Warrington Bus Station has few positives - It's close to…read moreWarrington Central - It has toilets (Very few toilets, you have to pay for them) - There is a small newsagent and an Iceland - You can go up a lift and get straight in Golden Square Shopping Centre (Yet they regularly break down) It can get pretty airy and can get cold, especially in these winter months. due to the design of the bus station, it also is built so buses have to reverse out which I don't like as much. There was a lack of information around the bus station and I found it hand to find out which bus goes where the fact it was difficult to find any staff around the station other than a toilet cleaner made it even more difficult. Both times I used Warrington's Own Buses, who are the main bus operator who goes from here, my service was both late and the driver was extremely rude. They also never replied to my complaint - I guess it isn't the station's fault its-self but it does play a part. 2* - Other than location there isn't much to shout about for this bus station, as a visitor to Warrington I felt lost, issues with the buses and finding information about services which just wasn't made clear (and that's in comparison to 95% of bus stations I've been to), if you know where you're going or you're The Lucky One, to quote Uku Suviste's Eesti Laul 2021 entry, this place is you. The extra star is mainly for the location and access into the shopping centre (when working).

Good points. It is near central station. Light airy and…read moreclean. Bad Points. There is no pick up drop off point for cars to drop off passengers. The Kiosk point is only open. You have to pay for the toilets. The way the buses have to go around the little round about and back up is dangerous.

Aaaaah Stoke on Trent train station....! It's not like I'm here every day, I wouldn't even call it…read moreoften - yet I do seem to spend a lot of time waiting when I am here (mainly the fault of rubbish connections). As train stations with only 3 lines go it's alright, average at best. If you're in need of a bite to eat I'd recommend the "Gourmet Cafe" - everything looks like it's been made fresh that morning and they serve things in rustic brown cardboard and brown paper bags - true sign of train station quality. If it's just a brew the pumpkin cafe is fine, they accept BITE cards which makes paying train station prices more palatable.

Just to inform Ellie of Liverpool, Merseyside, that Stoke Station has three platforms, three is…read moreback of number two. The underground passage underneath the path is where they used to store the ammunition for WW2. It is part if our heritage. It's not like Liverpool Lime Street you know, but we do have regular trains to London. They are hour from Manchester Piccadilly.

To say that this country park is so close to some pretty grotty council estates, the M60 and…read moreStockport town centre, it is a really peaceful place to spend a few hours. Check out the website www.reddishvale.moonfruit.com/ for some amazing pictures of the flora and fauna found in the park including bats, rabbits, hedgehogs, swans, kingfishers, thistles and mushrooms. Within the park there are two lakes where it is possible to go fishing and feed the ducks, the River Tame, some streams and (towards the Brinnington edge of the park on the other side of the viaduct) some manmade art in the form of a tree which is completely covered in beer cans! Wear your walking boots as it can get quite boggy in certain areas of the park. If you're cycling then be prepared to push your bike for certain parts of the trails, unless you've got calves of steel. The vistors centre itself isn't much more than a hut, but you can look at the map (if you're anything like me then you'll need it) and grab a can of coke. The whole country park is free to access, but there is a little farm just up the road from the visitor's centre where you can pay a couple of quid to stroke the ponies, and a bit more to ride them - this and the country park would make a great day out for kids.

A great country walk with plenty of variety depending whether you want a gentle walk, taking the…read moredog out, riding or a bit more strenuous walking and hiking this park has it all. A river runs right through the middle of this park but there are plenty of bridges to allow you to criss-cross the park easily. There Is a good visitors centre there for Tea and ice-creams plus toilets. Parking can be a bit difficult sometimes as there is not a lot of parking space. A farm is also 100 yards away from the visitors centre that has tours and a café on site. There is always regular events going on at this site so always plenty to see and do.

This station is on the Liverpool to Wigan line very good you it is below road level but it is a…read moreramp down so it suitable for wheelchairs and prams. It is a staffed station so you feel quite safe and you can ask questions, but the booth is only on the Liverpool side not the Wigan side. There is a small car park that gets filled quickly and early in the morning. The trains are regular and there is a bus stop right outside that goes in to St Helens.

Heaton Chapel is a small railway station serving Heaton Chapel and Heaton Moor, an area of…read moreStockport, it has an irregular train service, all of which are provided by Northern Rail who operate the station, to get anywhere long distance you would have to travel into Stockport or Manchester Piccadilly. The station does look nice and is kept nice by volunteers, with a large sign honouring the local area. The ticket office hours are limited, this means at certain hours it takes longer and is more difficult to get into the station, especially on a weekday afternoon. 3* - Basic station, made less annoying to stop through by the volunteers who keep the station nice. Limited facilities and basic shelter make it a basic station overall, but it also has step-free access which is handy and sometimes rare on these types of stations.

