Man 'chuffed to bits' after winning new competition by reaching the highest number of stations in a single day

Lee McCormack, 54, won The Great Race Across the North after making it to 26 different stations on Northern services.  

Seven people took part in the competition on Saturday, as Lee competed solo against Anna Bignell and Annette Hall, Duncan Adamson and Clara Bartels, and Anne Beech and Gillian Blashill.

Each contestant was given a free Northern Explorer ticket, allowing them to travel across the North and make as many stops as they want along the way. 

Collectively, they reached almost 80 stations, travelling to the likes of Leeds, Manchester, Hebden Bridge, Halifax, Wakefield, Warrington, Sheffield, Stockport, Sandbach and Saltaire on Northern services.

Lee travelled around Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire, before arriving back in his hometown of Bradford at around 11.30pm.

“I’m chuffed to bits to win and I thoroughly enjoyed the day,” he said.

“It was a great opportunity to get out and about and enjoy some beautiful scenery out of the train window. I also managed to visit some places I hadn’t been before.

“It was really nice meeting people along the way and chatting to the Northern staff.”

He has won a night out for two people in Manchester, with a one-night stay at the luxurious Midland Hotel, a rum tasting experience at Salford Distillery with meal at The Black Friar and tickets to The Cube. 

Alex Hornby, Commercial and Customer Director at Northern, said: “We’re hugely impressed by the contestants who took part in The Great Race Across the North.  

“Reaching almost 80 stations in a day is a fantastic effort and they should be incredibly proud of themselves.

“Anyone looking to take on their own adventure can use a Northern Explorer ticket to travel to more than 500 different destinations across the North of England for just £35 a day.

“Travelling by train, they can explore national parks, seaside resorts, major cities, historic market towns and everything in between.”

The new Northern Explorer day ticket went on sale last month. It provides passengers with the ultimate flexibility, allowing them to travel across the North of England on Northern-operated services.

As well as buying tickets individually, customers can also save money by buying Northern Explorer tickets for up to four people and up to four days. 

The fare can be bought from ticket vending machines, at station ticket offices and online up to 12 weeks in advance.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,650 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.