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North West England



 
 
North West England is one of the nine official regions of England
Regions of England

The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of Local government in England sub-national entity of England, with only one, London, having a directly elected assembly....
. It has a population of 6,853,200 and comprises five counties of England
Counties of England

The counties of England are territorial divisions of England for the purposes of administrative, political and geographical demarcation. Many current counties have foundations in older divisions such as the Anglo-Saxon England kingdoms....
 – Cumbria
Cumbria

Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, Lancashire
Lancashire

Lancashire is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in the North West England of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea....
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England by population. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Metropolitan Borough of...
, Merseyside
Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, the title "Merseyside" came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan boroughs adjoining the Mersey estuary,...
, and Cheshire
Cheshire

Cheshire is a Counties of England in North West England. The county town, and the location of the county council, is the City status in the United Kingdom of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town in terms of area and population is Warrington....
.

North West England is bounded on the west by the Irish Sea
Irish Sea

The Irish Sea also known as the Mann Sea or Manx Sea, separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea portion of the Atlantic Ocean by St George's Channel between Republic of Ireland and Wales, and to the north by the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland which forms part of...
 and on the east by The Pennines mountain range. The region extends from the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders , often referred to simply as the Borders, is one of 32 local government Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the Metropolitan and non-metropolit...
 in the north to the Welsh Mountains
Geography of Wales

Wales comprises a peninsula in central-west Great Britain together with offshore islands of which the largest is Anglesey. It is a country of the United Kingdom....
 in the south. The highest point in North West England (and the highest peak in England) is Scafell Pike
Scafell Pike

|}At 978 metres , Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England. It is located in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria.It is sometimes confused with the neighbouring Sca Fell, to which it is connected by the col of Mickledore....
, Cumbria, at a height of .

Two large conurbation
Conurbation

A conurbation is an urban area or agglomeration comprising a number of cities, large towns and larger urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area....
s, centred on the cities of Liverpool
Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
 and Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
, occupy the south of the region and are its largest centres of population.






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Encyclopedia


North West England is one of the nine official regions of England
Regions of England

The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of Local government in England sub-national entity of England, with only one, London, having a directly elected assembly....
. It has a population of 6,853,200 and comprises five counties of England
Counties of England

The counties of England are territorial divisions of England for the purposes of administrative, political and geographical demarcation. Many current counties have foundations in older divisions such as the Anglo-Saxon England kingdoms....
 – Cumbria
Cumbria

Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, Lancashire
Lancashire

Lancashire is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in the North West England of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea....
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England by population. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Metropolitan Borough of...
, Merseyside
Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, the title "Merseyside" came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan boroughs adjoining the Mersey estuary,...
, and Cheshire
Cheshire

Cheshire is a Counties of England in North West England. The county town, and the location of the county council, is the City status in the United Kingdom of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town in terms of area and population is Warrington....
.

North West England is bounded on the west by the Irish Sea
Irish Sea

The Irish Sea also known as the Mann Sea or Manx Sea, separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea portion of the Atlantic Ocean by St George's Channel between Republic of Ireland and Wales, and to the north by the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland which forms part of...
 and on the east by The Pennines mountain range. The region extends from the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders , often referred to simply as the Borders, is one of 32 local government Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the Metropolitan and non-metropolit...
 in the north to the Welsh Mountains
Geography of Wales

Wales comprises a peninsula in central-west Great Britain together with offshore islands of which the largest is Anglesey. It is a country of the United Kingdom....
 in the south. The highest point in North West England (and the highest peak in England) is Scafell Pike
Scafell Pike

|}At 978 metres , Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England. It is located in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria.It is sometimes confused with the neighbouring Sca Fell, to which it is connected by the col of Mickledore....
, Cumbria, at a height of .

Two large conurbation
Conurbation

A conurbation is an urban area or agglomeration comprising a number of cities, large towns and larger urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area....
s, centred on the cities of Liverpool
Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
 and Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
, occupy the south of the region and are its largest centres of population. The north of the region, including northern Lancashire and Cumbria, is largely rural.

Local government

The official region
Regions of England

The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of Local government in England sub-national entity of England, with only one, London, having a directly elected assembly....
 consists of the following subdivisions:

Ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England

The ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997....
 
County/Unitary Districts
Cheshire
Cheshire

Cheshire is a Counties of England in North West England. The county town, and the location of the county council, is the City status in the United Kingdom of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town in terms of area and population is Warrington....
 
Cheshire † Ellesmere Port and Neston
Ellesmere Port and Neston

Ellesmere Port and Neston is a non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom in Cheshire, England. It covers the southern part of the Wirral Peninsula, that part which is not included in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral....
, Chester, Crewe and Nantwich
Crewe and Nantwich

Crewe and Nantwich is one of six Non-metropolitan districts in the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Cheshire, England. It has a population of 111,007....
, Congleton
Congleton (borough)

Congleton is a Non-metropolitan district and borough in Cheshire, in North West England. It covers Congleton, Alsager, Holmes Chapel, Middlewich and Sandbach....
, Macclesfield
Macclesfield (borough)

Macclesfield is a Non-metropolitan district, borough and Macclesfield in Cheshire England. It includes the towns of Bollington, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Wilmslow and its wide area includes the villages and hamlets of Adlington, Cheshire, Disley, Gawsworth, Hurdsfield, Kerridge, Pott Shrigley, Poynton, Prestbury, Cheshire, Rainow, Styal,...
, Vale Royal
Vale Royal

Vale Royal is a Non-metropolitan district and borough in Cheshire, England....
Warrington
Warrington

Warrington is a large town, borough status in the United Kingdom and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley....
 U.A.
Halton
Halton (borough)

Halton is a local government district in North West England, with Borough status in the United Kingdom and administered by a unitary authority. It was created in 1974 as a district of Cheshire, and became a unitary authority area on 1 April 1998....
 U.A.
Cumbria
Cumbria

Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
 †
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness (borough)

Barrow-in-Furness is a Non-metropolitan district with borough status in the United Kingdom in Cumbria, England. It is named after its main town, Barrow-in-Furness....
, South Lakeland
South Lakeland

South Lakeland is a Non-metropolitan district in Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes much of the Lake District.The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972....
, Copeland
Copeland, Cumbria

Copeland is a Non-metropolitan district and borough in western Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Whitehaven. It was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of the borough of Whitehaven, Ennerdale Rural District and Millom Rural District....
, Allerdale
Allerdale

Allerdale is a Non-metropolitan district with Borough status in England and Wales status, in Cumbria, England. It is Historic Counties of England part of the English county of Cumberland....
, Eden
Eden, Cumbria

Eden is a Non-metropolitan district in Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Penrith, Cumbria. It is named after the River Eden, Cumbria which flows north through the district toward Carlisle....
, Carlisle
City of Carlisle

City of Carlisle is a Non-metropolitan district with List of cities in the United Kingdom in Cumbria, England. It has a population of around 100,739 ....
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England by population. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Metropolitan Borough of...
 *
Bolton, Bury, Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford
City of Salford

The City of Salford is a local government district of Greater Manchester, England, with the status of a City status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough....
, Stockport
Stockport

Stockport is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey at the influx of the rivers River Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, southeast of the city of Manchester....
, Tameside
Tameside

The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame, Greater Manchester which flows through the borough and consists of the nine towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Greater Manchester, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Greater Manchester, Mottram in...
, Trafford
Trafford

The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Greater Manchester, Sale, Greater Manchester, Stretford, and Urmston....
, Wigan
Lancashire
Lancashire

Lancashire is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in the North West England of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea....
 
Lancashire † West Lancashire
West Lancashire

West Lancashire is a Non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Ormskirk. The district was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of Ormskirk Urban District and Skelmersdale and Holland urban districts along with part of West Lancashire Rural District and part of Wigan Rural District....
, Chorley
Chorley

Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry. As recently as the 1970s the skyline was dominated by numerous factory chimneys, but most are now demolished: remnants of the industrial past include Morrison's chimney and a few other mill buildings, and the streets of...
, South Ribble
South Ribble

South Ribble is a non-metropolitan district and borough of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland, Lancashire. In May 2007 it was officially declared "Excellent" by the Audit Commission, gaining its place among the best 5 district councils in the country....
, Fylde, Preston
Preston

Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's reign....
, Wyre
Wyre

Wyre is a Non-metropolitan district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district....
, Lancaster
City of Lancaster

City of Lancaster is a Non-metropolitan district with city status in the United Kingdom in Lancashire, England. Its main town is Lancaster, Lancashire, from which it obtained its city status....
, Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley

Ribble Valley is a Non-metropolitan district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe....
, Pendle
Pendle

Pendle is a Non-metropolitan district and borough of Lancashire, England, on the North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire borders. It adjoins the Lancashire boroughs of Burnley and Ribble Valley....
, Burnley
Burnley (borough)

Burnley is a Non-metropolitan district with borough status in Lancashire in North West England, named for its main town, Burnley. It has been governed by the Liberal Democrats since 2008....
, Rossendale
Rossendale

Rossendale is a Non-metropolitan district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centred around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West England....
, Hyndburn
Hyndburn

Hyndburn is a Non-metropolitan district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington. The district is named after the River Hyndburn....
Blackpool
Blackpool

Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Lying along the coast of the Irish Sea, it has a population of 142,900, making it the North West England#Important cities and towns settlement in North West England behind Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington....
 U.A.
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England England. It consists of Blackburn, the small town of Darwen to the south of it, and the surrounding countryside....
 U.A.
Merseyside
Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, the title "Merseyside" came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan boroughs adjoining the Mersey estuary,...
 *
Knowsley
Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley

The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It comprises the towns of Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston, Merseyside, Halewood and Cronton; Kirkby, Huyton, and Prescot being the major commercial centres....
, Liverpool
Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
, St. Helens, Sefton, Wirral


Key: shire county
Shire county

A non-metropolitan county or shire county in England, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England which is not a metropolitan county....
 = † | metropolitan county
Metropolitan county

The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million....
 = *

After abolition of the Greater Manchester and Merseyside County Councils in 1986, power was transferred to the Metropolitan Boroughs, effectively making them Unitary Authorities.

Demographics


Population, Density and Settlements


Region/County Population Population Density Largest town/city Largest metropolitan area
North West England 6,853,200 475/km˛ Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
 (458,100)
Greater Manchester Urban Area
Greater Manchester Urban Area

The Greater Manchester Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the large conurbation surrounding and including the Manchester in North West England....
 (2,240,230)
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England by population. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Metropolitan Borough of...
2,553,800 1,997/km˛ Manchester (458,100) Greater Manchester Urban Area (2,240,230)
Lancashire
Lancashire

Lancashire is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in the North West England of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea....
1,449,600 468/km˛ Preston
Preston

Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's reign....
 (184,836 )
Preston/Chorley/Leyland urban Area
Preston

Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's reign....
 (335,000)
Merseyside
Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, the title "Merseyside" came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan boroughs adjoining the Mersey estuary,...
1,353,600 2,118/km˛ Liverpool
Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
 (436,100)
Liverpool Urban Area
Liverpool Urban Area

The "Liverpool Urban Area" is a term used by the Office for National Statistics to denote the urban area around Liverpool in England, to the east of the River Mersey....
 (816,000)
Cheshire
Cheshire

Cheshire is a Counties of England in North West England. The county town, and the location of the county council, is the City status in the United Kingdom of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town in terms of area and population is Warrington....
999,800 424/km˛ Chester
Chester

Chester is the county town of Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, Wales, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider local government district of the Chester , which had a population of 118,210 according to the United Kingdom Census 2001....
 (77,040)
Warrington
Warrington

Warrington is a large town, borough status in the United Kingdom and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley....
 (194,700)
Cumbria
Cumbria

Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
496,200 73/km˛ Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness , often known simply as Barrow, is an manufacturing and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England....
 (59, 789)
City of Carlisle
City of Carlisle

City of Carlisle is a Non-metropolitan district with List of cities in the United Kingdom in Cumbria, England. It has a population of around 100,739 ....
 (105,200)


North West England's population accounts for just over 13% of England's overall population. 37.86% of the North West's population resides in Greater Manchester, 21.39% in Lancashire, 20.30% in Merseyside, 14.76% in Cheshire and 7.41% live in the largest county geographically, Cumbria.

Ethnicity


This data is based on 2007 estimates.

92.2% (6,318,650) of people in the region classified themselves as 'White' in the 2001 UK Census. 89.5% (6,113,614) of the overall regional population is White British
White British

"White British" was a Ethnic groups-based classification used by the United Kingdom Census 2001. As a result of the census, 50,366,497 people in the United Kingdom were classified as White British....
, 1.0% (68,532) White Irish and 1.7% (116,504) White Other
White Other (United Kingdom Census)

"White Other" is a term used in the United Kingdom 2001 UK Census to describe White people persons of non-British people and non-Irish people descent in Great Britain....
.

