Manchester Transport Advice

[rmt4ever]

Hello Everyone you Lovely People

OK So I am dragging the Mrs to Manc-land to see Phoenix Nights at the Manchester News Arena on 15th Feb.

Tickets for it were a massive rip off, almost as bad as the eye watering 'booking' fee and the £2.60 postage fee (since when was it £2.60 for an envelope and a 2nd class stamp?) The show is on Sunday evening, the 15th.

Anyway aside from that... we are travelling on the 14th. February (yes great valentines gift I know LOL).... I have opted to travel by BA on the Sat evening as the West Coast mainline has MAJOR works with no direct trains at all between Euston and Manc, chaos I can imagine, so traded in my Avios and along with £30, bingo, two single tickets with BA (from Heathrow which is equal distance for us from West London, as is Euston anyway).

Coming back on the Monday at about 1800hrs I think, we are taking the Virgin train. It only cost £25 (she has a YP railcard)... cheaper than using priv !!

The only thing I wanted advice on, is travel around the area. The hotels in Manc city centre are WELL expensive unless you wanna stay in a dump.. So we opted for the Holiday Inn Express at Salford Quays. I chose it because a quick Google informed me its only 20 mins by Metro between there (the metro stop being 5 mins walk away from the hotel, I think :/) and the Manchester City Centre.
It cost me £130 for the two nights in there with B&B and WiFi included, not too bad I thought.

We arrive Saturday evening, and will want to get from the airport to the metro stop at Salford Quays where the hotel is. Quick check in then I imagine back on the tram to the city centre for dinner/drinks.

Then on the Sunday we will be trying to find a Church in the morning to attend Mass (hopefully one near the hotel, anyone local know?) then going straight to Hadfield for a couple of hours (Mrs is a League of Gentleman fan and wants to go). Then back to Manc city centre for a few drinks and food before the show in the evening, then of course metro back to Hotel (after a couple of pints locally).

On the Monday we will probably be getting the metro into the city spending the day sightseeing/shopping/eating/drinking before train home early-evening.

So a few Q's...

1/ What is the best value travelcard/ticket to buy bearing in mind our above scenario?
2/ I assume travel on the metro from the Airport to Hotel on Sat night will be best, how long will that take and how frequent are the departures from the Airport?
3/ On the Monday we might have to leave luggage at hotel which would be annoying as we will have to travel back out there to get it before going to Piccadilly to get the train- anyone know anywhere (cheap) near Piccadilly to leave luggage?
4/ Nearest Church to our hotel for Mass/Communion service on Sunday morning? (i.e. RC or high-end Anglican style Mass- NOT methodist, morning praise etc)


THANKS AS ALWAYS EVERY1 xx

 

[duffield]

Reply to 1/ for a start:

If you're only using the tram, and travelling together on all journeys, for Sat/Sun the Family Weekend Travelcard at £8 looks very good value. Then on Monday you could get a Family Day Travelcard (Off-Peak)​ for £6.20 assuming you're maybe having Breakfast and not using the tram until after 09:30.
Total £14.20, i.e. only £2.37 per person per day for unlimited tram travel.

Anyhow the info is all here:
http://www.metrolink.co.uk/tickets/Pages/Travelcards.aspx

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

With regard to the RC church to which you allude, I think the nearest one would be St Joseph's Church, St Joseph's Drive, Ordsall. 0161-872 0534.

 

[telstarbox]

It's not the nearest to the hotel but you could attend Mass at the Hidden Gem RC church in the city centre (use St Peter's Square tram stop), which would be on your way to Hadfield.

The Dockyard and Craftbrew bars near your hotel are both good for a drink - in town the ones around the Arena aren't great but there are some good ones in the Northern Quarter a few minutes away.

At Picc there is the Excess Baggage Company on Platform 10 which offers luggage storage, no idea of prices sorry.

 

[WatcherZero]

Victoria stations tram stop should have reopened by then. One question what time does the performance end on the Sunday night? If its after 10pm you will likely need to get a taxi back to your hotel.

 

[rmt4ever]

Thanks for the help everyone. To answer some questions no we don't plan to move before about 10am so off peak tickets are fine, having breakfast in hotel both mornings.

I guess the show will be about 3 hours (not sure if interval or not) ... Last metro at 10pm?? Seriously ??

 

[andyb2706]

Reply to 1/ for a start:

If you're only using the tram, and travelling together on all journeys, for Sat/Sun the Family Weekend Travelcard at £8 looks very good value. Then on Monday you could get a Family Day Travelcard (Off-Peak)​ for £6.20 assuming you're maybe having Breakfast and not using the tram until after 09:30.
Total £14.20, i.e. only £2.37 per person per day for unlimited tram travel.

Anyhow the info is all here:
http://www.metrolink.co.uk/tickets/Pages/Travelcards.aspx

Hi Happybunny,

Duffield is wrong to give you the information that you can use a Family Weekend Travelcard for yourself and the Mrs. From your post there is only the two of you and no kids? If you open the link up that Duffield sent you and scroll to the bottom it states that the Family Weekend Travelcard there must be at least one adult and one child to make this ticket valid. Using that ticket for yourself and the Mrs could have landed the pair of you with a fine of £100 each. There are more ticket checks now occurring on the Metrolink and quiet rightly so, but the inspectors take no prisoners.

The ticket I would suggest is the Adult Weekend Travelcard which will cover both the Saturday and Sunday and costs £5.80 per person. For the Monday I would use the Adult Day Travelcard at £5 each.

