A Trip Around Manchester (Literally)!
1 January 2022
ABOVE: Bolton Interchange, Sunday 15th August 2021, complete with the rain clouds that have made parts of the day a damp experience!
Lesson 1 – if you’re planning to circumnavigate Greater Manchester by bus, the best place to be based in probably in Greater Manchester, so that you can step out of the hotel and start the trip!
Not me. I’m staying in Leeds, with an hour’s train ride ahead before I can even undertake the positioning journey. In my week based in Leeds, I have been through Greater Manchester on four different days, so maybe I need to reposition myself into this area next time I’m up this way.
The first Sunday train from Leeds is at 9.07am, so it’s after 10 before I even set foot in Manchester. It’s a six-car train, and pretty busy considering the hour of the day and the day of the week. And I get another chance en route to hear how one should pronounce “Slaithwaite”.
Why am I doing this on a Sunday, I hear you ask? Simply because I know there will be decent bus services all across the Greater Manchester region, which isn’t necessarily the case elsewhere.
My route is intended to circle around various of the suburbs of Greater Manchester, so first I have to get out of the City Centre. I pick up the 192 service to Stockport. This is such a famous route that it has its own Wikipedia entry, and it’s one of the busiest bus services in the country. Even on a Sunday morning it has a four-minute frequency – and it’s a reasonably-busy run. I’ll have to revisit this route and write more about it one day.
ABOVE: Stagecoach Enviro 400 MMCs 11548 (left) and 11544 on busy route 192 near Stockport, on Tuesday 10th August 2021
Finally, I have reached Stockport to start an anti-clockwise circumnavigation. The only reason I am going anti-clockwise is that one of the rides is a route that I have already done, and I want to try that one the other way.
Stockport Bus Station looks tired and I discover that it is in its last weeks of service before closing for redevelopment. (By the time of my next visit six weeks later, it has closed.)
I have an all-operator ‘System One’ day ticket for £6 so can, and will be able to, use any bus of any operator.
I start with a Stagecoach bus on route 11 to Altrincham at 10.55am. Apart from the regular interaction with trams and tram lines in the Wythenshawe area, it’s a fairly straight-forward run.
Altrincham’s bright and modern interchange is virtually deserted. There isn’t much more going on in the town itself. Maybe because it’s Sunday? Light rain starts to trickle; hopefully it won’t last.
From here I’m taking the Arriva 247 to the Trafford Centre. It’s due at 12.30pm but doesn’t arrive until 12.40. The only other passenger who boards at the interchange queries the delay with the driver but gets no response. Despite picking up a lot of passengers along the way we arrive into Trafford on time, at 1.25pm.
ABOVE: Trafford Centre bus station, Sunday 15th August 2021
My biggest delay risk on this trip was always going to be the next bus – Diamond’s route 126 to Leigh. It only runs every 60-90 minutes on Sundays and the next departure is at 2.15pm. Still, I’m not exactly short of somewhere to wander around for half an hour – the Trafford Centre is the third largest shopping centre in the UK apparently – only Westfield London (Shepherds Bush) and the Metrocentre in Gateshead are bigger.
The bus, a Streetlite DF, is on the stand way in advance and we are soon on our way, through what is now heavy rain, on the 25-minute trip to Leigh on the western side of the city. From this point on we’re into double-deck territory, and the services I am after from now on are more frequent as well.
My next route is Diamond’s 582 to Bolton. I secure my first front seat since the 192, but it’s still raining so the view isn’t great.
Diamond gives a good impression round here, though. I recall that it may have taken over a raft of First Bus services when First retrenched in this area. All of the vehicles are smart and modern, having been purpose-bought for the operation here.
This is my second trip to Bolton Interchange in three days. I’ve spent almost three-quarters of an hour there across the two visits. I really should go out and have a look outside next time!
Another Diamond double-decker awaits for route 471 to Rochdale, and I get a decent view of the railway station as we pull out. There’s a 5mph limit for all bus stations in Greater Manchester and it is rigidly observed by all drivers. Methinks some sanctions could await any offenders!
