Free Museums in Middleton

"Grayson’s Art Club – An exhibition of works selected by artist Grayson Perry during Grayson’s Art Club, the popular Channel 4 TV series. All the works on display are very personal visual representations of lockdown, made by the public, well-known artists and celebrities for Grayson’s Art Club.Between Friday 2 July and Sunday 29 August. Other exhibitions are also on too."

"National Football Museum, Urbis Building, Cathedral Gardens, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M4 3BG - Visit now. The National Football Museum attracted 100,000 visitors in the first six weeks of opening. It continues to be hugely popular – expect football-related displays and exhibitions, a café and an extensive shop."

"It not only includes all the expected exhibits but also boasts interactive attractions to keep the whole family entertained, even the partner that is not that much of a fan!. To top it off, the museum is located inside one of Manchester’s newest and most iconic buildings – The Urbis. Interactive, passionate and full of history, just like the beautiful game itself."

"In 2001, the National Football Museum was transferred from Preston to Manchester. The museum has over 140,000 football artefacts such as boots, programmes, paintings and balls. To visit the primary exhibition, you will not pay anything."

"Take a walk right down to the end of Oxford Road and you’ll find The Whitworth. An impressive and ornate red-brick structure, this popular Manchester art gallery certainly looks the part from the outside – and once inside visitors will find over 60,000 internationally important artworks to explore. Everything from weaving to sculpture is included within its recently refurbished walls – and best of all, much of it is free to explore."

"From 19 May – 1 July, The Whitworth is open for film screenings of its new exhibition, Imran Perretta: the destructors. The Whitworth Café, Art Garden and Collections Care Centre are also open from 19 May to 1 July. The rest of the gallery remains closed while the next exhibitions are installed, following COVID-19 safety guidelines."

"Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Peel Park, The Crescent, Salford, Greater Manchester, M5 4WU - Visit now. Salford Museum and Art Gallery is a friendly city museum close to Peel Park with special appeal to families; the highlight is Lark Hill Place, a charming Victorian Street installation. Salford Museum and Art Gallery began a phased reopening at the beginning of August."

"The municipal museum was founded in 1848 and moved into its purpose-built Neoclassical home in 1857. This is one of the UK’s oldest town museums and the building has kept its original character. As with the best municipal museums, the collection is a big jumble of local industrial artefacts, Egyptology, Roman archaeology, coins, ethnographic displays, items from the Civil War and zoological and botanical specimens."

"1857 museum with 200,000 artifacts displayed in original Victorian glass cabinets, plus fine art. Address : Bold St, Warrington WA1 1DR, United Kingdom"

"Contemporary Six – The Gallery is a leading independent art gallery located in the heart of the city centre of Manchester opposite the beautiful Town Hall. Established in 2010 by Alex Reuben, the gallery is known for offering a warm and friendly welcome to art enthusiasts, collectors, and new visitors and explorers to the city. Specialising in original paintings, landscapes, portraits, abstracts handmade prints, sculptures, and ceramics."

"From Darrell Evanes’ scrap metal sculpture to Matthew Bourne’s natural abstracts, Contemporary Six’s repertoire is all encompassing. Having outgrown its former location of Royal Exchange Arcade, the gallery - founded by Alex Reuben in 2010 - now occupies an airy space on Princess Street, where it represents around 40 artists. Best feature: Contemporary Six offers the Own Art Scheme, which allows buyers to pay in monthly instalments"

"CFCCA is the UK leader in Chinese visual culture, with a reputation for debut solo exhibitions and a roster of internationally-renowned artists; impressive considering that, three decades ago, it was just a series of events in Manchester’s Chinatown. As Manchester’s Chinese population is second only to London’s, the centre’s heritage is particularly important; now represented in a new archive and library. Best feature: A vibrant events schedule, spanning film screenings to workshops and even Mandarin lessons"

"Centre For Chinese Contemporary Art is a unique art gallery with a year-round programme of socially engaged exhibitions, events, and artist residencies. They have over 30 years experience of working with emerging and established artists to provide a space for conversation, debate, and cross-cultural exchange. They are the go-to place to discover new artists and explore relevant global issues from different international perspectives."

"Manchester's Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art will reopen both of its galleries on Wednesday May 19. Exhibitions Multiplicities in Flux and Autopsy of a Home, which originally opened in October, will be back until June 13. Booking is advised at cfcca.org.uk but walk-ups are welcome."

"Travel back in time to the industrial revolution at the Quarry Bank Mill. Oozing with heritage, you can experience the ‘sounds and smells’ of steam and water-powered engines, explore the cotton mill to learn about spinning, weaving, the production of material, and the history of the textile industry, tour the Apprentice House for a glimpse into the lives of pauper children, stroll the beautiful gardens, or walk the Styal Estate, filled with woodlands and streams. Interactive, engaging, and educational, the museum exhibits and friendly and knowledgeable staff make Quarry Bank Mill a great day out for all ages."

"The first public events will return to the Stoller Hall from June 7. Shows will be socially-distanced with reduced capacities initially, but there are hopes that it will be back to near-full capacity by September. See more and book tickets at stollerhall.com/whats-on."

"The Stoller Hall is situated in the heart of Manchester and offers a personal live music experience that puts you closer to the music. The concert hall delivers a programme including classical, folk and jazz music, as well as spoken word and comedy."

"Named after Mr. Fletcher Moss (who donated the park’s grounds to the city), these Botanical Gardens are part plant showcase, part wildlife habitat, and part recreational facility. The plant life here is renowned for its beauty, and contains several unusual varieties. Some of the older specimens have grown there since the foundation of the park a full century ago."

"A walk together in the outdoors is just the thing to keep this romantic day rolling. The Fletcher Moss Botanical Gardens is an organic dream with a nature trail that winds through gardens and wooded areas. Visitors should investigate the botanical gardens and the old parsonage, which is historic and adds a picturesque quality to the scene."

"In the Didsbury area of South Manchester you’ll find Fletcher Moss Park and Botanical Gardens. Autumn in Fletcher Moss Park. The park is famous for its amazing rock gardens, where a variety of interesting plants and shrubs thrive in microclimates within the shelter provided by the rocks."

"Heaton Park might be big, but my favourite park in Greater Manchester is Fletcher Moss Park and Parsonage Gardens. The Fletcher Moss section is part woodland and part gardens. I love going for walks here because the forest reminds me of home."