Warrington is an old market town midway between Liverpool and Manchester. For centuries it was the lowest bridging point on the Mersey, just before the river broadens to a proper estuary, so proved an ideal place for trade and later heavy industry. In 1968 it was designated a new town and grew rapidly, though not as much as originally planned, and managed to retain enough of its former heart to still feel characterful. Today it's by far the largest town in Cheshire, boasts Britain's first IKEA and has sent Rebekah Brooks, Chris Evans and Luke Littler out into the world. According to its tourist website the main attraction is shopping, but if we take that as read what else is there in Warrington worth seeing? [Visit Warrington][30 photos]
10 things to see in Warrington
1) The Town Gates
These glittering gates were meant to grace the royal estate at Sandringham but a display error at the International Exhibition of 1862 blew that. A statue of Oliver Cromwell had been placed behind them, so when Queen Victoria came round she wasn't utterly impressed as planned but very much not amused. The disgraced gates went back to the ironworks in Coalbrookdale where they remained for 30 years until a town councillor spotted them on a business trip, bought them and set them up in front of the town hall. They remain Warrington's One Lovely Thing, now topped by the town's coat of arms rather than a royal crest.
2) The town bridge
First recorded in the 13th century, the latest 1915 incarnation is the sixth bridge on this site. It's nicely balustraded but unable to support the sheer volume of traffic so in 1986 a separate road bridge was built a tad upstream to carry everything heading south. Has the distinction of being the site of two CivilWar surrenders, end result Cromwell 1, Royalists 1.
3) The Museum and Art Gallery
Now this is more like it. Warrington has one of the oldest public libraries in England and also one of the oldest municipal museums, the two coming together in one redbrick building in 1858. To dodge the books climb the iron staircase to the first floor where an eclectic ring of galleries awaits. A teenage mummy is the centrepiece in Ethnology, beyond that a fine reflection on the town's commercial history, then a sparse but broad selection of art and photography. If anyone's written finer artbolx than "an accumulation of self-conscious fragments of process – each vying for surface dominance before the inevitable structural collapse under the weight of their own existence" I'll be surprised.
A display case in the Cabinet of Curiosities commemorates the town's most famous equine resident, Old Billy, the world's longest-lived horse (1760-1822). His taxidermied head normally resides in Bedford Museum but a concerted campaign has summoned it back to Warrington and we'll see for how long. But the best things here are the botany and geology galleries, one stacked on top of the other and both restored to their 1930s splendour thanks to a Heritage Lottery Grant. The long cabinet explaining the economic uses of plants isn't just hugely educational but a jam-packed exemplar of how we used to learn before exhibits dumbed down (The Plant as Beverage, The Plant as Dyes...), so well done Warrington. Free, daily from 10am, not Mondays or Tuesdays.
4) Warrington Market
They don't half move move their market around in this town. The medieval cornmarket shifted twice in Victorian times, then switched to a tripledecker market hall during the New Town phase in the 1960s. The latest move to a modern airy shed came in 2020, where 50 traders are now artfully crammed in front of a food court and edible offerings range from 'My Avocado' to '2 Slices Of Very Thick Toast'. Out the back is Time Square (singular), an unnecessarily large piazza with a leisure focus and the latest redevelopment zone. With the amount of hexagonal bling on the outside of its multistorey we could only be in Cheshire.
5) River of Life
In 1993 the IRA planted two bombs in litter bins in Bridge Street, one outside Boots, the other outside Argos. Two boys died in the subsequent explosions, over 50 shoppers were injured and a curvaceous stone memorial was built in their honour. It's tear-shaped with a channel of water cascading onto a copper dome embedded with schoolchildren's handprints, was paid for by the Duke of Westminster and has become a true community-created focus for remembrance.
6) The 'Skittles'
Warrington's central pedestrianised streets were brightened millennially by American designers Howard and Gay Ben Tre. They created a variety of symmetrical stone interventions but its their centrepiece that stands out, ten sleek glass columns known locally as the Skittles. It'd be more impressive if the council got round to fixing the central fountain but that remains fenced off, almost two years after its last splurt.
7) Palmyra Square
The Victorians were a lot more understated. This square is part of the quarter that survived the New Town wrecking ball and is surrounded by smart townhouses, a County Court that's now an arts centre and a concert hall that's seen performances by the Rolling Stones, Jools Holland and James. In the centre is Queen's Gardens where Victoria's canopy is all that's left of a cast iron diamond jubilee water fountain, and yes we have now reached the "you probably don't need to visit this" part of the list.
