Wigan Tourist Information & Travel Guide

Wigan is a large town situated in Greater Manchester.  It is home to one of England's most prestigious rugby league stadiums known as JJB Stadium, which was built in 1999 and is found in Robin Park.  Wigan Warriors rugby club and Wigan Athlete football club both share the stadium but for the most part, the area has its foundations in rugby league.

The town has many attractions for visitors including access to a wide range of parks for beautiful garden landscapes.  A park that may be worth a visit is Pennington Hall Park which has spectacular floral arrangements towards the entrance.  The park opened in 1920 and was initially a museum and art gallery.  However, it is now operated by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust who intend on developing the park tremendously within the next few years.

For a more cultural experience of Wigan you can visit the North West Museum of Road Transport which looks closely at various collections of British retro buses and cars.  The museum has now become a major attraction and is considered as one of the best attractions in the entire North West region as it has recently undergone a severe restoration programme.  The museum is definitely worth visiting and remains open every weekend in the year.

For shopping, visitors can go to the Grand Arcade Shopping Centre located in the heart of the city.  It houses many popular retailers including River Island, Debenhams, Tk Maxx, Marks & Spencer and many more.  Aside from retail stores, there is also a food court, The Casino Café that takes up an entire floor in the shopping centre.  It is a great place to socialise and take a break with a diverse range of food and drink available to suit all tastes.  Many events take place on an annual basis at the Grand Arcade such as fashion shows and face painting.

Wigan has a thriving nightlife with a vibrant selection of bars, café's and nightclubs.  Wigan Pier is the focal nightclub in the town which has different themed nights throughout the week.  There are selections of dj's that play a variety of music genres depending on the theme of the night.  People who are under 18 years of age are still able to enjoy this nightclub as some days the club opens only to them.

Westwood Park Business Park is the commerce centre in Wigan made up of Wigan NBC office space.  The business park is set to grow in size by 55 acres where a new textiles centre will open that is heavily connected to Chinamex, a company that is run by the Chinese state.  The redevelopment that will take place to extend the manufacturing and research business park will cost up to £125million and create thousands of available job spaces which will, in effect, benefit the wider economy.

A great historical landmark in the city is Mab's Cross, a cross made from stone which has still been preserved from the 1300's, although it does not stand in its original condition.  The remaining pieces of the cross consist of a 1 metre long grit stone and a supporting block which stands above it.  It is given national importance so is historically categorised as an ancient monument that holds local significance to the town of Wigan.