BURY'S faithful army of travelling fans may find they have a bit of extra time on their hands next season following promotion to League One.

The third tier is dominated by clubs from the north of England and midlands next season, in direct contrast to League Two, which has become a southern stronghold in recent years.

As a result of the Shakers' final-day heroics – securing automatic promotion at Tranmere – supporters who go to every away game next season will spend around 43 hours on the road, a third less than they spent in transit during the past campaign.

That is a total distance of 2,275 miles – 1,285 miles less than last season.

Following Blackpool and Wigan’s relegation from the Championship there will be six Lancashire sides – including Bury, Rochdale, Fleetwood and Oldham – in League One next season.

Out of the 24 clubs competing in the division, only six clubs – Swindon, Colchester, Peterborough, Millwall, Gillingham and Southend – are below the midlands.

With Bury’s last meeting against Rochdale at the JD Stadium attracting more than 6,000 supporters, the Shakers are expected to draft in similar-sized crowds from their three Greater Manchester derbies.

Bury fans also have the opportunity to enjoy trips to a handful of grounds they have not visited for well over a decade – Wigan, Blackpool, Millwall and Barnsley.

The last time Bury visited Wigan's ground was on Boxing Day in 2001, when Steve Redmond scored a late equaliser at what was then called the JJB Stadium, to secure a 1-1 draw in the old second division.

The Shakers last visit to Bloomfield Road was in the same season (January 26, 2002), when an early goal from Gareth Seddon was enough to hand Andy Preece’s side victory.

Bury endured a day to forget the last time they went to the Den – Millwall dishing out a dose of capital punishment in a 4-0 thrashing in October, 2000.

Neil Warnock was in the away dugout when the club last visited Oakwell as the Shakers played out a 1-1 draw in a First Division fixture in November, 1998.

Bury boss David Flitcroft will be pitting his wits against the Tykes for the first time since departing the club he kept in the Championship against the odds in the 2012/2013 season.

Flitcroft also guided the South Yorkshire club to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in his debut season as a manager.

The Shakers boss was subsequently sacked by Barnsley in November, 2013 after a poor start to the campaign

He pitched up at Gigg Lane just 10 days later, appointed as successor to Kevin Blackwell after a string of bad results left Bury hovering perilously above the relegation zone.

Bury’s longest away day of the season will be a trip to Kent to take on Gillingham – a round-trip of 502 miles to the Priestfield Stadium.

In contrast, their shortest trip is the six-mile journey to Spotland.

And with the 24 teams League One teams for next season confirmed – it is now a case of waiting for the fixtures to be released on June 17 before travel plans can be finalised.