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M35 7BP

Public house on Ashton Road near the junction with Market Street.

These days it is a pub, although it clearly started out as an hotel. Image

The picture on the sign is probably a generalised picture of a church. It certainly doesn't look like either St. Mary's or St. Martin's, or the closed church of St. Andrew. According to the sign, it appears the pub was at one time owned by the brewers Whitbread. However they sold off their pub company to Enterprise Inns some years ago, but there is no indication as to whether these people own it. Image

I don't know how many stars this hotel has got, but it is advertising bitter at £1.60 a pint, which is good enough for me. Just opposite the Metrolink stop.

Ashton Road, Droylsden.

The construction of the new tram line between Manchester Piccadilly Railway Station and Droylsden seems to have been going on forever. It has taken over three years to get this far, and some major works were done years earlier. This tram stop seems more or less complete but further to the west work is still being done on both the track and the stops. In France, where new lines spring up like mushrooms, they seem to be able to build them much quicker. A 2012 opening has been promised for this line. The extension in the other direction to Ashton-under-Lyne is due to open in 2014. A closer view:- Image

Trams should be arriving at this stop in the near future. The stop is an "island design" located between the two tracks. See also:- Image

Looking past the new Metrolink stop (Image]), along the A662 towards Ashton.

Metrolink Bombardier M5000 tram 3045 stands at Droylsden Tram Station having arrived from Manchester. Although the line from Piccadilly to Droylsden wasn't officially opened until 11th February, this tram was operating as part of a free service as a "thank-you" to residents living next to the route (http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/News/Droylsden-Metrolink-Route-Opening-Imminent Manchester Confidential). The new Droylsden Tram stop on Ashton Road, just to the east of Market Street, will operate as the temporary terminus for the Metrolink East Manchester Line Extension; a facing connection allows trams from the outbound platform to move forward and onto the inbound line to reverse and return towards Manchester. The East Manchester line will eventually run to Ashton-Under-Lyne. http://www.lrta.org/Manchester/ashton.html LRT Association "Metrolink - Manchester to Droylsden and Ashton-Under-Lyne" http://www.metrolink.co.uk/futuremetrolink/Pages/east-manchester-line.aspx Transport for Greater Manchester - Metrolink East Manchester Line

The Church Hotel and the Droylsden tram stop lie either side of the A662.