Swan Lane Mills (courtesy of Alan Murray-Rust)

The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Bolton, but covers a far larger area which includes Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley and Westhoughton, and a suburban and rural element from the West Pennine Moors.

Close to the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is 10 miles northwest of Manchester. It is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages that together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the administrative centre. Bolton lies on relatively flat land on both sides of the clough or steep-banked valley.