On Trains & Buses

A handy piece of flexibility

Posted on April 5, 2010

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Yesterday saw me head into Derbyshire for a spot of exploration in the Peak District National Park. What got me to Baslow for the start of the walk was a two part bus journey. Service 58 took me from Macclesfield to Buxton and service 218 got me from there to Baslow. My trot finished up in Bamford (Hathersage or Grindleford could have been stopping points too if time was tight) and a train to Manchester was put to use.Getting back from there took far, far longer than usual because of rail engineering works between Manchester and Stockport. The 30 minute bus journey wasn’t the bone of contention but rather the 50 minute wait for an onward train connection afterwards. Southbound Virgin and Crosscountry services weren’t available so it was a case of using the 21:52 to Stoke or getting a taxi.

To keep everything within the £10 cost of a GM Wayfarer ticket, I stuck with the train. After all, it was allowing me to mix and match modes of transport as needed to set up a linear walk. Derbyshire has its own Wayfarer but that doesn’t extend beyonds it boundaries to carry you into Greater Manchester and Cheshire like its more useful Greater Manchester equivalent. You need to watch you are getting in order to get the full deal.

The whole point of the day wasn’t to see if how far a GM Wayfarer would carry me. There was a good walk enjoyed under ever clearing skies and my legs are telling me a little about my exertions today. However, having that single ticket made it all the easier, ever if going into a train station to make the purchase and then travelling by bus sounds strange. Well, that’s what is needed in Macclesfield…