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Saturday 28th March and an opportunity for an afternoon out on a sunny but blustery day. Scottish Borders Council since the beginning of the month have been running a new route the 34A between Kelso and Coldstream on three days a week funded by Northumberland BSIP money.
I boarded the Council’s Mercedes EVM bodied 16 seat minibus at Woodmarket for the 1245 to Wooler with four others all concession holders. We set off on time heading along the south side of the Tweed through Sprouston crossing into England serving Carham and Wark before doing a double run from Cornhill back into Scotland to the west end of Coldstream turning at the Health Centre. One further passenger joined us at the Besom stop and off we set passing through Cornhill and shortly after turning along the lanes via Branxton. It was then back onto the main Morpeth road at Pallinsburn then after a mile turning right via Flodden and Howtel with the Cheviots getting ever closer. Crossing the former Cornhill to Alnwick railway we turned left and after a rather thrilling ride over the road humps were soon treated to the wonderful view over the valley towards Yeavering before passing through Kirknewton and past the ancient capital of Northumbria at Ad Gefrin . It was then back onto the main road and into Wooler where at 1350 there was an impressive line up of five buses from four different operators, namely Glen Valley (2), Borders Buses, Arriva with an e400 and the Council minibus.
My next ride was at 1405 aboard a Borders Buses Mercedes MCV Evora working the 464 to Berwick. Not having sampled this combination before, I was disappointed in the rather cramped seating arrangement. We set off with some 13 passengers on board at speed crossing desolate countryside before dropping off a family of three in Lowick then reversing just beyond the village and picking up a lad waiting at an unmarked stop in the middle of roadworks where I thought the bus would have normally turned. Next we visited the village of Bowsden traversing the full length of the village necessitating another reversal into a lane before rejoining the main road and onward through Scremerston into a busy Berwick.
Thankfully my next bus on the 67 working the 1512 Berwick Railway Station to Galashiels was one of the ex Perrymans Optare Versas with plenty of leg room and a decent cushion. Now coming up to 13 years old some of this batch of 12 are beginning to show their age. We left Berwick with 14 on board dropping one at East Ord then diving down the lanes via Horncliffe where much to my surprise we were joined by a group of eight who had been out for a walk and were returning to Norham. It was soon back to Cornhill, over the Tweed and into Scotland setting down four and picking up one in Coldstream. We now followed the road along the north bank of the Tweed through Birgham allowing a final view of The Cheviot with snow still visible in its gullies before arriving back at Kelso.
All in all an enjoyable circuit. The 34A is certainly an experience and one that should be promoted opening up opportunities for walkers in what is a beautiful remote corner of England. Spending an hour on the back seat of a minibus to give me the opportunity to spread my legs is something I can pass on though.
Both English and Scottish concessionary passes are valid on the 34A for the full journey. I also assume that the Northumberland £2.50 maximum single fare is charged.
Here’s a trip report from my recent trip up to Central Scotland and two days of bus exploring on Midland Bluebird. I’ve split this post into two parts. I had two and a half days based in Stirling and mostly I was up there for sightseeing, but I was travelling everywhere by public transport so that involved spending rather a long time on buses!
Part One
I arrived in Stirling around midday, having come up from Glasgow on the train on the Croy Line. Having had a gloriously sunny ride with views towards the Campsie Fells all the way up, when I actually got into Stirling the clouds were suddenly looking pretty ominous and by the time I reached the bus station it was already spotting with rain. My plan was to head to Doune, to visit Doune Castle. Stirling Bus Station is a cramped, functional-feeling little place. It’s a set of saw-tooth bus stands (or stances) that is in between the Thistles shopping centre multi-storey car park and the bypass road down in a cutting behind. The stances face straight onto the pavement, meaning that when you’re queuing there’s lots of pedestrians just trying to squeeze past and walk towards the shopping centre. However, the area does at least have a roof, so it keeps the worst of the weather out. The buses there were in a mixture of liveries – mostly Midland Bluebird but also the McGills standard livery and even a couple of Wrightbus vehicles in the dark green Xplore Dundee colours. I waited for the 59 towards Callander. Meanwhile the bus station became extremely crowded when some school groups turned up, waiting for one of the school coaches that pulled up at one of the other stances. People were struggling to push past the crowds to reach their stops, or just walk down the road, and those of us waiting at the stops were squeezing into tight corners to let other people get past – it didn’t feel like the bus station was built to cope with this level of people.
