Secrets of The Motorway - M61 

I wonder if people appreciate not just the content, but the clever way you keep the sound of your voice levelled consistently throughout the video, despite constantly changing venues and background noise levels. Well played Sir!

I didn't think anyone could make motorways interesting... I was wrong. Well played good sir.

Mate your right shoe is doing a good impression of the UKs standard road surface. More holes than a tory explanation of a garden party.

The genius of making the mundane enthralling. This channel is something.

I get childishly excited whenever he covers somewhere near me

Genius use of the 80's Catchphrase theme, with a winding out camera shot used in many programs of the same era! Very nicely done mate 👏👏👌👌

I completely forgot about puddletown pirates. Thanks for the memories

Crap week, but your videos always make me feel a lot better. Thank you for what you do.

Neither do I drive a car nor live in UK but somehow I subscribed and watch these regularly! that's how good the channel is

This brews going cold :-D also Lord Leverhulme built a massive bungalow atop of Rivington pike which overlooked the castle and reservoir which then got burnt down by the suffragette movement, it had a sprung dance floor and Japanese waterfall gardens which still exists, they're beautiful! Cheers for all these videos dude if you see a silver audi pomping at you it's probably me lol

Coffee, castles and epic outro music - perfect Sunday

that ending was perfect.

As a Leigh resident when coming from the north/east on the M60, I have to pass the M61 exit then take the next slip road for the A580, at which point without fail all hell breaks loose on the continuing M60. The A580 slip road comes back alongside the M60 but with a barrier between the two, so you get to sail past the three lanes of standing traffic that 90% of the time you somehow never got caught in, then loop under it to finally join the A580. (Also a couple of Christmases ago driving home, no snow at all on the M60, foot-deep by the sides of the A580, what's THAT all about?!) Anyway this isn't Secrets of The A-Roads so I'll sod off. Love the outro 👍👍

As someone who has to use the M61, to merge onto the M60 to get to work in Manchester, the traffic (as seen in the drone shots) is no joke from 6.30am till around 11am, don't get me wrong its a satisfying basket weave design, but I feel like that motorway network wasn't designed to support the majority of Greater Manchester's traffic. Loving the Videos John, so excited to see the M60.

Fascinating stuff. When i was doing my apprenticeship in 1970/75 a friend of mine worked for the Ministry of Transport, motorways section. Quite often he would go out on fact finding tours of different bits of roads all over the UK and tell me tales as to what was planned, or being built or going around. Most users just drive on them and never consider the logistics of either construction or the planning so that all bits join together seemlessly.

It's Sunday, and I'm watching a video about a road in another country, by a bloke who I'd actually share a pint with. I'm happy

Fascinating! I never knew there was a “Liverpool Castle” 😀

I live in Preston and work in Manchester so for the past 20 years I've certainly given that Motorway some use

Botany Bay was the must fun place as a kid.

The Worsley Braided Interchange got the nickname ‘Spaghetti Junction’ when it was completed. A couple of years later the Gravelly Hill Interchange opened in Birmingham and stole the Spaghetti Junction moniker. Naughty Brummies.

1:27 Take THAT flat-earthers 😂

With that lovely catchphrase end music I was expecting the voiceover guy to tell me I'd won a weekend cycling trip in the Midlands or a Teasmaid, imagine my disappointment when I found out I hadn't :(

I hope there are enough motorways to keep this going for a long time

I've been waiting for this one. My local motorway. Liverpool Castle is just a short walk away and was the place to hang out with a few cans when I was a teenager. Loving the videos.

Love The ending of the video's. All those old TV theme tunes takes me back.

The larger Preston area super-city also explains the size of Preston Bus Station for the number of bays as more routes to the new housing of the enlarged area were expected, but never came into being

wow, that preston, chorley and horwitch supercity is for me like dejavu because in my country soviet union was planning to do something similar thing. They wanted connect 6 cities in to one huge metropol.

I ain't even British but i love these

Love the ending. Just the right amount of cheese. I don't know how you've made videos about the motorway so interesting but keep it up. Love your style.

8:05 That sounds very close to the Catchphrase theme!

