1: Liverpool - Chester

*UPDATED 28th May 2022*

The 1 is a frequent link between the North West's greatest port city and its very oldest city, running via tourist attractions and shopping destinations that the parallel railway line just can't reach. It normally runs every 20 minutes every daytime and half-hourly each evening. It's operated by Stagecoach. Click here to discover other bus routes in the North West.




Places served:

Liverpool

The proximity of the Birkenhead Tunnel entrance means that the 1 only calls at one stop in the city centre on its way towards Chester: Stop SD on Sir Thomas Street:

Stop SD is outside Caffe Nero:

Visit Liverpool

Metquarter Shopping Centre

World Museum

Walker Art Gallery

International Slavery Museum

The Cavern Club

British Music Experience Museum

Museum of Liverpool

Open Eye Gallery

Maritime Museum

Tate Liverpool Art Gallery

Liverpool One Shopping Centre

Fact Arts Centre & Cinema

Clayton Square Shopping Centre

St Johns Shopping Centre

Tesco Superstore Liverpool One

Lidl supermarket, Lime Street

Aldi supermarket, St Johns Centre

Birkenhead

Here's the route the 1 takes in Birkenhead:

At Birkenhead Bus Station, buses towards Chester leave from stand 6, those towards Liverpool from stand 7:

Visit Birkenhead

Pyramids Shopping Centre

Birkenhead Market

Asda Superstore Birkenhead

Wirral Tramway and Transport Museum

New Ferry

Port Sunlight

Port Sunlight is a Victorian model village built to house soap factory workers. Buses to Chester stop at the Portbury Close stop on New Chester Road:

Buses to Liverpool stop over the road at the Willowbank Road stop, also on New Chester Road:

Port Sunlight Museum

Lady Lever Art Gallery

Port Sunlight Garden Centre

Bromborough


Aldi supermarket Bromborough, use the Bromborough, Pool Lane and Pool Port Causeway stops

Lidl supermarket Bromborough, use the Spital Road/New Chester Road stops on Croft Avenue East

Asda Superstore Bromborough, use the Spital Road/New Chester Road stops on Croft Avenue East

The Croft Retail & Leisure Park, use the Spital Road/New Chester Road stops on Croft Avenue East

Eastham

Hooton

Here we cross from Wirral, Merseyside into Cheshire West and Chester.

Burleydam Garden Centre, use the Childer Thornton, Burleydam Garden Centre/St Paul's Church stops

Little Sutton

The 1 follows Chester Road through Little Sutton, stopping not far from the railway station, useful for interchanging with Merseyrail's Ellesmere Port branch.

Ellesmere Port

At Ellesmere Port Bus Intrerchange, buses to Chester use stand C and buses to Liverpool use stand G.

Asda Supercentre Ellesmere Port

Aldi supermarket Ellesmere Port

Cheshire Oaks

Still in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire Oaks is Britain's biggest designer outlet shopping centre. The 1 drops you off right in the middle of the shopping village using stand A towards Liverpool and stand B towards Chester:

Sainsbury's supermarket Ellesmere Port, use the Cheshire Oaks stops

Blue Planet Aquarium

Buses in both directions stop at the same stop on Kinsey Road, just behind the aquarium and accessible via a footpath:

Chester Zoo

During zoo opening hours, the 1 stops right by the main entrance:

Bache

Morrisons supermarket Chester Liverpool Road, use the Countess Hospital stops

Chester

The 1 starts from stand S6 right opposite Chester Railway Station on Station Road:

It then runs via the Bus Interchange in the city centre, using stand K in the daytime and stand F in the evenings:

It then calls at stop V on George Street, opposite the Bull & Stirrup:

Visit Chester

Chester City Walls

Tesco Superstore Chester, use the Bus Interchange stops

Chester Cathedral, use the Bus Interchange stops

The Forum Shopping Centre, use the Bus Interchange stops

Grosvenor Shopping Centre

Deva Roman Museum

Grosvenor Museum

Cheshire Military Museum

Sick To Death Medical History Museum

Chester Roman Amphitheatre

Times

See the full timetable on these websites:

• Stagecoach
• Merseytravel
• Bus Times
• Traveline

Here are your links for live scheduled bus times from major stops towards Chester:

• Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street, stop SD
• Birkenhead Bus Station, stand 6
• New Ferry, Shore Drive for Port Sunlight
• Ellesmere Port Bus Station, stand C
• Cheshire Oaks, stand B
• Chester Zoo, Entrance

...and back towards Liverpool:

• Chester Railway Station, stand S6
• Chester Bus Interchange, stand K
• Chester Bus Interchange, stand F
• Chester Zoo, Entrance
• Cheshire Oaks, stand A
• Ellesmere Port Bus Station, stand G
• New Ferry, Shore Drive for Port Sunlight
• Birkenhead Bus Station, stand 7

Fares

For details of single fares, use the ticket finder on Stagecoach's website. From Liverpool to Chester, an adult single is currently £4.20.