The Mixed Race population makes up 1.2% (82,238) of the region's population. There are 315,247 South Asians
British Asian

The term British Asian is used to refer to British nationality law who are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from South Asia, or the Indian subcontinent....
 in the region, making up 4.6% of the population, and 1.2% Blacks
Black British

group = Black British|image= File:Chiwetel Ejiofor by David Shankbone.jpgFile:Naomie Harris 1.JPGFile:Allsaints8.jpgFile:IgnatiusSancho.jpgFile:Estelle Swaray.jpgFile:ThandieNewtonBAFTA07.jpg...
 (82,238). 0.7% of the population (47,972) is Chinese
British Chinese

British Chinese , including British-born Chinese , are people of Han Chinese ancestry who were born in or have migrated to the United Kingdom....
 and 0.4% (27,413) of people classified themselves as 'Other' in the census .

North West England is a very diverse region, and cities such as Manchester and Liverpool are amongst the most diverse in Europe. 19.4% of Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England England. It consists of Blackburn, the small town of Darwen to the south of it, and the surrounding countryside....
's population are Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
, the third highest among all local authorities in the United Kingdom and the highest outside London and a significant South Asian
British Asian

The term British Asian is used to refer to British nationality law who are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from South Asia, or the Indian subcontinent....
 population of over 20%. Areas such as Moss Side
Moss Side

Moss Side is a residential area and wards of the United Kingdom of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre and has a population of around 11,000....
 in Greater Manchester are home to over a 30% Black British
Black British

group = Black British|image= File:Chiwetel Ejiofor by David Shankbone.jpgFile:Naomie Harris 1.JPGFile:Allsaints8.jpgFile:IgnatiusSancho.jpgFile:Estelle Swaray.jpgFile:ThandieNewtonBAFTA07.jpg...
 population. Even isolated towns such as Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness , often known simply as Barrow, is an manufacturing and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England....
 (considered to be at the end of England's largest cul-de-sac
Cul-de-sac

A cul-de-sac , close, or court is a dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet. While historically built for other reasons, its modern use is to calm vehicle traffic....
) have significant and ever increasing ethnic minority populations, the town now has higher proportions of people belonging to the 'Other'
Other ethnic group (United Kingdom Census)

The 2001 UK Census ethnic groups include White British, White Other , British Mixed, British Asian, Black British and British Chinese or other ethnic group....
 ethnic group than the UK average which can only be said for a few North West towns. The town of St. Helens within Merseyside unusually for a city-area has the lowest percentage of ethnic minorities in the whole of England. The City of Liverpool is now over 800 years old, and is one of the few places in Britain where ethnic minority populations can be traced back over dozens of decades, being one of the closest English cities to Ireland it is home to a significant Irish
Irish people

The Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha D? Danann and the Milesians ?the last group supposedly representing the "pure" Gaelic a...
 population, and links to the British Slave Trade
History of slavery

The history of slavery covers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout history. Slavery, generally defined, refers to a situation where one human being is considered to be the property of another, and is therefore obligated to perform tasks for their owner without any choice involved....
 resulted in the city being home to one of the first ever Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean

The term Afro-Caribbean applies to Caribbean people of Black people African descent. It may also refer to:*British African-Caribbean community...
 communities in the UK.

Summarised
  • There are around 400,000 people living in the North West of any Asian ethnicity (5.8% of regions population), England average is around 9%
  • Around 125,000 people from the North West are of full or partial Sub-African and/ or Caribbean descent (1.8% of regions population), England average is around 4%
  • The single largest non-white ethnic group in the North West are Pakistanis, numbering 133,900


Place of birth

Please note that the list below is not how many people belong to each ethnic group (i.e. there are over 25,000 ethnic Italians
Britalian

Italian Britons also known as Britalians, are British citizens whose both parents ancestry originates in Italy. The phrase may refer to someone born in the United Kingdom of Italian people descent, someone who has themselves emigrated from Italy to the United Kingdom or someone born elsewhere who are of Italian descent and have migrate...
 in Manchester alone, whilst only 6,000 Italian born people live in the North West), please note also that due to recent immigration to the UK, the numbers below are likely to be substantially lower than the current populations, and countries such as Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
 would most certainly make the top 5. The fifteen most common countries of birth in 2001 for North West citizens were as follows :
  • England - 6,169,753
  • Scotland - 109,163
  • Wales - 73,850
  • Ireland - 56,887
  • Pakistan - 46,529
  • Northern Ireland - 34,879
  • India - 34,600
  • Germany - 19,931
  • China and Hong Kong - 15,491
  • Bangladesh - 13,746
  • South Africa - 7,740
  • United States - 7,037
  • Jamaica - 6,661
  • Italy - 6,325
  • Australia - 5,880


Religion

The table below is based in the 2001 UK Census.

Region Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
Hindu Sikh
Sikh

Sikh is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit ' "disciple, learner" or ' "instruction"....
Jewish Buddhist Other No Religion/ Not Stated
North West England 78.0% 3.0% 0.4% 0.1% 0.4% 0.2% 0.2% 17.7%
United Kingdom 71.6% 2.7% 1.0% 0.6% 0.5% 0.3% 0.3% 23.2%


Teenage pregnancy

For top-tier authorities, Manchester has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the region. For council districts, Burnley
Burnley (borough)

Burnley is a Non-metropolitan district with borough status in Lancashire in North West England, named for its main town, Burnley. It has been governed by the Liberal Democrats since 2008....
 has the highest rate, closely followed by Hyndburn
Hyndburn

Hyndburn is a Non-metropolitan district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington. The district is named after the River Hyndburn....
, both in Lancashire. For top-tier authorities, Cheshire has the lowest teenage pregnancy rate. For council districts, Eden
Eden, Cumbria

Eden is a Non-metropolitan district in Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Penrith, Cumbria. It is named after the River Eden, Cumbria which flows north through the district toward Carlisle....
 has the lowest rate closely followed by South Lakeland
South Lakeland

South Lakeland is a Non-metropolitan district in Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes much of the Lake District.The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972....
, both in Cumbria.

Language and dialect


Up until the 12th Century, Cumbric (a Celtic language), was spoken throughout Northwest England. This language was gradually replaced by Old/Middle English, but the language still survives in various placenames throughout the North West, and reconstructions of the language are being attempted. In modern times, English is the most spoken language in the North West, with a large percentage of the population being fluent in it, and close to 100% being conversational in it. To the north-east of the region, within the historic boundaries of Cumberland
Cumberland

Cumberland is one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an Administrative counties of England from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, the Cumbrian dialect
Cumbrian dialect

File:Cumb.svgThe Cumbrian dialect is a local dialect spoken in Cumbria in northern England. As in any county, there is a gradual drift in accent towards its neighbours....
 is dominant. The historical county of Lancashire
Lancashire

Lancashire is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in the North West England of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea....
 covered a vast amount of land, and the Lancashire dialect and accent
Lancashire dialect and accent

Lancashire dialect and accent refers to the vernacular speech in Lancashire, one of the counties of England. Simon Elmes' book Talking for Britain said that Lancashire dialect is now much less common than it once was, but it is not yet extinct....
 is still predominant throughout the county, and stretches as far north as Furness
Furness

Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. As a socio-cultural unit, it is more loosely defined. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale Hundred that is an exclave of the Historic counties of England of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....
 in South Cumbria to parts of north Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England by population. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Metropolitan Borough of...
 in the south of the region. The region boasts some of the most distinctive accents in the Scouse
Scouse

File:Mersey.svgScouse is the accent and dialect of English language found in the city of Liverpool, and in some adjoining urban areas of Merseyside, mainly The Wirral, often known as woolyback or posh scouse, due to several differences in speech patterns and pronunciation, but also in the new town areas of Runcorn and Skelmersdale....
 accent which originates from the Merseyside
Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, the title "Merseyside" came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan boroughs adjoining the Mersey estuary,...
 area and the Manc
Manc

Manc, short for Mancunian, is the word used to describe people from the city of Manchester and the district's accent.It is claimed that the accent has subconsciously changed the way people from other regions speak through television with the popular soap Coronation Street and through music with many bands from the district including Oasis ,...
 accent deriving from the central Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
 district. The region's accents are among those referred to as 'Northern English
Northern English

Northern English is a group of dialects of the English language. It includes the North East England dialects, which is similar in some respects to Scots language....
'.

Large immigrant populations in the North West result in the presence of significant immigrant languages. South Asia
South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
n languages such as Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi
Punjabi language

'Punjabi' , , is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region and their diasporas. Speakers include adherents of the religions of Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism....
 are considerably widespread, with the largest amount of speakers resideing in Preston
Preston

Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's reign....
, Blackburn
Blackburn

Blackburn is a large town in Lancashire, England. It lies to the north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of the city of Preston, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester....
 and Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
. The Chinese
British Chinese

British Chinese , including British-born Chinese , are people of Han Chinese ancestry who were born in or have migrated to the United Kingdom....
 once made up the largest minority in the region, and still do to the far north where Chinese
Chinese language

Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....
 is spoken by small but significant communities. Since the expansion of the EU over 1 million Poles
Poles

The Polish people, or Poles , are a West Slavs ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Poles are sometimes defined as people who share a common Polish culture and are of Polish descent....
 have immigrated to the UK, with a large amount settling in the North West, places such as Crewe
Crewe

Crewe is a town in Cheshire, England. It is the largest town in the borough of Crewe and Nantwich, in which it is the only unparished area. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683....
 alongside the larger cities make Polish
Polish language

Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography....
 written information available for the public, to much controversy. Other immigrant languages with a presence in the North West are Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
, mainly amongst the Latin American communities in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness , often known simply as Barrow, is an manufacturing and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England....
, Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire

Lancaster is a City status in the United Kingdom in North West England and the county town of Lancashire. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952....
, Liverpool
Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
 and Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
, as well as various other Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is a term that applies to the geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the Europe. Throughout history and to a lesser extent today, parts of Eastern Europe has been distinguishable from Western Europe and other regions due to cultural, religious, economic, and historical reasons, even though there i...
an and Asian languages.

The most taught languages in schools across the North West are English, French and German. Spanish and Italian are available at older levels, and in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, even Urdu and Mandarin are being taught to help maintain links between the local minority populations.

Cities and towns


  • GM = Greater Manchester
    Greater Manchester

    Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England by population. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Metropolitan Borough of...
    , ME = Merseyside
    Merseyside

    Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, the title "Merseyside" came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan boroughs adjoining the Mersey estuary,...
    , CU = Cumbria
    Cumbria

    Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
    , LA = Lancashire
    Lancashire

    Lancashire is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in the North West England of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea....
    , CH = Cheshire
    Cheshire

    Cheshire is a Counties of England in North West England. The county town, and the location of the county council, is the City status in the United Kingdom of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town in terms of area and population is Warrington....


Oldhamtowncentre
Chester England



Population > 400,000
*Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
, GM
*Liverpool
Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
, ME
Population > 100,000
*Warrington
Warrington

Warrington is a large town, borough status in the United Kingdom and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley....
, CH
*Blackpool
Blackpool

Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Lying along the coast of the Irish Sea, it has a population of 142,900, making it the North West England#Important cities and towns settlement in North West England behind Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington....
, LA
*Bolton
Bolton

Bolton is a large town in Greater Manchester, in the North West England region of England.Situated close to the West Pennine Moors, north west of the city of Manchester, it is the largest and most populous settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, the former county borough of Bolton has a population of 139,403, though this figure d...
, GM
*Stockport
Stockport

Stockport is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey at the influx of the rivers River Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, southeast of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Preston
Preston

Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's reign....
, LA
*Blackburn
Blackburn

Blackburn is a large town in Lancashire, England. It lies to the north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of the city of Preston, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester....
, LA
*Oldham
Oldham

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk and River Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside

St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000 of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001....
, ME
Population > 70,000
*Southport
Southport

Southport is a seaside resort within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. The town is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the north of Liverpool and west-southwest of Preston....
, ME
*Rochdale
Rochdale

Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Birkenhead
Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool....
, ME
*Wigan
Wigan

Wigan is a large town in Greater Manchester in England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester, and east-northeast of Liverpool....
, GM
*Chester
Chester

Chester is the county town of Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, Wales, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider local government district of the Chester , which had a population of 118,210 according to the United Kingdom Census 2001....
, CH
*Burnley
Burnley

Burnley is a large market town in the Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies east of Blackburn and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder, Lancashire and River Brun....
, LA
*Salford
Salford

Salford lies at the heart of the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Salford is located by a meander of the River Irwell, which forms its boundary with the city of Manchester to the east....
, GM
*Carlisle
Carlisle

Carlisle is in the City of Carlisle, a district of Cumbria in North West England. It is located at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, River Caldew and River Petteril, south of the Anglo-Scottish border....
, CU
Population > 50,000
*Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness , often known simply as Barrow, is an manufacturing and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England....
, CU
*Crewe
Crewe

Crewe is a town in Cheshire, England. It is the largest town in the borough of Crewe and Nantwich, in which it is the only unparished area. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683....
, CH
*Wythenshawe
Wythenshawe

Wythenshawe is a district in the south of the City of Manchester in North West England.Until 1931 the district formed a part of the Administrative counties of England of Cheshire....
, GM
*Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port

Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and cargo port in the borough of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Cheshire, England, situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula on the estuary of the River Mersey, to the north of Chester....
, CH
*Runcorn
Runcorn

Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the Halton in the ceremonial counties of England of Cheshire, England. In mid-2004 its population was estimated to be 61,252....
, CH
*Bury
Bury

Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Bootle
Bootle

Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. It is 4 miles  to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640....
, ME
*Wallasey
Wallasey

Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula....
, ME
*Huyton
Huyton

Huyton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. It has close associations with its neighbour, Roby, Merseyside, having both formerly been part of the Huyton with Roby Urban District....
, ME
*Widnes
Widnes

Widnes is an industrial town within the Halton , in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the River Mersey#Runcorn Gap....
, CH
*Sale
Sale, Greater Manchester

Sale is a town within the Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Stretford, northeast of Altrincham, and southwest of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Macclesfield
Macclesfield

Macclesfield is a market town in Cheshire, England with a population of about 50,688 . It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Macclesfield ....
, CH

Population > 30,000
*Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire

Lancaster is a City status in the United Kingdom in North West England and the county town of Lancashire. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952....
, LA
*Middleton
Middleton, Greater Manchester

Middleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, south-southeast of Rochdale, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Morecambe
Morecambe

Morecambe is a seaside resort within the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England. As of 2003 it has a resident population of about 45,000....
, LA
*Stretford
Stretford

Stretford is a town within the Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Lying on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, it is to the southwest of Manchester City Centre, south-southwest of Salford and northeast of Altrincham....
, GM
*Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne

Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines....
, GM
*Leigh
Leigh, Greater Manchester

Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is south east of Wigan, and 12 miles west of Manchester....
, GM
*Swinton
Swinton, Greater Manchester

Swinton is a town within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on gently sloping ground on the southwest side of the River Irwell, and within the M60 motorway....
, GM
*Lytham St Annes
Lytham St Annes

Lytham St Annes is a conurbation in the Fylde district of Lancashire, England. The neighbouring towns of Lytham and St-Annes-on-Sea have grown together and now form a seaside resort, sometimes seen as a smaller and more genteel alternative to nearby Blackpool....
, LA
*Urmston
Urmston

Urmston is a town within the Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of around 41,000. It lies about six miles to the southwest of Manchester City Centre, within the Historic counties of England of Lancashire....
, GM
*Walkden
Walkden

Walkden is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester....
, GM
*Altrincham
Altrincham

Altrincham is a market town within the Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester City Centre, south-southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester and east of Warrington....
, GM
*Leyland
Leyland, Lancashire

Leyland is a town in the South Ribble of Lancashire, England. Lying approximately six miles south of the city of Preston, Leyland has a population of around 40,000....
, LA
*Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston and west-northwest of Manchester....
, LA
*Eccles
Eccles, Greater Manchester

Eccles is a town within the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It lies on sloping ground between the M602 motorway , and the Manchester Ship Canal ....
, GM
*Accrington
Accrington

Accrington is a town within the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, in North West England. It lies about north of Manchester city centre and north of Greater Manchester situated on the mostly culvert River Hyndburn....
, LA
*Darwen
Darwen

Darwen is a market town in Lancashire, England extending onto the West Pennine Moors. Along with its northerly neighbour, Blackburn, it forms the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen - a unitary authority area....
, LA
*Denton
Denton, Greater Manchester

Denton is a town within the Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is six miles to the east of Manchester City Centre, and has a population of 34,280....
, GM
*Radcliffe
Radcliffe, Greater Manchester

Radcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester....
, GM
*Tyldesley
Tyldesley

Tyldesley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the town is situated east-southeast of Wigan and has a total resident population of 34,022....
, GM
*Chorley
Chorley

Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry. As recently as the 1970s the skyline was dominated by numerous factory chimneys, but most are now demolished: remnants of the industrial past include Morrison's chimney and a few other mill buildings, and the streets of...
, LA
*Chadderton
Chadderton

Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies along the course of the River Irk and the Rochdale Canal, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Prestwich
Prestwich

Prestwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies close to the River Irwell, north of Salford, to the north-northwest of the city of Manchester, and south of Bury....
, GM
*Hyde
Hyde, Greater Manchester

Hyde is a town within the Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. Historic counties of England a part of Cheshire, Hyde has a population of 31,253 ....
, GM
*Thornton-Cleveleys
Thornton-Cleveleys

Thornton-Cleveleys is an unparished area in the England Non-metropolitan district of Wyre, Lancashire, covering the towns of Thornton, Lancashire and Cleveleys....
, LA
*Wilmslow
Wilmslow

Wilmslow is a town in the Borough of Macclesfield in Cheshire, England. It lies to the south of the city of Manchester between Alderley Edge and Handforth....
, CH
*Reddish
Reddish

Reddish is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Stockport and southeast of Manchester....
, GM

Population > 20,000
*Northwich
Northwich

Northwich is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver and River Dane....
,CW
*Winsford
Winsford

Winsford is a town and civil parish within the Vale Royal borough of Cheshire, England. It lies south of Northwich on the River Weaver and grew around the Salt mine industry after the river was canalised in the eighteenth century, allowing freight to be conveyed northwards to the Port of Runcorn on the River Mersey....
, CH
*Haslingden
Haslingden

Haslingden is a small town in the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire, England. It is 19 miles north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels', though the town is in fact set on a high and windy hill....
, LA
*Nelson
Nelson, Lancashire

Nelson is a town and civil parish in the Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 28,998 in 2001. It lies 4 miles north of Burnley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....
, LA
*Maghull
Maghull

Maghull is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. It is north of the city of Liverpool and south of Ormskirk in West Lancashire....
, ME
*Ashton-in-Makerfield
Ashton-in-Makerfield

Ashton-in-Makerfield is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the region known as Makerfield, south of Wigan, north-northwest of Warrington, and west of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Heywood
Heywood, Greater Manchester

Heywood is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is east of Bury, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Fleetwood
Fleetwood

Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the United Kingdom Census 2001....
, LA
*Kendal
Kendal

Kendal is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It is south of Carlisle, on the River Kent, and has a total resident population of 27,521, making it the third largest settlement in Cumbria ....
, CU
*Whitehaven
Whitehaven

Whitehaven is a town and port on the coast of Cumbria, historically and traditionally located in the ancient county of Cumberland England. It is the administrative centre of the Copeland, Cumbria....
, CU
*Farnworth
Farnworth

Farnworth is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton and northwest of Manchester....
, GM
*South Turton
South Turton

South Turton is an unparished area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. Historic counties of England a part of History of Lancashire, it lies on the southern slopes of the West Pennine Moors, and has a population of 25,067....
, GM
*Workington
Workington

Workington is a town and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England at the mouth of the River Derwent, Cumbria. Lying within the borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport....
, CU
*Formby
Formby

Formby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England.Historic counties of England a part of Lancashire, Formby was built on the plain adjoining the Irish Sea coast....
, ME
*Saddleworth
Saddleworth

Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and Hamlet amongst the Saddleworth Moor of the Pennines: Uppermill, Greenfield, Greater Manchester, Delph, Diggle, Greater Manchester and others....
, GM
*Marple
Marple, Greater Manchester

Marple is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Goyt southeast of Stockport....
, GM
*Hindley
Hindley, Greater Manchester

Hindley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Laying three miles east of Wigan it covers an area of 1044 hectares and is within the Historic counties of England of Lancashire....
, GM
*Ormskirk
Ormskirk

Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool, and southwest of Preston....
, LA
*Whitefield
Whitefield, Greater Manchester

Whitefield is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the south side of the River Irwell, south-southeast of Bury, and to the north-northwest of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Droylsden
Droylsden

Droylsden is a town within the Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is situated to the east of Manchester city centre, and west-southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, it has a population of 23,172....
, GM
*Golborne
Golborne

Golborne is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.It lies south-southeast of Wigan, northeast of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Westhoughton
Westhoughton

Westhoughton is a town and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester....
, GM
*Congleton
Congleton

Congleton is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dane, and to the west of the Macclesfield Canal. It has a population of 22,763....
, CH
*Stalybridge
Stalybridge

Stalybridge is a town within the Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the northwest of Glossop, to the east of Manchester and to the north of Stockport....
, GM
*Kirkham
Kirkham, Lancashire

Kirkham, or as it once was known, Kirkam-in-Amounderness is a town in the Fylde district of Lancashire, England, midway between Blackpool and Preston ....
, LA
*Clitheroe
Clitheroe

Clitheroe is a town and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It lies on the southern edge of the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists in the area....
, LA
*Rawtenstall
Rawtenstall

Rawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located....
, LA
*Shaw and Crompton
Shaw and Crompton

Shaw and Crompton is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the Pennines, north of Oldham, southeast of Rochdale, and to the northeast of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Penwortham
Penwortham

Penwortham is a town and civil parish on the south bank of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston, Lancashire. The town is at the most westerly crossing point of the River Ribble, with major road and rail links crossing here....
, LA
*Royton
Royton

Royton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies by the source of the River Irk, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines, north-northwest of Oldham, south-southeast of Rochdale and northeast of the city of Manchester....
, GM
*Failsworth
Failsworth

Failsworth is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground, on the course of the Rochdale Canal and north bank of the River Medlock....
, GM
*Colne
Colne

Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of around 20,000. It lies 6 miles north-east of Burnley, 25 miles east of Preston, 25 miles north of Manchester and 30 miles west of Leeds....
, LA


Metropolitan areas



The five largest metropolitan areas in the North West are as follows:

  • Greater Manchester
    Greater Manchester

    Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England by population. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Metropolitan Borough of...
     - population 2,240,230
  • Greater Liverpool Urban Area
    Merseyside

    Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, the title "Merseyside" came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan boroughs adjoining the Mersey estuary,...
     - 1,365,900
  • Greater Preston
    Preston

    Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's reign....
     - 335,000
  • Wigan Urban Area
    Wigan Urban Area

    The Wigan Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the built-up, or 'urbanised' area containing Wigan in Greater Manchester and Skelmersdale in West Lancashire....
     - 166,840
  • Macclesfield Urban Area
    Macclesfield (borough)

    Macclesfield is a Non-metropolitan district, borough and Macclesfield in Cheshire England. It includes the towns of Bollington, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Wilmslow and its wide area includes the villages and hamlets of Adlington, Cheshire, Disley, Gawsworth, Hurdsfield, Kerridge, Pott Shrigley, Poynton, Prestbury, Cheshire, Rainow, Styal,...
     - 150,500
  • The Manchester - Liverpool Megapolis which is a more or less constant corridor of population is home to 4,209,132 people

Elected regional assembly

It is one of the two regions (along with Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber

Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the nine Government Office regions of England. It covers most of the Historic counties of England of Yorkshire, along with the part of northern Lincolnshire that was, from 1974 to 1996, within the former shire county of Humberside....
) that were expected to hold a referendum on the establishment of an elected regional assembly
Regional Assemblies in England

"Regional Assembly" is the name which has been adopted by the England bodies established as regional chambers under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 and of the elected London Assembly....
. However, when the North East
North East England

North-East England is one of the nine official regions of England and comprises the combined area of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, part of North Yorkshire and Tees Valley....
 region of England rejected having an elected regional assembly in a referendum, further referendums where cancelled and the proposals for elected regional assemblies in England put on hold. The regional leaders forum, 4NW, an unelected quango
Quango

Quango or qango is an acronym used notably in the United Kingdom but also in Australia, Republic of Ireland and elsewhere to label colloquialism an organisation to which government has devolution power....
, is based on Waterside Drive in Wigan
Wigan

Wigan is a large town in Greater Manchester in England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester, and east-northeast of Liverpool....
.

European Parliament

The North West England European Parliament constituency
North West England (European Parliament constituency)

North West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 9 Members of the European Parliament using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation....
 has the same boundaries as the Region.

History


Ten English regions were established by the government in 1994. At that time, Merseyside
Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, the title "Merseyside" came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan boroughs adjoining the Mersey estuary,...
, which already had its own Government Office, formerly the Merseyside Task Force, was regarded as a separate region. In 1998, Merseyside was merged into the . This action was controversial in some quarters.

Transport


Road

M6 Motorway Near Carnforth

Regionwide

Regionwide the principal road link is the M6
M6 motorway

The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It runs from junction 19 of the M1 motorway near Rugby, Warwickshire in central England, passes between Coventry and Nuneaton, through Birmingham, Walsall and Stafford and near the major cities of Wolverhampton and Stoke-on-Trent....
, this runs all the way from Carlisle
Carlisle

Carlisle is in the City of Carlisle, a district of Cumbria in North West England. It is located at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, River Caldew and River Petteril, south of the Anglo-Scottish border....
 and Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 in the north to Warrington
Warrington

Warrington is a large town, borough status in the United Kingdom and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley....
 in the south, connecting such towns and cities as Penrith
Penrith, Cumbria

Penrith is a market town in the county of Cumbria, England. It is in the Eden Valley, just north of the River Eamont, and lies less than outside the boundaries of the Lake District....
, Kendal
Kendal

Kendal is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It is south of Carlisle, on the River Kent, and has a total resident population of 27,521, making it the third largest settlement in Cumbria ....
, Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire

Lancaster is a City status in the United Kingdom in North West England and the county town of Lancashire. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952....
, Preston
Preston

Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's reign....
, Liverpool
Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
 and Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
. The M6 intersects many of the North West's motorways and A-roads
Great Britain road numbering scheme

The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering system used to Categorization and identify all roads in Great Britain. Each road is given a single letter, which represents the road's category, and a subsequent number, with a length of between 1 and 4 digits....
, and carries almost 120,000 vehicles per day (41,975,000 per year).

