Friday 7, Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June is an extremely busy period for the region, with events taking place across the city and north Manchester.
- On Friday Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds perform at Heaton Park.
- On Saturday there is the first day of Parklife and Muse at the Etihad Stadium.
- On Sunday it is the second day of Parklife and Midnight Oil at the O2 Apollo.
With significant crowds attending these events, please ensure you plan ahead to avoid any delay or disruption to your journey.
Heading to Parklife?
We look forward to helping you, and nearly 80,000 other fans, on your journey to the Parklife festival.
Heaton Park is situated to the north of Manchester, five miles from the city centre.
Travel by bus, tram or on foot are the best ways to get to Heaton Park.
- Doors to the festival open at 11am on Saturday and midday on Sunday.
- Last entry into the festival is 5pm on both days.
- The festival concludes at 11pm on both days.
There are four public entry and exit gates to Parklife this year:
- West Gate on Bury Old Road.
- East Gate on Sheepfoot Lane.
- North Gate close to the lake in Heaton Park.
- VIP gate off Sheepfoot Lane adjacent to East Gate.
Parklife Express shuttle bus service
A Parklife shuttle bus will be running from the corner of Aytoun Street (M1 2DD) and Minshull Street, a two-minute walk from Piccadilly train station, with drop-off right inside the festival site.
Buses will depart at least once every ten minutes.
- On Saturday the first bus will depart at 9:30am with the last bus departing at 5pm.
- On Sunday the first bus will depart at 10:30am with the last bus departing at 5pm.
- On both days, the return bus service from Heaton Park to Manchester city centre starts at 6.30pm and will continue until late. Drop off will be on Church Street.
Parklife travel passes are now on sale, offering day return travel on both the Parklife shuttle bus services and Metrolink.
Buy your pass in advance to save money on your ticket and exchange it for a wristband before catching a bus.
- A weekend travel pass can be purchased for £10.
- A Saturday travel pass can be purchased for £5.
- A Sunday travel pass can be purchased for £5.
Parklife travel pass tickets must be exchanged for a wristband prior to boarding the Parklife Shuttle Bus or Metrolink; e-tickets are not valid for travel.
Wristband exchange locations
Parklife travel pass tickets must be exchanged for a wristband prior to boarding the Parklife shuttle bus or Metrolink; e-tickets are not valid for travel.
Tickets can be exchanged on Saturday 8 and 9 June at the following locations:
- Aytoun Street (at Parklife Shuttle Bus departure point) from 9.30am until 5pm.
- Cathedral Gardens (in front of the National Football Museum) from 10am until 5pm.
Metrolink
IMPORTANT NOTE: Industrial action announced for Metrolink from Friday 7 to Monday 10 June. Find out more.
Metrolink services will take you directly to the Bowker Vale and Heaton Park stops which are only a few minutes’ walk from the festival site.
Journeys take around 20 minutes from Manchester city centre. However, due to increased crowds, please allow additional time to complete your journey.
After 8pm, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Heaton Park Metrolink stop will be closed. Metrolink services back into the city centre will run from Bowker Vale.
Heaton Park Metrolink car park will also be closed from end of service on Thursday 7 June until start of service Monday 10 June.
Remember you must have a valid Metrolink ticket or pass before boarding a tram and consumption of alcoholic beverages on trams is strictly prohibited. Open containers of alcohol must be disposed of before boarding a tram.
Metrolink tickets
You must have a valid ticket before you board a tram. Please be aware that ticket checks take place across the network.
Weekend travelcard
Fans who are attending both days of the festival can beat the queues and save money by purchasing a weekend travelcard for just £6.60.
This ticket is valid from 6pm on Friday until the last tram on Sunday night, across the entire network.
This ticket is available from ticket machines, on the get me there app (Google Play and Apple App stores) and from staff at some busy city centre stops.
Event day tickets
For fans attending either the Saturday or the Sunday, a return ticket from the city centre to Heaton Park/Bowker Vale is available.
Staff will be on-hand at city centre stops selling these for £4.
Park and Ride
Metrolink customers can also use one of our park and rides for free. The closest stations with Park and Ride facilities are:
- Radcliffe with 396 spaces (Crook Street, Radcliffe, M26 2SU)
- Whitefield with 216 spaces (Nuttall Avenue, Whitefield, M45 6QA)
Please note the park and ride facilities are only available to Metrolink customers.
