Buzzing Around Greater Manchester - Again!
Part Three
22 June 2025
ABOVE: Bee Network - Stagecoach Manchester 10600 (SN16 OVZ) is still in traditional Stagecoach colours when seen in Millgate, Delph, Oldham, whilst working Bee Network route 350 from Ashton-under-Lyne to Oldham. All photos in this articl;e were taken on Tuesday 6 May 2025.
I'm in Shaw, on the north-eastern side of Greater Manchester. It's about three miles south-east of Rochdale, and a similar distance north-east of Oldham. And we're less than four miles from the border of Greater Manchester with West Yorkshire.
The legacy of the civil parish of Shaw and Crompton's industrial past can be seen in its three surviving cotton mills, all of which are home to large distribution companies. Among them is Yodel, a major employer in the area.
Meanwhile, I'm busy trying to distribute myself around the outer edge of Greater Manchester by bus. I began my journey at the Trafford Centre the previous morning (see Parts One and Two), and have covered a decent part of the circuit now, around the west and north of the region.
The only problem is that I am behind schedule - what I want to cover today feels tight, and I may have to instigate a service cut of my own after my next stop, Oldham...
But first I have to get to Oldham. I'm looking for the hourly 402 service, which should get me there. I haven't identified any other service that links Shaw with Oldham, and the 57 that comes to the stop just as I arrive doesn't change that...
ABOVE: Still in the livery of its previous owner, First Manchester, 13163 (BN61 MWG), a Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, is now part of the Bee Network - Stagecoach Manchester fleet. It is seen working route 57 in Milnrow Road, Shaw, probably heading for Oldham rather than Rushcroft as is stated!
But, with a few minutes to look at timetables, it becomes apparent that the 57 that I let go could have done the job for me. Rushcroft is a housing estate on the outskirts of Shaw and Crompton, and the 57 links Rushcroft to Oldham. And it looks likely that the bus I let go had already served Rushcroft, and that the driver had omitted to change the display.
There are two oddities in the bus stop information. I'm at Stop B at Travis Street, and the timetable information confirms that the 402 leaves from that stop. However, the adjacent "Where to Board Your Bus" panel suggests that I need the neighbouring Stop A.
Far more confusing is the list of departures. Route 57 seems to have a timetable variation on Thursdays, so the departure times for Thursdays are presented separately from those for other days. Except that all of the actual timings are the same as for other weekdays. So the 1030 bus (except Thursdays), that I let go, is replaced on Thursdays by a bus at ... 1030!
ABOVE: Separate but identical times for route 57 on Thursdays (left); confirmation at the head of the timetable that the 402 serves Stop B (above right); and the conflicting advice that stop A is where I need to be (lower right).
Another 57 passes in the opposite direction - a single-decker this time. It also seems to be heading for Rushcroft, and this time I believe it!
ABOVE: Bee Network - Stagecoach Manchester 27943 (SN13 CKO), an ADL Enviro 300, pases along Milnrow Road in Shaw, working a route 57 journey towards Rushcroft
My 402 turns up just a minute behind schedule. This has originated at Buckstones, so maybe I could have stayed on the 436 and picked it up there... This is an Optare / Switch Solo SR operated by Stagecoach Manchester, and the route is a very twisty-turny one, digging deep into the residential estates in this area.
The first of these is Oozewood, a residential area that must be one of quite a small number of places in Britain to have four Os in an eight-letter name.
Royton lies at the foot of the Pennines, and is about 688 feet above sea level. The town is about halfway between Rochdale and Oldham, so it's appropriate that we find a Halfway House here, on the Rochdale Road. It also falls on the direct route of the frequent 409:
ABOVE: Halfway House, Royton. There are two 409 buses visible to the right, heading for Rochdale.
The less-than-straight routing of the 402 is illustrated here by the fact that, although the direct route from Shaw to Oldham is south-west, we are currently facing east!
Another lengthy detour away from the main road takes us into Chadderton. Physicist and musician Professor Brian Cox lived here as a child.
ABOVE: The bus turns from Parkway into Burnley Lane in Chadderton
This is certainly one of those routes that digs deep into the back roads of the area, and I see far more from the 402 than I suspect I would have done from the 57! It's quite a busy run and we reach Oldham Bus Station four minutes late at 1136.
ABOVE: Bee Network - Stagecoach Manchester 48107 (YJ24 BNL), an Optare (Switch) Solo SR, at Oldham Bus Station between trips (and seemingly about to have a change of drivers) on route 402.
When I say "Oldham Bus Station", perhaps I should say "Bus Stations", as there are two. Or maybe two separate buildings would be more accurate, as they're only one hundred yards apart, at right angles to each other. The one further south is on West Street, allowing easy access to Rochdale Road and King Street - good for north / south routes:
Then just spin 90 degress to the right, and there's the other, bigger bit, on Cheapside, in the shadow of an "Integrated NHS Care Centre". In the warm sunshine, the scene could be mistaken for somewhere more tropical...
Oldham rose to prominence in the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture; at its peak, it was the most productive cotton spinning mill town in the world, producing more cotton than France and Germany combined. Meanwhile, Annie Kenney, who worked in Oldham's cotton mills, was a notable member of the Suffragette movement, and is credited with sparking off suffragette militancy when she heckled Winston Churchill, and later became one of the first Suffragists (alongside Emmeline Pankhurst) to be imprisoned.
The time available for the remainder of my journey is still tight. I could get to Ashton-under-Lyne, my next stop, in under 25 minutes on the 409, just as I could have used the same bus to get here from Rochdale, in 33 minutes instead of the 87 minutes I have taken.
But I don't want to pass up the next route that I have in mind, even though it will take three times as long to get to Ashton. Because it's stunning!
