Strawberry Studios

Not everything needs to kill several hours, sometimes it’s the quiet moment of reflection, the opportunity to nurse nostalgia, that really makes a place worth visiting. Such is the case at Strawberry Studios, named after the Beatles’ song Strawberry Fields Forever , the building is still a real piece of history for music-buffs. Paul McCartney, Neil Sedaka, Joy Division, the Smiths and the Stone Roses have all recorded here. Known as the iconic Strawberry Recording Studios between 1967 and 1993, the façade now plays host to offices inside, but that hasn’t put fans of the bands who laid hit records here  off making the pilgrimage to take pictures and check out the surrounding streets.

6. Visit the Old Court House & Dungeons

Open on the second Saturday of every month, it’s worth timing your visit to Stockport with public access to the Old Court House and Dungeons. The Court Leet was held here from the 15th until the late 18th century and prisoners were held in the Dungeon waiting to be sentenced or to be transferred to Chester or Lancaster Assizes. As well as those who had committed more serious crimes, the cells here also played host to wives who had been convicted of gossiping. Now though, story-sharing is encouraged as you learn about the rather gruesome – but fascinating – details on life here, from the types of punishments that were dolled out to how trials worked.

Website: stockportheritagetrust.co.uk

7. Tuck in at Where The Light Gets In

Stockport’s most famous restaurant , dubbed ‘Britain's coolest restaurant’ by food critic Steve Plotnicki, is no novice when it comes to leaving diners starry-eyed. This former coffee warehouse is now an airy, brick-lined space, weaving lust-worthy interiors together with exposed evidence of the building’s past. Lights hang between the sturdy beams, illuminating tables of diners tucking into the £65 tasting experience. There’s no menu. Just like when you were growing up, you get what you’re given, depending on what’s good, what’s butchered, what’s hit peak fermentation and what’s foraged. But unlike when you were growing up, you’ll be served no less than 12 dishes. The stories behind the ingredients are sewn into each dish and guests can watch as they are lovingly retold via the open kitchen.

Website: wtlgi.co

8. Walk the Marple Locks

Just a 15-minute drive from the centre of Stockport town, this spectacular flight of 16 working locks is surrounded by some beautiful wooded countryside and scenic walks and raises the canal 209 feet to reach a height of 518 feet above sea level. On a sunny day, the Peak Forest Canal is  idyllic, while a string of snug pubs rewards those who wrap up warm to brave the meander. The Ring O' Bells is probably the most popular, charming visitors with its 200-year-old traditional canal-side pub, alongside the historic Macclesfield Canal towpath.

9. Tour Robinsons’ Brewery

A brewery tour is no longer a treat reserved for larger-loving stag parties, but rather a bonafide way to soak up the culture of a destination. The Robinsons’ story is one that stretches back over 181 years, from humble beginnings to becoming one of the UK’s largest independent family brewers. In fact, with around 260 pubs across the North West and Wales , it’s likely you’ve enjoyed a tipple at one of their establishments before. The brewery, though, is the beating heart, a pleasingly industrial string of buildings with exposed copper pipework and plenty for visitors to do. Sample the beers brewed here, learn about the process itself and pay a visit to Bobek and Mojo, the handsome Shire horses who live here.

Website: robinsonsbrewery.com

10. Shop independent at Stockport’s Maker’s Market

On the second Saturday of every month, the very finest local food, drink, art and craft-makers in the area come out to showcase their wares at this family-friendly market. We’re firm believers that the spirit of a society can be felt in the atmosphere of their markets, and the Stockport Maker’s Market is a captivating example of that. Between 10am and 4pm, join the mellow masses to stock up on gifts, chow down on pies – with fiercely protected family recipes – and soak up the friendly atmosphere that buzzes about the stalls.

THE 15 BEST Things to Do in Stockport

Things to do in stockport, explore popular experiences, tours in and around stockport.

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3-Hour Guided Manchester Food Tour with Lunch

Top attractions in stockport.