Stirling bus station
Anyway, the 59 showed up. It was an old Enviro 200, which was in the Midland Bluebird livery but inside was still in First colours (pink stanchions, grey seats etc) and felt definitely on the old side. I wasn’t sure what was the best ticket option to get to Doune so I just asked for a return. The ticket I got issued was actually the all-zones DaySaver – the most expensive day ticket that covers the whole Midland Bluebird network, but when I looked on the website it seemed that this was in fact the only ticket that would cover out to Doune.
The route out of Stirling takes you through an area called Raploch, which is all 20mph, so it felt like it took a long time to get out of Stirling. Once beyond Raploch, however, the bus headed out into the lovely Scottish countryside, with the hills around shrouded in mist but the rain holding off (for now). The bus did a loop round Deanston, passing the distillery, and then stopped in the centre of Doune, where I got off.
Doune Castle is only a short walk from the village centre, down a grassy hill past the site of a Roman camp. It’s a good castle, with a decent amount of stuff to see indoors, and is also (according to the audioguide, and I didn’t know this) where they filmed the Camelot Song in Monty Python’s Holy Grail! Anyway, I headed back up into Doune and looked into the Tourist Info Centre in hope of finding a bus timetable. They had the McGills Stirling area timetable booklet, which was actually a pretty good booklet, with maps and timetables for all the Stirling local routes. Then, at the bus stop, I found a huge queue building up – probably about 60 people. I was a bit worried what would happen when the bus showed up – you weren’t going to get all these people onto an Enviro 200! – but five minutes before it was due a ‘Scotland Tours Italy’ coach decorated with a massive grinning Loch Ness Monster in tartan pulled up and they all got on that. I was the only passenger boarding the 59 when it showed up a few minutes later.
This bus was an Enviro 400. Curiously, it had the vaguely-claustrophobic single seat behind the driver and under the stairs with the tiny window. They always used to have these on the Metroline ones they used on the 82 between Finchley and Victoria in the early 2010s but I’ve never seen this anywhere since. Was this a London bus thing? If so, was this bus an ex-London one? It was in good condition inside and I got the front top-deck seat for the ride back to Stirling.
Arriving back in Stirling bus station
I’d been considering trying to get the X10A out to Aberfoyle and see a bit of the Trossachs National park (maybe get the X10 back from Balfron or the X36 from Glasgow), but I reckoned it would be a single-decker so the views wouldn’t be as good and the round trip would be pushing 4 hours, plus the weather was improving so instead I decided to make a dash for the Wallace Monument, figuring the 52 would get me there 20 minutes before the last admission time.
The 52 wasn’t tracking on Bustimes and didn’t appear on time. It arrived 10 minutes late but the driver had a very quick turnaround so we got off pretty quickly. This bus was a Streetlite, again with a First interior, but was smart enough inside and better than the Enviro 200 on the 59. Traffic up the Causewayhead Rd was pretty slow – it was clearly the start of rush-hour – but it freed up once we started climbing up Logie Rd. The bus stop for the Wallace Monument is just beyond a very sharp hairpin bend, and although I rang the bell the bus didn’t stop and sped on to the next one, outside the back entrance to the Uni of Stirling. As I walked back, I saw there wasn’t actually a stop marked on the road outside the monument car park. It makes sense, as having a bus stop on a bend on a blind summit is probably not safe, but could McGills remove the stop from their maps please? Especially given it’s outside a tourist attraction which the timetable booklet actively advertises that you can reach by bus.
It was lovely sunshine when I started up the path to the monument, and torrential rain by the time I reached the top, but the monument was still open (the top deck was closed due to high winds) so I was able to visit and then when the sun came out again I went for a walk through the parkland with lovely views over to the Ochil Hills.
Wallace Monument from the bus stop
I got back down to the bus stop and checked the timetable, planning to take the 52 to Alloa via Tillicoultry and see the Ochil Hills closer-up. The Midland Bluebird website showed the 52 was running over 15 minutes late, and then after 15 minutes the bus just vanished from the tracker, so I gave up and decided to head back to Stirling. Going back the other way, the 52 was running very late again, in fact the 52 was clearly just in trouble that evening as none of the buses that were tracking were actually identifiable with anything on the timetable. Eventually an Enviro 200 showed up, extremely packed, and took me back into Stirling.