Stockport Viaduct M60

Greater Manchester and Merseyside

The Greater Manchester and Merseyside areas are home to almost 4 million people, and over half the region's population. The road networks intertwining these metropolitan area
Metropolitan area

A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence, or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central city and their zone of influence....
s are extremely important to the economy and are largely motorway
Motorway

Motorway is a term for both a type of road and a classification or designation. Motorways are high capacity roads designed to carry fast motor traffic safely....
, including the M62
M62 motorway

The M62 motorway is a west–east Pennines motorway in northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Kingston upon Hull via Manchester and Leeds....
 which crosses the entire country (east to west – Hull
Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , almost invariably referred to as Hull, is a City status in the United Kingdom and unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England....
 to Liverpool), this motorway directly connects the cities of Manchester and Liverpool. The M62 sees 78,000 vehicles using the motorway in the North West per day. The Merseyside-Manchester region has many motorways, that serve many millions on a daily basis, other include the M61
M61 motorway

The M61 motorway is a motorway in north-west England. It runs from the M60 motorway north-west of Manchester, heading north-west past Bolton, Greater Manchester and Chorley to join the M6 motorway just north of the junction between the M6 motorway and M65 motorways to the south of Preston....
 which connects Manchester to Preston, the M56
M56 motorway

The M56 is a motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 motorway to Dunkirk, Cheshire and is 35 miles in length....
 which runs south of Manchester to Cheshire and Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
, The M57
M57 motorway

The M57 motorway, also known as the Liverpool Outer Ring Road, is a road in England. Designed as a Bypass road for Liverpool, it is 14 miles long and links various towns east of the city, as well as the M62 motorway and M58 motorway motorways....
 and M58
M58 motorway

The M58 is a motorway passing through Merseyside and Lancashire, terminating at Greater Manchester, England. It is 12 miles long and provides a link between the M6 motorway and the area north of Liverpool....
 motorways run north of Liverpool, and connect towns such as St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside

St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000 of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001....
 and Wigan
Wigan

Wigan is a large town in Greater Manchester in England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester, and east-northeast of Liverpool....
. The M60
M60 motorway

The M60 motorway is an beltway motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and Metropolitan Borough of Bolton....
 is Manchester's ring road
Ring road

Ring road is another term for beltway. It may also refer to:* Ring Road * Ring Road * Route 1 * Ring_Road_Delhi* "Ring Road ", a song by the electronic band, Underworld....
, the M67
M67 motorway

The M67 is a five mile urban motorway in Greater Manchester, England which heads east from the M60 motorway passing through Denton, Greater Manchester and Hyde, Greater Manchester before ending near Mottram....
 and M66
M66 motorway

The M66 is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is 8 miles long and provides part of the route between the M62 motorway and M60 motorway motorways and the M65 motorway, with the rest being provided by the A56 road....
 motorways run east and north respectively, both of these motorways are under and link Manchester to smaller outlying settlements. On top of this there are countless numbers of A-roads, B-roads and minor roads which circle, entwine and serve these two major metropolises. For more information, see: Transport in Manchester
Transport in Manchester

The transport infrastructure of the City of Manchester is served by numerous transport modes, and forms an integral part of the structure Greater Manchester and the North West England of England....
.
Cumbria

In Cumbria the M6 runs all the way down the east of the county connecting the very north of England to the Lancashire border. The A590
A590 road

The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the North West England of England. It runs north-east to south-west from from M6 motorway junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Vickerstown on Walney Island....
 links Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness , often known simply as Barrow, is an manufacturing and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England....
 to Kendal
Kendal

Kendal is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It is south of Carlisle, on the River Kent, and has a total resident population of 27,521, making it the third largest settlement in Cumbria ....
 with around 14,000 vehicles per day. The A595
A595 road

The A595 is a primary route in Cumbria, in northern England that starts in Carlisle, passes through Whitehaven, and goes close to Workington, Cockermouth and Wigton....
 runs all the way along the West Cumbrian coast beginning near Barrow and ending in Carlisle, linking towns such as Whitehaven
Whitehaven

Whitehaven is a town and port on the coast of Cumbria, historically and traditionally located in the ancient county of Cumberland England. It is the administrative centre of the Copeland, Cumbria....
 and Workington
Workington

Workington is a town and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England at the mouth of the River Derwent, Cumbria. Lying within the borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport....
. The A591 road
A591 road

The A591 is a major road in Cumbria, in the north-west of England....
 runs from Kendal to the centre of the county connecting Lake District
Lake District

The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a rural area in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes and its mountains , and its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth and the Lake Poets....
 settlements like Windermere, Ambleside
Ambleside

Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in north-west England.It is situated at the head of Windermere , England's largest lake. The town is within the Lake District National Park....
 and Keswick
Keswick, Cumbria

Keswick is a market town within the district of Allerdale, Cumbria, England. With a population of 4,281, according to the 2001 census, it is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park....
. Other important A-roads include the A5092, A66, A596
A596 road

The A596 is a primary route in Cumbria, in northern England, that runs between Thursby and Workington. For its entirety the A596 parallels the A595, and meets the A595 at both ends....
 and A74 (connecting Carlisle and the M6 to Scotland and the major A74 road).

Lancashire

The Lancashire economy relies strongly on the M6 which also runs from north to south (Lancaster to Chorley
Chorley

Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry. As recently as the 1970s the skyline was dominated by numerous factory chimneys, but most are now demolished: remnants of the industrial past include Morrison's chimney and a few other mill buildings, and the streets of...
). Other motorways in the region include the fairly short M55
M55 motorway

The M55 is a motorway in Lancashire, England, which can also be referred to as the Preston Northern Bypass. It connects the seaside resort of Blackpool to the M6 motorway at Preston....
 which connects the cities of Preston and Blackpool at 11.5 miles (18.3 km) in length. The M65 motorway
M65 motorway

The M65 is a motorway in Lancashire, England. It runs from just south of Preston through the major junction of the M6 motorway and M61 motorways, east past Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley, to end at Colne....
 runs from east to west starting in the town of Colne
Colne

Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of around 20,000. It lies 6 miles north-east of Burnley, 25 miles east of Preston, 25 miles north of Manchester and 30 miles west of Leeds....
, running through Burnley
Burnley

Burnley is a large market town in the Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies east of Blackburn and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder, Lancashire and River Brun....
, Accrington
Accrington

Accrington is a town within the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, in North West England. It lies about north of Manchester city centre and north of Greater Manchester situated on the mostly culvert River Hyndburn....
, Blackburn
Blackburn

Blackburn is a large town in Lancashire, England. It lies to the north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of the city of Preston, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester....
 and terminating in Preston. Lancashire is home to many A-roads. The Lancaster-Morecambe
Morecambe

Morecambe is a seaside resort within the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England. As of 2003 it has a resident population of about 45,000....
 area is served by the A683 and A589 roads, the Blackpool-Fylde
The Fylde

The Fylde is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile Square -shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the River Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Forest of Bowland hills to the east....
-Fleetwood
Fleetwood

Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the United Kingdom Census 2001....
 area is home to the A587
A587 road

The A587 is a road in England that runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood in Lancashire.The road runs a total distance of approximately 9 miles, largely on residential and commercial streets....
, A584
A584 road

The A584 is a road in England that runs from Clifton, Lancashire, near Preston, to Bispham, Blackpool#Village history, north of Blackpool in Lancashire....
, A583
A583 road

The A583 is a primary road from Preston to Blackpool in England, via Kirkham, Lancashire. It was once the main route into Blackpool until the construction of the M55 motorway....
 and A585
A585 road

The A585 is a primary road in England which runs from Kirkham, Lancashire to Fleetwood in Lancashire.The road runs a total distance of just under 14 miles, on a mixture of rural and urban residential/commercial streets....
 roads. The city of Preston and its surroundings are served by the A6, A59, A583, A582 and to the very south-east, the M61 motorway
M61 motorway

The M61 motorway is a motorway in north-west England. It runs from the M60 motorway north-west of Manchester, heading north-west past Bolton, Greater Manchester and Chorley to join the M6 motorway just north of the junction between the M6 motorway and M65 motorways to the south of Preston....
. To the east of the county are the A59, A6119, A677, A679, A666, A680, A56, A646 and A682.

Cheshire

In Cheshire there are four motorways the M6, the M56 (linking Chester to the east), the M53 (linking Chester to Birkenhead
Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool....
) and the M62, which runs just along the county's northern border with Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The Cheshire road system is made up of 3417 miles (5500 km) of highway, and the principal one (M6) carries 140,000 vehicles in the county daily, linking the North West to the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)

The West Midlands is an official Regions of England of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands#The English Midlands....
. The county town of Chester is served by the A55
A55 road

The A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway, is a major road in Great Britain. Its entire length is a dual carriageway primary route, with the exception of the point where it crosses the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait....
, A483
A483 road

The A483 is a major road in the United Kingdom, running from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England....
 and A494 roads which lead to all directions of the UK including Wales, which part of the city lies in. To the west of the M6, Crewe
Crewe

Crewe is a town in Cheshire, England. It is the largest town in the borough of Crewe and Nantwich, in which it is the only unparished area. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683....
, Northwich
Northwich

Northwich is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver and River Dane....
 and Sandbach
Sandbach

Sandbach is a market town and civil parish within the Congleton of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, Cheshire....
 are served by the A54
A54 road

The A54 road is a road linking Chester in Cheshire, England with Buxton in Derbyshire. The road follows the route:*Chester*Winsford*Middlewich...
, A51
A51 road

The A51 is a road in England running from Kingsbury, Warwickshire in Warwickshire to Chester. The road follows the following route:*Kingsbury, Warwickshire...
, A49
A49 road

The A49 is a major road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, Shropshire, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with the A6 road just south of Bamb...
, A533 and A530 roads, these all eventually link up connecting the towns to the larger cities, including Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent is a City status in the United Kingdom in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of ....
 to the south. To the east of the M6 in Cheshire lies the Peak District
Peak District

The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire....
, and towns such as Macclesfield
Macclesfield

Macclesfield is a market town in Cheshire, England with a population of about 50,688 . It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Macclesfield ....
 and Congleton
Congleton

Congleton is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dane, and to the west of the Macclesfield Canal. It has a population of 22,763....
 which are served by the A6, A537, A536, A34, A523 and A566 roads.

Air


The primary international airport
International airport

An international airport is an airport typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle international flights to and from other countries....
 in the region is Manchester Airport, which served 22.1 million passengers in 2007 (18.7 million of which were international) , more than some of the world's major aviation hubs, including Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving Los Angeles, California, California, the United States metropolitan area of the United States....
. The airport is home to three terminals (plus the World Freight Terminal), which serve destinations worldwide. The largest airlines at the airport in terms of flights in 2007 were Flybe
Flybe

Flybe Limited is a United Kingdom airline based at Exeter International Airport, England. It operates over 150 routes between over 50 European airports....
, BMI
Bmi (airline)

British Midland Airways Limited, styled as bmi , is a scheduled airline based in Donington Hall in Castle Donington, England, United Kingdom, close to East Midlands Airport....
, British Airways
British Airways

British Airways plc is an airline of the United Kingdom. The airline has the largest fleet of aircraft of any United Kingdom airline, but is only second in terms of international passengers carried....
, Jet2.com
Jet2.com

Jet2.com is a United Kingdom Low-cost carrier based in Leeds, England. It operates services from six UK Airline hub to over 40 European destinations; the airline also offers contract Charter airline services....
 and Lufthansa
Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft is one of the List of largest airlines in Europe airlines in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried, and the flag carrier of Germany....
, although several long-haul carriers such as American Airlines
American Airlines

American Airlines, Inc. is a major carrier of the United States. It is the world's largest airlines in passenger miles transported and passenger fleet size; second largest, behind FedEx Express, in aircraft operated; and second behind Air France-KLM in operating revenues....
, Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, incorporation is a United States airline based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia . Delta operates an expansive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean....
, Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Airways

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. is a United Kingdom airline owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines . It operates between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia from main bases at London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport....
, Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines Limited is the Flag carrier of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Singapore Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets....
 and Emirates
Emirates Airline

Emirates Airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . In 2008 the airline was the World's largest airlines#Scheduled international passengers carried airline in the world in terms of international passengers carried, and World's largest airlines#Scheduled international passenger-kilometres flown in th...
 also operate from the airport.

In 2007 Manchester had a recorded 222,703 aircraft movements , the airport is also a hub
Airline hub

An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a Spoke-hub distribution paradigm, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations....
 for major holiday airlines such as Thomas Cook Airlines
Thomas Cook Airlines

Thomas Cook Airlines is a United Kingdom charter airline based in Manchester, England. It serves main holiday resorts in Europe , North Africa, Asia, North America and the Caribbean from main bases at Manchester Airport and London Gatwick Airport....
, Monarch Airlines
Monarch Airlines

Monarch Airlines is a United Kingdom charter and scheduled airline based in Luton, England. It is one of the United Kingdom's largest charter airlines, operating to Europe, the United States, the Caribbean, India and Africa, serving mainly leisure destinations....
, First Choice Airways
First Choice Airways

First Choice Airways was a charter airline of European tour operator TUI Travel PLC, based in Crawley, England. It used to fly to more than 60 destinations worldwide from 14 UK and Irish airports....
 and Thomson Airways
Thomson Airways

Thomson Airways is a UK charter airline that started operating on 1 November 2008 following the re-branding of Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways....
.