Other Top Attractions around Stockport

What travellers are saying

• Robinsons Brewery
• Etherow Country Park
• Stockport Air Raid Shelters
• Avro Heritage Museum
• Reddish Vale Farm
• Bramall Hall & Park
• Woodbank Memorial Park
• Memorial Park
• Marple Locks

What's On In Stockport

Things to do in stockport.

Attractions and Places to Visit in Stockport

Stockport is a large town approximately 6 miles south of Manchester city centre . The main road through Stockport is the A6. There is much to see in Stockport, visitors will find plenty to occupy their time. You will find the impressive Town Hall, Viaduct, Old Infirmary and the Art Gallery, which is open throughout the year.

From the town centre take a free tour to see the air raid shelters and a hat museum, which provide a look at the town's history. There are many parks and beauty spots in and around Stockport such as Bramall Hall and Park, Woodbank Park & Etherow Park. Stockport is an excellent base to discover much of Cheshire, with Wilmslow, Knutsford, Alderley Edge and Macclesfield all within easy travelling distance.

There are two large entertainment complexes , Parrs Wood and Grand Central. If you are looking for good food and night life, the villages of Didsbury, Bramhall and Cheadle provide just that.

The Stockport Railway Viaduct is one of the town’s most recognizable structures. With 27 arches standing a massive 33.85 metres high, the viaduct represented a major achievement in Victorian engineering. Immortalized in a number of Lowry’s distinctive paintings, it continues to carry thousands of rail passengers every year.

Stockport also has a number of historic buildings such as Stockport Town Hall. The Town Hall is often referred to as the ‘Wedding Cake’ due to its distinctive tower. Designed by Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas in July 1908, the Town Hall is a wonderful example of Edwardian architecture. The beautiful ballroom has a rare Wurlitzer organ and was once described by the poet Sir John Betjeman as “magnificent.”

Visit Stockport for its history and surrounding countryside , and you’ll find some of the best preserved and important relics of the time when all of Manchester resounded to the sounds of steam engines and working mills. Come here to live, and you’ll fall in love with its green spaces.

Air Raid Shelters

Step back in time and experience the sights and sounds of Britain's Home Front. Wander around the original tunnels, authentically re-equipped, which provide you with first-hand.. Read More

Bramall Hall

Bramall Hall is a superb example of a Tudor Manor House with origins dating back to the Middle Ages. The Hall, one of the most beautiful treasures of England, is of great national importance. Read More

Etherow Country Park

Etherow Country Park lies at the heart of the Etherow/Goyt Valley and was one of Britain's first country parks. Etherow Country Park is one of the most widely visited parks in Stockport. Read More

This award winning visitor attraction offers two floors of interactive exhibits taking you on a journey through the history of Stockport’s once thriving hatting industry. The museum is... Read More

Staircase House

The house is famous for its rare Jacobean cage-newel staircase. A state-of-the-art audio guide recounts the full history of the house and is available in English, French, German... Read More

In October 1932 a vision was born for Stockport and the Northwest in the form of a Super Cinema and Variety Theatre that would evoke the glamour of the era with its sumptuous surroundings, highest possible attention to detail

~Things to Do and See in Stockport~

Visit North West

Stockport is a town located 6 miles southeast of Manchester. It is the largest town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, an area that also includes Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley.

The population of the metropolitan borough is 297,100

Although once described by 19th century philosopher Engels as ‘one of the darkest and smokiest holes in the whole industrial area’, the Stockport of today boasts over 30 parks, one million trees and is 45% green space.

Hotels and places to stay in and around Stockport include:

• Hallmark Hotel Manchester Airport
• Governors House
• Village Hotel Manchester Cheadle
• Britannia Hotel Stockport
• Bredbury Hall Hotel
• Innkeeper's Lodge Stockport, Heaton Chapel
• Didsbury House Hotel
• Best Western Plus Pinewood on Wilmslow
• Trivelles Mayfair
• Holiday Inn Express - Stockport

Attractions

One of Stockport’s most fascinating attractions is the Stockport Air Raid Shelters . During WWII these civilian underground air raid shelters were built into sandstone cliffs in the town centre and have been recently restored and opened to the public.

