Top 21 Things to do in Stockport Town Centre
We have put together a list of our top pics of things to do in Stockport Town Centre (in no particular order). No doubt we have missed a few but let us know what you want to be featured and we will add it to our next list. Enjoy!
1 – Street Art
Stockport has a blossoming street art scene which includes artworks created by international and local artists. There is no trail as such but if you head down to the Underbanks you will be able to find a Hendrix Portrait, The Stockport Tiger Moth and a floor to gable mural depicting elements from the Underbanks. There are other artworks and poetry to find too!
2 – The Produce Hall
Visit Stockport’s popular food hall – with a range of indie food traders and in house businesses ranging from Cambodian street food, to Mexican and more.
3 – Indie Bar Crawl
Start at the marketplace and meander down to the Underbanks. To name a few stop off at Project 53 for a selection of great wines, stop at Cherry Jam for some crazy cocktails and bounce in to The Spinn off for locally sourced craft beers. There are so many more to visit – click here to see Stockport’s best bars.
4 – Fine Dining
Where The Light Get’s in is Stockport’s most exclusive restaurant offering a taster menu of ever changing seasonal dishes. With a focus on sustainability the team at WTLGI recently won the Green Michellin Star. The restaurant is so busy you will need to book well in advance. Fun fact Dua Lipa recently ate at this fab Stockport restaurant.
5 – Bakery Bonanza
Head into Stockport Indoor Market and visit Sticky Fingers to try their amazing polish bakes. They have a selection of deck chairs outside to enjoy the market area whilst eating a pastry or two. We also have the amazing Yellow Hammer bakery located on the Underbanks. Offering a range of sustainable and organic baguettes, sour dough, sandwiches and sweet treats. You can also visit and sit outside and order coffee, small plates and organic wines. Hillgate Cakery, located opposite Yellow Hammer is Stockport’s vegan cakery with a whole host of cakes and bakes!
6 – Winter’s Clock
Located on the Underbanks Winter’s iconic jewellers which is now a French Bistro called Bistro Marc has a one of kind moving clock on the external of the building. Every 15 minutes the clock chimes and the characters move in tandem. Inside the restaurant you can look at the inner workings of the clock.
7 – Air Raid Shelters
Carved into the natural sandstone cliffs, the intriguing network of underground tunnels offers visitors an unparalleled insight into life in wartime Britain in the 1940’s. Visitors have the opportunity of learning about the experiences of local people during the war. Visitors can learn about the experiences from the displays in the tunnels and from the state of the art audio-guides. You can also to find mementos of the 1940’s in our shop.
8 – Independent Shops
Stockport has a growing independent shop selection. Most are centred around the Underbanks and Lower Hillgate. The businesses include vintage fashion, curated contemporary fashion, Interesting magazines, indoor plants, home furnishings, furniture, health and lifestyle and more. You can read our list of Stockport’s best indie shops here.
9 – View the Viaduct
Stockport’s iconic viaduct stands proudly as the spine through Stockport town centre. In its day it was the largest brick built structure in Europe. It was built in 1840, has 27 arches and was made using 11 million bricks. It is definitely worth a look and you can even walk underneath the huge arches. Fantastic image from Memoirs of a Mancunian.
10 – Foodie Friday
On the last Friday of the month it seems that the whole of Stockport descend into the market plaza to try an ever changing range of pop up indie food producers. As the whole area becomes licensed you can buy drinks from local venues and wander around taking the space in.
11 – Indoor Market and Makers Market
Stockport Indoor Market is one of Stockport’s most beautiful buildings. Inside you’ll find an array of traders ranging from traditional market stalls to organic wine sellers, local artists and chai tea. On the second Saturday of the month Stockport Makers Market sets up shop in the market area – a huge selection of over 60 artisan traders sell the handmade goods to local visitors.
12 – Workshops on Merseyway
Based just off Merseyway (Stockport’s main high street) an independent workshop space has been created to allow for free and paid workshops. The range includes live drawing, ceramics and plastic reuse.
13 – Indie Food Scene
The food scene in Stockport continues to move forward. Some notable mentions are – The Mekong Cat serving traditional southeast Asian noodles, Baekdu offering Korean Barbecue, San Juan and their amazing Columbian food and Afiyet servicing contemporary Mediterranean cuisine.
14 – Live Music & More
Stockport’s live music scene continues to grow. If you head to Bask at Stockport Exchange (next to the station) this bar/live music venue has made a statement with acoustic nights, spoken word performances and comedy nights.
15 – Visit Natwest Bank
We know it’s it’s odd to mention a bank.. but the NatWest bank on Underbanks is up there with Stockport’s most interesting architecture. We recommend you pop inside to see this historic gem.
16 – Stockport’s Heritage Trail & More
If you head to Stockport Story / Staircase house on the marketplace you can take a tour and learn about Stockport’s history. Inside you can pick up a heritage trail map to do an interesting historical walk around the town centre. We highly recommend you stop off at Strawberry Studios to see where famous artists including 10cc and Paul McCartney recorded tracks. Image from Ian G.S.
17 – Visit the Car Park Allotment on Merseyway
Yes that’s right… there is an allotment on the roof of Merseyway Carpark. The allotment is ran by the Where The Light Get’s in team and the produce grown is used in their bakery and restaurant. They often do workshops and tours in the space so keep your onions peeled! (Excuse the pun)
18 – Visit the Plaza
Stockport’s Art Deco Plaza is one of the towns most recognisable venues. The Plaza offers a whole host of shows throughout the season and should be on your list to visit. Tours are available and there is a cafe inside the plaza so that visitors can stop for a coffee and finger sandwiches.
19 – Visit the Hat Museum
Stockport is known for its hats – the local football team are referred to as the hatters. You can do a tour of the museum and learn about the local hatting industry.
20 – Visit The Warren
Based just off the marketplace The Warren is an independent shop that sells a huge range of local artists’ work including photography, paintings, prints and other items. We have this on the list as it is an excellent stop off for gifts for you and your friends at home.
21 – Crowther Street
Based on Lower Hillgate, Crowther Street is one of Stockport’s most iconic and famous streets. It was painted by Lowry a prominent Northern artist and continues to be photographed and visited by local people and visitors.
We had an absolute pleasure putting this list together of things to do in our home town. It is Amazing to see what’s happened, what’s happening and about to happen next. Stockport residents share this post, and let’s get more people to visit Stockport. Visitors, welcome and have fun in SK1.
PS – we know we may have missed some interesting things so let us know what we should feature in our next article.