The regions second largest, but fastest growing airport is Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an airport serving the England city of Liverpool and North West England. Formerly known as Speke Airport and RAF Speke, the airport is located adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast of the centre of Liverpool....
, where passenger numbers have increased from around 690,000 in 1997 to nearly 5.5 million in 2007. The airport serves destinations primarily in the UK and Europe and is a major hub for easyJet
EasyJet

EasyJet Airline Company Limited, styled as easyJet, is an airline based at London Luton Airport . It carries the most passengers of any United Kingdom airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 387 routes between 104 European and North African airports....
 and Ryanair
Ryanair

Ryanair is an Ireland Low-cost carrier airline, with headquarters in Dublin International Airport and its largest operational bases at Dublin International Airport and London Stansted Airport....
.

The only other significant passenger airport in the region is Blackpool Airport, which was refurbished in 2006 and handles around half a million passengers annually. Destinations range from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are a Spain archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union....
 in Spain to the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
.

Cheshire
  • Hawarden Airport
    Hawarden Airport

    Hawarden Airport , is a small airport in Hawarden in north east Wales. It is situated west southwest of the city of Chester, which lies across the border in England....
     – Operated by Airbus UK
    Airbus UK

    Airbus UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus which produces wings for the Airbus aircraft family. When Airbus was incorporated as a joint stock company in 2001 BAE transferred its UK Airbus facilities in return for a 20% share of the new company....
    , public and company use


Cumbria
  • Barrow/Walney Island Airfield
    Barrow/Walney Island Airfield

    Barrow/Walney Island Airfield is located on Walney Island, northwest of the centre of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom.The airfield is owned by BAE Systems, who operate private communication flights to various locations across the United Kingdom....
     – Operated by BAE Systems Marine Ltd - Submarines, private use
  • Carlisle Airport
    Carlisle Airport

    Carlisle Airport is located east northeast of Carlisle, Cumbria, England.Carlisle has a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction, up to an MTWA of 12.5 tonnes....
     – Operated by Stobart Air Ltd
    Eddie Stobart Ltd.

    The Stobart Group plc is a large multimodal logistics company, with operations in the United Kingdom and across Europe. The Group had its origins in the iconic British road haulier Eddie Stobart Ltd, started by 'Steady' Eddie Stobart....
    , public use


Greater Manchester
  • City Airport Manchester – Operated by City Airport Manchester Ltd, public use
  • Manchester Airport – Major international airport operated by Manchester Airport Group
    Manchester Airport Group

    The Manchester Airports Group is a holding company owned by the ten metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Following the purchase of airport group BAA Limited by Spain Ferrovial in 2006, MAG is now the largest UK-owned airport group....
    , destinations worldwide
  • Woodford Aerodrome – Operated by BAE Systems Regional Aircraft
    BAE Systems Regional Aircraft

    BAE Systems Regional Aircraft produced the last fully UK-built airliner in November 2001, the BAe 146 . While this unit no longer produces aircraft it continues to lease aircraft and provide support, spares and training for its products, the...
    , private use


Lancashire
  • Blackpool International Airport – Operated by Blackpool Airport Ltd, public use to UK and European destinations
  • Warton Aerodrome
    Warton Aerodrome

    Warton Aerodrome is located near to Warton, Fylde village on the Fylde peninsula in Lancashire, England. The aerodrome is six nautical miles west of Preston, Lancashire, UK....
     – Operated by BAE Systems
    BAE Systems

    BAE Systems plc is a British defense contractor and aerospace company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire, Hampshire, England, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc....
    , private use


Merseyside
  • Liverpool John Lennon Airport
    Liverpool John Lennon Airport

    Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an airport serving the England city of Liverpool and North West England. Formerly known as Speke Airport and RAF Speke, the airport is located adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast of the centre of Liverpool....
     – International airport operated by Liverpool Airport plc, destinations worldwide
  • RAF Woodvale
    RAF Woodvale

    File:Woodvale08 019.JPGRAF Woodvale is a Royal Air Force airport located four miles south of Southport, Merseyside in a village called Formby....
     – Operated by the Royal Air Force
    Royal Air Force

    The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts....
    , military use
  • Southport Birkdale Sands airstrip – Sand runway located on Southport beach (infrequent use, subject to prior permission)


Rail

Manchester Piccadilly
The main connection by train is the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line

The West Coast Main Line is a busy mixed-traffic railway route in the United Kingdom. It is central to the provision of fast, long-distance Intercity passenger services between London, the West Midlands , the North West England, North Wales and southern Scotland....
 (Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom, which currently provides services from Euston railway station to the West Midlands , North West England, North Wales and Scotland, and from Birmingham New Street station to North West England and Scotland, on the West Coast Main Line....
), connecting most of the North West. Other important lines are the Liverpool to Manchester Lines
Liverpool to Manchester Lines

There are two Liverpool to Manchester Lines between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in the north-west of England....
 and the North TransPennine
North TransPennine

North TransPennine is one of the three rail services provided by First TransPennine Express running through Northern England. It runs from Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the north east to Liverpool Lime Street in the west via York, Leeds and Manchester with branches to Middlesbrough, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull and Manchester Air...
 which connects Liverpool
Liverpool Lime Street railway station

Liverpool Lime Street railway station on Lime Street, Liverpool is a mainline and underground railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England....
 to Manchester
Manchester Piccadilly station

Manchester Piccadilly station, known locally as just Piccadilly, is the principal railway station of Manchester in England. It serves intercity routes to Euston railway station, Birmingham New Street railway station, Cardiff Central railway station and the south, Edinburgh Waverley railway station, Glasgow Central railway station, and r...
 through Warrington
Warrington Central railway station

Warrington Central railway station is one of two main railway stations serving the town of Warrington in the north-west of England. It is located on the southern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Line , and is situated around halfway between the two cities....
. East-west connections in Lancashire are carried via the Caldervale Line
Caldervale Line

The Caldervale Line is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool....
 to Blackpool
Blackpool North railway station

Blackpool North railway station is the terminus of the main Blackpool Branch Lines from Preston railway station, in Lancashire, England. Services from York , Liverpool and Manchester terminate here....
.

Sea

Sea ferries depart from Liverpool
Port of Liverpool

The Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed Dock system that runs from Herculaneum Dock to Seaforth Dock, in the city of Liverpool, England, on the east side of the River Mersey....
 (Gladstone Dock
Gladstone Dock

Gladstone Dock is a Dock on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle....
) to Dublin
Dublin

Dublin is both the largest city and capital of Republic of Ireland. It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region....
 (P&O Irish Sea
P&O Irish Sea

P&O Irish Sea is a constituent company of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company . This sector of P&O is registered as based in Dover, Kent....
) and to Douglas
Douglas, Isle of Man

Douglas is the Capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping bay of two miles....
 on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , or Mann , is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical centre of the British Isles....
 (Isle of Man Steam Packet
Isle of Man Steam Packet

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2005....
); Birkenhead
Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool....
 (Twelve Quays Terminal
Twelve quays

The Twelve Quays ferry terminal is located on the River Mersey at Birkenhead, Wirral Peninsula, England. It is used for transporting passengers and freight between Merseyside and Belfast, Northern Ireland and Dublin, Republic of Ireland....
) to Belfast
Belfast

Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of Devolution#United Kingdom Northern Ireland Executive and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly in Northern Ireland....
 and Dublin (Norfolkline Irish Sea Ferries
Norfolkline

Norfolkline is a European multimodal short sea carrier, a subsidiary of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. It provides freight ferry services on the English channel, Irish Sea, and the North Sea, passenger ferry services on the English channel and Irish Sea, and logistics services across Europe....
 – former Norse Merchant Ferries
Norse Merchant Ferries

Norse Merchant Ferries was an Irish Sea RoRo ferry company. It was acquired by Norfolkline in 2005. Routes operated by the company included Liverpool - Belfast/Dublin and Heysham - Belfast....
); Fleetwood
Fleetwood

Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the United Kingdom Census 2001....
 to Larne
Larne

Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the United Kingdom Census 2001....
 (Stena Line
Stena Line

Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands and Poland....
) in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
; and Heysham
Heysham

Heysham is a large coastal village near Lancaster, Lancashire in the county of Lancashire, England. Overlooking Morecambe Bay, it is a ferry port with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland....
 to Douglas (Isle of Man Steam Packet).

Economy

The North West is historically linked with the textiles industry, mainly before the mid 20th century. The area's electricity, formerly looked after by MANWEB
MANWEB

MANWEB was the Regional Electricity Companies supplier and distributor for Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire. It is now part of Scottish Power....
 and NORWEB
NORWEB

Norweb Public limited company, originally the North West Electricity Board, was a British electricity supply and distribution company. It supplied electricity to about 4.7 million industrial, commercial and domestic customers in the North West of England....
, is now looked after by ScottishPower Energy Networks
Scottish Power

Scottish Power Limited is a vertically integrated energy company with its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 2006 it became a subsidiary of the Spanish utility Iberdrola....
 and United Utilities
United Utilities

United Utilities is a United Kingdom utility company with its headquarters in Warrington which operates mainly in the North West England England, with 9,000 employees....
 respectively.

According to research by Cushman and Wakefield in 2008, Manchester is the second best city to locate a business in the UK whilst Liverpool is the eleventh best city.

Cheshire

Cheshire is linked with the salt industry
Salt in Cheshire

Cheshire is a county in North West England. Rock salt was laid down in this region some 220 million years ago, during the Triassic geological era. Seawater moved inland from an open sea, creating a chain of shallow salt marshes across what is today the Cheshire basin....
. Ineos
Ineos

INEOS is a privately owned UK chemicals company. By revenue it is the third largest chemicals firm in the world and the biggest privately owned company in Britain ....
 (the site was previously owned by ICI Chemicals
Imperial Chemical Industries

Imperial Chemical Industries is a United Kingdom Chemistry subsidiary of a Netherlands Conglomerate and one of the largest chemical producers in the world....
) has a large plant in Runcorn. AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca plc , is a large Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company formed on 6 April 1999 by the remerger of Swedish Astra AB and British Zeneca Group plc....
 is in Macclesfield
Macclesfield

Macclesfield is a market town in Cheshire, England with a population of about 50,688 . It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Macclesfield ....
. BNFL
BNFL

British Nuclear Fuels plc or BNFL manufactures and transports nuclear fuel , runs reactors, generates and sells electricity, reprocesses and manages spent fuel , and decommissions nuclear plants and other similar facilities....
 and its subsidiary British Nuclear Group
British Nuclear Group

Sellafield Ltd is a subsidiary of BNFL. One of it main aims is to manage the decommissioning of many of the UK's nuclear assets under contract to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a government body set up specifically to deal with the nuclear legacy under the Energy Act 2004....
 are based in Daresbury
Daresbury

Daresbury is a small rural village, civil parish and Ward in the unitary authority of Halton and part of the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England....
 near Runcorn, although most of BNG's operations take place at Sellafield
Sellafield

Sellafield is a nuclear processing and former electricity generating site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England....
 in Cumbria
Cumbria

Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. Vauxhall
Vauxhall Motors

Vauxhall Motors is a UK automobile company. It is a subsidiary of General Motors , and is part of GM Europe. Most current Vauxhall models are right-hand drive derivatives of GM's Opel brand....
 and Shell
Stanlow Refinery

Stanlow Refinery is part of Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England....
 are in Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port

Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and cargo port in the borough of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Cheshire, England, situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula on the estuary of the River Mersey, to the north of Chester....
. British Salt
British Salt

British Salt Limited is a United Kingdom-based chemical company that produces pure white salt. The company is owned by the management and private equity company LDC....
 is in Middlewich
Middlewich

Middlewich is a market town in the borough of Congleton , in Cheshire, England. It is east of the city of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach....
. Focus
Focus (DIY)

Focus DIY is a privately owned chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom. It serves the light DIY market sector, and most stores have some form of garden centre....
, Mornflake
Mornflake

Mornflake is a producer of oat-based breakfast cereals. Based in Crewe, Cheshire, England, it was founded in 1675. Mornflake Oats is also currently the official shirt sponsor of Crewe Alexandra Football Club....
 and Bentley Motors
Bentley

Bentley Motors Limited is an English manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley . Mr. Bentley had been previously known for his range of Rotary engine aircraft engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later versions of the Sopwith Camel....
 are in Crewe. Betfred
Betfred

Betfred is a United Kingdom-based bookmaker, named after its characterful Northern England frontman and co-founder Fred Done. It was first established as a single shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967....
 is in Warrington.