Stockport was once the capital of the UK’s hatting industry. In 2000 the country’s first and only museum devoted to hats and hat-making opened in one of the town’s former hat making mills.

Stockport Viaduct boasts 27 arches and dominates the town centre. When completed at the beginning of the Victorian era it was the largest viaduct in the world.

Staircase House is a restored medieval town house famous for its rare cage newell staircase. Other heritage attractions include Bramall Hall and Vernon Park .

There’s a good choice of cinemas in Stockport. The centre boasts the historic Plaza plus the Light Cinema at Redrock. A little further away are the Regent in Marple and Savoy in Heaton Moor.

Stockport’s main shopping centre is the Merseyway . Part-covered and part-pedestrianised it is home to around 100 high-street stores including Debenhams and Marks & Spencer.

Stockport boasts one of the best markets in North West England. The Victorian Market Hall, a speciality Produce Hall and a traditional street market offer more than 200 stalls. Market days are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

The Peel Centre is the town’s main retail park.

Stockport is just off Manchester’s orbital motorway, the M60.

Manchester Airport is just 10 miles from the town centre. The train from Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes calls at Stockport.

Stockport has one train station, situated in the town centre. It’s on the West Coast Main Line giving easy access to Manchester, Birmingham and London.

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• Robinsons Brewery
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• Stockport Air Raid Shelters
• Avro Heritage Museum
• Reddish Vale Farm
• Bramall Hall & Park
• Woodbank Memorial Park
• Memorial Park
• Marple Locks

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Top Things to Do in Stockport, Greater Manchester - Stockport Must-See Attractions

Things to do in stockport.

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• Good for a Rainy Day
• Budget-friendly
• Good for Kids
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• Hidden Gems
• Adventurous
• Good for Adrenaline Seekers
• Honeymoon spot
• Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.

1. Stockport Air Raid Shelters

2. Robinsons Brewery

3. Hat Works Museum

4. Avro Heritage Museum

5. Reddish Vale Farm

6. The Plaza

7. Marple Locks

8. Bramall Hall & Park

9. Staircase House

10. Etherow Country Park

11. The Vintage Emporium at Pear Mill

12. Stockport Museum

13. Awesome Walls Climbing Centre Stockport

14. Broadstone Mill Shopping Outlet

15. The Garden House

16. Chads Theatre Company

17. Chadkirk Chapel Museum

18. X-GENVR

19. Grosvenor Casino Stockport

20. Reddish Vale Country Park

21. Woodbank Memorial Park

22. Stockport Garrick Theatre

23. Brabyns Park

24. Players Theatre

25. Memorial Park

26. moviESCAPE

27. Carver Theatre

28. Old Town Dungeon & Court House

29. Abney Hall Country Park

30. Marple Aqueduct

What travellers are saying.

Top Things to Do in Stockport

Things to do in stockport, explore popular experiences, tours in and around stockport.

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Snowdonia & Chester Day Tour from Manchester Including Admission

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Top attractions in stockport.

Other Top Attractions around Stockport

What travelers are saying

• Robinsons Brewery
• Etherow Country Park
• Stockport Air Raid Shelters
• Avro Heritage Museum
• Reddish Vale Farm
• Bramall Hall & Park
• Woodbank Memorial Park
• Memorial Park
• Marple Locks

Top Things to Do in Stockport, Greater Manchester - Stockport Must-See Attractions

Things to do in stockport, explore popular experiences, tours in and around stockport.

