Oldham
Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England.
It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Rochdale, and 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Manchester City Centre. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, which had a population of 242,003 in 2021.
Getting to Oldham
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.
- 01Oldham Central is served by Metrolink
Worth seeing
Oldham Owls are the sculpture in Parliament Square. "Owls, Owldham", geddit? Gallery Oldham, 35 Greaves St OL1 1AL,. Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM. Art gallery plus museum. Free.
- 01Alexandra Park
- 02Daisy Nook Country Park
Stannybrook Rd, Failsworth (Bus 230 / 231).
- 03Saddleworth Museum and Art Gallery
High St, Uppermill OL3 6HS (Bus 84 / 184),.
Things to do
- 01Oldham Coliseum
Theatre with a full programme of repertory and an annual pantomime.
- 02Oldham Athletic
"The Latics" play soccer in League Two, the fourth tier.
Where to eat
Valentino's, 8 Retiro Street OL1 1SA,. W, Th & Sa 5:30-10PM, F 11:30AM-2PM, 5:30-11PM, Su 2-9PM. Cosy place for Neapolitan fare. Molino Lounge in the former Town Hall is open Su-Th 9AM-10PM, F Sa 9AM-11PM. Café East is Indian, at
Getting around Oldham the local way
- Get inThe Manchester Ship Canal can only be used on the Mersey Ferry cruise from Salford to Eastham between April and October.
From Wikivoyage: Manchester, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.