Lancashire

The main private employer in Lancashire is BAE Systems
BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc is a British defense contractor and aerospace company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire, Hampshire, England, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc....
 who have two sites either side of Preston
Preston

Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's reign....
 for the manufacture of military aircraft. The boiler firm BAXI
BAXI

Baxi Group is a United Kingdom heating equipment manufacturer head quartered in Warwick although the majority of operations take place in Preston....
 originates from Preston
Preston

Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's reign....
 also, and InBev
InBev

For the parent company, see Anheuser-Busch InBev.InBev is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company existed independently for several years - since the merger between Interbrew and Ambev and until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch....
 have a brewery nearby in Samlesbury
Samlesbury

Samlesbury is a small village and civil parish in the South Ribble borough of Lancashire, England. Samlesbury Hall, a historic house, is located in the village as well as Samlesbury Aerodrome....
 (former Whitbread
Whitbread

Whitbread Group plc is a United Kingdom-based hospitality company, managing several popular brands in hotels, restaurants and coffee houses, including Premier Inn, Table Table, Brewers Fayre, Taybarns, Beefeater and Costa Coffee....
). Leyland Trucks
Leyland Trucks

Leyland Trucks is the UK's leading medium & heavy duty truck manufacturer and is based in the town of Leyland, Lancashire, Lancashire. It emerged from the bankruptcy of DAF NV as the result of a management buy-out in 1993, and was acquired by PACCAR in 1998, of which it is now a subsidiary....
 manufactures several highly popular truck ranges from Leyland
Leyland, Lancashire

Leyland is a town in the South Ribble of Lancashire, England. Lying approximately six miles south of the city of Preston, Leyland has a population of around 40,000....
. Whilst other brands originating from Lancashire include: TVR
TVR

TVR is an independent United Kingdom manufacturer of sports cars based in the England town of Blackpool, Lancashire. The company manufactures lightweight sports cars with powerful engines and is the third-largest specialised sports car manufacturer in the world, offering a diverse range of coup?s and convertibles....
, Reebok
Reebok

Reebok International Limited is a producer of Athletic shoe, apparel, and accessories and is currently a subsidiary of Adidas. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle....
, Jaguar Cars and Warburtons
Warburtons

Warburtons is a British baking firm based in the United Kingdom and France. The firm produces one million bakery products per day. The company employs around 3,300 people at eleven bakeries across the United Kingdom....
 to name a few. Nationwide fashion retailer Matalan
Matalan

Matalan is a clothing and homeware store in the United Kingdom. It was founded by John Hargreaves in 1985. It currently has 200 stores across the UK....
 has its head office and main distribution centre in Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston and west-northwest of Manchester....
.

Greater Manchester

Kelloggs in Trafford Park
Trafford Park

Trafford Park is an area of the Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Located opposite Salford Quays, on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, it is west-southwest of Manchester City Centre, and north of Stretford....
 (Manchester). Makro
Makro

Makro is a Dutch-German chain of self-service wholesale stores, so called Cash and carry . The first one opened in 1968 in Amsterdam. In the following years stores opened in the Netherlands and in several other countries within Europe....
 is in Eccles
Eccles, Greater Manchester

Eccles is a town within the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It lies on sloping ground between the M602 motorway , and the Manchester Ship Canal ....
. JJB Sports
JJB Sports

JJB Sports PLC is one of the United Kingdom's leading sports retailers. Since early 2009 JJB has been in talks with banks to secure its future and in February secured a deal with its bankers to give it a month to raise the cash required to avoid administration.....
 is in Wigan. JD Sports
JD Sports

JD Sports, part of the JD Sports Fashion Plc and now more commonly known as just JD, is a sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, England with shops throughout the UK and the Republic Of Ireland....
 is in Bury
Bury

Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester....
 as is Birthdays
Birthdays (retailer)

Birthdays is a United Kingdom High Street greeting cards retailer. From its beginning in 1966, Ron Wood Greeting Cards operated as a wholesaler of greeting cards and gift wrap in Bury, Greater Manchester....
. Scottish & Newcastle
Scottish & Newcastle

Scottish & Newcastle plc was one of the world?s leading "long Alcoholic beverage" companies with strong positions in 15 countries, including leadership in the United Kingdom, France and Russia....
 have their large Royal Brewery in Manchester. The Co-op
Co-op UK

The United Kingdom is home to a widespread and diverse co-operative movement, with over 3 million individual members. Modern co-operation started with the Rochdale Pioneers shop in the northern England town of Rochdale in 1844....
 is based in Manchester and Rochdale
Rochdale

Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester....
. Inventive Leisure
Inventive Leisure

Inventive Leisure is a high street managed pub estate with headquarters in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. The investment company Alchemy Partners bought a majority share in January 2006....
 is in Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne

Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines....
. Heinz
H. J. Heinz Company

H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz, famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan, is an American processed-food product company with its world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
, although based in Hayes
Hayes, Hillingdon

Hayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is a suburban development situated 13 miles west of Charing Cross. Hayes was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial locality to which residential districts were later added to house factory workers....
 in Middlesex
Middlesex

Middlesex , from the Old English Middelseaxe , is one of the 39 Historic counties of England of England and the List of counties of England by area in 1831....
, has the largest food processing complex in Europe at a 55 acre site at Kitt Green in Wigan, which produces 1.4 billion cans of food each year. MAN B&W Diesel
MAN B&W Diesel

MAN Diesel is the world?s leading provider of large-bore diesel engines for marine propulsion systems and power plant applications and turbochargers....
 is in Stockport
Stockport

Stockport is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey at the influx of the rivers River Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, southeast of the city of Manchester....
. BAE Systems
BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc is a British defense contractor and aerospace company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire, Hampshire, England, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc....
 build aircraft in Chadderton
Chadderton

Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies along the course of the River Irk and the Rochdale Canal, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester....
 and Woodford
Woodford, Greater Manchester

Woodford is situated in the south of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Stockport, north-northwest of Macclesfield, and south-southeast of Manchester....
 in Manchester, and Warton
Warton Aerodrome

Warton Aerodrome is located near to Warton, Fylde village on the Fylde peninsula in Lancashire, England. The aerodrome is six nautical miles west of Preston, Lancashire, UK....
 and Samlesbury
Samlesbury

Samlesbury is a small village and civil parish in the South Ribble borough of Lancashire, England. Samlesbury Hall, a historic house, is located in the village as well as Samlesbury Aerodrome....
 near Preston. PZ Cussons
PZ Cussons

PZ Cussons is a large manufacturer of a wide variety of personal healthcare products, and consumer goods. It operates in a large number of countries in the developing world, especially Africa and Commonwealth of Nations nations....
, Umbro
Umbro

Umbro was a British sportswear and equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike, Inc.....
 and the internet bank Smile
Smile (bank)

Smile, or smile.co.uk, is a United Kingdom internet bank, and a trading division of The Co-operative Bank. It was established as the UK's first full internet bank in 1999....
 are in Stockport. Russell Hobbs
Russell Hobbs

Russell Hobbs is a manufacturer of Small appliancees in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, England....
 is in Failsworth
Failsworth

Failsworth is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground, on the course of the Rochdale Canal and north bank of the River Medlock....
.

Merseyside

Pilkington
Pilkington

Pilkington plc is the largest glass manufacturer in the United Kingdom. It is based in St Helens, Merseyside, Merseyside. It was formerly an independent company listed on the London Stock Exchange and for a time was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but in 2006 it was taken over by Nippon Sheet Glass of Japan....
 is in St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside

St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000 of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001....
. Littlewoods
Littlewoods

Littlewoods is the name of a former retail and gambling empire founded in Liverpool, Merseyside, England by Sir John Moores in 1923.It started as a shopping catalogue company, processing orders by post in the early 1970's....
 are in Garston
Garston, Merseyside

Garston is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is bordered by Grassendale, Allerton, Merseyside, Hunts Cross and Speke....
. Princes
Princes (company)

Princes Ltd. is a United Kingdom based food manufacturer originally specialising in canned, but now produce a range of food and drink products....
, the Beetham Organization
Beetham Organization

The Beetham Organization is a privately owned property development and investment company based in Liverpool, England. Its primary focus is city centre real estate, specializing in hotel, residential and office projects....
, the Royal Liver Assurance
Royal Liver Friendly Society

Royal Liver Assurance is a multi-billion pound operation, a friendly society with over 1.7 million members in Ireland and the UK.Liverpool Burial Society was founded by a group of working men from Liverpool in the Lyver Inn on 24 July 1850 to "provide for the decent interment of deceased members"....
 and T J Hughes
T J Hughes

T J Hughes is a department store founded in 1912 in Liverpool, England. The retail chain trades from of retail space and have 49 department stores throughout the United Kingdom, specializing in home and fashion, fragrance and cosmetics....
 have their headquarters in Liverpool. Ford
Ford Motor Company

The Ford Motor Company is an United States multinational corporation and the world's List of automobile manufacturers#World Motor Vehicle Production by Manufacturer based on worldwide vehicle sales, following Toyota, General Motors, and Volkswagen Group....
 (and Jaguar) is in Halewood
Halewood

Halewood is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. Halewood lies at Liverpool's southeastern boundary, bordered by the suburbs of Hunts Cross and Woolton....
. Pontins is in Ainsdale
Ainsdale

Ainsdale-on-Sea is a village in Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of Southport, of which it is a suburb....
, Sefton.

Cumbria

Royal Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
 submarines and ships are made by BAE Systems
BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc is a British defense contractor and aerospace company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire, Hampshire, England, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc....
 in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness , often known simply as Barrow, is an manufacturing and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England....
. The Lake District
Lake District

The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a rural area in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes and its mountains , and its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth and the Lake Poets....
 is popular with holiday makers.

Education


Secondary Education

Secondary schools are mostly comprehensive, except Trafford retains a wholly selective school system, and there are some other grammar schools in Lancashire, Wirral, Liverpool and Cumbria. At GCSE, the lowest performing area by far is Knowsley, one of the worst performing in the UK. Other low performing areas in Greater Merseyside are Halton and Liverpool. Sefton performs much better than its neighbour, Liverpool. Warrington is the best performing area, followed by Wirral. In Greater Manchester, Manchester performs the worst, followed by Salford then Oldham. The best performing area is Trafford (one of the best in the UK), followed by Stockport and Bury. In the Lancashire area, Blackpool is low performing. Bury, Cheshire, Lancashire, Stockport, Trafford, Warrington and Wirral perform higher than the UK average. At A level, Trafford performs the best, and again like GCSE is one of the best areas in the UK. The lowest performing area is, again, Knowsley but followed by Rochdale. Areas performing above the UK average are Lancashire, Bury, Wigan, Blackpool, Cheshire, and Wirral. Blackpool performs not particularly well at GCSE, yet produces much better results at A level – even better than Cheshire.

Top twenty state schools in the North West (2007 A level results)
  • 1. Lancaster Girls' Grammar School
    Lancaster Girls' Grammar School

    Lancaster Girls' Grammar School is a selective Grammar School school for girls on Regent Street in Lancaster, Lancashire, England....
     (1137)
  • 2. Lancaster Royal Grammar School
    Lancaster Royal Grammar School

    See Royal Grammar School for the other schools with the name RGS.Lancaster Royal Grammar School is a voluntary aided school, selective grammar school for boys in Lancaster, England, England....
  • 3. Altrincham Grammar School for Girls
    Altrincham Grammar School for Girls

    Altrincham Grammar School for Girls is an all girls secondary school situated on Cavendish Road in Bowdon, Greater Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England....
  • 4. Liverpool Blue Coat School
    Liverpool Blue Coat School

    The Liverpool Blue Coat School in Wavertree, Liverpool, England, was founded in 1708 by Mr Bryan Blundell and Rev. Robert Styth as 'a school for teaching poor children to read, write and cast accounts'....
  • 5. Altrincham Grammar School For Boys
    Altrincham Grammar School For Boys

    Altrincham Grammar School for Boys is an all boys school situated in the town of Altrincham in Greater Manchester, England. Whilst the school is non-fee paying, it has foundation school status which allows it to have a degree of independence from the local education authority....
  • 6. Wirral Grammar School for Girls
    Wirral Grammar School for Girls

    Wirral Grammar School for Girls is a grammar school for girls founded in 1931. It is situated on Heath Road, Bebington, on the The Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England, next door to Wirral Grammar School for Boys....
  • 7. Winstanley College
    Winstanley College

    Winstanley College is a sixth form college in the Billinge Higher End district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester. In the academic year 2007/08 it had 1,803 full time students....
    , Wigan
  • 8. Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
    Clitheroe Royal Grammar School

    See Royal Grammar School for the other schools with the name RGS.Clitheroe Royal Grammar School is a Secondary education in Clitheroe, Lancashire that used to be an all boys school....
  • 9. Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
    Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School

    Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School is a selective school co-educational foundation school in Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire, England....
  • 10. Sale Grammar School
    Sale Grammar School

    Sale Grammar School is a selective school with a dual specialism in the visual arts and science. The school is located in Sale, Greater Manchester to the south of Manchester, England....
  • 11. West Kirby Grammar School
    West Kirby Grammar School

    West Kirby Grammar School is a grammar school for girls, in the town of West Kirby on the The Wirral Peninsula.It has a selective intake, with approximately 1250 pupils....
  • 12. St. Ambrose College
    St. Ambrose College

    St. Ambrose College is a Voluntary Aided, Congregation of Christian Brothers' Roman Catholic boys' grammar school located in Hale Barns, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England....
    , Altrincham
    Altrincham