The bus passes through Bury Interchange en route to Rochdale. This is a huge interchange with 20 or so stands. It also marks the northern terminus of the Manchester Metrolink. I was last here on the Thursday.
Soon into Rochdale for the 409 to Ashton-under-Lyne. I did this trip about six years ago, in the opposite direction. There was snow in Rochdale on that occasion – I remember some of the local youngsters throwing snowballs at the tram I was on. It’s mid-August now so I’m not expecting to see any snow today – the only time I ever saw snow in August was at the summit of the Jungfrau mountain in Switzerland, back in 1994. I tried to get my partner up there a year later, but she was having none of it!
The rain is easing as we pull out of Rochdale and I’m travelling with my fourth operator of the day, First Manchester. It’s a nice ride with steady trade, and it’s 5.50pm as we pull into another modern interchange in Ashton. This wasn’t here last time I used the 409.
While the Interchange is modern and comfortable, the facilities are all closed by this point of the day, even though there are a lot of people milling about. The tram route from here is closed for engineering works as well, which may have swelled the numbers of people around.
The bus, a Streetlite DF, is on the stand way in advance and we are soon on our way, through what is now heavy rain, on the 25-minute trip to Leigh on the western side of the city. From this point on we’re into double-deck territory, and the services I am after from now on are more frequent as well.
My next route is Diamond’s 582 to Bolton. I secure my first front seat since the 192, but it’s still raining so the view isn’t great.
Diamond gives a good impression round here, though. I recall that it may have taken over a raft of First Bus services when First retrenched in this area. All of the vehicles are smart and modern, having been purpose-bought for the operation here.
This is my second trip to Bolton Interchange in three days. I’ve spent almost three-quarters of an hour there across the two visits. I really should go out and have a look outside next time!
Another Diamond double-decker awaits for route 471 to Rochdale, and I get a decent view of the railway station as we pull out. There’s a 5mph limit for all bus stations in Greater Manchester and it is rigidly observed by all drivers. Methinks some sanctions could await any offenders!
The bus passes through Bury Interchange en route to Rochdale. This is a huge interchange with 20 or so stands. It also marks the northern terminus of the Manchester Metrolink. I was last here on the Thursday.
Soon into Rochdale for the 409 to Ashton-under-Lyne. I did this trip about six years ago, in the opposite direction. There was snow in Rochdale on that occasion – I remember some of the local youngsters throwing snowballs at the tram I was on. It’s mid-August now so I’m not expecting to see any snow today – the only time I ever saw snow in August was at the summit of the Jungfrau mountain in Switzerland, back in 1994. I tried to get my partner up there a year later, but she was having none of it!
The rain is easing as we pull out of Rochdale and I’m travelling with my fourth operator of the day, First Manchester. It’s a nice ride with steady trade, and it’s 5.50pm as we pull into another modern interchange in Ashton. This wasn’t here last time I used the 409.
While the Interchange is modern and comfortable, the facilities are all closed by this point of the day, even though there are a lot of people milling about. The tram route from here is closed for engineering works as well, which may have swelled the numbers of people around.
ABOVE: The smart, modern interchange at Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester
I have arrived in good time for the 6.00pm departure on Stagecoach route 330 to Stockport, and what appears to be a real-time display counts down to the scheduled departure. At 6pm the service disappears from the board, and the actual bus never turns up – one of only three buses in the whole of 2021 that I have set out for which doesn’t appear.
The next service is due at 6.30pm and turns up a few minutes in advance. Even allowing for the fact that it is carrying a double-load, it’s pretty busy. I would hope that any bus operator would be happy to see 20 or 30 people on a bus at this time on a Sunday evening.
I’m back in Stockport at 7.15pm, having circumnavigated the city in eight hours and 20 minutes.
Of course, I still have the journey back to base to do, and it’s nearly 10pm by the time I reach my hotel in Leeds. The 192 from Stockport back to Manchester is very, very busy and I end up on the back seat upstairs as it’s the only one available. The bus takes a detour into the city centre (I don’t know the route well enough but it feels quicker if anything). There are lots of Police vans around and it’s clear that something is going on somewhere in the City Centre.
There are about 40 people waiting for the next 192 out of town. I’m quite relieved for once to be leaving by train!