Travel warnings, road closures and advice issued ahead of Manchester Marathon
The Manchester Marathon covers over 26.2 miles of the city centre and surrounding areas, so it's worth knowing how you're going to get about this Sunday.
With the Manchester Marathon returning to the city and surrounding areas this weekend, Transport for Greater Manchester have issued a fresh batch of warnings and travel guidance for those coming into town on Sunday.
As well all know, the Marathon isn’t only a city centre event, it stretches out to various Greater Manchester boroughs, and with more than 28,000 runners taking part — not to mention upwards of 42,000 spectators expected to turn up too — it’s going to be a busy 24 hours or so.
The 26.2-mile route starts at White City Circle near the Trafford Arch and stretches across the city centre, Old Trafford, Stretford, Sale, Timperley, Altrincham, Chorlton and Hulme. The event really does take over the region.
With that in mind, there are set to be numerous road closures for prolonged periods throughout the day, as well impact on public transport, so it’s good to be prepared. Here’s what to expect.
As TfGM have reiterated, the transport network in central Manchester and Trafford will be very busy before, during and after the race.
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Furthermore, people are being advised to leave cars at home to avoid inevitable congestion on surrounding roads, or to at least use Greater Manchester’s park-and-ride services available at various Metrolink stations and travel to their destinations using the tram.
However, it goes without saying that the services will be extremely busy throughout the day, so, if you can travel flexibly, the predicted quietest time to travel is after 4pm.
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Metrolink have confirmed that they will be operating the Altrincham line every six minutes, with more double trams and increased capacity across the network where possible. You can see a full list of stops below:
Lucky for you, once you’ve tapped on and tapped off, most fan corners, cheer zones and regular spots for supporters to gather together should only be a short walk away from your chosen tram stop.
Now, as for buses, many local services will be running along diverted routes throughout the day and even those not directly impacted by the marathon’s road closures could still be affected by displaced traffic, so it’s worth double-checking your usual number and any adjusted stops on race day.
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The last road closure is expected to be re-opened at 8pm through Chorlton and Old Trafford towards the end of the course, although a portion of Talbot Road will be closed all weekend and won’t re-open until midnight on Sunday.
Thankfully, the wonderful organisers have you covered; you can see the full list of closures HERE and they have even put together an interactive map for you to check what roads are shut and when:
Sean Dyball, TfGM’s Head of Customer Experience, said: “We are looking forward to helping thousands of runners and spectators to get to the Manchester Marathon this weekend, and we’re wishing runners the best of luck for Sunday.”
Last but not least, for plenty more useful travel advice for competitors, spectators and everyone else alike arriving in the area this weekend, just simply check out the TfGM website.
Other than that, all that’s left to do is wish the runners all the best of luck for the 2023 Manchester Marathon and we hope that everyone turning up to cheer them on has a wonderful day and gets from A to B with as little hassle as possible.
Featured Image — Manchester Marathon/David Dixon (via Geograph)
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Greater Manchester restaurant speaks out after being paid a visit by Nigel Farage
Daisy Jackson
A restaurant in Greater Manchester has issued a lengthy statement after it was paid a visit by Nigel Farage on his campaign trail.
Vault 2, a family-run business in Denton, has said that it’s been bombarded with negative messages since the Reform party leader was photographed inside the restaurant.
Farage had made appearances at a number of local businesses in Tameside, alongside the party’s candidate, Matt Goodwin.
Vault 2 stressed in its statement about Nigel Farage that it is ‘a restaurant, not a political platform’, adding: “We hold no prejudice toward anyone – regardless of political views, race, background, creed, or beliefs. Everyone is welcome through our doors, and anyone may privately hire our venue. That has always been the case and will remain so.”
The restaurant also clarified that it was not a hosted event that Farage attended, nor were they endorsing or supporting him by allowing him to ‘call in’.
Vault 2 added: “It is genuinely upsetting, after everything we have done – and continue to do – for this town, to receive accusations of favouritism or messages saying you’ll never visit us again based on this.”
The restaurant then said that it takes ‘no political stance, shows no favour, and aligns with no party’ – though critics have pointed out that its Facebook page had shared a Reform post just before making this statement.
Inside Vault 2 last yearFood at Vault 2Vault 2 has issued a statement about the Nigel Farage visit. Credit: The Manc
Vault 2 signed off its statement by saying: “Whether you vote left, right, centre, or not at all — you are welcome here. Food first. Hospitality always. Thank you x.”
One person commented on the post: “If your doors are open to fascists, then your doors are closed to their targets. I sincerely hope your business suffers for it.”
Another said: “How can you ‘create a welcoming space’ if you welcome people whose aim to create the exact opposite.”
And someone else said: “This would be more believable if you weren’t liking Reform posts on Facebook. If you take no political stance and align with no party, maybe don’t like posts about Goodwin from your business account. We see you.”
But several people showed support for Vault 2, with one writing: “Well said – shame on those sending negativity – the keyboard warriors need to take a break and disappear!”
Vault 2’s statement in full addressing the visit from Nigel Farage. Credit: Instagram @vault2_barandbistro
Ticket requests are now officially open for Harry Styles’ one-night-only Manchester gig
Emily Sergeant
The time has come – the ticket request system for Harry Styles’ one-night-only gig in Manchester is now live.
In case you hadn’t heard, it was announced on Wednesday evening after much speculation that Harry Styles would be making a return home to Manchester for a one-night-only ‘intimate’ gig at Co-op Live to celebrate the release of his fourth studio album next month.
Styles is set to share Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally with the world on Friday 6 March – and it’s that very same night he’ll be taking to the stage in Manchester.
Although little is known about what to expect at the gig, the poster for the event does state that there’ll be a ‘special performance of the album’, so it seems fair to say that Manchester will be the first to hear the new set of songs in full live.
And if all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, the tickets are only £20 per person.
But, of course, there is a bit of a catch, as this isn’t your regular online queuing up for tickets scenario, this is a ‘ticket request’ system instead.
So, like us – and literally every other fan in the vicinity of Greater Manchester and beyond this week – you’re probably wondering what a ‘ticket request’ system is… what does it look like? How does it work? Basically, what the heck is it? Well, we’ve done a bit of digging around to get to the bottom of it so you’re not left too much in the dark.
According to Ticketmaster’s website, if an artist is running a ticket request, they’ll invite fans to request tickets so you don’t have to compete in a first-come, first-served sale.
This means you can take your time to review the available options and request the right tickets for you.
All you need to do is tell Ticketmaster which shows you’re interested in, the type of ticket you want, and your payment details. Then, if the tickets you request can be fulfilled, your card will be charged and you’ll get emailed instructions to access them in the Ticketmaster App.
Unfortunately, as much as we’d love it to be the case for everyone, submitting a request doesn’t guarantee you tickets – it really is just luck of the draw.
To request tickets, you’ll need to follow these three simple steps:
Select which shows you’re interested in and the type of ticket you want
Add your payment details
Harry Styles ticket requests are now live / Credit: Johnny Dufort (Publicity Picture)
Ticketmaster will then send you a summary email that details the tickets you’ve requested. Your card won’t be charged at this time, but they may charge a temporary £1 authorisation to your card to validate your request.
A maximum of two tickets per person can be requested, which has been set to allow for as many fans as possible to get tickets.
Now, here’s the crucial part – you will need to submit your request for tickets while the window is open until Sunday 8 February at 11pm GMT. After the request window closes, you’ll get a second email by 11:59pm GMT on Tuesday 10 February confirming whether or not your request has been fulfilled.
Danny Jones -
15th April 2023 
