The way we shopped was changing when these photos were taken in May 1970.

They gave Bolton Evening News’ readers a glimpse inside the new Asda supermarket which was set to open in the town.

Lancashire Telegraph: The exterior of the new Bolton Asda shortly before it opened in May 1970

Today, large supermarkets offering the complete weekly shop under one roof are commonplace, but the new Asda was one of the first ‘discount supermarkets’ to open in Bolton.

Interestingly on all the captions for the pictures written at the time, the store was described as being in Halliwell but as many Looking Back readers have pointed out, the store was in Astley Bridge where it remains to this day. The contemporary references to it being Halliwell may have been down to the various local council ward boundaries at the time.

Lancashire Telegraph: A view of the grocery section at the new Bolton Asda store in 1970

Either way, the photos offer a fascinating look at what was a cutting edge retail experience more than 50 years ago.

Do you remember when Asda came to Bolton? Email your memories to bygones@nqnw.co.uk or leave a comment.