What a coincidence, we were at Liverpool Castle yesterday! Yes Im fairly local and use these roads and Mways you have in this video. Nice to see this here and it's little secrets put out there for all to see. The big interchange is a difficult one to master for some, as the traffic coming from the M60 joins the M61 were the 4 lanes are, you see the odd motorists faces full of fear. These 2 junctions fill with water when it rains hard and the hard shoulder, 1st and 2nd lanes become standing ponds of danger. On early evenings anyone wanting to head down anticlockwise M61 at the interchange will come across standing traffic from junction 4 right round junction 3, usually I will be heading Clockwise on the M61 and will go past the stationary traffic. Busy times of the day can see junction 5 become grid locked, which fouls up the surrounding A roads and similarly Junction 6 does the same with many vehicles coming from the retail park, which on the opposite side has a business sector with EON and other companies there who all leave at the same time causing madness heading towards Junction 6. After Junction 6 it is a nicer Motorway for a while, as you climb towards Chorley. I was coming down the M61 one day in torrential rain, big thunderstorm had hit the area. I was on my Motorbike and had to use the middle lane to avoid the deepest water, this caused cars to try and pass me. I remember the huge lightening which lit up the entire sky, the road and surrounding fields, I wish I had a camera running at that time as it was beautiful. I got soaked through as vehicles passing would launch tidal waves over me as I descended the hill, what fun I had that day! Thanks for the shenanigans!

You have somehow become Britain's coolest geography teacher!!

I was born and raised in Worsley so this one is close to my heart. Eagerly awaiting the M63, erm, M60 episode.

Botany Bay used to have a few ex military equipment stored there. Including 2 tanks which could be seen from the motorway. Was one if those things I'd look out for as a kid whenever we was passing.

I’m trying to sneak “Worsley braided interchange” into every conversation today.

Cheers "--- JON ---" Watching a day late, but I did laugh at the ending 🙂 I follow you videos with Google maps on another monitor and keep pausing to explore virtually on Streetview, as though I was there.

Ayyyyy love that you've made it to one of my local motorways that i use quite often. Fun to learn about things ive never really known about and ive never actually thought about how complex the start of the motorway really is even though i use it pretty much every day 😅

The thing I love about this series is the interesting historical context for why things are and the stuff around.

I get soo excited when i spot that there's a new video up. Thanks John for another exciting episode of secrets of the motorway. CHEERS! :)

Another great video.

I was on the other side of Rivington reservior recently and someone told me about Liverpool Castle. Thought they were joking haha, clearly not. Interesting to learn it's connection to the Rivington terrace gardens.

Always an education

Thanks for the shout out mate. Glad you managed to squeeze all the info into the video. I now appreciate how much preparation work must go into these videos as it must have taken a while to get between the locations. For example, at 2:50 you are directly behind my house and that footpath there takes some finding 🤣

All right, so between You, Jago, Geoff Marshall, David (Cruising the Cut), and a few others, you are Covering all means of Transportation in England. I'm sure the Chinese and the Russians are taking notes...

Glad I stayed for the title music! There's a blast from the past

I've been waiting for this for a long time as I live near the M61 and I coincidentally went to the Liverpool Castle last week! I had to do a little research and realised it was fake. Great vid👍

Another fantastic and informative video mate, just love binge watching and catching up on these.

Good to hear your views on design standards. The castle "folly" clearly parallels the nature of motorway building in terms of unfinished projects, retired planners and dead engineers.

Such a lovely ending to this video. 👋

Finishing up the vid at Denham Quarry love it

Are the services on the M61 the only motorway service area to have had two name changes? From Anderton to Bolton West and then to Rivington. At least Bolton West gave non-locals an idea of where they are! I used to be a non-local, but now I live in Lostock Hall, not to be confused with Lostock, near Bolton....

Nice to see my local area from another perspective Jon. That outro, with views around Denham Quarry, is the best I've ever seen. Fantastic! 👍

Another great video, lots of motorway info plus castles that are not castles, unbuilt junctions and non-existent megacities. All served up with John's brilliant deadpan delivery and topped off with an epic, cheesy 1990's daytime TV aerial departure shot. Masterful entertainment.

The combined area of Leyland, Preston, Chorley, Lostock Hall, and Bamber Bridge never took off as people from each area view themselves as being part of different towns. I'm from Leyland and even though it's only 7 miles from Preston, the people of Leyland didn't like being thought of as part of Preston.

Brilliant. One of the best that was. Thank you.

As someone who lived in Chorley from birth in 87 till 2018. Preston Leyland and Chorley are treated like a city in the way the councils block together on things. Though Preston still eats up a nearly 90% of the funds

Was up there last week heading north. Oh I hate that braided interchange so, so, so much

Hello Jon, how the devil are you, have you had a good week?