Also as regards to the last tram on Sunday nights to Salford Quays it is 10pm, sorry. However my advise here would be not to get a taxi from the arena as you will have a possible 17,000 people coming out of there at the same time either driving or fighting for taxis but to board a East Didsbury tram (these run until 11pm) to Deansgate-Castlefield and go downstairs and pick up a black cab from the Deansgate Locks. This would be better for three reasons.

1. You won't have a large group of people fighting for taxis
2. The roads will be quieter.
3. It will be cheaper, you would have used your travel card for the tram and you are closer to Salford Quays at Deansgate Locks and the clock on the meter won't be going up as you should not be stuck in all the traffic.

But most of all I hope you enjoy your time in our great city of Manchester and have a good laugh at Phoenix Nights.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

At Picc there is the Excess Baggage Company on Platform 10 which offers luggage storage, no idea of prices sorry.

If you want to use the Excess Baggage on platform 10 you may also need to have your train tickets at hand because with this being located on platform 10 you will need to get pass the ticket inspectors, very badly designed. As regards cost follow the link below and then click on the "North Briton Stations" and just search out Piccadilly.

www.left-baggage.co.uk/locations.php

 

[rmt4ever]

Thanks andyb for your help and going into so much detail. I've gotta say I'm really shocked the last train is at 10pm. I can't find out anywhere when the show finishes or how long it lasts or even if there is an interval, but I think I'll try my hardest to get the last one. Even if we have to leave a bit early it will be easier than messing about with cabs etc.
What is the nearest stop from the venue and how far away is it do you know?
Shame as we would have probably gone for a few drinks after but oh well.
Do you know what time the last one will be on Saturday night. We don't land till 1815 on Sat so by the time we collect luggage and get on metro probably won't be at hotel till about 2000 and in town by 2030 so hope to have at least a few hours to eat/drink etc.

The left luggage place seems reasonably priced, well worth it to be luggage free for the day.

Thanks again for all the help

 

[snowball]

Victoria stations tram stop should have reopened by then.

It has been said that it will reopen in February, but I don't think a more specific date has been mentioned.

 

[andyb2706]

Thanks andyb for your help and going into so much detail. I've gotta say I'm really shocked the last train is at 10pm. I can't find out anywhere when the show finishes or how long it lasts or even if there is an interval, but I think I'll try my hardest to get the last one. Even if we have to leave a bit early it will be easier than messing about with cabs etc.
What is the nearest stop from the venue and how far away is it do you know?
Shame as we would have probably gone for a few drinks after but oh well.
Do you know what time the last one will be on Saturday night. We don't land till 1815 on Sat so by the time we collect luggage and get on metro probably won't be at hotel till about 2000 and in town by 2030 so hope to have at least a few hours to eat/drink etc.

The left luggage place seems reasonably priced, well worth it to be luggage free for the day.

Thanks again for all the help

No problem happybuuny, the Metrolink is my regular mode of public transport so kind of use to it.

On Saturday your last tram back from Piccadilly Gardens is at 0032 Sunday morning, up until that time the trams run at approximately every 12 minutes so ample time for a few drinks.

As to the nearest tram stop from the venue, as has been stated the Manchester Victoria tram stop is currently being rebuilt to increase capacity and it has been announced that it should be open for February. If the stop is open for the show you are only a matter of minutes from the arena entrance. If the stop is still closed the next stop is Shudehill and I would say to give yourself 5-10 minutes to get there, but you will be able to judge the timing better yourself on the day as you will use whichever stop to get to the arena.

I think the last trams on a Sunday have been made earlier than they used to be but I think that might be due to the ongoing engineering work that is going on to increase capacity on the network.

 

[Josie]

The train is faster from the airport to the city centre, but it's also more expensive, and as you're going to Salford Quays the tram probably works out just as good anyway. So yes, I think I'd get the tram all the way, changing at Cornbrook.

I reckon it will probably be cheapest for you to buy separate tickets as follows:

A Metrolink Weekend Travelcard costs £5.80 each and will cover all of your tram journeys on Saturday and Sunday. You can buy it from the ticket machines before getting on your first tram.

A day return for the train from Manchester Stations to Hadfield is £4.20 each (not including your discounts). Trams from Salford Quays run direct to Piccadilly.

On Monday, Salford Quays to City Zone single is £2.80 each. Don't forget about the free Metroshuttle buses which are useful for getting around the city centre too.

 

[pdsalford]

Alternatively for the Sunday service the number 50 bus stops outside St John's Cathedral in Chapel Street. Or there's St Mary's (aka the Hidden Gem) which is on Mulberry street 5-10 minutes walk from St Peter's Square Station.

Whichever you use, double check any metrolink engineering works nearer the date.

 

[[email protected].]

What is the journey time, Manchester airport to city centre via tram ?

 

[richardio123]

What is the journey time, Manchester airport to city centre via tram ?

Well it varies. I do Wythenshawe Town Centre to St Peters Square every morning and that take about 35 minutes. Dependant on the wait at Cornbrook which is never more than 4 minutes. So the overall time is about 40-45 minutes from MIA to the City Centre.

People said the line wouldn't be that popular because it doesn't go direct into the city centre.. But it has had more than 266,000 passengers since it opened at the start of November.

 

[WatcherZero]

NR have now announced reopening dates

18th Feb will reopen for services arriving in Victoria from the North, 21st Feb services continuing southwards. 14-17th Feb there will be bus replacement with no through (been non-stopping during past works) Victoria services and services terminating at the preceding and following stations.

Unfortunately just a little too late for your visit happybunny

 

[deltic]

In the unlikely event you want to explore a bit more of south Manchester! you can go to mass at St Joseph's Sale which is 5 mins walk from Sale Metrolink station;'

you may find this website/map useful http://weekdaymasses.org.uk/en/map?lat=53.492039&lon=-2.239671&zoom=14&church_id=609164