Manchester

Manchester is well placed at the heart of Northern England. Everything is within an hour or so of Manchester's Piccadilly and Victoria stations; major cities, National Parks, picturesque scenery, seaside resorts and swanky suburbs can all be reached by train.

suburban and beyond

Huddersfield

— A solid Victorian gem! Around 30 minutes away by Transpennine Express. This fine town is in West Yorkshire.

Todmorden

A lovely Victorian town about 30 minutes away by train. A bustling market, fine restaurants and striking natural beauty are all included within the town. Population : 14 000

Wigan

— Located in the western part of Greater Manchester, it is the 2nd largest borough in the city region in terms of size and population. Home to the 1970's Northern Soul scene, famous for its premier league football league team Wigan Athletic & Super League Champion Rugby team Wigan Warriors as well as pies. The shopping district has been greatly expanded with the grand arcade shopping centre opening in 2007, and is now in the top 100 UK retail destinations. Wigan is around a 25-40 minutes by frequent trains 6 per hour from central Manchester depending on the service and line, or 1 hour by First bus services 32 & 33 from Piccadilly Gardens.

Rochdale

— Also within Greater Manchester and home town of Gracie Fields, boasting a Victorian Gothic town hall to rival Manchester's. The town is around a 20-25 minute train ride from Victoria or 50 minutes by bus from Shudehill Interchange, with First's 17 being the most frequent. The Cooperative Movement started here and there is a dedicated museum. By 2012 the Metrolink tram service will also be running to Rochdale

Stockport

is in the south of the city region and boasts the Hat Museum and the 1930's Plaza Cinema and Theatre with an authentic old style tea room. Trains from Piccadilly take around 13 minutes and there are also excellent bus links. From the railway station there is a free bus link to the centre. You can also visit the underground, former World War II bomb shelters. Stockport is served by Stagecoach's 192 from Piccadilly Gardens and this is the most frequent bus service in the conurbation.

Bolton

The most northern district of Greater Manchester, famous for Bolton Wanderers FC, Bolton Market and the home of comic Peter Kay. Bolton is around 25 minutes by train or 1 hour by bus on services 8, 36 & 37 from the city centre. It is also home to the University of Bolton, Greater Manchester's newest and smallest university.

Bury

Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne, and Altrincham are all satellite towns, within Greater Manchester, each with their distinct feeling and market-town atmosphere. They are all under 25 minutes way from the city centre by train or Metrolink tram or a little more by bus.

If you are in a hurry to get to outlying places by train and are unsure where to buy your ticket, as long as you board the correct one, these can be bought on the train from the guard who will walk through the carriages. Piccadilly in particular can be quite confusing to the visitor. There are some ticket machines if the queues are too long.