So that was day one. I’d not got as far as I’d hoped, but I’d still been on some interesting journeys, especially the trip out to Doune. On day two, I’d be heading south…
Here’s a trip report from my recent trip up to Central Scotland and two days of bus exploring on Midland Bluebird. I’ve split this post into two parts. I had two and a half days based in Stirling and mostly I was up there for sightseeing, but I was travelling everywhere by public transport so that involved spending rather a long time on buses!
Part One
I arrived in Stirling around midday, having come up from Glasgow on the train on the Croy Line. Having had a gloriously sunny ride with views towards the Campsie Fells all the way up, when I actually got into Stirling the clouds were suddenly looking pretty ominous and by the time I reached the bus station it was already spotting with rain. My plan was to head to Doune, to visit Doune Castle. Stirling Bus Station is a cramped, functional-feeling little place. It’s a set of saw-tooth bus stands (or stances) that is in between the Thistles shopping centre multi-storey car park and the bypass road down in a cutting behind. The stances face straight onto the pavement, meaning that when you’re queuing there’s lots of pedestrians just trying to squeeze past and walk towards the shopping centre. However, the area does at least have a roof, so it keeps the worst of the weather out. The buses there were in a mixture of liveries – mostly Midland Bluebird but also the McGills standard livery and even a couple of Wrightbus vehicles in the dark green Xplore Dundee colours. I waited for the 59 towards Callander. Meanwhile the bus station became extremely crowded when some school groups turned up, waiting for one of the school coaches that pulled up at one of the other stances. People were struggling to push past the crowds to reach their stops, or just walk down the road, and those of us waiting at the stops were squeezing into tight corners to let other people get past – it didn’t feel like the bus station was built to cope with this level of people. View attachment 202021
Stirling bus station
Anyway, the 59 showed up. It was an old Enviro 200, which was in the Midland Bluebird livery but inside was still in First colours (pink stanchions, grey seats etc) and felt definitely on the old side. I wasn’t sure what was the best ticket option to get to Doune so I just asked for a return. The ticket I got issued was actually the all-zones DaySaver – the most expensive day ticket that covers the whole Midland Bluebird network, but when I looked on the website it seemed that this was in fact the only ticket that would cover out to Doune.
The route out of Stirling takes you through an area called Raploch, which is all 20mph, so it felt like it took a long time to get out of Stirling. Once beyond Raploch, however, the bus headed out into the lovely Scottish countryside, with the hills around shrouded in mist but the rain holding off (for now). The bus did a loop round Deanston, passing the distillery, and then stopped in the centre of Doune, where I got off.
Doune Castle is only a short walk from the village centre, down a grassy hill past the site of a Roman camp. It’s a good castle, with a decent amount of stuff to see indoors, and is also (according to the audioguide, and I didn’t know this) where they filmed the Camelot Song in Monty Python’s Holy Grail! Anyway, I headed back up into Doune and looked into the Tourist Info Centre in hope of finding a bus timetable. They had the McGills Stirling area timetable booklet, which was actually a pretty good booklet, with maps and timetables for all the Stirling local routes. Then, at the bus stop, I found a huge queue building up – probably about 60 people. I was a bit worried what would happen when the bus showed up – you weren’t going to get all these people onto an Enviro 200! – but five minutes before it was due a ‘Scotland Tours Italy’ coach decorated with a massive grinning Loch Ness Monster in tartan pulled up and they all got on that. I was the only passenger boarding the 59 when it showed up a few minutes later.
This bus was an Enviro 400. Curiously, it had the vaguely-claustrophobic single seat behind the driver and under the stairs with the tiny window. They always used to have these on the Metroline ones they used on the 82 between Finchley and Victoria in the early 2010s but I’ve never seen this anywhere since. Was this a London bus thing? If so, was this bus an ex-London one? It was in good condition inside and I got the front top-deck seat for the ride back to Stirling. View attachment 202022
Arriving back in Stirling bus station
I’d been considering trying to get the X10A out to Aberfoyle and see a bit of the Trossachs National park (maybe get the X10 back from Balfron or the X36 from Glasgow), but I reckoned it would be a single-decker so the views wouldn’t be as good and the round trip would be pushing 4 hours, plus the weather was improving so instead I decided to make a dash for the Wallace Monument, figuring the 52 would get me there 20 minutes before the last admission time.
