Car Rental Manchester Trafford Park

Trafford Park is a huge industrial park in the London borough of Manchester. It began as a deer park, owned by the de Trafford family, and is now the largest industrial park in Europe – it was also the first industrial park in the world. Get there by car rental to truly appreciate the scale of this place, that employs 44.000 people in over 1400 companies.

The park is practically surrounded by water, with the Bridgewater Canal forming a boundary on two sides. The canal connects Runcorn and Manchester, and was opened in 1761. The canal at first passed over the River Irwell via a stone aqueduct that was in its time – as it is now – considered a marvel of its time. It was replaced in 1893 by the Barton Swing Aqueduct, considered a great feat of Victorian civil engineering. Use your car rental to drive to the aqueduct and discover it for yourself.

The Manchester Ship Canal forms the other two boundaries, and was opened in 1894. Called ‘the Big Ditch’ by locals, it transformed Manchester into a city locked by land into a major sea port, allowing ships to head in and out from the open ocean. This freed Manchester from having to rely on the nearby port at Liverpool, and helped reverse the economic decline the city was beginning to experience in the late 1800s.

Sir Humphrey de Trafford was a major opponent of the canal. The son of Sir Thomas de Trafford, Humphrey became the 2nd Baronet de Trafford and 25th Lord of Trafford upon his father’s death, living in the family home of Trafford Hall in Trafford Park. His main argument against the canal was that, as it would pass through his property at Trafford Park, it would bring pollution close to his home and interfere with the drainage – all combining to make his home uninhabitable and he would be forced to move. After being rejected twice, the bill was passed and the canal begun construction just a year after his death. Park your car rental and hop out for a look, exploring these modern marvels of engineering.