A SELNEC Central bus and a Metrolink Tram in Manchester

A mix of the present and the past of travel in Manchester city centre.

I spotted this double decker bus in a SELNEC Central livery in Manchester city centre today. It was interesting to see it being passed by a Metrolink tram.

SELNEC was the Passenger Transport Executive in the area from 1969 until it was renamed Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) in 1974.

The SELNEC Central area covered Manchester and Salford. There were also SELNEC Northern and Southern.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) itself ended in 2011 when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

Related blog posts:

• Vintage SELNEC bus in Stockport
• One of the last buses out of dodge
• A vintage SELNEC bus in Eccles
• SELNEC
• GMPTE
• TfGM
• Bee Network
• Metrolink

A tram at Manchester Piccadilly Metrolink tram stop (October 2026)

A look at a Metrolink tram at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop.

A tram at Manchester Piccadilly Metrolink tram stop

A double Metrolink tram (3046 and 3007) to the Etihad Campus departing from Manchester Piccadilly tram stop on Saturday 17th October 2026.

You can see a compilation of Metrolink trams at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop - Platforms A & B in September 2026 in this video.

Manchester Piccadilly Metrolink tram stop

Check out my rail, tram, train and transit system playlists for more:

• Trams
• Metrolink
• Bee Network
• Transit Systems
• Trains

Related blog posts:

• Metrolink tram stop at Manchester Piccadilly railway station
• Metrolink
• Trams

Trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)

A look at trams in Warsaw, Poland in September 2026.

Trams on Marcina Kasprzaka in Warsaw, Poland. Operated by Tramwaje Warszawskie.

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Light rail
• Poland
• Warsaw
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland in 2017

Videos:

• Two minutes of Trams in Warsaw, Poland (2017)
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland in September 2026
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland in September 2026
• Tram 4276 in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Tram 4223 in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Buses and trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Trams at night in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)

Shorts:

• Konstal 105N2k2000 and Pesa Swing 120Na trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Hyundai Rotem 140N trams in Warsaw, Poland September 2026

Metrolink trams in the East Didsbury area of South Manchester (September 2026)

A look at Metrolink trams in the East Didsbury area of South Manchester in September 2026.

Manchester Metrolink trams running between East Didsbury & Didsbury Village tram stops on the South Manchester Line in the evening of Thursday 24th September 2026.

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Light rail
• Metrolink

Videos:

• Metrolink trams in the East Didsbury area of South Manchester (September 2026)
• Metrolink trams at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop - Platforms A & B (September 2026)
• Trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester (September 2026)
• Manchester Metrolink trams 3120 & 3146 from East Didsbury to Didsbury Village (September 2026)

Shorts:

• Manchester Metrolink tram leaving Didsbury Village tram stop towards East Didsbury (May 2026)
• Manchester Metrolink tram arriving at East Didsbury tram stop (May 2026)

YouTube Playlists:

• Trams
• Trains
• Transit Systems

Trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester (September 2026)

A look at trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester in September 2026.

Metrolink trams at Altrincham Interchange

A Metrolink tram in Altrincham

A Metrolink tram at Navigation Road tram stop and railway station in Altrincham

Trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester on Friday 4th September 2026.

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Light rail
• Metrolink
• Altrincham

Videos:

• Trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester (September 2026)
• Class 66 Freightliner train at Navigation Road station in Altrincham (September 2026)

Shorts:

• Northern Class 156 train at Altrincham Interchange station (September 2026)
• Metrolink tram at Altrincham Interchange station (September 2026)

YouTube Playlists

• Trams
• Trains
• Transit Systems

Metrolink tram stop at Manchester Piccadilly railway station

A look at some Metrolink trams at Manchester Piccadilly railway station.

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Trains
• Metrolink
• Manchester

YouTube Playlists

• Trams
• Trains
• Transit Systems

Videos:

• Metrolink trams arriving & departing Platform A at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop (September 2026)
• Metrolink trams at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop - Platforms A & B (September 2026)

Metrolink tram stop 'buffers' and dead-ends

A look at some of the 'buffers' at the end-of-the-line of Metrolink tram stops.

Metrolink tram at the end-of-the line at Media City UK tram stop in Salford in November 2019

East Didsbury Metrolink tram stop end-of-the-line in Parrs Wood, Manchester in May 2026

Eccles tram stop end-of-the-line on the Manchester Metrolink in August 2019

A Portaloo at the Metrolink tram stop in Rochdale in December 2019

A Solar Loo at the Metrolink tram stop in Rochdale in June 2021

Are there other types of dead-ends on the Metrolink network?