The 52 wasn’t tracking on Bustimes and didn’t appear on time. It arrived 10 minutes late but the driver had a very quick turnaround so we got off pretty quickly. This bus was a Streetlite, again with a First interior, but was smart enough inside and better than the Enviro 200 on the 59. Traffic up the Causewayhead Rd was pretty slow – it was clearly the start of rush-hour – but it freed up once we started climbing up Logie Rd. The bus stop for the Wallace Monument is just beyond a very sharp hairpin bend, and although I rang the bell the bus didn’t stop and sped on to the next one, outside the back entrance to the Uni of Stirling. As I walked back, I saw there wasn’t actually a stop marked on the road outside the monument car park. It makes sense, as having a bus stop on a bend on a blind summit is probably not safe, but could McGills remove the stop from their maps please? Especially given it’s outside a tourist attraction which the timetable booklet actively advertises that you can reach by bus.
It was lovely sunshine when I started up the path to the monument, and torrential rain by the time I reached the top, but the monument was still open (the top deck was closed due to high winds) so I was able to visit and then when the sun came out again I went for a walk through the parkland with lovely views over to the Ochil Hills. View attachment 202023
Wallace Monument from the bus stop
I got back down to the bus stop and checked the timetable, planning to take the 52 to Alloa via Tillicoultry and see the Ochil Hills closer-up. The Midland Bluebird website showed the 52 was running over 15 minutes late, and then after 15 minutes the bus just vanished from the tracker, so I gave up and decided to head back to Stirling. Going back the other way, the 52 was running very late again, in fact the 52 was clearly just in trouble that evening as none of the buses that were tracking were actually identifiable with anything on the timetable. Eventually an Enviro 200 showed up, extremely packed, and took me back into Stirling.
So that was day one. I’d not got as far as I’d hoped, but I’d still been on some interesting journeys, especially the trip out to Doune. On day two, I’d be heading south…
Oooh... looks interesting and will wait for Day Two with anticipation.
I don't often get the chance to head to Scotland so really enjoyed reading about this. Oddly, I did do the Stirling - Balfron on a single decker and the views were lovely. That said, it was better when I headed to Glasgow on the 10 on an Olympian - yes, that dates things!! And I remember the bus station in similar terms - not a very nice place to wait.
Here’s the second half of my trip out on Midland Bluebird buses in Stirling and Falkirk. On my second day in the area, I was booked to take a boat tour of the Falkirk Wheel that morning so I arrived at Stirling bus station around 8am to get the 38 towards Falkirk. At 8am on a Saturday the place was near deserted, and my 38 showed up on time. I was assuming I’d need the all-zones ticket again but when I asked if it would get me to Bo’ness the driver said I only needed a Forth Valley Explorer instead – which was cheaper so I was very grateful that he pointed that out!
The 38 is operated by electric Yutongs. I’ve never been on any Yutong vehicles before and I have to say I was impressed. The ride was lovely and smooth, silent as the bus was electric, and the seats were comfy. These buses have the full Midland Bluebird colour-scheme inside, next-stop announcements and even tell you the onboard air temperature – altogether it felt like a much more impressive bus travel experience than all the ex-First stuff I’d been on yesterday.
I alighted at Camelon, just after we’d passed the Larbert depot which I’d seen filled with lots more Yutongs, and ran across the road to catch the approaching 1 towards Dunipace. This was another Yutong, although it didn’t have next-stop announcements. We passed the Alexander Dennis factory although it felt slightly depressing to go riding past AD not on an AD bus, especially given the difficulties the company is in at the moment. The yard was full of new buses in the Merseytravel Metro livery. I alighted at the Wheel Approach roundabout and went to see the wheel.
The Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is a stupendous piece of engineering and well worth a visit – the best way to see it is to actually travel through it on one of the regular boat tours. Afterwards I walked along the canal a bit and came down to the main road somewhere near the AD factory. My next destination was Bo’ness and I picked up a 1 to Falkirk, another Yutong, before changing there for a 2 to Bo’ness on yet another Yutong. Falkirk town centre felt like a busy, compact little place, although I didn’t see too much of it. We headed out towards Grangemouth. Somewhere around the motorway roundabout a couple of tourists got off, asking the driver how to find the Kelpies. This was probably the closest stop and he gave them directions about following this track then that track, the walking across that field etc… I wondered if they managed to find them and get there before the next batch of rain came over.
