Castlefield Viaduct is a 330-metre Grade II listed railway viaduct in Castlefield, the oldest part of Manchester, built in 1892 by Heenan and Froude. It carried trains into Manchester Central Station and the Great Northern Warehouse until 1969. The disused viaduct opened in 2022 as the National Trust's garden in the sky, with planting, seating and a visitor building along the deck. Entry is free with no booking, dogs on leads are welcome, and the route is level on smooth bonded gravel, though there is no cafe. Reviewers describe it as a pocket of calm above the traffic, full of flowers and planting. The Trust advises that some lifts up to the viaduct are out of order, so use the lifts at Deansgate station or the tram stop and walk the short flat stretch. The viaduct closed in May 2026 for repairs and groundwork for a second phase adding 200 metres of walkway and a new western entrance near Mancunian Way; the Trust expects to reopen in the autumn.
