Factory tours
Seventy-five minutes on the floor.
£16 a person. Under-5s free. Every Saturday and Sunday at 10:00am, 12:00pm and 2:00pm — and you leave wearing a pair of goggles you built yourself.
What actually happens
You will not be looking through a window.
The tour walks the length of Shed B while the line is running. It is warm, it smells faintly of hot resin, and it is properly loud in one bit — we hand out ear defenders for that section.
Gate 3 reception
Hi-vis vests, lanyards, and a two-minute safety chat from your guide. Bags go in a locker — 20p, refundable.
The press, Shed B
Resin discs go under twelve tonnes of pressure for eleven seconds. You will watch a lens exist for the first time.
The tinting room
Three vats of hot dye: amber, smoke and mirror. Racks of lenses come out steaming. No photos in here — the flash upsets the colour readers.
The seal shop and strap loom
Silicone seals are trimmed by hand at a bench that has not moved since 1984. The strap loom runs at 300 metres an hour and everyone stares at it.
The Test Tank
The famous bit. A tester climbs into a two-metre glass tank wearing a pair straight off the line. If a single bubble escapes, the whole batch goes back.
The build bench
Your turn. Pick a lens, pick a strap colour, clip it together, stamp your initials into the buckle. It is yours, and it is included in the £16.
The factory shop
Seconds and end-of-line pairs at half price, and the café next door does a sausage roll people write to us about.
What’s included for £16
- 75-minute guided tour
- Hi-vis, lanyard and ear defenders
- A pair of goggles you build yourself — normally £14
- A stamped brass buckle with your initials
- 10% off anything in the factory shop that day
Availability
Upcoming tours
Sixteen places on every tour and we never squeeze in a seventeenth. Availability updates as bookings come in.
Tour availability
Updated 4 minutes ago| Date | Time | Guide | Places | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 29 AugThis Saturday | 10:00am | Rosalind | Full | |
| Sat 29 AugThis Saturday | 12:00pm | Rosalind | 3 places | Book |
| Sat 29 AugThis Saturday | 2:00pm | Dermot | 7 places | Book |
| Sun 30 AugThis Sunday | 10:00am | Dermot | Full | |
| Sun 30 AugThis Sunday | 12:00pm | Rosalind | 1 place | Book |
| Sun 30 AugThis Sunday | 2:00pm | Rosalind | 6 places | Book |
| Sat 5 SeptNext weekend | 10:00am | Amara | 4 places | Book |
| Sat 5 SeptNext weekend | 12:00pm | Amara | Full | |
| Sat 5 SeptNext weekend | 2:00pm | Dermot | 9 places | Book |
| Sun 6 SeptNext weekend | 10:00am | Rosalind | 5 places | Book |
| Sun 6 SeptNext weekend | 12:00pm | Rosalind | 2 places | Book |
| Sun 6 SeptNext weekend | 2:00pm | Amara | 11 places | Book |
| Sat 12 Sept | 10:00am | Dermot | 12 places | Book |
| Sun 13 Sept | 12:00pm | Rosalind | 14 places | Book |
Currently booked
Who’s on the 12:00pm tour
We publish the running sheet so groups can see who they will be sharing the floor with. Names go up the moment a place is confirmed.
Sunday 6th September · 12:00pm
Guide: Rosalind Byrne · Meet at Gate 3 reception by 11:45am
- 1MWMax Wilson Booked 23 Aug · Wilson party of 3Paid
- 2DWDavid Wilson Booked 23 Aug · Wilson party of 3Paid
- 3KWKimberley Wilson Booked 23 Aug · Wilson party of 3Paid
- 4OPOliver Prestwood Booked 23 AugPaid
- 5CCCharlotte Clough Booked 23 AugPaid
- 6PRPriya Raghavan Booked 15 Aug · Raghavan party of 2Confirmed
- 7ARArun Raghavan Booked 15 Aug · Raghavan party of 2Confirmed
- 8TATom Ashcroft Booked 16 Aug · Ashcroft party of 2Paid
- 9GAGrace Ashcroft Booked 16 Aug · Ashcroft party of 2Paid
- 10DODaniel Okonkwo Booked 18 Aug · Okonkwo party of 3Paid
- 11EOEsther Okonkwo Booked 18 Aug · Okonkwo party of 3Paid
- 12AOAmelia Okonkwo Age 4 · no chargeUnder 5
- 13NHNadia Haq Booked 21 Aug · Haq party of 2Confirmed
- 14JHJoseph Haq Booked 21 Aug · Haq party of 2Confirmed
- 1515Place availableOpen
- 1616Place availableOpen
Other tours filling up
Booking a whole tour
Birthdays, school groups and clubs can take all sixteen places for £220, which works out cheaper and means the build bench is yours. Ring 0161 496 0142 and ask for Rosalind.
Book a place
Reserve your tour
Fill this in and we will hold your places. There is nothing to pay now — you settle up at the Gate 3 desk when you arrive, by card or cash.
- £16 a person, under-5s free
- Free cancellation up to 48 hours before
- Places held for 10 minutes while you finish
- Confirmation shown on screen straight away
Before you come
Questions we get asked
Do we really keep the goggles we make?
Yes. You build them at the bench, we stamp your initials into the brass buckle, and you walk out with them. They are a full retail pair — the same Ancoats frame we sell for £14 — not a souvenir version.
What ages is the tour good for?
Five and up gets the most out of it. Under-5s come free and are very welcome, but the build bench needs a grown-up hand and the press is loud. Teenagers tend to like the Test Tank best; grandparents tend to like the strap loom.
What should we wear?
Closed shoes, please — no sandals, no flip-flops, factory floor rules. The tinting room sits at around 26°C so leave big coats in the locker. We provide the hi-vis and the ear defenders.
Is it accessible?
The whole route is on one level with a lift to the mezzanine viewing point. Wheelchairs and buggies are fine throughout. Tell us in the booking notes and Rosalind will take the group the flat way round the press.
Can we take photographs?
Everywhere except the tinting room, where camera flashes upset the colour readers and we end up with a batch of the wrong amber. There is a proper photo spot by the Test Tank.
Is there parking?
Forty free spaces at Gate 3, including four accessible bays. If it is full, the Village tram stop is a seven-minute walk. See getting here.
Can we cancel or move our booking?
Free cancellation or a change of date up to 48 hours before. Inside 48 hours we will do our best, but a place held is a place someone else could not have. Just ring us.
Is there anywhere to eat?
The Works Café by Gate 3 does sandwiches, soup and a sausage roll that people write to us about. Open 9:30 to 4 at weekends.
Two places left on Sunday 6th September.
The 12:00pm tour is at fourteen of sixteen. Once it is full the next Sunday noon slot is the 13th.
Reserve your places — £16 each