Due to an event taking place within the grounds of Manchester’s Heaton Park, the heritage tramway there will be closed on Sunday 9th June. The park is playing host to the first ever ‘Parklive’ music festival, headlined by rap artists Plan B and Example, and also featuring a diverse range of other musicians and DJs. As a result no trams will operate this weekend, but normal service will resume on June 16th.
As reported previously, work on building the new Lakeside Depot is also expected to commence imminently so there should be plenty of interest at the Heaton Park Tramway this summer.
According to posters on Metrolink trams there is also the strange situation that, due to the large number of people expected to travel to and from the Heaton Park event on Saturday, from 8pm on Saturday evening, the conveniently-situated Heaton Park tram stop will be shut, and passengers leaving the Park will be expected to walk the best part of a mile to Bowker Vale!
I think the reason is that the platform at Heaton Park is down a set of stairs whereas Bowker Vale is above street level. Health & Safety believe that large crowds are easier to control up stairs as there’s less chance of people being pushed over the side in a crowd. Also, by spreading out the crowd by making them walk, it allows them to control arriving passengers easier. The same arrangements were made last year for Stone Roses concerts in the park.
Depot news will be coming very soon but for now due to the fact we are shut we are all off on a well earned day out to the conwy valley railway museum and the great orme tramway.
Well earned indeed Martyn. Make the most of your “enforced skive day (the only type you lot are likely to have, I’m sure!). But don’t be tempted, great as it would be, to sneak one of the G.O. trams back to the Park under cover of darkness – they’ll be able to trace you via the 3′ 6” grooves in the tarmac!