Getting around Oldham
Oldham sits on elevated ground among the Pennines in Greater Manchester, and its transport is knitted into the wider city-region network rather than standing alone. For a visitor, the practical upshot is simple: you can reach Oldham easily by tram or bus, and once you're here the town centre is compact enough to explore on foot, with trams and buses covering the wider borough.
Trams and the Metrolink network
Oldham has no mainline railway station of its own. Instead, it is served by Metrolink trams, which are the backbone of public transport in the town. Trams run frequently through the day and into the evening, roughly every few minutes, so you rarely need to plan around a timetable.
Oldham sits in Fare Zone 3 of the Metrolink system, with stops in the town centre including Oldham Central. The tram is often the quickest way to move around, even if your journey means travelling into Manchester city centre and back out again.
- Into Manchester: Trams run from Manchester Victoria through Newton Heath and South Chadderton into Oldham, a journey of around half an hour.
- Eastbound: The line continues beyond Oldham to Shaw, Milnrow and Rochdale, which lie in Zone 4.
- Westbound: Trams run through Victoria to St Peter's Square, Deansgate, Chorlton and East Didsbury.
- Connections: Change in Manchester city centre for other lines serving Bury, Piccadilly station, the Etihad stadium and Ashton-under-Lyne, Wythenshawe and the airport, Old Trafford, Stretford, Sale and Altrincham, the Imperial War Museum and Trafford Centre, and Salford Quays and Eccles.
If you're riding the tram, it's worth continuing one stop beyond the town centre to a stop called "Oldham Mumps" — a mumper was a beggar, and the name is a local curiosity in itself.
Buses and long-distance coaches
Greater Manchester's public transport is co-ordinated by GMPTE, whose website is the place to check fare deals and use a journey planner. A day ticket is often a good option if you'll be making several trips.
The main bus routes into Oldham from central Manchester are run by First Group:
- Bus 83 / 84: The quickest option, running from Piccadilly via Newton Heath and Hollinwood to Oldham in around 40 minutes, with frequent service from early morning until midnight. Bus 84 continues on to Uppermill and Saddleworth.
- Bus 76: A slower route taking about an hour from Piccadilly via Ancoats, Holt Town, Newton Heath, Failsworth, Hollinwood, Limeside and Coppice.
- Bus 184: Runs from Oldham via Uppermill, Diggle and Marsden to Huddersfield.
- Bus 409: A frequent service from Rochdale via Thornham and Royton to Oldham, continuing via Hathershaw to Ashton-under-Lyne. Bus 58 also links Oldham and Rochdale.
For longer journeys, National Express coaches call at Oldham. The NX381 runs between Chester and Leeds, calling at the airport and Oldham along the way. The NX540 runs between Rochdale, Oldham and London Victoria, also picking up in Manchester city centre and at the airport — though you can't use it for the short hop between Oldham and the airport. Other long-distance bus routes usually involve changing in Manchester city centre at Chorlton Street.
Trains
Oldham itself has no mainline train service, so rail travellers generally arrive via Manchester and switch to tram or bus. The nearest mainline station in the immediate area is at Greenfield, near the Pennine village of Uppermill. Greenfield has hourly trains from Piccadilly via Stalybridge and Mossley, continuing via Marsden to Huddersfield.
Taxis and driving
If you're driving, you'll most likely approach Oldham either on the M60, which circles Manchester, or on the M62 from the Leeds and Bradford area, then take the A627(M) spur into town. The A62 leads from central Manchester, with journey times varying considerably depending on traffic. Oldham also functions as something of a motorists' shortcut to the airport: the A663 through Chadderton cuts off an angle between the M62 and M60 for transpennine traffic.
Walking
Oldham's town centre is the focus of efforts to transform it into a centre for further education and the performing arts, and it remains architecturally distinctive thanks to its surviving cotton mills and other industrial buildings. The centre is compact and walkable, and wandering between the tram stops, shops and historic buildings on foot is a practical way to see the town. The surrounding borough is hillier and more spread out, so for anything beyond the centre you'll generally want a tram or bus.
Getting there from the airport
Manchester Airport, to the south of the city, is the main gateway. There are frequent trains from the airport into Manchester city centre. The simplest rail option is to pick a train that continues through Piccadilly to Victoria, where you change for the tram to Oldham.
You can also ride the tram all the way from the airport, changing trams at Deansgate, but this is much slower for only a small saving on the fare. National Express Bus NX381 also calls at the airport and at Oldham on its route between Chester and Leeds, which can be a convenient direct option.