Heaton Chapel Railway Station is a little two platform station serving the Four Heaton's area on…read moreHeaton Moor Road. The first thing to note is that the station itself is below street level, so access is primarily via stairs. The two staircases to the platforms both come out on to Heaton Moor Road, however the stairs to the Manchester platform are only usable when the ticket office is open. That's not to say that the station is inaccessible for those who are unable to take the stairs. There are ramps down to Platform 1 and 2 which come out on Egerton Road North and Tatton Road South respectively. The platforms themselves are fairly standard, though thanks to the Friends of Heaton Chapel Station there's some nice planters and some artwork on both now to brighten the station a bit. (More so in summer when the plants are out!) For getting into Manchester, your journey from Heaton Chapel should take no more than 10-15 minutes and given that an off-peak day return is only £2.60* it's cheaper and quicker than either the bus or tram. The only downside to Heaton Chapel station is that the ticket office doesn't have the longest hours: they're only open until 13:00 during the week, but on a Saturday they're open until 14:00 or 16:00 on a Sunday. Seems weird to me. If you need a ticket and the office is closed, there's a ticket machine on Platform 2 (towards Manchester) but no such machine on Platform 1. Northern Rail, who operate the station, have recently started deploying their "Customer Support & Revenue Team" staff to the station though. All in all, it's a nice little station to wait at for your brief - and cheap - journey into Manchester. (* Prices correct at time of writing, January 2016.)

I've never used the Manchester shuttle, but then again I quite enjoy walking. However, Stockport…read morehas hills, so this bus is a nice idea. This handy little free shuttle bus can be picked up from the 300 bus stop in Stockport Bus Station every 12 minutes between 8am and 6.30pm Mondays to Saturdays and between 10.30am and 5.30pm on Sundays. Unless you're disabled, have a lot of shopping or are just damn lazy, you shouldn't need the shuttle to get from the bus station to the train station (5 minute walk) or to the main shopping area (another 5 minute walk). However, it could be useful if you want to get up the hill towards the Town Hall or Stockport College or in the other direction out to the Peel Centre (which just isn't the same after the death of Border's Books) or to the giant Tesco on the other side of the M60.

I like Stockport Station, it's a great, large station for a small town, it's on a good number of…read moreroutes and has easy access into the town centre as well as buses to continue onto your journey, once arriving into the station. Avanti West Coast manages the station; it's served by a good number of operators including: Transport For Wales, CrossCountry, Transpennine Express, Northern and East Midlands Railway. Most services go into Manchester Piccadilly which is only 7-14 minutes away, depending on which service you take but then you can go to a lot of destinations including London, Norwich, Sheffield and Liverpool. If you're heading into Manchester, you'll want the Northbound platforms (3 and 4) There is a Starbucks inside the station which is temporarily closed at the time of writing (January 2021), as well as a WHSmith, both on Platform 2 (London / Southbound platform) The staff inside the station are friendly and there's a good amount of ticket machines. The station is slightly open so it can get pretty cold if you're waiting for a train, compared to Manchester Piccadilly. There is lift-access to all platforms from the subway level. 4*

As explained by others, Stockport is a major transport hub in Greater Manchester as some Victorian…read morebylaw passed at the time the viaduct was built means trains passing over it have to stop here. Given that it is a bit surprising there aren't any substantial shops - it's mostly small outlets for food and drink to take away. These options are mostly terrible...Starbucks etc. However I'm not sure when this started but in recent months I have noticed food stalls in the underpass beneath the platforms. I've had several good quiches from Cheese is Grate who also sell local cheese, cakes and soup I think on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Most excitingly, my Kirkham (Preston) based favourite Pudding & Pie is now here every other Thursday and Friday. Their pies are consistently excellent and the sweet potato and chilli tart I tried today is my new favourite! Way to go Stockport supporting local businesses making good quality non mass produced food and provided better options for hungry travellers!

Not a bad little station just down from Stockport, be aware though that there is only one train…read moreevery 30 mins to Manchester where as trains from Stockport (20 mins walk away) go every 4-5 mins. Not many facilities but a fairly friendly few staff who work here, these are localised trains stopping at all the small and major stations along the way. Davenport high street is 5 mins walk away if you need to hit any shops and there's a fairly decent range while nothing massively spectacular on the foodie side. I guess Funky Monkey is probably best option to get a coffee on the high street if you need a buzz in a hurry!