Eccles is often described in terms of its famous pastry rather than as a place where 37,000 people live. The Eccles cake – a flaky pastry filled with currants and mixed peel – has been associated with the town since the early nineteenth century, though the exact origin story is contested. Regardless of confectionery history, Eccles is a distinct Salford town with its own high street, market and character, and it’s been part of the Metrolink network since 2000.
The Town Centre
Eccles town centre has a functional high street around Church Street and the market area. The Regent Retail Park has taken some trade in the way retail parks everywhere have, but the town centre has held on better than many comparable Salford and Manchester suburbs. The covered market provides the kind of everyday shopping infrastructure – fruit and veg stalls, a proper butcher, a fishmonger – that makes an area genuinely usable rather than just liveable.
The Cakes
Several bakeries in Eccles make proper Eccles cakes – the real thing, made with butter pastry and good quality dried fruit rather than the pallid supermarket versions. They’re not hard to find; just look for actual bakeries rather than chains. Fresh out of the oven with strong tea is the correct way to consume them.
Metrolink and Connections
The Eccles Metrolink line connects the town to Salford Quays and MediaCity (where the BBC and ITV are based) and through to the city centre. The journey to Piccadilly takes around 25 minutes. This connectivity makes Eccles a viable place to live for people who work in media or the city centre, and housing prices reflect the distance from both without being rock bottom.
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