A very exciting episode. Lots to look at on this motorway

Ah yes, the mill. I once drove a couple of hours to meet a guy selling his mitsubishi 300zx at the mill. He took me for a spin up and down the motorway but it wasn't for me. Cool car though

Thanks John - top, spiffing, fabulous.....as usual.

Great video John, very interesting as always 😀👌👍

Is this song at the end catchphrase with the original old presenter that brings back memories from Saturday night TV God I wish I was in the 90s again proper game shows good TV proper days they were

Oooh my local motorway 😁

Brilliant filming

I came here for the big wave.

Wicked sweet awesome indeed. Thanks Jon

Another good story of Motorway life and history. John, you are doing a great job.. Bob

Thanks for another cracking vlog very interesting 🧐

I love the randomness of RU-vid's suggestion algorithm - and I enjoyed this video too.

Love this series

771000 subscribers … just amazing, Jon! Looking forward to both a million and the M62!

And the fun of the criss crossing traffic from the M60 to the M61/A666. Pick a lane - any lane.

Thanks for entertaining us with more information about those motorways.

Interesting video and interesting places , I'm watching from Devon

As a regular taxi service for a student in Lancaster. I’m pleased to learn that the big building is Botany Bay Mill.

Thanks!

For the first few minutes of this video you were close enough to my house to have called round for a coffee 😂 Lived here 25 years and had never heard of the Liverpool Castle "ruin" even though I've been round Rivington loads of times. Well, do I feel foolish 😳😳

I live in Horwich, about a mile from Liverpool Castle. It’s one of my daily dog walks. I also have a few videos on my channel about the castle and the history of Lord Leverhulme’s Rivington.

You're getting close to the greatest motorway in the country, The M62, can't wait for that one! Great channel, love the sarcasm and humour, keep up the good work.

Awesome video and about time someone did something informative about the Motorways in this area. As a lad who lives near where all 3 Motorways (M6/M61/M65) meet, I've actually learnt something. Thank You & keep up the excellent work.

Nicely done.

Epic final drone shot is epic!

What a great video , well done.

Whilst since December 1997 it is mostly just an industrial and residential link road serving Walton Summit and Clayton respectively, from January 1995 through December 1997, the "Walton Summit Motorway" spur had the very important job of carrying the vast majority of the traffic travelling between the centre of Preston and Manchester and beyond via the M61. This was to avoid the Broughton and Samlesbury interchanges as well as the M6 between junctions 30 and 32 getting completely clogged up whilst the simultaneous roadworks to both widen the M6 Preston Bypass from D3/D3M to D4M standard (including the complete reconstruction of Samlesbury interchange) and construct the M65 between junctions 1a and 6 took place. With the M65 now completed between junctions 1a and 6, the M65 between junctions 1a and 2 now forms the main link between the centre of Preston and Manchester and beyond via the M61. Interestingly the M65 between the A6 overbridge at Clayton and junction 2 follows the exact line of the original 1987-1995 all-purpose version of the Walton Summit spur which had previously been the main link between the centre of Preston and the M61 to Manchester and beyond.

Yay, one of the 4 motorways that are part of my daily commute.

The north terminus of the M61 joining the M6 used to be a game of chicken against a railway bridge with too-short slip roads which merged just before that bridge. There were inevitably traffic jams back along the M61 until the M6 was widened and the junction enlarged.

Great video as always. All the best 🇬🇧.

Thanks

Great to see you visited Denham Quarry in Brindle for the end shot… my home village, and my Mum grew up in the farm opposite 😊

Sunday special 👍

Fantastic Jon 🙂

On my doorstep JPH 👍🏼 Botany Bay is now being used by (Leyland) DAF paccar to store wagons etc. the bloke who bought/opened it in the 90s was Tim Knowles. A local bloke. I work for a company on Walton summit. You had your back to it at Clayton brook lol. The long straight up to the roundabout is 2 lanes going up. You can pretty much guess what I don’t need to say 😂 The outro from Denham quarry 👍🏼 An excellent video yet again 👌🏼 P.S. I never knew that bridge at the start of the 61 is an old rail bridge.

Love your videos.... I'll have to drive some of these motorways next time I head north...

Thanks, there’s a lot of planning and effort gone into this vid 😊

Always a fun watch - and now awesome outro music too!

Your videos are great!

This is the best video I've ever seen about anything

The A666 1.08, Devil of a road🤣 cheers John👍

I live in Chorley and miss Botany Bay as it was, we’d go regularly for a meal and check out the stores.