Housing and Getting Around

Manchester

Many Plant members live in the Rusholme, Moss Side and Hulme areas, famous for the 'Curry Mile' popular with students. Fallowfield and Withington are popular with young families, professionals and students, with affordable housing. Grace Church Manchester meets on Palatine Road in Withington. Didsbury is nearby, and has a range of accommodation from flats to Victorian town houses. Levenshulme, Burnage and Chorlton are very nice too, and less 'studenty'.

The Felthams are Christian landlords beloved by many Plant members over the years (0161 224 1537) and often have people looking to share a house. You're welcome to at The Plant to see if any of our members have a space.

Salford

Aside from the usual student accommodation, if you want to stay in walking distance of University, the main student areas are around Cromwell Road (near Castle Irwell), i.e. Lower Broughton, Charlestown. There are some nice cheap houses around Cromwell Road and estate agents such as Scotts or Taylor Jackson can help you find them. Tip: It's probably best to avoid Salford Quays: you generally end up paying for the luxury of living in such a nice area and it's quite a walk to main campus.

If you're looking for areas that aren't so student dominated, Irlams O' Th' Height is a relatively nice area in walking distance of Salford Shopping City. A few Plant members also live near Castle Irwell but off Gerald Road and Littleton Road, which isn't as 'studenty'.

The Living Word, Salford is just 15 mins down the road from the Uni and about a 20 min walk from Manchester city centre.

Getting around

If you’re not sure how to get around, this online journey planner is very helpful for public transport.

Cycling is a great way to great round Manchester, especially as it is so flat. Greater Manchester Cycling Guide. Free adult cycling training. Manchester city centre is small enough that walking is a pleasant alternative (an umbrella is a wise investment!).

Manchester has no shortage of buses, especially down Oxford/Wilmslow Road (a long road running due south from the city centre through the Manchester universities). The cheap buses are: Magic Bus (run by Stagecoach) and Finglands. There are various annual, monthly and weekly tickets available on their websites (including student discounts).

Manchester's trams are great value and really handy if you live near one. See their helpful website.

The major Manchester train stations are Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria in the city centre. Manchester Piccadilly is the main station with regular trains to the airport and the South. It's about five minutes’ walk from Piccadilly Gardens, the central bus hub area for the city. Manchester Victoria is near the Northern Quarter, 15 minutes’ walk from Piccadilly Gardens.

The Salford campus is quite compact, foot is the cheapest way of getting around. However, there's a free bus service for students that goes around the majority of campus that runs between 8.15am and 10pm.

Getting to Manchester City Centre from Salford is also relatively simple - most transport leads there. You can get the train from Salford Crescent to all trains stations in Manchester. You can also get regular buses from Castle Irwell (M10, 10, 93) for between £1.10 and £1.50 single. As an added bonus if you live in Mattias/Bramall court, it's actually only a 20 minute walk to town.

For other areas see the Greater Manchester Transport Authority website.