Portal:North West England/Selected article/6

Sale is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Its neighbouring towns are Stretford, which lies to the north, and Altrincham, which is to the south. Sale itself is 10 km southwest of Manchester City Centre. The Bridgewater Canal runs through the centre of the town, and the River Mersey passes just to its north.

Historically part of Cheshire, Sale dates back to at least the 12th century and possibly to pre-Norman times. Until the 18th century, the mainstays for the small community were farming and weaving. However, transportation improvements&mdash;notably the 1765 completion of the Sale section of the Bridgewater Canal and the 1849 opening of Sale's first railway station&mdash;transformed it into a commuter town for Manchester workers. It remains such for many Sale residents, who have seen the town economy shift to its current focus on retail, real estate and business services.

Two of the town's main attractions are the Sale Water Park and the Waterside Arts Centre. Although the community had a Premiership rugby union club (the Sale Sharks) and witnessed the founding of the Sale Harriers-Manchester Athletics Club, both have now relocated to other Greater Manchester areas. Prominent past and present residents include physicist James Joule, singer David Gray, and Sale Harriers athletes Darren Campbell and Diane Modahl.

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