New commute - Chorley to Manchester

cruff

I'm shortly moving Oop North from Down South. I'm hoping to live in Buckshaw Village (renting for a while, then looking to buy). I'm working in Manchester, know someone who lives up thay way and they've advised me that the commute is do-able (45km each way) but that the A6 can be a bit grim. Unfortunately, it seems this is pretty much the only realistic way of getting into Manchester from there - unless anyone who lives up that way knows of any alternative routes into town?

Cheers in advance!

big_p

Manchester is a big place, where are you heading to ? also, buckshaw is more Leyland than Chorley.

cruff

Yeah - just North of Chorley, isn't it?

I'm right in the centre - New York Street

big_p

from buckshaw, I would start this way, http://connect.garmin.com/course/8323382

The roads below rivington are nice and not nearly as busy as the a6, I would avoid going through Little lever, It's a right hole.

Have you had a look at buckshaw yet, it's a bit toy town, my garage is bigger than most of the houses on there.

mrushton

It's do-able but busy whichever way you go. I'd suggest bike in car then drive part-way. You are going to basically go down the A6 or A49. The route above is actually the one I thought of (A673) so you do avoid the A6, you are heading for Bolton, but it's still 12 miles to Mcr and on a grim wet night it's a grim wet ride if you are heading all the way back. A great commute for longer days but otherwise you drive to the Macron stadium turnoff that leads to Horwich or the next junction (#4) that goes left to Plodder Lane (B6199). Left at the top and park on that road. You've still got a 25 mile commute bout not a 50 miler

the_rover

zebulebu wrote:

I'm shortly moving Oop North from Down South. I'm hoping to live in Buckshaw Village (renting for a while, then looking to buy). I'm working in Manchester, know someone who lives up thay way and they've advised me that the commute is do-able (45km each way) but that the A6 can be a bit grim. Unfortunately, it seems this is pretty much the only realistic way of getting into Manchester from there - unless anyone who lives up that way knows of any alternative routes into town?

Cheers in advance!

You'd best get your wallet ready as Merlins are next door to Buckshaw village
Whilst I'd argue its in Chorley rather than Leyland I'd agree it's an odd set up with the houses virtually on the industrial estate. I know quite a few folk who live on there and like it though.
Hope the move goes well.

Ps, I can't suggest a route!!

cruff

Hahaha - I'm aware of Merlin

I know the houses in Buckshaw aren't big - but I'm single, so don't need a big place. They're reasonably decent spec, and there aren't that many chavs nearby - very important to me after suffering with that for years in The Cronx (Croydon)

I quite like the look of that route out by Rivington, big p - I guess I'd get on the A58 and turn down to the A6 from there for the rest of the ride in?

mrushton - Am I right in thinking that I can park there for free, and that my windows aren't going to get put through? If so, sounds a reasonable compromise on the full distance in the rain/sleet/hail/wind/snow I'm going to have to get used to up there!

snipsnap

Howdy,

i do the chorley to manchester commute, but it does get grim as you say. The a6 is the most direct route, but it is very busy at certain points. Also, if doing it every day, it soon becomes a grind.

There are options however, where you can ride to Wigan and pick up the train and use the Bike Locker Users Club (£10 for life). The trains are far cheaper from Wigan as it's inside Greater Manchester than they would be from Buckshaw/Chorley, and you'd get a 12 mile each way commute each way into wigan.

There are also off-road opions along the way, but not for the full distance, but you could add some variety in that sense picking up canal stretches, which is what I've done in the past on the CX bike to add some variety to the commute.

There's also other ways to approach Manchester, you can drop into Wigan and then travel down through Leigh and Tyldesley until you pick up the A580, but be warned that is even busier than the A6.

There's also the opportunity to cut through certain aspects of the route, and add a few lumps such as going up past Haigh Hall and then dropping down through Aspull and joining the A6 again at West Houghton.

I now do this trip about 2 times per week as i alternate my work location and so dont need to commute to manchester every day. I did do it each day for a while, and the miles do mount up, but found it draining either side of a day at work and with a young family a home. That said, I'd be happy to share some of my routes with you from strava/garmin connect to give you some ideas.

Good luck!!!

mrushton

zebulebu wrote:

Hahaha - I'm aware of Merlin

mrushton - Am I right in thinking that I can park there for free, and that my windows aren't going to get put through? If so, sounds a reasonable compromise on the full distance in the rain/sleet/hail/wind/snow I'm going to have to get used to up there!

