Getting around Wigan
Wigan is a compact town, and much of what a visitor wants to see sits within easy walking distance of the centre. The wider Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, however, is large and includes satellite towns, so for anything beyond the town itself you will want to use public transport or a taxi.
On foot
Walking is the simplest way to get around central Wigan. The town centre, the canalside, the museum and the football ground are all close enough together that you can comfortably walk between them. If your plans are confined to the centre, you may not need any other form of transport at all.
Rail
Wigan has two railway stations, Wigan North Western and Wigan Wallgate, and they sit barely 100 yards apart. Despite the name, North Western is actually the more southerly of the two, though its tracks sweep round to head north.
Wigan North Western handles longer-distance services. It has hourly trains from London Euston, continuing north via Preston, Lancaster, Penrith and Carlisle to Glasgow Central. Slower trains from Euston also stop at Milton Keynes, Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton. There are also services every 30 to 60 minutes from Liverpool via St Helens, from Blackpool via Preston, and from Manchester Airport via Piccadilly, continuing north to Barrow-in-Furness.
Wigan Wallgate handles more local services. It has trains roughly every 30 minutes from Manchester Victoria via Salford, as well as services from Bolton and Southport. There is also a slow train from Leeds via Hebden Bridge, Rochdale, Victoria and Salford, but it is quicker to change at Piccadilly instead.
Because the two stations are so close together, transferring between them on foot is straightforward.
Buses and coaches
Wigan bus station is about 200 yards north of Wallgate railway station, making it easy to connect between bus and rail.
For long-distance travel, National Express runs a daily coach from London Victoria to Wigan, continuing on to Preston and Blackpool. Useful interchange points include Preston for buses onward to Carlisle, Glasgow and Edinburgh; St Helens for Liverpool; and Manchester for most other inter-city routes.
Buses from central Manchester are frequent but slow, typically taking at least 90 minutes and requiring a change. The usual route is to take the First Bus V1 via Salford to Leigh, then the Stagecoach Bus 9 to Wigan.
Several direct buses serve Wigan, operated by Arriva:
- Bus 575 from Bolton via Horwich, every 20 minutes
- Bus 320 / 352 from St Helens, every 15 minutes
- Bus 362 from Chorley, every 30 minutes
- Bus 113 from Preston via Leyland, hourly
- Bus 360 from Warrington, every 30 minutes
Within the borough, the quickest bus to Leigh is the Number 8, which runs every 15 minutes via Higher Ince. Bus 10 also runs to Leigh via Ashton-in-Makerfield, also every 15 minutes.
Reaching Wigan from the airport
Manchester Airport (MAN) is the most convenient airport for Wigan. It has a direct train roughly hourly to Wigan North Western, taking about an hour, and continuing north to Barrow-in-Furness.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) is an alternative, but the journey is less direct: you take the airport bus into central Liverpool, then a train onward to Wigan. The total travel time is around two hours.
By road
Wigan sits between two major motorways. The M61 (Manchester to Preston) serves the town via exit 5 onto the A58. The M6 (Midlands to Carlisle) serves it via junction 26, which is also the terminus of the M58 from Liverpool.