Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk.

The Byron family continued to hold the land until the beginning of the 17th century, when Blackley was sold in parcels to a number of landowners.

Today, only pockets of the suburb are undeveloped green space, with farmland remaining close to the M60 motorway.

The current Member of Parliament is Graham Stringer of the Labour Party, who was first elected in 1997 for the predecessor constituency Manchester Blackley.

The suburb is split between the local government wards of Higher Blackley and Charlestown on Manchester City Council.

[6] During the 1930s, residential development started to take place in the formerly rural village to provide more homes for Manchester's growing population.

The few opportunities to work in the suburb itself include the Hexagon Tower Development, close to North Manchester Hospital, which is a centre for scientific research into plastics and related innovation.

Blackley has several green spaces: Boggart Hole Clough is a large woodland and urban country park.

The park has a bowling green, tennis and basketball courts, a boating lake and a children's play area.

The stretch of the River Irk in the forest is fringed by birch trees with some colonies of autumn crocus.

Although the park is officially part of the City of Manchester, two of a number of entrances are accessed from the suburb of Blackley, on Middleton Road.

There are frequent Metrolink trams from Bowker Vale to and from Manchester city centre and as far south as Altrincham and as far north as Bury.