Yes, it's a quiet semi residential road that parallels the m-way. Come off the slip road, left (Watergate Lane) and left at the lights. Park there myself some weekends.

drummer_boy

Buckshaw now has a rail stop that goes traight into Manchester, so you could take your bike on the train and get off at Bolton, or cycle to Bolton and ride from there.
The commute into Manchester is a bit grim, and cycle lanes opp North are not nearly as good, or as joined up as those in London, so be careful!!
On the plus side Northereners are (on the whole) better natured than our southern brethren!

cruff

Cheers folks. I'm aware of Buckshaw Parkway station. Also aware that the service to/from it is appalling as it's on the Blackpool-Victoria line. Especially bad at the moment, apparently, because of works taking place to electrify the track (which will be finished some time in 2016). If I'm going to do the train, I reckon I'll do it to/from Wigan or Bolton as they're faster and there are more trains.

Not too worried about cycle lanes - the ones in London are horrendous so I rarely use them anyway unless they're bus lanes too. Definitely have to get used to the cold though - I used to live in Reigate and it was parky there in the winter. Lancashire will be a whole other level of cold

What's the security like of the Bike Lockers? I know you buy your own padlock - but has anyone known of a bike being nicked out of one of them by someone just cracking them open?

Manc33

You will need your wits about you on that A6. :!: Constant HGV's. :roll:

Now you're up here you can do Snake Pass.

snipsnap

zebulebu wrote:

What's the security like of the Bike Lockers? I know you buy your own padlock - but has anyone known of a bike being nicked out of one of them by someone just cracking them open?

not in my experience. Depends when you leave it obviously, but as the lockers are located on a busy(ish) platform at Wigan (also at Bolton too) then there are always folk around.

Actually, I have once accidentaly left my keys and padlock on top of the lockers overnight and they have still been there the day after. Although I try and not make a habit if this!!!

cruff

First time tomorrow - A6 the whole way, near enough - until I get used to the more scenic roads without ending up hopelessly lost. I did a little bit of it the other day - that Chequerbent roundabout is going to be fun...

cruff

Did it this morning. Not too bad, all things considered. 90 minutes for 43km - I'll get that down to 80 minutes when I a: get used to it, and b: don't take three wrong turns

Only really noticed the traffic on the roads when I got to Walkden, then it was nowhere near as bad as London all the way in. Nothing through Chorley at 7:30, and Adlington, Westhoughton and the like were a breeze.

cruff

So the commute back is actually quite a bit faster. Despite wall to wall traffic from. Manchester to Walkden and horrendous weather (I should probably invest in some wet weather gear now I'm up here). Some lovely riding from Four Lane Ends all the way into Chorley - gentle inclines and long, swooping descents. If I can enjoy it that much in rain of biblical proportions, I think it's do-able at least three times a week. Cheers for all the help earlier in the thread. If any of you are on the commute I'll probably bump into you at some point (white Cannondale Synapse with red detailing)

cruff

So, things I've noticed after doing this commute both ways three times now

1 - it's faster than it would be driving. How anyone drives in Manchester is completely beyond me. It's worse than London ffs!

2 - The A6 Road surface goes from pretty good to absolutely bloody awful. Seriously - some of the potholes are Instant Frame Adjusters.

3 - There's even more drivers up here driving round smashed out of their nuts than there are in South London. At least ten times on every commute I get a contact high from passing someone

4 - the commute itself is, in general, much nicer than it was in London.

Kieran_Burns

I've been reading this thread with a smile on my face as I'd been forced to drive the A6 into Manchester on a couple of occasions and VIVIDLY remember how bad it was. I also remember watching a cyclist join the A6 near the City Centre and I only went past him as I cleared Stockport

cruff

Yeah - from Swinton in it's ridiculous. This morning I passed someone I know in traffic just past Walkden at about 8:30. I was sitting in my office after having made a coffee run, drunk said coffee and on my first tea of the day when they emailed me to say they'd just got to their desk at 9:40

It's brutal on the way out too, until you get to Four Lane Ends, when it quietens down. There's a definite contributing factor to traffic up here - seems someone in Greater Manchester's traffic 'management' team has decided to take it upon themselves to dial all the traffic lights up to double-spiteful. I thought some of the lights on main roads in london were bad - but frankly, having a set of lights that - going with the flow of the main road - are red for 95 seconds and green for 15, favouring the traffic crossing the main road by 40 seconds, with a 20 second phase where they're red all round is, frankly, ridiculous.

That said, there's less general driving-like-a-tw@t up here. Still the same poor standards, obviously, but aside from a couple of obviously stoned fookwits attempting to kill me by turning rapidly into side streets without indicating, there isn't the aggression you have to put up in London.

drummer_boy

You are officially my new hero!! Seriously, that is a commute I would not attempt!

snipsnap

the roadworks at chequerbent have made life fun recently too.

have you tried varying the route at all? you can head out through clifton and kearsley also, which although busy, it isnt as 'life-threatening' as there are cycle lanes on the a666.
also, try the a49 into standish and then you can drop down rectory lane and then up over red rock and past haigh hall. always wakes my legs and lungs up that way!!!!

depending what time/days you do the route, i could meet - i usually get into manchester just after 8am so set off around 6:30ish