ABOVE: Another view - from the top deck - of the Oldham (Cheapside) Bus Station
I'm catching the 350 - a route that is featured in the Bus Pass Britain book (Bradt, 2011), so one knows that it must be something slightly special. I have taken the route once before, but the heavens unexpectedly opened on that trip, such that I missed some of the best bits. With blue skies and hardly any cloud, a downpour is unlikely today.
I board the 1159 departure. Still with Stagecoach Manchester, this is a much older Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, new to First Manchester and with very poor front seat legroom for my near-90 minute journey. I will have to suffer because I'm not giving up the best seat in the house on this run!
Although Ashton is almost due south of Oldham, the 350 starts out to the east, and we soon enter Saddleworth, which is a "collection of villages and hamlets, as well as suburbs of Oldham", rather than a town as such. We enter through Austerlands, home of the attractive Three Crowns public house.
Moments later, and we get the first of the many delightful views that await along this route:
ABOVE: The view from Lyndon Close, looking east. The former St Paul's Church was, until recently, a bridal department store called the Aisle Edit.
The road climbs further and the vista becomes even more green and countrified. All this just 10 miles from Manchester City Centre! At its peak the 350 is almost 1000 feet above sea level.
ABOVE: A view to the south, looking at what might be the village of Dobcross, if I've got my bearings correct!
We turn north to visit the village of Delph. The village is home to one of the Saddleworth and Oldham Whit Friday brass band contests (11 villages are involved), with in the region of seventy-five bands from across the UK and beyond marching down the main street at five-minute intervals on the evening of the contest. The village features in the film Brassed Off (1996).
ABOVE: Bee Network - Diamond Bus North West 21244 (WX74 SZJ), a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Mellor Strata, is in King Street, Delph, working route 356, another route that links Oldham and Ashton-under-Lyne. Another one to try... maybe next time...
We're currently heading north, and are four miles to the north-east of Oldham. We're further from Ashton than we were at the start of the run!
ABOVE: Bridge over the River Tame, in Delph High Street, just a few yards on from the previous photo
The whole visit to Delph has been a double-run so we have to turn around at some point. We do so via Lodge Lane, which is quite a daunting prospect, I suspect, for the driver of a double-decker bus. The only saving grace is that it's one-way.
ABOVE: Lodge Lane, Delph
Buses follow the same routing here in both directions, and we're soon heading back through Delph and onto a southerly trajectory.
We pass through Dobcross; many of the original 17th and 18th century barns and weavers' cottages survive here today as listed buildings. Half a mile on is Uppermill, which, although classified as a village (and indeed, treated by the Office for National Statistics as a single entity with Dobcross) is probably the nearest that Saddleworth has to a centre (in my experience anyway), with its long and bustling High Street.
ABOVE: The High Street in Uppermill, with the Sacred Heart & Saint William Catholic Church prominent on the right
Through the villages of Greenfield and Micklehurst (the latter more a suburb han a village) and we come to the town of Mossley. With the River Tame and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal both converging on the town, and a railway line cutting through the middle as well, this seems to be a town of two halves with limited crossing opportunities.
ABOVE: Bee Network - Stagecoach Manchester 13193 (OE62 ZSG), a Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, is seen in Winterford Road, Mossley. The far side of the town (over the river) can be seen in the background. This vehicle was new to (Go-Ahead) City of Oxford as its 369 (registered Y25 OXF) - the red sections at the front of the vehicle perhaps being the biggest clue to its ancestry.
ABOVE: Bee Network - Diamond Bus North West 20638 (YX74 OEN), an ADL Enviro200 MMC, turns from Manchester Road into Station Square in central Mossley. It is working route 343 (Hyde to Oldham)
Across the river and the railway line brings us to the other side of Mossley. We're briefly heading north again, even though our destination is still south-west!
ABOVE: Looking east from Stamford Road, Mossley, back across the settlement of Micklehurst and to the Pennines, and maybe West Yorkshire beyond, if one stretches one's imagination. The chimney of Woodend Mill, now a trading estate, is prominent in the foreground. The church on the left is likely to be St John the Baptist Church. Note the railway line - the station is directly behind the wall in the foregroud, albeit at a much lower level.
The main 350 service is half-hourly on weekday, but an additional service runs from Micklehurst to provide a service though Mossley to Ashton every 15 minutes. No doubt a key objective for that additional service is the large Tameside General Hospital, a magnet for various bus services from Ashton...
ABOVE: Bee Network - Metroline WDS 245 (MF74 NNB), a Wright StreetDeck Ultroliner, exits Tameside General Hospital on route 231 (Manchester City Centre to Ashton-under-Lyne).
We are finally on the approaches to Ashton.
ABOVE: Bee Network - Stagecoach Manchester 13184 (OE62 ZRR), a Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, is another escapee from City of Oxford, where it was registered R11 OXF and numbered 361. It is outside the Wellington Road Christian Fellowship in Ashton-under-Lyne.
The bus drops off at Ashton-under-Lyne Interchange at 1325, one minute down. It's taken 86 minutes to do this trip but it's well worth it for the lovely scenery and the chance to explore this eastern extremity of Greater Manchester.
ABOVE: Bee Network - Metroline VMD 470 (BU25 YXF) is a new Volvo BZL DD electric. It is leaving Ashton-under-Lyne Interchange on route 231 to Piccadilly. Behind is a Wright StreetDeck Ultroliner of Stagecoach Manchester, on route 330 towards Stockport.
But it all comes at a cost. It's 1330, which might still sound quite early, but I have another five buses in the plan to get me back to the Trafford Centre, without going into the City of Manchester. Can I finish the intended route?
TO BE CONTINUED...
BELOW: A diagrammatic representation of the journey so far:
