Train

Virgin Trains serves the region from London's Euston Station. Direct services to Manchester and Liverpool take between 2 and 2½ hours. There are trains between Manchester's Piccadilly Station and Liverpool's Lime Street roughly four times an hour during the day; the trip takes 50 minutes. (Trains also go less frequently from Manchester’s Victoria and Oxford Road stations.) Get schedules and other information through National Rail Enquiries.

To reach Buxton in the Peak District from London, take the train to Manchester that stops at Stockport and change there; to Buxton it's another 45-minute ride. The local service—one train an hour (more at peak times)—from Manchester Piccadilly to Buxton takes just under one hour.

Contacts

National Rail Enquiries. 03457/484950; www.nationalrail.co.uk.