Parklife is one of the UK’s biggest music events and it all takes place right here in Greater Manchester this weekend – so it’s time to start planning your travel there and back.
70,000 music fans are expected to stream in to Heaton Park on each day of the two-day festival, ready to see headline performances from Aitch, The 1975, Fred Again and The Prodigy.
And with no overnight camping, all 70,000 will need to make their way home again afterwards…
Mercifully, the planned Metrolink strike this weekend has now been called off, so there are now a few different ways to get to Parklife.
If you’re heading up to Heaton Park for Parklife 2023, here’s all the information you need about trams, travel passes, shuttle buses and even walking.
— Manchester Metrolink 🚊 (@MCRMetrolink) June 8, 2023
The Parklife travel pass is a festival essential, giving you a few options of transport to the festival site with one ticket.
The pass costs £5 per day and will give you access to both the Parklife Shuttle Bus – which drops you directly inside the festival site – and the Metrolink tram services to Heaton Park.
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Tickets are sold through the Parklife website and are electronic, so you just need to show it on your phone when you board the bus.
Metrolink trams to Heaton Park
The Metrolink trams are one of the easiest ways to travel to Parklife
Trams will be running to Parklife on a six-minute frequency from town – Heaton Park is your closest tram stop, which will drop you near the West Gate entrance.
After the festival, you’ll need to use Bowker Vale, as Heaton Park tram stop will be closed.
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Metrolink services will keep running until the site is cleared, but be prepared to queue to board one.
In the city centre, several stops will be closed so that crowds can be managed safely – these are listed below and on the TfGM website.
Saturday 10 June
Market Street and Shudehill – Closed all Saturday
Heaton Park – from 9pm until the end of service
Piccadilly Gardens – between 3pm and approximately 5pm
Exchange Square – between 12pm and approximately 5pm
Sunday 11 June
Heaton Park – From 9pm until end of service
Exchange Square – between 12pm and approximately 5pm
Piccadilly Gardens – between 3pm and approximately 5pm
Market Street – between 3pm and approximately 6pm
Shudehill – between 3pm and approximately 6pm.
Parklife shuttle buses
This is one of the easiest ways to get to and from Parklife, with dedicated shuttle buses whizzing people between the city centre and the festival site.
The Parklife shuttle bus will depart from the corner of Aytoun Street (M1 2DD) and Minshull Street, near Piccadilly train station, with drop-off right inside the festival site.
Buses will depart at least once every ten minutes.
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The first bus on Saturday will depart at 9.30am, while the last one will leave at 4.30pm. On Sunday, first buses are at 10.30am and the last is at 4.30pm.
On both days, the return bus service from Heaton Park to Manchester city centre starts at 6.30pm and will continue to operate until the venue is cleared. Drop off will be on Church Street.
Taxis
Parklife. Credit: Jordan Curtis Hughes
There’ll be a couple of taxi ranks near the Parklife festival site – a Manchester Hackney Carriage Taxi Rank in Blackley New Road and a Bury Hackney Carriage Taxi Rank outside the Woodthorpe pub on Bury Old Road.
If you want to pre-book your own private hire vehicle, they need to pick you up from the pick-up point at Sainsbury’s near Heaton Park.
As always, watch out for unlicensed taxis, which are unregulated.
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Pick-up and drop-off
There’ll be a few road closures in place for Parklife and congestion is to be expected when people are leaving the festival.
There’s a designated pick-up point at Sainsburys on Heaton Park Road for anyone who’s getting a lift there or back.
Junction 19 of the M60 will be closed from 7pm on both nights. Access to the pick-up point will be via Victoria Avenue and Middleton Road.
Walking all the way to town from Heaton Park might not be top of your agenda, but it’s actually one of the most straight-forward ways to get back home.
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There’s usually a crowd of festival-goers trudging back down Bury Old Road, a walk which takes about an hour.
Obviously only attempt the walk if you’re in a group you feel safe with and look out for each other.
What travel bosses say
Sean Dyball, TfGM’s Head of Customer Experience, said: “Parklife is one of the biggest events in Greater Manchester’s calendar, and we hope everyone who attends has a safe and enjoyable weekend.
“With around 70,000 people each day, and thousands more expected to be in the city centre over the weekend for other big events, including Soccer Aid, it will be very busy on public transport and on the roads.
“Extra staff will be on hand and we’ll have as many services as possible running to help people get around, but where possible, people should consider making short journeys by walking or cycling.
