This paper compares commuting behaviour in different regions of England, with the primary focus on a set of five northern city regions centred on Manchester whose built environment was forged by very early industrialisation. Commuting flows are shaped by local geography, which in the study area features many similarly-sized closely-spaced towns with strongly localised identity, plus a central upland area called the Pennines. Recent policies to improve transport within and between these city regions aim to increase agglomeration economies through increased commuting, a strategy supported by some research suggesting Pennine region people are unwilling to commute as far as workers elsewhere in England. Analysing data from two sources, Population Census and the National Travel Survey, provides differing evidence on regional commuting patterns​​​​​​​