Quote: The Boddingtons tower used to be a focal point as you were driving in to Manchester as it was part of a factory where they produced the drink Boddingtons ale. When the factory shut down the tower remained and so you can still see it on the way in to Manchester but it now sits in a car park which is what remains of the site.

The car park is operated by NCP and boasts a large area in which up to 1150 vehicles can park. What is great about this site is the fact that you can park there relatively inexpensively and it usually costs £3 for a car to park there for a day and you pay via the machines which are dotted around the car park. This is a really reasonable price to pay for parking which is around a five or ten minute walk from Manchester town centre as some car parks charge double or more. Various fares will be available for vans and coaches as far as I am aware. The car park is open twenty four hours and is out in the open so there is no cover to the car park but it seems quite a secure area to park your car in my opinion.

The Boddingtons car park is situated on 53 Great Ducie Street in Manchester and as such it is a really perfect position for people visiting the MEN arena for a show or concert as it is literally just across the road. It was this reason that my friend and I chose the Boddingtons car park to park on when we visited Manchester to watch the Disney on Ice show at the MEN arena.

When we arrived at the car park what we first noticed was that instead of there just being the machines in which you pop your money and get a ticket there was in fact a man standing just inside the entrance with a receipt book in his hand and we had to stop to get a ticket from him. In front of the little hut where presumably an attendant can sit there was a sign stating that event parking was £6 despite there being signs everywhere saying £3 all day and so we were unsure what we were going to be charged to be honest. When we got to the man he asked were we going to see Disney on Ice and when we said yes he said "Six pounds please" and I wonder if we had said that we were just going for a meal and a shop if we would have been charged three pounds?!

Whilst six pounds is a reasonable amount to pay for city centre parking from 4.20pm until 9.45pm we found it really frustrating that we were being penalised really because we were coming to see a show which we had already paid a high price for tickets for. This is probably still the best car park to park on if you are going to something at the MEN arena but I do think it is really naughty that you are charged more to go to an event as the NCP must be making a killing on the fact that they can monopolise the people coming to the MEN.

My tip would be that if you can try to get away with it then say you are coming to town for a drink and a meal as opposed to going to an event as you may well be charged less and whilst I cannot guarantee that I think it is worth a shot!

From journals Manchester.