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“We’ll keep our website and social media channels updated throughout the weekend and I’d encourage people to check before and during their journeys to make sure they have the latest information and advice to hand.”
A groundbreaking new multi-use entertainment and leisure venue is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
A new multi-purpose food, drink, entertainment and leisure destination is coming to Manchester city centre and the Salford border this autumn, and you won’t find many places that roll so much into one spot.
Mancs, get ready to welcome ‘Tangerine’.
Conceived by an impressive collective of local creatives, indies and those with plenty of experience catering to the Northern masses, Tangerine is promising everything from multiple resident kitchens, a live music hall, an arthouse stage, a specialist martini bar and more.
Better yet, after a year in the making and quietly chipping away at the striking space, it opens later this month, so you don’t have to wait long to try it for yourselves.
Located on New Bailey Street, just on the edge of Spinningfields and Salford Central, this groundbreaking new venue features two main platforms (utilising the integrated charm of the historic railway arches), each boasting its own selection of attractions.
While platform one will offer a bakery, coffee roastery, wine store and bottle ship, the ‘Canteen Club’ and even a florist, number two will contain the music hall, arthouse stage and the stylish ‘Grand Departures’ bar – serving seven espresso martini alone – Tangerine will deliver a seamless day to night transition.
Arguably, however, the centrepiece is the ‘Cantina Collective’. The food and drink hall promises seven in-house kitchens, showcasing a variety of cuisines.
The opening line-up already confirmed includes Vanda: a family-run Parisian-inspired Ukrainian bakery; Mexican taqueria, PANTERA, burger joint Juicy, as well as Yo Dutchie (a unique fusion of Dutch-Japanese food) and a new Korean/ramen concept from local sushi favourites, Unagi.
Our stomachs are already grumbling just thinking about it.
CGI renders of the completed space. (Credit: Supplied)
Designed not only by the brains behind Northern Quarter’s beloved Mala hidden garden but WANT STUDIOS, who will be ensuring local artists, independents, and traders will be regularly spotlighted, the site will boast a capacity of well over 300 people.
Artyom Dmitrijev, owner of Tangerine and Mala, said in a statement: “Over a year in the making, we’ve used all our experience in design, interiors, architecture and hospitality to create our dream project. A place for all the independents to come together and thrive.”
Andy Windsor, Director of WANT STUDIOS, added: “Tangerine unites the city’s independent kitchens, bar tenders, bakeries and entertainment specialists. It is a unique showcase of what we do in the city. This is a new space for creativity, food, and culture, and we’re proud to be part of it.”
Debuting to the public with a big Halloween weekender on the evening of Friday, 31 October, with another launch event the following Saturday, you can sign up for exclusive early access for free, which could see you score a few freebies to boot.
Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)/Tangerine MCR (via Instagram)
Travel & Tourism
Passengers warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Bus services across Greater Manchester will be disrupted later this weekend as drivers from two companies stage strike action.
In what is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it has had confirmation that staff from two operators, Stagecoach and Metroline, will go ahead with further planned strikes this weekend.
If this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who were employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – each of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – walked out in a number of co-ordinated strikes earlier this month amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union said each of the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
In this case, Unite has confirmed that drivers at First have called off further action after voting to accept a revised pay offer.
Passengers are being warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend / Credit: TfGM
However, both Stagecoach and Metroline staff have opted to proceed with strike action onFriday 10 October, Saturday 11 October, and Monday 13 October.
This means that around 190 services, including some dedicated school buses, will not run on strike days, and TfGM is therefore advising everyone to ‘check before they travel’ and allow extra time to make their journey.
Bus services in Tameside, Trafford, and Stockport are not expected to run, and some services in South Manchester, parts of the city centre, and Rochdale will also be impacted.
Many bus services will continue to run ‘as usual’, however, and this includes services such as the Free Bus in Manchester city centre, as well as the majority of buses in Bolton, Bury, Salford, and Wigan.
The strikes are the latest in an ongoing dispute over pay / Credit: TfGM
“While we are pleased that planned industrial action by First staff has been called off, we encourage Stagecoach, Metroline, and Unite to continue discussions to avert further strike action,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at TfGM.
“We’ll continue to keep passengers informed and support them to make journeys wherever possible. We encourage everyone to check the latest status of their service before they travel, leave plenty of time for their journey and to get in touch if they have any questions.”
Unite has indicated that further industrial action will also happen on Saturday 18, Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October.