IRONMAN 70.3

Sunday 7 June 2026

On Sunday 7 June 2026, Bolton will host IRONMAN 70.3, with cycling, running and swimming events taking place across the region.

There will be road closures from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 June. Roads will be particularly affected on Sunday between 6am - 6pm to allow for the main IRONMAN event to take place. Some bus services will also be diverted as a result.

Road Closures

All weekend

A section of Le Mans Crescent, will be closed from 6am on Monday 1 June to 6pm on Monday 8 June for a marquee build.
Howell Croft North and Howell Croft South will be closed from 6am on Friday 5 June to 9am on Monday 8 June due to the course set up and build for the weekend events.

Friday 5 June

Deansgate, Knowsley Street, Chorley Street, Bridge Street, Bark Street & Back Bark Street will be closed 6pm - 9pm.
Spa Road will be closed 6pm - 9pm.

Saturday 6 June

Deansgate, Knowsley Street and Bridge Street will be closed 6am - 5pm.

Sunday 7 June

Spa Road will be closed 6am - 6pm.
Chorley New Road & St George's Road will be closed 7am - 5.30pm.
Chorley Street, St Helena’s Riad, St Edmund Street, Blackhorse Street & Queen Street will be closed 7am - 5.30pm.
Deansgate, Knowsley Street, Chorley Street and Bridge Street will be closed 7am - 6pm.

Between 6am and 10.45am on Sunday 7 June, the following road closures will be in place in Leigh and surrounding areas:

St Helens Road from its junction with Atherleigh Way bypass to its junction with Newton Road
Newton Road from its junction with Atherleigh Way to its junction with Sandy Lane
Sandy Lane from its junction with Newton Road to its junction with Byrom Lane
Byrom Lane from its junction with Sandy Lane to its junction with Slag Lane
Slag Lane from its junction with Byrom Lane to its junction with Golborne Road
Golborne Road from its junction with Slag Lane to its junction with Lowton Road
Lowton Road from its junction with Golborne Road to its junction with Ashton Road
Ashton Road from its junction with Lowton Road to its junction with Wigan Road
Wigan Road from its junction with Ashton Road to its junction with Warrington Road
Warrington Road from its junction with Wigan Road to its junction with Bickershaw Lane
Bickershaw Lane from its junction with Warrington Road to its junction with Smiths Lane
Smiths Lane from its junction with Bickershaw Lane to its junction with Leigh Road
Leigh Road from its junction with Smiths Lane to its junction with Wigan Road
Wigan Road from its junction with Leigh Road from its junction with Twist Lane
Twist Lane from its junction with Wigan Road from its junction with Atherleigh Way
Atherleigh Way (northbound) from its junction with St Helens Road to its junction with Twist Lane
Atherleigh Way from its junction with Twist Lane to its junction with Wigan Road, Atherton
Gibfield Park Way from its junction with Wigan Road to its junction with Gibfield Park Avenue
Gibfield Park Avenue from its junction with Gibfield Park Way to its junction with North Road
North Road from its junction with Colliery Lane to its junction with Platt Lane

Bus diversions

Over the full weekend [Friday 5 to Sunday 7 June], the following bus services will operate on diversion: 1, 125, 480, 501, 516, 520, 521, 525, 526, 527, 534, 535, 537, 541, 559, 573, 574, 575, 576 and 607.

View the diversion document

On Sunday only [7 June], the following bus services will operate on diversion: 35, 516, 583, 584, 588, 608, 609, 610 and 611.

View the diversion document.

Getting to IRONMAN 70.3

Road closures

There will be road closures in Bolton, Leigh and Wigan, to allow the event to take place. Rolling road closures will be in place from Friday 5 June, with significant road closures in place to affect journeys on Sunday 7 June.

Where possible, we do not recommend driving on Sunday 7 June.

The town centre and Middlebrook retail park will be open as normal all weekend.

Anyone driving into Bolton town centre is advised to park at one of the car parks, which will be open as normal.

Anyone heading to Middlebrook from Bolton is advised to use Wigan Road (A676 / A58) to Manchester Road / Chorley Road (A6) and then use De Havilland Way (A6027) to reach the retail park.

Parking

Leigh Sports Village has over 1,000 free car parking spaces available on the site. Access to these car parks is via Sale Way, situated directly off the A579 Atherleigh Way.

Pennington Flash Country Park has over 300 parking spaces with a £2.50 all day pay and display charge.

Bolton town centre has various designated parking across the town that are subject to charge, with the option to pre-book spaces in advance.

There is no designated parking at Queens Park.

Bolton rail station is well connected to other key stations in Manchester, including Victoria, Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Piccadilly. It is approximately a 20 minute journey from Manchester city centre to Bolton town centre. More details about train travel can be found by visting the National Rail Website.

Bolton Station is located 10 minutes walk from Bolton Town Hall.

You can check your service for diversions before travelling, by the above Bus diversions module.

Ironman 70.3 will start and end in Bolton town centre. There are plenty of options for travel by bus, with regular services connecting Bolton with other areas of Greater Manchester. Plan your journey by bus.

Event information

The weekend includes the Night Run on Friday 5 June, and IRONKIDS on Saturday 6 June, leading up to the main event on Sunday 7 June.

On Sunday, events will be taking place in Pennington Flash Country Park, and then around Leigh, Westhoughton and Bolton centre throughout the day.

The bike route starts with two-loops through the villages of Lowton, Abram and Bickershaw before heading towards Bolton on roads that will be familiar to those who have participated in previous IRONMAN UK races. The second half of the course sees two loops of Horwich and Bolton.

The run route remains concentrated around the town centre.

Registration & Expo: Bolton Town Hall (1st Floor), Victoria Square, Bolton, BL1 1RU

Swim & Transition 1: Pennington Flash Country Park, Leigh, Wigan, WN7 3UG

Transition 2: Queen’s Park, Spa Road, Bolton, BL1 4AG

Finish line: Victoria Square, Bolton, BL1 1NB

Accessibility on the network

In Greater Manchester, we want everyone to travel safely and easily. We have a variety of accessibility guides suited to your journey on our accessibility hub and some key information for travelling by bus below.

Accessibility on the bus

Many buses have ramps and can accommodate wheelchairs. Some new buses also have display screens, route numbers, destination displays and audio-visual ‘next stop’ announcements.

A lot of bus operators have low floor buses to make it easier for people who use wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and those with small children and pushchairs.

For further information, visit our accessibility hub and select your bus operator for their accessibility policies.