Manchester Travel Forum

Hi! I will be coming to Manchester with my wife and 4 years old dughter in December and I have a few questions. Thanks in advance for your answers.

1- We will stay at Midland Manchester. Is it a good choice? What's the best way to get us there from the airport? Please consider we have three luggages and 4 years old daughter.

2- We will stay in Manchester for one day. What is a "must to buy" from Manchester? Any outlet shopping for top quality brands?

3- Any interesting places for our daughter?

4- We will take the train to Liverpool. How long would it take? Which train takes us directly to Liverpool? Any suggestions? Which station should we depart consideing the location of our hotel?

5- Our flight back home will be on 13.30 and again via.Manchester Airport. I was wondering if there is a direct train from Edinburgh to Manchester and if yes which train should we take considering the need to be at the airport at least 2 hours befre the flight (i.e 11.30 am)

Thanks in advance

1. The Midland is known to be one of Manchesters best hotels so it should be fine. Take a train from the airport in to Picadilly main line ( trains go every few minutes). From Picadilly you could take a tram to St Peters Square but with luggage I would take a taxi.
2.The shopping in the city centre is very good but if you want a large mall type centre go to the Trafford Centre. Go by tram and bus ( see www.metrolink.co.uk)
3.You could try the Museum of Science and Industry - I took my son when he was five and he enjoyed it - have a look at their website.
4.The Liverpool trains go from Picadilly main line. It takes 50 minutes on a fast Transpennine Express train. There is a train every hour. There are also slower Northern Rail trains so have a look at www.tpexpress.co.uk and www.northern rail.co.uk
5.There is no direct train from Manchester to Edinburgh - you need to take a Blackpool bound Northern Rail train from Picadilly or a Barrow in Furness bound Transpennine Express train to Preston and then change to a Virgin train. The website www.the trainline.com will help.

Hi. I will do my best here.

1- The Midland is a very good choice. Very nice, quality and in City Centre. The best way to get there is either taxi from airport, about £22-£25. Or get a train direct to Piccadilly, about £3 per adult and then taxi to Midland, about £4.
2- The best shopping is the Trafford Centre. A massive complex about 5/6 miles out of the city centre, best reached by bus. The hotel staff can direct you.
3- The museum of science and industry is good for children and is only a 10 minute walk from your hotel.
4- The train from Manchester to liverpool is between 50 minutes and 1 hour. You can get one from any of the Manchester stations. Osford Road station will be closest to your hotel. The train takes you directly into Liverpool.
5- There are direct trains between Manchester and Edinburgh. You should check the timetables on Vigin trains website for the best one. I thimk it takes around 4 hours and some go directly from Edinburgh to Manchester Airport.

Hope this helps.

I have to disagree on direct trains from Manchester to Edinburgh - I could not find details of any. Actually the Trainline recommends going to York and then from York to Edinburgh as the fastest route which I had not thought about.
Only some fast trains stop at Oxford Road - if time is tight you do not want to be on a slow Northern Rail train but Central Trains stop there and they are fast to Liverpool ( aren't our privatised trains easy to understand!)

There are no direct trais; you will have to change at least once.

www.nationarail.co.uk has all train times and fares. The most suitable train leaves Edinburgh Waverley station at 06.34, arriving at Manchester airport at 10.40 (the next train arrives at 11.40, and is not worth considering in case of delays). This will involve changing trains at Lancaster for a direct train to Manchester airport. It also means a very early start, but that is your choice.

I recommend using www.nationalrail.co.uk to avoid getting entangled in the confusion caused by railway privatisation (or www.thetrainline.com). These websites give times and fares for all UK mainline trains, regardless of operating company. Trying to get details vis individual operators' websites is a more complex task, in my experience.

Yes the Trainline is probably the best way to get details if you are traveling on more than one line. Everyone has probably guessed there are several different ways from Manchester to Edinburgh by now!

1. The Midland is one of the luxury options so it should be fine. As you leave the baggage carousels, pick up a free luggage cart and follow signs to 'The Station' which is the train station between the terminals. You will need to go down one level by lift or escalator, where you will see a ticket office and ticketing machines. Tickets cost a little over £3 single. All trains that are sat at the two platforms outside will stop at Manchester Piccadilly (either non-stop or with a few stops in between, a 15-25 minute ride).

Piccadilly is the main train station for Manchester. There are luggage carts in the station, but I think they cost £1. Take the lift or escalators downstairs to the Fairfield Street exit (NOT the main exit). Here you can either catch a taxi from the rank, or pay 60p each to board a tram bound for Eccles or Altrincham and hop off at St Peters Square. When you exit the tram, you will see the brown terracotta Midland Hotel across the street.

2. All through December we will be hosting our excellent Christmas markets. These start practically on the doorstep of the Midland, in front of the Town Hall, which is behind the large round library building across from the Midland. Tourist Info is near here too and has a gift shop. From the Town Hall square follow the crowds to another set of market stalls in front of St Anns Church. These stretch all the way through that square and up a pedestrian alley that takes you to Exchange Square. All along this route you will pass a lot of shops, but the biggest shopping places in town are around Exchange Square - Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, M&S, the Triangle and the massive Arndale.

It is troublesome reaching the Trafford Centre by public transport and it will be extremely busy despite the fact most of the shops are identical to the ones in the Arndale. There is an outlet strip mall on the tram line to Eccles, at the Ladywell tram stop, but it's not that big. The outlet mall in Salford Quays is enclosed, more like a proper mall, with more choices to eat and drink as well.

3. Near the Midland and the libary is our art gallery which has an interactive room for children. The Science & Industry Museum is good if you have any interest in steam engines, airplanes, etc although you have to pay for whatever temporary exhibit is installed which is usually geared towards children. Out on Oxford Road after a 20-minute walk or on any of the many buses that head down it is the university museum which has a very good natural history section and vivarium. Salford Quays has some fantastic futuristic buildings with an art gallery and museum plus an outlet mall, just take the Eccles tram.

4. Head back to Piccadilly Station for the Liverpool train by catching any tram from St Peters Square going to Piccadilly (NOT a Bury tram). You shouldn't have to change trains to Liverpool and the fast ones (no more expensive than the slow ones) can get you there in under an hour. Liverpool trains also call in at Manchester's Oxford Road Station which is about a 10-minute walk straight down the same street the Midland is on, which is marginally closer than Piccadilly. I don't think all Liverpool trains call at Manchester Deansgate, which would be harder for you to find anyway. You alight at Liverpool Lime Street station, where you veer right for the museums & art gallery or left for the Albert Docks and main shopping district.

5. I just checked and there are indeed (very occasional) direct trains between Manchester Piccadilly and Edinburgh Haymarket (I took it once) but have a look at www.thetrainline.com for all your options and map out the stations there by clicking www.visitscotland.com/library/edinburghtrainstations. If you're travelling on a Sunday, you are out of luck, but I think any other day you can make the trip in less than 4 hours. As before, you would probably have to change at Piccadilly to reach the airport, but there are trains every 10-15 minutes that time of day.

Oh gosh, I didn't mean for this to drag on, but there are plenty more tips and photos on my Manchester page! Happy travels!

Thank you all for your detailed answers. You made my life a lot easier, thanks again

If you like top notch service and food dont miss out on the midland french restaurant i go as much as i can its probably the best in manchester.