Changes ahead

Some changes people should know about:

The 'Jolly Sailor' pub is closing at end of the evening on 25 January to undergo a 'Major Refurbishment'.

Bus changes: From 25 January The 378 bus from Stockport to Bramhall is to revert to two buses an hour weekday daytimes, instead of three. The 374 bus will no longer continue beyond Stockport to Reddish, and on the Davenport / New House Farm section is reduced to an hourly service outside the peak times. Buses will travel by a longer route to Hazel Grove station via Cavendish Road and the 'Five Ways' then continue beyond Hazel Grove station to Stepping Hill Hospital.

Timetable leaflets are available in PDF format from the TfGM website.

In Manchester the footbridge from Deansgate station to the Metrolink stop has been closed for much-needed refurbishment. This means that, for the time being, changing from train to tram there, normally simple,  requires a long walk to the far end of Deansgate Locks and a climb of several flights of steep metal stairs.

22 January 2015

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Bramhall House, a (just) surviving early nineteenth-century mansion alongside the Mirrlees Fields right-of-way - seen above in August 2014 - was demolished on 16 January, despite objections from local campaigners. Its site, along with the former factory site - but not any of the fields - is to become an estate of about 240 new dwellings. See the Mirrlees Fields Friends Group website for more information.

The footpath towards the MAN entrance is now blocked, although a routre may be re-opened in the future: the only way out to Bramhall Moor Lane is to turn left along Barlows Lane South.

16 January 2015

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Fare Changes

Be aware that fare increases have taken effect nationally from 2 January. Included in the changes is the very useful Wayfarer ticket: the adult version is now £12, although the Concession version remains at £6.

Some good news is that there has been a very welcome relaxation of the recently-introduced and controversial 'Evening Peak fares' rules. Off-Peak Day Returns from Davenport to stations beyond New Mills on the Buxton line are now valid from 08:59 Mondays-Fridays, with no evening peak restriction, returning by any train the same day, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. A Cheap Day Deturn to Buxton is now £9.70. However, this relaxation does not apply to 'Northern Duo' tickets which remain disallowed between 16:01 and 18:29.

Cheap Day Returns to places outside Greater Manchester on the Crewe and Chester lines, changing trains at Stockport, are valid from 09:29, returning on any train, with no evening peak restrictions.

Tickets from Davenport to Manchester Central Zone are now priced as follows:

Anytime Day Return £5.90
Anytime Day Single £3.60
Cheap Day Return £3.40
Cheap Day Single £3.30

Be sure to say when booking return tickets after 09:30 whether you are departing from Manchester or Stockport between 16:01 and 18:30 on Mondays - Fridays. However, should you buy the cheaper ticket and find a need to return in the 'peak', it is permitted to pay the difference at the ticket office before return travel, although at Piccadilly station there may well be a tedious queue. Booking a single ticket 'just in case' will be a more expensive option, as the fares listed above prove.

The same applies to other Greater Manchester stations: and if your return journey from a Greater Manchester station involves a change of trains, be aware that the departure time of either train determines the fare, even if the starting time from your destination station is in the off-peak period. For example, if you are returning on the 15:49 from Urmston, changing in Manchester, you must have an 'anytime' ticket as the 16:16 connecting train from Manchester Oxford Road to Deansgate is within the 'peak'.

4 January 2015