Scavenger Hunt in Stockport by Zombie Scavengers

Fun City Scavenger Hunt in Stockport by Operation City Quest

Windermere & Lake District Tour from Manchester Including Cruise

Full-Day North Wales Sightseeing Adventure from Manchester

Manchester Afternoon Walking Tour

Manchester's Music Scene

Snowdonia & Chester Day Tour from Manchester Including Admission

Chatsworth and Peak District Small-Group Tour from Manchester

The Manchester City Stadium Tour

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'I went to a hidden Greater Manchester attraction and it was the best £5.50 I've spent'

B eneath the bustling streets of Stockport’s town centre lies one of Greater Manchester’s more unusual attractions. Carved into the sandstone rock that the town is built on is a network of tunnels around one mile in length, which were used as air raid shelters during the Second World War.

The first set of shelters opened in October 1939 and they were soon expanded, with the biggest eventually able to accommodate up to 6,500 people during air raids. The tunnels were sealed off from the public in 1948, but the largest of the shelters, dubbed the ‘Chestergate Hotel’ by locals, was opened in 1996 as a museum, and today you can head underground and experience the tunnels for yourself.

During a recent visit to Stockport I knew I wanted to visit the air raid shelters , so I bought myself a £5.50 ticket, and dived down into the town’s past. Safe to say, it was an experience like no other in Greater Manchester

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The entrance to the tunnels is situated on Chestergate, hence the nickname, and is surreally located opposite a Primark and the Merseyway Shopping Centre. Stepping inside, I was welcomed by two friendly volunteers, then I bought my £5.50 ticket and was handed an audio guide.

The tour is completely self-guided, although you can book guided tours if you want to. The adventure began with a short audio-visual presentation in a darkened room which introduced the history of the tunnels (although a warning to anyone who isn’t fond of museum mannequins - be aware of the warden which appears halfway through). After that I was left to wander around the tunnels at my leisure.

Interspersed along the twisting and turning tunnels are informative displays on the history of the tunnels, local context and general information on the Second World War. Every now and then there are checkpoints which connected to your audio guide and so you can listen to recordings giving the perspective of air raid wardens, children and more.

Along the way are areas showing how the nurses quarters would have been, toilets and even a kitchen area. Some of the tunnels are lined with rows of iron bunkbeds and it’s haunting to think of the hundreds of people sheltering down here during the air raids.

I was completely alone during my visit which added to the eerie atmosphere. Some sections are gated off and only open during selected tours, so it was even creepier to peer though the gates into the darkness.

The tunnels are like nowhere else in Greater Manchester; they feel cave-like with the damp, exposed sandstone but also manmade too. As I made my way around them (don’t worry about getting lost, there are signs to guide you) I felt a world away from the town above - and it was actually rather refreshing not having phone signal for a while.

Overall it’s an eye-opening and reflective experience. I did find it novel exploring the underground tunnels (because how often do you get to do that for just over a fiver?) and it’s something that you could take children to for an informative day out. But it also makes you think of what it was like to shelter here all those years ago. It's not all doom and gloom, however, as the displays and audio clips capture the Blitz spirit of the era.

So if you’ve not already been, get yourself down to Stockport and pay a visit to the 'Chestergate Hotel'. You won't be disappointed.

What you need to know

Adult tickets cost £5.50, concessions (ages 60+ and students) cost £4, children under 16 with a paying adult are free, as well as Leisure Key pass holders. There is also no charge for companions of visitors with a registered disability.

Stockport Air Raid Shelters are open 1pm-5pm Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 5pm Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sundays. They’re closed on Mondays.

There are fully guided evening tours which cover areas not usually open to the public. They take place on the first Tuesday of each month from 7pm to 8.30pm. Tickets cost £10 for adults aged 16 and over and must be booked in advance, which you can do here. There are also family tours and private tours available - for more information visit the Stockport Air Raid Shelters website here .

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Top attractions in stockport.

Other Top Attractions around Stockport

What travellers are saying

• Robinsons Brewery
• Etherow Country Park
• Stockport Air Raid Shelters
• Avro Heritage Museum
• Reddish Vale Farm
• Bramall Hall & Park
• Woodbank Memorial Park
• Memorial Park
• Marple Locks