Overnight parking is also available at some Park and Ride sites, but you must collect your car by midday the following day.
Map showing all park and ride locations.
Walking
Walking between the city centre and Heaton Park, particularly after the concert finishes, may be the quickest option.
The walk is flat and will take around an hour – just follow the signs along Bury Old Road (West of Heaton Park) to Cheetham Hill Road and into the city.
The West Gate, off Bury Old Road, is the recommended exit gate for walkers.
A walking route map is available here.
Driving
Driving isn’t recommended as there’s limited parking available, no on-street parking and road closures around Heaton Park.
Official Parklife car parking at Heaton Park is available by advance purchase at £15 per day. Car parking at Heaton Park has very limited availability so please purchase your parking tickets in advance.
Sainsbury’s Heaton Park, off Middleton Road, is the official drop-off and pick-up point for the festival. This will be open until 1am and you can wait here safely to be collected or to collect people.
The following roads around Heaton Park will be closed during the Parklife event weekend:
- Whittaker Lane from its junctions with Rectory Lane and Bury Old Road for the full weekend.
- St Margaret’s Road from its junction with Heywood Road and Bury Old Road for the full weekend.
- Middleton Road from its junction with Victoria Avenue and Crumpsall Lane after 8pm each evening.
- Blackley New Road from its junction with Middleton Road and Delaunays Road after 8pm each evening.
- Bury Old Road from its junction with Heywood Road and Scholes Lane after 8pm each evening.
If you and your friends are being dropped off or picked up from the festival, you should consider using one of our Metrolink Park and Ride facilities at Radcliffe and Whitefield Metrolink stops.
Train
Manchester is well served by rail, with services running into Manchester Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Victoria.
Fans can connect to onward Metrolink services from Victoria and Piccadilly or the shuttle bus service from Piccadilly.
The following companies operate into Manchester:
Be sure to plan ahead and check train times on the National Rail website before you travel.
National Rail will always have the latest information on rail services. Follow them on Twitter in advance of your journey @nationalrailenq.
Coach
Parklife's official coach partner Big Green Coach is running day return services direct to the festival from 18 pick up points across the UK, with fares from £30 return.
Coaches are timed to drop you off at Heaton Park before the music starts and will wait around until the bitter end to get you home.
Book your coach ticket for the festival now.
Public bus services
Heaton Park is served by existing bus routes from around Greater Manchester: 41, 59, 90, 135 and 484.
However, a number of diversion will be in place. Please check before travelling.
- The 41, 59 and 135 services will be diverted from 8pm each evening.
- The 90 and 484 services will be will be diverted for the whole of the weekend.
More information on Greater Manchester bus services can be found on our dedicated page
Road closures
A number of roads around Heaton Park will be closed during the Parklife event weekend resulting in bus diversions.
- Whittaker Lane from its junctions with Rectory Lane and Bury Old Road for the full weekend.
- St Margaret’s Road from its junction with Heywood Road and Bury Old Road for the full weekend.
- Middleton Road from its junction with Victoria Avenue and Crumpsall Lane after 8pm each evening.
- Blackley New Road from its junction with Middleton Road and Delaunays Road after 8pm each evening.
- Bury Old Road from its junction with Heywood Road and Scholes Lane after 8pm each evening.
Maps
- Pick up point map
- Park and Ride pick-up and drop-off map
- Walking route map
- Parklife Metrolink stop map
What TfGM is doing to make travel easier
- As much capacity as possible will be provided on the Metrolink network throughout the weekend
- Additional staff will be available to help and assist customers.
- Additional buses will operate to Heaton Park across the weekend.
- Enhanced monitoring of the surrounding road network and the altering of traffic lights and signals to improve traffic flow.
- Working with local highway authorities to temporarily suspend roadworks where possible on the region’s main commuter routes.
- Providing live and up-to-date travel information and advice through social media channels - @OfficialTfGM and @MCRMetrolink.
Accessibility
Greater Manchester has a good public transport network. The accessibility of services is improving, but some parts of the network contain obstacles for disabled people.
We have a dedicated webpage to help those with accessibility issues.