    Altrincham is a market town within the Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester City Centre, south-southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester and east of Warrington....
  • 13. Holy Cross College
    Holy Cross College (UK)

    Holy Cross College is a Catholic sixth form college on Manchester Road in Bury, England...
    , Bury
    Bury

    Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester....
  • 14. The Nelson Thomlinson School
    The Nelson Thomlinson School

    The Nelson Thomlinson School is a Comprehensive school Secondary School located in the market town of Wigton, Cumbria, England. The school's motto is the Latin phrase "Fide et Operis", which translates to "Faith and Works"....
    , Wigton
    Wigton

    Wigton is a small market town on the edge of the Lake District, the county of Cumbria in England. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast....
  • 15. Canon Slade School
    Canon Slade School

    Canon Slade School is a Church of England secondary school on Bradshaw Brow in Bradshaw, Greater Manchester, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England....
    , Bolton
    Bolton

    Bolton is a large town in Greater Manchester, in the North West England region of England.Situated close to the West Pennine Moors, north west of the city of Manchester, it is the largest and most populous settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, the former county borough of Bolton has a population of 139,403, though this figure d...
  • 16. Sir John Deane's College
    Sir John Deane's College

    Sir John Deane's College is a sixth form college in Northwich, Cheshire, United Kingdom. It was formerly Sir John Deane's Grammar School, which was founded in 1557....
    , Northwich
    Northwich

    Northwich is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver and River Dane....
  • 17. Calday Grange Grammar School
    Calday Grange Grammar School

    Calday Grange Grammar School is a non-denominational selective Grammar schools in the United Kingdom, founded in 1636, which is situated on Caldy Hill above the town of West Kirby on the Wirral Peninsula....
    , West Kirby
    West Kirby

    West Kirby is a town located on the north west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee, Wales across from the Point of Ayr in North Wales....
  • 18. Audenshaw School
    Audenshaw School

    Audenshaw School, formerly Audenshaw Grammar School, is a formerly all-boys secondary school in Audenshaw, Greater Manchester, England). It now also has a sixth form which takes both boys and girls....
  • 19. Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith
    Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith

    Queen Elizabeth Grammar School , which was founded in 1564, is a selective secondary school in Penrith, Cumbria, England....
  • 20. Urmston Grammar School
    Urmston Grammar School

    Urmston Grammar School, also known as Urmston Grammar School Science College, is a co-educational Grammar schools in the United Kingdom located in Urmston, Greater Manchester, England....
     (928)

Colleges

  • Blackburn College
    Blackburn College (Blackburn with Darwen)

    Blackburn College is a further education and higher education college in Blackburn, in the unitary authority of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England....
    , Blackburn
  • Blackpool and The Fylde College
    Blackpool and The Fylde College

    Blackpool and The Fylde College is a university college linked to the University of Lancaster.It has 49 buildings spread over the towns of Blackpool, Lytham St Annes, Bispham, Blackpool and two locations in Fleetwood....
    , Blackpool
  • Blackpool Sixth Form College
    Blackpool Sixth Form College

    The Blackpool Sixth Form College serves the Fylde peninsula and surrounding areas of the county of Lancashire, England. The College has around 1,500 full-time students, most of whom are aged between 16 and 19 years....
    , Blackpool
  • Burnley College
    Burnley College

    Burnley College is a further education college based in Burnley, Lancashire.External links...
    , Burnely
  • Preston College
    Preston College

    Preston College is a further education college in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. The college originally opened as W R Tuson College in September 1974 and was renamed on 1 September 1989....
    , Preston
  • Runshaw College
    Runshaw College

    Runshaw College is a further and higher education college based at three centres in Leyland, Lancashire and Chorley, Lancashire, England. Its main campus, in Leyland, is a sixth form college catering for students aged 16-19....
    , Leyland
  • Barrow-in-Furness Sixth Form College, Barrow-in-Furness
  • Furness College
    Furness College, Barrow-in-Furness

    Furness College is a college of further education in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. It provides a wide range of vocational education and training to over 16s, notably working with BAE Systems to train apprentices for their shipyard in Barrow....
    , Barrow-in-Furness
  • Kendal College, Kendal
  • Hugh Baird College
    Hugh Baird College

    Hugh Baird College is a further education College situated in Bootle, Merseyside, England. It is the largest provider of education and training in the area and enjoys a student population of roughly 6000....
    , Bootle
  • King George V College
    King George V College

    King George V College is a sixth form college in Southport, Merseyside, in the United Kingdom. It was previously a grammar school for boys....
    , Southport
  • Southport College, Southport
  • Bolton Community College, Bolton
  • The Oldham College
    The Oldham College

    The Oldham College, is a government funded further education college in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England.Founded in 1839 the purpose built College aims to offer students skills that are directly transferable to the workplace and caters particularly for 16 - 19 year olds....
    , Oldham
  • Oldham Sixth Form College
    Oldham Sixth Form College

    Oldham Sixth Form College is a government-funded college of further education in Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. Opened in 1992 as a specialist centre for advanced-level study, the Principal of the college is Nick Brown Order of the British Empire....
    , Oldham
  • Hopwood Hall College, Rochdale
  • Trafford College
    Trafford College

    Trafford College is a further education college in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England.It was formed with the merger of North Trafford College and South Trafford College in 2007....
    , Trafford
  • St. Wilfrids C of E Sixth Form College, Blackburn
  • St. Mary's Sixth Form College, Blackburn
  • Bury College
    Bury College

    Bury College is an institute of higher learning for the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, England. In 2006 the college?s A level pass rate was above the national average at 99.1%....
    , Bury
  • Holy Cross College (UK)
    Holy Cross College (UK)

    Holy Cross College is a Catholic sixth form college on Manchester Road in Bury, England...
    , Bury


Universities

There are many universities
University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education....
 sited across the region, with the majority being to the south around Manchester
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
 and Liverpool
Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
, every university in the North West is listed below:
  • University of Manchester
    University of Manchester

    The University of Manchester is a "red brick university" civic university located in Manchester, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration....
    , Manchester - The largest single-site University in the UK
    List of UK universities by size

    This is a list of UK universities and other higher education institutions according to the size of their student population. The source for the figures is the most recently published Higher Education Statistics Agency statistics, from 2005-2006, which list full-time, part-time, further education, undergraduate, and postgraduate students....
     with 36,907 students
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
    Manchester Metropolitan University

    Manchester Metropolitan University is a university based in the city of Manchester, England. It is the fifth largest university in the United Kingdom after the Open University, the University of London, University of Manchester and Leeds Metropolitan University....
    , Manchester - Also one of the country's largest universities with 40,420 students
  • UCLAN
    University of Central Lancashire

    The University of Central Lancashire is a university based in Preston, United Kingdom, which until January 2007 had additional campuses in Carlisle and Penrith, Cumbria....
    , Preston - The University of Central Lancashire in Preston, 28,850 students
  • Liverpool John Moores University
    Liverpool John Moores University

    Liverpool John Moores University is a New Universities in Liverpool, England. It is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992....
    , Liverpool - 24,085 students
  • University of Liverpool
    University of Liverpool

    The University of Liverpool is a university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group, and founded in 1881 it is also one of the six original "red brick university" civic universities....
    , Liverpool - 20,765 students
  • University of Salford
    University of Salford

    The University of Salford is a plate glass university based in Salford, England, with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, opposite the Working Class Movement Library and situated in of parkland, "a haven of lawns and shrubberies", on the banks of the River Irwell....
    , Salford - 20,185 students
  • Lancaster University
    Lancaster University

    Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a United Kingdom university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancashire, England....
    , Lancaster - 17,415 students
  • Edge Hill University
    Edge Hill University

    Edge Hill University is situated in Ormskirk in Lancashire, England. It has three faculties, Education, Health, and Arts and Sciences.In November 2006, Edge Hill University won the Times Higher Award for 'Outstanding Student Financial Support Package'....
    , Ormskirk - 15,645 students
  • University of Chester
    University of Chester

    The University of Chester is a university based in the city of Chester in the United Kingdom.The University, based on a main campus in Chester and a smaller campus in nearby Warrington, offers a full range of foundation degree, undergraduate degree, postgraduate degree and doctoral degree courses, as well as undertaking academic research....
    , Chester and Warrington - 15,095 students
  • University of Bolton
    University of Bolton

    The University of Bolton is a university in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England....
    , Bolton - 8,540 students
  • Liverpool Hope University
    Liverpool Hope University

    Liverpool Hope University is a university in Liverpool, England. Two of its three founding colleges were established in 1844 and 1856, the third opening in the 1960s....
    , Liverpool - 8,205 students
  • University of Cumbria
    University of Cumbria

    The University of Cumbria is a United Kingdom university established on 1 August 2007, with roots extending back to the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts established in 1822....
     - The regions newest university located across Cumbria, and parts of Lancashire


Local media

Local media include:
  • The North West region of BBC Television
    BBC Television

    BBC Television is a service of the BBC which began in 1932. The British Broadcasting Corporation has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927....
     is based on Oxford Road in Manchester; it produces the North West Tonight
    BBC North West Tonight

    BBC North West Tonight is the news programme that covers Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire. Produced by BBC North West, it broadcasts at 6.30pm every weeknight and also at 10:25pm following the BBC News at Ten and at the weekend....
     regional programme. The north of Cumbria is covered by Look North
    BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria)

    BBC Look North is the BBC's regional television news service for the BBC North East and Cumbria region. The programmes are produced and broadcast from the BBC Broadcasting Centre on Barrack Road in Newcastle upon Tyne with journalists also based at newsrooms in Middlesbrough, Durham, York and Carlisle....
     in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The BBC intends to move its Sport
    BBC Sport

    BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of the The Championships, Wimbledon....
     and children's television departments and Radio Five Live
    BBC Radio Five Live

    BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's radio service providing live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries. It is the principal radio station Broadcasting of sports events in the United Kingdom, broadcasting virtually all major sports events staged in the UK or involving British competitors....
     to Salford Quays
    Salford Quays

    Salford Quays is an area of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Salford Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in 1982....
    . Granada Television
    Granada Television

    Granada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England. It previously held the "North of England" weekday franchise, which also covered most of Yorkshire, from 1954 until 1968 when its broadcast area was divided into two franchises....
     is based in Manchester, and produces many ITV
    ITV

    ITV is a public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television network of British television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC....
     well-known programmes such as Coronation Street
    Coronation Street

    Coronation Street is an award-winning soap opera created by Tony Warren. It is one of the longest-running television programmes in the United Kingdom, first broadcast on 9 December 1960, made by Granada Television and broadcast in all regions of ITV almost throughout its existence....
    . It has the regional Granada Reports
    Granada Reports

    Granada Reports is the flagship news programme of ITV franchisee Granada Television, presented by Tony Morris and Lucy Meacock, and serving the North West England....
     programme. Border Television
    Border Television

    Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland, the majority of Cumbria, and the Isle of Man....
     is based in Carlisle, producing the regional Lookaround programme.
  • BBC Radios Manchester
    BBC Radio Manchester

    BBC Radio Manchester is a BBC Local Radio station broadcasting to the city of Manchester and surrounding areas. It relaunched on 3 April 2006 after broadcasting for a while as BBC GMR....
    , Merseyside
    BBC Radio Merseyside

    BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC Local Radio service for the England Metropolitan Counties of England of Merseyside and north Cheshire. It was the third BBC local radio station to launch on 22 November 1967....
    , Lancashire
    BBC Radio Lancashire

    BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC Local Radio service for the county of Lancashire, in North West England. It began as BBC Radio Blackburn on 26 January 1971 on 96.4FM, then adding 854 kHz AM in 1972 and changing to the current name on 4 July 1981....
     and Cumbria
    BBC Radio Cumbria

    BBC Radio Cumbria is the BBC Local Radio service for the England Counties of England of Cumbria and broadcasts from studios in Carlisle....
    .
  • Several commercial radio stations including: 105.4 Century FM
    105.4 Century FM

    105.4 Century Radio, soon to be renamed Real Radio North West, is an independent local radio station controlled by the GMG Radio as part of its Century FM....
     (Salford), 97.4 Rock FM
    97.4 Rock FM

    97.4 Rock FM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to North West England. Its output is principally contemporary pop, and hits from the present, 80s and 90s....
     (Preston), Smooth Radio 100.4 (Salford), 105.4 Century FM
    105.4 Century FM

    105.4 Century Radio, soon to be renamed Real Radio North West, is an independent local radio station controlled by the GMG Radio as part of its Century FM....
     (Salford), Radio City 96.7
    Radio City 96.7

    Radio City 96.7 is an Independent Local Radio station, based in Liverpool, United Kingdom, and broadcasting to Merseyside and surrounding county....
     (Liverpool), Galaxy Manchester
    Galaxy Manchester

    Galaxy is a local radio station owned by the Global Radio as part of its Galaxy Radio specialising in dance music and R'n'B. It is based in Manchester, and broadcasts from studios in the Triangle shopping centre, formerly the Corn Exchange, Manchester....
    , Key 103
    Key 103