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Trains
• Metrolink
• Tram videos on YouTube

Tram videos on YouTube

Check out my trams playlist on YouTube.

A Coronation Street film location. In Blackpool

Visiting an infamous scene location in British soap history.

I was recently in Manchester city centre and was starstruck when I spotted Sue Nicholls and Mark Eden who played Audrey Roberts and Alan Bradley in Coronation Street.

This bit of celeb spotting got me chatting about the classic and infamous scene where the soap's baddie Alan Bradley got his comeuppance by getting killed by a tram in Blackpool.

My mate Marc 'The Roller' Bazeley and I jokingly wondered whether there was a plaque on the spot he was hit. After a little research I found out that there actually is a plaque to 'commemorate' the incident! It's on the entrance of The Strand Hotel.

We regularly visit the seaside resort so on my latest day out there I had a look to see where the scene was filmed.

The scene of telly soap baddie Alan Bradley's Coronation Street Death by Tram outside The Strand Hotel in Blackpool

A view from outside The Strand Hotel

A closer look at the tracks

A view of The Strand Hotel

A view of the street

I was able to avoid the same fate that befell one of soap's most notorious bad guys when I filmed this tram passing by the spot.

We've spotted quite a few interesting plaques on our travels.

Related blog posts:
- Plaque-ing Interesting
- Blackpool
- Plaques

Adventure Golf Gutach in Germany

Spotting Adventure Golf Gutach in Germany.

My brother Christopher was recently on holiday in Germany and while driving through Gutach spotted the adventure golf course there.

There's an old train carriage at the course!

Check out the Adventuregolf Gutach website for more information and photos of the 18-hole course.

Christopher has now been to 29 courses in the UK and nine overseas countries. Prior to Adventuregolf Gutach the last course he visited was the Mini Golf at the Resort Horizont & Splendid in Pula, Croatia.

Emily and I have been to eight of those 29 too. We have visited 883 courses in the British Isles and 39 courses in eleven overseas countries for a total of 922 course visits. The combined total of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour is now up to 943 courses since September 2006.

Saltburn Cliff Tramway

Having a ride on the Saltburn Cliff Tramway.

A view from the top of the Cliff Tramway

Last September we had a brilliant day out in Salturn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire. Before playing the Saltburn Minigolf course we took a ride on the Saltburn Cliff Tramway down to the promenade.

It's always nice to follow a brown tourist sign

A plaque about the history of the Cliff Tramway's predecessor 

The entrance at the top of the cliff

Always nice to see a Fun

The Saltburn Cliff Tramway is an iconic part of Saltburn-by-the-Sea and you get a wonderful view of the pier and the seaside from it.

Visit the Saltburn Cliff Tramway website for more information, opening times and prices.

The entrance on the Lower Promenade

A view of the Cliff Tramway from the pier 

A view inside the carriage

Related blog posts:
- Saltburn-by-the-Sea
- Funicular railway

The old Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool

A tram's eye view of the old Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool.

Many thanks to our friend Philip Walsh for sending over these great snaps of the derelict Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool. Philip photographed the course while aboard a tram during a recent tram heritage weekend.

The tram at the Starr Gate depot

Emily and I visited the remnants of the minigolf course - formerly an Arnold Palmer Putting Course - last October. Luckily we did get to play it once, back in April 2008.

A sad sight indeed

Trams in Warsaw, Poland

A view of some trams in Warsaw.

Emily knows me so well and brought me back this great snap of some trams in Warsaw, Poland following her recent trip to the country.

The older of the two trams could well be the Polish tram equivalent of the dreaded Pacer Railbuses we have here.

You can see how efficiently the trams and traffic operates in Warsaw in the video below.

We haven't got any trams in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport yet, but we're surrounded by areas of Greater Manchester that do have tram lines. Some stations share both heavy and light rail operations.

We've seen quite a few trams on our travels over the years.

One of the trams next to the abandoned Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool

Related videos:
- ABC Weekend Television Tram at Blackpool Illuminations October 2016
- Tram at Manchester Victoria railway station January 2017
- Two minutes of Trams in Warsaw, Poland February 2017

Related blog posts:
- Train nerdery