Car Hire Stockport

Stockport Mini Guide

What do I Need to Know About Stockport?
Stockport was one of the power houses of the industrial revolution with industries including the processing of hemp for rope-making. The ropes were then used to make and repair ships sailing from Liverpool to all parts of the Empire. It was also the country’s chief hat making town at one point exporting six million hats a year. Many of the town’s industrial buildings can be seen in the works of local artist L S Lowry, including the Stockport Viaduct, an incredible feat of Victorian engineering.

How do I get to Stockport?
The closest airport to Stockport is Manchester Airport although Liverpool Airport is also quite close. Stockport is on the main west coast rail line and high speed trains mean that London is a mere two hours away. The journey from the airports or railway station to destinations in the town can easily be made by bus.

What is There to see Around Stockport?
There’s plenty to do in Stockport and all of it can be done no matter what the weather. Begin with a photograph taken with the Stockport Viaduct in the background. Your photo will be like many of Lowry’s paintings as he also used the structure as a background for his works. Next, head off to Hat Works, an unusual but fun introduction to the hat making industry that the town was famous for in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

For children, the Stockport Air Raid Shelters are another fascinating visit as it will show them what life was like in the shelters during bombing raids in World War II. If you’ve hired a car then out of town you’ll come to the Stockport Pyramid, a glass and steel structure that was to be an arts centre before funding dried up. It’s now a call centre.

Stockport is a fascinating town with a great deal to see based on town’s industrial heritage. Visit the Hat Works, the museum that celebrates Stockport’s now defunct but once thriving hat making industry. Dominating the town is the Stockport Viaduct, Europe’s largest brick structure.

It’s 27 arches span the Mersey and carry the railway from Liverpool to Manchester. Eleven million bricks were used in its construction and it appears in several of L S Lowry’s paintings. Finally use your hire car to go to the town hall to see the ballroom which contains the largest Wurlitzer organ in the country.