Touchstones
One of the places to visit in Rochdale is Touchstones, a museum. The surrounding 5 km hold 2 more places to visit. Rochdale Pioneers Museum comes next on our list, 400 m away.
Museum in Rochdale
Inside Rochdale
Touchstones is inside Rochdale’s built-up area, with 2 more places to visit within 5 km. Towns near it ↓
Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
When to go
For warmth, aim for June to August (18–20°C highs in Rochdale).
Touchstones
In Rochdale, inside the town’s built-up area.
- Type
- Museum
- Town
- in Rochdale
- Official site
- yourtrustrochdale.co.uk/venues/touchstones-rochdale
Where it sits
Spot Touchstones in orange, then follow the numbers to the places below.
© OpenStreetMap contributors · The dashed line is Rochdale’s built-up area. · ONS built-up area 2022
Which town is nearest
The biggest base of the 8 is Rochdale (111,258 people). These are the towns that list it, beginning with its own.
Rochdale
Milnrow
Whitworth
Royton
Compare the 8 towns
| Town | Where Touchstones is | People | Places to visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochdale | It’s in town | 111,258 | 4 |
| Milnrow | 2.3 km east of it | 9,237 | 3 |
| Whitworth | 2.9 km north of it | 6,713 | 3 |
| Royton | 3 km southeast of it | 22,997 | 7 |
| Heywood | 3.2 km southwest of it | 29,724 | 14 |
| Trub | 3.4 km south of it | 1,389 | 4 |
| Littleborough | 3.4 km northeast of it | 12,164 | 3 |
| Wardle | 3.7 km northeast of it | 2,112 | 2 |
Next door to Touchstones
Nearby, 29 places within 15 km include 4 museums, an art gallery and a castle.
MuseumRochdale Pioneers Museum400 m away2
Art galleryGallery Oldham9 km away3
CastleBuckton Castle15 km away4
MuseumManchester Jewish Museum14 km away5
Historic houseHeaton Park11 km away6
MuseumMuseum of Transport Greater Manchester13 km away7
MuseumEllenroad Steam Museum4 km away8Heritage railwayHeritage railwayEast Lancashire Railway9.4 km awayWithin 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.
Visiting Touchstones
Where is Touchstones?
Touchstones is in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, inside the town’s built-up area.
What is Touchstones?
Museum.
When is the best time to visit Touchstones?
June to August are the warmest months in Rochdale, with afternoon highs of 18–20°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).
What else is there to see near Touchstones?
Within 15 km: Rochdale Pioneers Museum (400 m), Gallery Oldham (9 km), Buckton Castle (15 km) and Manchester Jewish Museum (14 km).
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (7)
- Rochdale Pioneers Museum: Chemical Engineer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gallery Oldham: SMJ, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Buckton Castle: Richard Nevell from London, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Manchester Jewish Museum: Richerman, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Heaton Park: Pimlico Badger, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Museum of Transport Greater Manchester: Mikey from Wythenshawe, Manchester, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ellenroad Steam Museum: David Stowell, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.