Waiting for the bus opposite Alexander Dennis - lots of E400s bound for Merseyside
Grangemouth is dominated by its massive refinery, which seems to go on for miles. It’s bisected by the road to Bo’ness, so the bus took us right through the middle of it – probably a good ten minutes of driving past nothing but pipes and tanks. Eventually we reached Bo’ness, which is built on a steep hill sloping down to the Forth. The bus loops around the estates at the top of the hill before coming down, with stunning views out over the Firth of Forth towards Fife on the other bank.
The riverside at Bo'ness
I alighted in the centre and spent a wonderful afternoon at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway and the Museum of Scottish Railways – both of which are highly worth a visit. When I’d finished, it was back on the 2 to Falkirk, on another Yutong. It was now gone 4pm so there’d be no point trying to head to any other tourist attractions, so I decided rather than go straight back to Stirling I’d take the bus over the Clackmannanshire Bridge as that would be a more interesting route back. I stayed on the 2 beyond Falkirk as it took a round-the-houses route north of the town. It went through Carronshore, Stenhousemuir and Larbert, which all felt like they were extended suburbs of the Falkirk area, to finish at the Forth Valley Hospital.
View over the Forth from the bus out of Bo'ness
I alighted just short of the hospital with a ten-minute wait until the H1. The bus that showed up was an old Wright Eclipse 2. Coming from an area where every bus is either an AD product or an Optare Solo, it’s always a novelty to travel on a Wrightbus vehicle. This one was in the McGills livery and inside it was in good state but definitely not Midland Bluebird colours. The interior colours of turquoise and cream, with blue seats, made me think it could be ex-Arriva, but it could have been from anywhere to be honest. We headed onto the motorway, travelling non-stop to the Clackmannanshire Bridge. The bridge is next to the Kincardineshire Bridge, which is the older of the two, but is much longer as it crosses the river diagonally to end up much further north on the other bank. The views up and down the river were lovely, as was the ride through rural Clackmannanshire. We passed through Clackmannan, which is not very large at all, then Alloa. The H1/H2/H3 are a trio of routes which run roughly hourly between Larbert and Alloa, but then head off on slightly different routes after that. I stayed on the H1 as we headed through Tullibody and towards the looming Ochil Hills. Besides me, the only people on the bus were a very raucous group at the back who were shouting a lot and then started very noisily voicing their concerns that the bus wasn’t going to take then to Alva after all (the H1 does go to Alva but takes a different route to the much more frequent 52). We arrived in Alva, at the foot of the hills, around 6.30. The light was failing but I had just a few minutes to wait before the 52 appeared, and this time it was a double-decker Enviro 400. So my final ride of this trip was a really atmospheric journey on the top-deck of the 52 as we sped along past the Ochil Hills, back past the Wallace Monument and arrived into Stirling just as the sun was setting.
Alva - waiting for the 52 back to Stirling
My main impressions? The countryside around Stirling is lovely and there’s some great journeys to be had. Midland Bluebird felt like a fairly middle-of-the-road operator. Their timetables and website certainly make it easier to find information than with the big national operators, most services ran to time and the buses were smart and tidy. The Falkirk area definitely feels like the better half of the operation in terms of fleet – most of the frequent town routes use modern Yutongs (I also saw a few MMCs) – whereas the Stirling area has a mix of old buses and cast-offs from elsewhere that are still very obviously ex-First. It’s also good that a lot of the visitor attractions in the rural area can easily be reached by bus (e.g. Doune Castle, the Wallace Monument… Castle Campbell, Alloa Tower and Inchmahome Priory were all closed so not on my itinerary this time but they could also be reached by bus as well). Definitely an area to come back and visit again some day and explore some more by bus!
Arriving back in Stirling
Yes, Stirling bus station is rather cramped from a passengers perspective.
The E400 would probably be one of the YX62xxx examples that are indeed ex-London. They can be found at the very bottom of this fleet list. https://www.mcgillsscotlandeast.co.uk/fleet-list
There’s only one E200 with First interior, which also has seatbelts fitted. However, I suspect you might have been on one of the trio of slightly longer E300’s which are all ex First. (8489, 8491, 8496 on the fleet list).
The 52 (and linked 51) have been suffering recently due to a sinkhole at one of the key roundabouts in Alloa!
It is a lovely part of the country, and often overlooked due to its relative proximity to Edinburgh and Glasgow, so good to read about your travels.
