Southgate

Our house is a 1920's Edwardian semi-detached property 15 mins walk from Urmston town centre. We live on leafy, quiet, residential street with a community feel. The house has a hallway leading to a separate kitchen (with small table), large dining room and lounge with patio doors leading out on to a raised deck. On the first floor we have 2 bedrooms available, both kingsize doubles. The first family bathroom is on this floor comprising a bath with shower overhead, sink and toilet. The second bathroom has a toilet, sink and walk in shower which is found on the 2nd floor where we have converted the attic. The kingsize double bedroom on this floor is also available as part of the house swap.

The garden has a large lawned area, mature trees with shrubs and is not overlooked. A number of children's garden toys are available for use eg small slide, rocking horse, pop-up tunnels, balls, toy trucks etc. It is accessed from the kitchen or lounge via the raised decking area which is a good spot for evening drinks or lunch in the sun! There is an outside table and seating for 6 people on the decking. The front garden is small with a double drive for off-road parking for 2 cars.

About the location

Urmston is a small town on the outskirts of the city of Manchester which is about 7 miles away by car. Urmston boasts lots of independent shops and has everything you need including restaurants (Indian, Spanish, Italian, Turkish and a great Steak House), supermarkets (Sainsbury's, Aldi and Co-op), butchers, a small market, cafés, pubs, children's indoor soft play area and plenty of local parks. Urmston also has 3 golf courses and is only 5 mins in the car to a golf driving range and the Chill Factor indoor ski slope (real snow!) and climbing wall. The Trafford Centre (a huge indoor shopping and leisure complex) is also only 5 mins drive from the house which has restaurants, multiplex cinema, bowling, arcades and of course shopping galore! Across the road from the main shopping centre you will find the Blue Planet Aquarium and Legoland.

Salford Quays and the new 'Media City' award-winning redevelopment of the Manchester Ship Canal area is only 15 mins drive. Here the Lowry retail outlet can be found with lots of shopping and restaurants alongside The Lowry Theatre and art gallery. The BBC have relocated their children's and sports programming to this area and you can have tours of the sets. A short walk across a bridge takes you to The Imperial War Museum North and the film set for Coronation Street. There is also a watersports centre here where you can canoe, windsurf or have a go at bell boating!

At the end of our road (2 min walk) is a really good family pub 'The Roebuck' which has recently been refurbished to include a conservatory dining area serving good value food in a friendly atmosphere. We also have a bakers, newsagent and convenience shop here. A new deli/cafe has also opened on our doorstep called 'The Hideaway' serving delicious homemade cakes and pies. It opens until 9pm and often runs events such as wine tasting evenings. Walking in the opposite direction you are quickly into countryside in Urmston Meadows with horses and river walks along the River Mersey. You can even walk to Sale Water Park from here where you can take part in a range of watersports or country walks.

For families, on our doorstep we have the 'Purple Buttercup' craft shop (2 mins walk) which opened last year where you can paint pottery, knit, learn to crochet, decoupage or make jewellery. Our local park is 'Abbotsfield' which has separate play areas for toddlers and older children. It also has a narrow-gauge miniature steam railway which runs every Sunday costing 25p a ride. Interestingly, the park was one of the last places The Beatles played at before they became world famous!

Travelling around the area and getting into Manchester itself is easy. Trains run into Manchester twice every hour from Urmston railway station (15 mins walk from the house) and once each hour from Chassen Road station (5 mins walk from the house). The train journey itself takes approx 15 mins. It is also easy enough to drive into Manchester itself but as parking isn't cheap you could also park at Stretford tram station and get the Metro into the City. In the opposite direction trains also run regularly from Urmston and Chassen Road to Liverpool which is a 45 min journey. Both cities are thriving and dynamic places to visit with a plethora of shops, theatres, parks, art galleries, museums, restaurants and of course, two very well known football stadiums!

The Peak District, the Lakes, Cheshire, the west coast are all within easy reach of Urmston accessed by the motorways. For example the Lakes and Kendal, Ambleside, Windermere, Scafell (for walkers) are all within 1-2 hours by car and many can be reached by train from Manchester's main station which is Piccadilly. Closer to home are the wonderful National Trust Parks and English Heritage houses found at Dunham Massey (15 mins), Tatton Park (35mins) and Lyme Park (50 mins).

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