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Haha - first of all forget any notions about Mary Poppins when going to Bolton. I was born in Wigan which is the next town over. It is a bit grim, typical Northern industrial town just to the North of Manchester. Public transport to get into Manchester is good though.
Personally I like Manchester a lot better than London. The Science museum is worth a look, and the public buildings are impressive (town hall etc). There are quite a number of large country houses and historical places of importance within an hour by car from there. Google Quarry Bank Mill, Tatton Park and Dunham Massey. Oulton Park is a great racetrack set in the grounds of an old country house about an hour away in Cheshire.
I left the Manchester/Liverpool region when I was 12 to move to a London suburb and regret it somewhat. Being close to those cities as a teenager would have been great and now I live relatively close I feel like I missed out on knowing Manchester and being aware of the music scene there in the 90s which was quite dominant in pop culture.
Manchester just voted 'No' on a referendum on congestion charging in the city center (just like the system in place in London). Traffic is bad but probably not as bad as London and the South-East.
Hmm what else... they have just built a indoor ski slope with real snow in Trafford - pretty cool. Great gigs on at Manchester University Union regularly - I saw The Hold Steady and Reel Big Fish this Year.
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