The cheapest day ticket that is valid for travel throughout route 1 is the Stagecoach Merseyside Plus Dayrider at £4.60. It's valid on all Stagecoach buses in Merseyside and Cheshire.

If you're travelling from further afield, the Stagecoach NorthWest Explorer at £12 (valid on all Stagecoach buses in Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria) is valid and available to buy throughout route 1.

If you're not going to be travelling along the entire route, then a cheaper ticket might be suitable:

• The Stagecoach Chester Dayrider at £4.00 is only valid between Chester and Upton, Wheatsheaf (i.e. not valid to Chester Zoo).

If you need to use other bus operators and will only be travelling within Merseyside (that's between Liverpool and Eastham Rake on the 1), then you need a multi-operator one day Solo ticket at £5. It's valid on all buses within Merseyside, regardless of operator. If you'll only be travelling within Wirral Bourough, read on...

If you need to use the train within Merseyside too, then a Merseytravel Saveaway ticket is the one you need.

• An Area B Saveaway is valid on the 1 between Birkenhead and Eastham Rake and costs £4.30. It's also valid on all buses and trains within the Borough of Wirral.
• An All Zones Saveaway, valid throughout Merseyside (on the 1 that's Liverpool to Eastham Rake only) on all buses and trains is £5.65. It is also valid for travel to Ellesmere Port and Chester, but by train only.

Please note that Saveaway cannot be purchased on the bus (while Solo can), but is available from all staffed railway stations and Merseytravel Centres in the region, as well as most libraries and many local shops (look for the Merseytravel logo, shown above).

If travelling by train, you can also buy a Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port or Chester Plusbus with your rail ticket.

• The Birkenhead Plusbus ticket has the same validity as an Area B Saveaway from Merseytravel, which on the 1 means Birkenhead to Eastham Rake, M53 only.
• The Ellesmere Port Plusbus is only valid over a small area, but is still good value for visitors to Cheshire Oaks or the Blue Planet Aquarium. It's valid on the 1 as far North as Childer Thornton, Halfway House and as far South as Whitby, Strawberry Roundabout. Tip: Change to the 1 bus at Little Sutton for a shorter walk between train and bus. your train ticket must still be valid to Ellesmere Port in order to buy the Plusbus however. Please note this ticket is not valid to Chester Zoo.
• The Chester Plusbus is valid on the 1 between Chester Railway Station and Backford, Church Lane, which includes to Chester Zoo.

Connections

In Liverpool there are buses in all directions, including Stagecoach X2 to Southport and Preston. Merseytravel has details of all bus routes in Liverpool including the city centre's bus stops.

The 1 also stops near Moorfields, Liverpool Central and Lime Street railway stations.

For bus connections from Birkenhead, see Merseytravel's Wirral public transport map and Stagecoach's Wirral network map.
Birkenhead Bus Station is near Conway Park railway station for Merseyrail trains towards New Brighton and West Kirby. The 1 also stops near Birkenhead Central station for trains towards Ellesmere Port and Chester.

Little Sutton station is a convenient interchange for trains on the Ellesmere Port line.

Ellesmere Port Bus Station is a major hub. Click here for details of the services you can connect to, and here for a map of all bus routes throughout Chester West and Chester.

The 1 passes near to Bache railway station.

From central Chester, connecting buses run in all directions, including:

• Arriva 84 to Nantwich and Crewe
• Arriva 11/11A towards Rhyl
• Arriva X30 towards Runcorn and Warrington
• Arriva Sapphire 1 to Wrexham

The 1 terminates at Chester Railway Station.


Alternatives

Stagecoach X1 has only a few variations from the 1's route, providing a frequency boost from most stops. 

Stagecoach 41 and 42 provide additional buses between Birkenhead and Bromborough.

Stagecoach 2 supplements the 1 between Chester and Ellesmere Port, but via a slightly different route.

Merseyrail's Wirral Line has trains from Liverpool to Ellesmere Port and Chester. The All Zone Saveaway at £5.65 is valid throughout these lines. Anyone who buys a normal rail ticket from Liverpool to Chester will be ripped off to the tune of £8.05 single or £8.25 return without a railcard. Look up other rail fares here.



Long Distance Footpaths

• Trans Pennine Trail starts in Liverpool
• Shropshire Union Canal Towpath Way passes near to Cheshire Oaks, Backford and through central Chester
• North Cheshire Way crosses Whitby Lane in Backford, near the Gordon Lane stops
• Baker Way starts in Chester
• Two Saints Way starts in Chester

All of the information in this post is correct at the time of writing, but please check the relevant links before travelling.