Salford named one of the top alternative global destinations to visit in 2020

You might not consider Salford a tourism hotspot, but it’s been ranked as one of the top alternative global destinations to visit this year.

That’s according to a list of the top 20 alternative holiday spots put together by the Guardian, focussing on ‘conservation and community projects that are making a difference to people and the planet’.

Salford made the list thanks to the the new RHS Garden Bridgewater project, the biggest gardening scheme in Europe.

RHS Garden Bridgewater

It’s set to open this summer at the Worsley New Hall site, and the 154-acre project will cost £30m-plus to complete – when finished it’s expected to generate £13.8m a year for the local economy by 2029, from a predicted one million annual visitors.

In preparation for its opening, more than 700 volunteer gardeners have been working hard to get the garden ready, alongside a small herd of rare pigs that were brought in to clear brambles and dig over the soil.

GPs have already been referring patients struggling with isolation, mobility problems and other conditions to the garden, through a ‘social prescribing’ pilot scheme, in which they plant hanging baskets, make bug hotels or go on woodland walks.

Patients can also take part in tai chi and yoga sessions in the wellbeing garden, which will become a hub for community organisations like veterans and dementia support groups.

Salford ranked alongside some illustrious global destinations, including Rotterdam, Slovenia, Menorca, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Vienna, Finland, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Montana and Vancouver.

You can check out the full top 20 list and the amazing projects they’re involved in on the Guardian website here.

The RHS Garden Bridgewater project will open in summer 2020, with free entry for RHS members, as well as for Salford residents every Tuesday during the first year – everyone else gets two free visits a year.

You can also book a two-hour guided tour for £5 until April, if you can’t wait for the official opening. To find out more about the incredible work they’re doing over in Salford, visit the RHS website here.