    Key 103 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the city of Manchester and the north west of England. Its output is principally contemporary pop and dance music....
     (Castlefield
    Castlefield

    Castlefield is an inner city area of Manchester, in North West England. It is historically notable for the Roman Empire castra of Mamucium or Mancunium which later gave its name to Manchester....
    ), Juice FM
    Juice FM

    107.6 Juice FM is an Independent Local Radio, set up in 1998 in Liverpool after the closing of alternative music station 107.6 Crash FM and its subsequent purchase by Forever Broadcasting....
     (Liverpool), The Bay
    The Bay (radio station)

    The Bay is a British radio station owned by the CN Group broadcasting from the city of Lancaster, England to the region of North Lancashire and the South Lake District, in North West England....
     (Lancaster
    Lancaster, Lancashire

    Lancaster is a City status in the United Kingdom in North West England and the county town of Lancashire. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952....
    , Barrow-in-Furness
    Barrow-in-Furness

    Barrow-in-Furness , often known simply as Barrow, is an manufacturing and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England....
    , Morecambe
    Morecambe

    Morecambe is a seaside resort within the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England. As of 2003 it has a resident population of about 45,000....
     and other surrounding areas), CFM Radio
    CFM Radio

    CFM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Northern & Central Cumbria and the southern tip of Scotland, with transmitters in Carlisle, Penrith, Cumbria and West Cumbria....
     (Carlisle
    Carlisle

    Carlisle is in the City of Carlisle, a district of Cumbria in North West England. It is located at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, River Caldew and River Petteril, south of the Anglo-Scottish border....
    ), Lakeland Radio
    Lakeland Radio

    Lakeland Radio is a United Kingdom radio station owned by the CN Group....
     (Kendal
    Kendal

    Kendal is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It is south of Carlisle, on the River Kent, and has a total resident population of 27,521, making it the third largest settlement in Cumbria ....
    ), 107.3 Abbey FM
    107.3 Abbey FM

    Abbey fm was a local radio station for Barrow-in-Furness and the Furness Peninsula. Abbey fm first broadcast on 16 October 2006. The presenters were all local, Abbey fm had no networked shows....
     (Barrow-in-Furness), Xfm Manchester
    Xfm Manchester

    Xfm Manchester is a commercial radio station broadcasting "alternative" music to Manchester in North West England.It builds on the brand and format established by Xfm London....
     (Salford), 107.2 Wire FM
    107.2 Wire FM

    Wire FM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting in the United Kingdom on 107.2 FM. It claims to provide the best variety of hits for Warrington, Widnes and Runcorn , with strong commitment to local news and information....
     in Warrington, The Revolution
    The Revolution (radio station)

    The Revolution is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the areas of Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside in Greater Manchester, England. Previously owned by the Oldham Evening Chronicle and UKRD , it takes its name from the Industrial Revolution, in which the region took a major role, and the initial letters of its three main target ar...
     (Oldham), Imagine FM
    Imagine FM

    Imagine FM is an Independent Local Radio station run by local group Mondiale Publishing Ltd, broadcasting to Stockport and the immediate surrounding area, just south of Manchester in the north west of England....
     (Stockport), Proud FM (Preston), Buzz 97.1
    Buzz 97.1

    Wirral's Buzz is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the Wirral Peninsula, sharing its facilities with Marcher Sound and Classic Gold Marcher, in Gwersyllt, Wrexham....
     (Birkenhead
    Birkenhead

    Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool....
    ), Tower FM
    Tower FM

    Tower FM is an Independent Local Radio station which broadcasts across the towns of Bolton and Bury and parts of North Manchester in the United Kingdom from an old mill in Bolton....
     (Bolton), Radio Wave 96.5
    Radio Wave 96.5

    Radio Wave 96.5 is an England FM radio station broadcasting to the Blackpool and The Fylde area. The station's output is broadcast from a specially-constructed transmitter aerial which is situated atop Blackpool Tower#History....
     (Blackpool), Wish FM
    Wish FM

    Wish FM is the Independent Local Radio station for Wigan and St Helens, Merseyside, broadcasting on 102.4FM. The station takes its name from the initials WIgan and St Helens....
     (Wigan), 2BR
    2BR

    2BR is a commercial radio station in East Lancashire. It broadcasts from studios in the Lomeshaye Industrial Estate in Nelson, Lancashire.The station is broadcast from the Pendle Forest transmitter on Pendle Hill in Newchurch-in-Pendle, near Fence, Lancashire, just to the north-west of the studio....
     (Burnley and Pendle), and The Bee
    The Bee (radio station)

    107 The Bee is a Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the town of Blackburn as well as eastern parts of the county of Lancashire, northern England....
     (Blackburn).
  • Local newspapers in the region include:
    • Manchester Evening News
      Manchester Evening News

      name = |image = |type = Daily newspaper|format = Tabloid|foundation = 1868|price = ?0.42 or free in Manchester city centre|owners = Guardian Media Group...
      , Manchester
    • Liverpool Echo
      Liverpool Echo

      The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror on Merseyside in England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper....
      , Liverpool
    • North-West Evening Mail
      North-West Evening Mail

      The North-West Evening Mail, known locally as the Evening Mail, is a daily, local newspaper in the United Kingdom, printed every evening....
      , Barrow-in-Furness
    • Lancashire Evening Post
      Lancashire Evening Post

      The Lancashire Evening Post is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the British Library, its first edition was published on 18 October 1886....
      , Preston
    • News and Star
      News and Star

      The News and Star is a local tabloid newspaper in Cumbria. Today it belongs to the CN Group Ltd who produce several regional newspapers in the North West England....
      , Carlisle
    • Liverpool Daily Post
      Liverpool Daily Post

      The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror on Merseyside in England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is the morning paper....
      , Liverpool
    • Blackpool Evening Gazette, Blackpool
    • Wigan Evening Post
      Wigan Evening Post

      Wigan Evening Post is a daily United Kingdom regional newspaper for Wigan, Greater Manchester. It is owned by Johnston Press. The main area for the paper's distribution is in or around Wigan and Leigh....
      , Wigan
    • Oldham Evening Chronicle
      Oldham Evening Chronicle

      The Oldham Evening Chronicle is a daily newspaper published each weekday evening. It is a local newspaper which serves the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England....
      , Oldham
    • Chester Evening Leader
      Chester Evening Leader

      The Chester Evening Leader was launched in 1973 as Chester, England's first daily newspaper. It initially began as the Wrexham Evening Leader, which also later spawned the Flint and North Wales Coast editions....
      , Chester
    • Lancashire Telegraph
      Lancashire Telegraph

      The Lancashire Telegraph, formerly the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, is a local tabloid newspaper distributed in East Lancashire. It has two separate geographic editions each day- one for the boroughs of Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley and one for Burnley, Pendle, and Rossendale....
      , Blackburn
    • Bury Times, Bury
    • Bolton News
      The Bolton News

      The Bolton News - formerly the Bolton Evening News - is a daily newspaper covering the towns of Bolton, Bury and Leigh, Greater Manchester in north-western England....
      , Bolton
    • Westmorland Gazette, Kendal
    • See also: List of newspapers in the United Kingdom
      List of newspapers in the United Kingdom

      This article is a list of newspapers in the United Kingdom....


Town and City Twinnings


Football

Here is a list of the Premier League and Football League teams in the North West ranked on their 2007-08
2007-08 in English football

The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England....
 league position:
  • 1) Manchester United (Trafford, Greater Manchester)
  • 2) Liverpool FC (Liverpool, Merseyside)
  • 3) Everton FC (Liverpool, Merseyside)
  • 4) Blackburn Rovers (Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire)
  • 5) Manchester City FC (Manchester, Greater Manchester)
  • 6) Wigan Athletic (Wigan, Greater Manchester)
  • 7) Bolton Wanderers
    Bolton Wanderers F.C.

    Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English Football League teams professional football club based in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England....
     (Bolton, Greater Manchester)
  • 8) Burnley FC (Burnley, Lancashire)
  • 9) Preston North End (Preston, Lancashire)
  • 10) Blackpool FC (Blackpool, Lancashire)
  • 11) Carlisle United (Carlisle, Cumbria)
  • 12) Oldham Athletic (Oldham, Greater Manchester)
  • 13) Tranmere Rovers (The Wirral, Merseyside)
  • 14) Crewe Alexandra (Crewe and Nantwich, Cheshire)
  • 15) Stockport County (Stockport, Greater Manchester)
  • 16) Rochdale FC (Rochdale, Greater Manchester)
  • 17) Morecambe FC (Morecambe, Lancashire)
  • 18) Bury FC (Bury, Greater Manchester)
  • 19) Accrington Stanley (Hyndburn, Lancashire)
  • 20) Chester City FC (Chester, Cheshire)
  • 21) Macclesfield Town (Macclesfield, Cheshire)


There are 21 Premier League and Football League teams in the North West with:
8 from Greater Manchester (38%)
6 from Lancashire (29%)
3 from Merseyside (14%)
3 from Cheshire (14%)
1 from Cumbria (5%)

Of all the teams in the Premier League and Football League 23% come from the North West. The next nearest region is Greater London with 10 teams (11%). The North West also has 7 teams in the Premier League, more than any other region. Greater London is the next nearest with 5 despite having a far greater population.

Teams in the North West have won 53 out of 109 English football League titles
English football champions

The English football champions are the winners of the highest league in English football, which is currently the Premier League. Teams in bold are those who won The Double of League Championship and FA Cup, or the the double#European Double of League Championship and UEFA Champions League in that season....
 (49%), more than any other region.

Rugby League


Here is a list of the Super League and National League teams in the North West ranked on their 2007 league position:

  • 1) St. Helens
    St Helens RFC

    St Helens Rugby League Football Club, are a professional rugby league club from St Helens, Merseyside, England. The club play in the Super League ....
  • 2) Wigan Warriors
    Wigan Warriors

    Wigan Warriors Rugby League Football Club is a full-time professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The club is one of the original twenty two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union formed in 1895, making it one of the oldest clubs within the sport of rugby league....
  • 3) Warrington Wolves
    Warrington Wolves

    Warrington is a professional rugby league club in the town of Warrington, Cheshire in England. In the past the club have been nicknamed "The Wire" or "Wires", in reference to the strength of the wire-pulling industry in Warrington....
  • 4) Salford City Reds
    Salford City Reds

    Salford City Reds is a professional rugby league club based in Salford in Greater Manchester, England. They play in the Super League .Their nickname is 'The Red Devils'/'Reds', this name was later copied by nearby Manchester United F.C....
  • 5) Widnes Vikings
    Widnes Vikings

    Widnes Vikings RLFC is a professional rugby league club based in Widnes, Cheshire. They play in the Co-Operative Championship, which is the second tier of European Rugby League....
  • 6) Whitehaven
    Whitehaven RLFC

    Whitehaven RLFC is a rugby league team playing in Whitehaven in West Cumbria. They play in Co-operative Championship. Their stadium is called the Recreation Ground ....
  • 7) Leigh Centurions
    Leigh Centurions

    Leigh Centurions are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, England. They were relegated from Super League at the end of the 2005 Super League season and now play in the Co-operative Championship....
  • 8) Rochdale Hornets
    Rochdale Hornets

    Rochdale Hornets is an United Kingdom rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. They currently play in Co-operative Championship....
  • 9) Barrow Raiders
    Barrow Raiders

    Barrow Raiders are a Great Britain rugby league team from Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. They will play the 2009 season in Co-operative Championship....
  • 10) Oldham
    Oldham Roughyeds

    Oldham Roughyeds are a Great Britain rugby league club, currently playing in the Co-operative Championship. They are based in Oldham in Greater Manchester, England....
  • 11) Workington Town
    Workington Town

    Workington Town is a rugby league team playing in Workington in West Cumbria. They play in Co-operative Championship. Their stadium is called Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a Motorcycle speedway team....
  • 12) Swinton Lions
    Swinton Lions

    Swinton Lions is a United Kingdom rugby league club from Swinton, Greater Manchester and Pendlebury, Greater Manchester, England. The club has an impressive record in rugby league considering the size of the town with six Championships and three Challenge Cup wins....
  • 13) Blackpool Panthers
    Blackpool Panthers

    Blackpool Panthers RLFC are an England professional rugby league team based in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. They play at Woodlands Memorial Ground owned by Fylde Rugby Club....


See also

  • Cumbric language
    Cumbric language

    Cumbric was the Brythonic languages Celtic languages, sometimes considered to be a dialect of Welsh language, spoken in the Hen Ogledd in what is now northern England and southern Scottish Lowlands Scotland, the area anciently referred to as Cumbria....
  • List of North West England cities and metropolitan areas by Population
    List of North West England cities and metropolitan areas by population

    |Rank|Urban Area|Population|Ceremonial counties of England|Notes|-|1|Greater Manchester Urban Area|2,240,230|Greater Manchester...
  • List of schools in the North West of England
    List of schools in the North West of England

    The list of schools in the North West England of England is split between the region's five Ceremonial counties of England. See:*List of schools in Cheshire...
  • Envirolink Northwest
    Envirolink Northwest

    Envirolink Northwest is an organisation which exists to promote, strengthen and support the Natural environment technologies and services sector in Northwest England....
  • Northwest Development Agency


External links