Ah okay thanks, yes it was probably one of the E300s then - it's not always easy to tell an E200 and E300 apart when it pulls up in a crowded bus station! I wondered what was going wrong in Alloa as there were notices up about disruption, so that explains it then.
At last I was able to combine a sunny day with a free day and get a first trip on the board for 2026. Tuesday saw me drive to the attractive Cotswold market town of Moreton-in-Marsh for about 8.00 for a coffee and wander around. This is a very pretty town with honey-coloured stone buildings but badly compromised by the heavy traffic as the busy A429 and A44 cross in the centre of the town. I mention that it is a market town and Tuesday was market day with traders busy setting up their stalls in the market place. Even this early, in school holidays, there was some traffic build up and this was relevant to a decision I would have to make later.
My first journey was on the Pulhams 801 to Chipping Norton. My bus was a new Volvo B8RLE, other buses on the route being the same and Mercedes Citaros, although double deckers do sometimes appear. This route has run between Moreton-in-Marsh and Cheltenham, through Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water for many years, once hourly, then every 90 minutes or so, but following an injection of BSIP funds it has been increased to a solid hourly frequency and extended to Chipping Norton across the border in Oxfordshire. To me this seemed like a solution to a non-existent problem as I cannot see this as a busy traffic flow in this affluent area. Although BusTimes showed a couple of stops in the town centre, the only physical one that I could actually find was at the station. The bus arrived on time with about 8 people alighting, but this was exactly as the London train was pulling out. I was surprised by this but I can see that at other times the buses do connect with trains and maybe the timing of this journey is normally dictated by school times. One of the best things the 801 generally does is to connect Stow and Bourton to the train at Moreton with sensible – ie not too tight - connection times. The arriving passengers dispersed into the town and I was the only passenger as we left the town centre. Another passenger joined on the edge of town and a couple of others along the route as we headed east down the A44 through pleasant scenery to Chipping Norton.
Chipping Norton is an attractive, busy and trendy town and I had 25 minutes to wander around a little before moving on. My next leg was on the Stagecoach Midlands 50 towards Stratford. My bus for this was an 08-plate Scania E400, this is now a good age at 18 years old but there is still a batch of these with Stagecoach Midlands which see regular service. It didn’t show its age with a spirited performance and no unusual rattles. Still attractive Cotswold scenery heading north out of Chipping Norton although this changes to Warwickshire style and colour of buildings over the border. I had a decision to make in Shipston on Stour. I could leave here, spend 14 minutes in this small town and head back to Moreton-in-Marsh on the Stagecoach 51 with a 5 minute connection there onto the next leg. Researching BusTimes in advance this connection usually worked but there were three reasons why I was concerned. One, the bus left Stratford about 7 minutes late. Two, as we approached Shipston on Stour it was clear that there were roadworks in the town causing delays in all directions – and also reducing the attraction of a stroll round the town. Finally, it was market day in Moreton-in-Marsh and the traffic coming into the town from the north could hold up the incoming bus. I decided not to risk this – in the event the bus made up its initial lateness but got diverted in Shipston on Stour making it late and then it was held up in traffic arriving at Moreton-in-Marsh, arriving 15 minutes late and missing the connection – so a good call.
This meant I stayed on the 50 to Stratford, always a pleasant place to visit. The 50 was clearly a popular bus taking people shopping in Stratford after the long Easter weekend and we had a good load and the trip brought back happy memories of often doing the full Birmingham to Oxford evening journey on the X50, usually on a VR, some 50 years ago. I had about half an hour to wander around Stratford, choosing the area near the river, canal and Shakespeare theatre, very busy with visitors in the sunshine. My next leg was on the Stagecoach Midlands 2 heading back towards Moreton in Marsh. This was a standard 63-plate E200, which was tracking as on the journey but not showing its location, which seems to have been a problem with this bus for a while. We went out of Stratford initially through the slightly flatter and less attractive countryside around the Long Marston area. There has been a great deal of housebuilding in this area with several new developments but I’m not sure that there are adequate road connections or social infrastructure here. We went into one recent development at Meon Vale before a loop to serve the village of Upper Quinton. A reasonable number of passengers on this journey, mostly returning home from Stratford, some quite a long way.
Then it was back into the Cotswolds and attractive scenery. First the quiet village of Mickleton and then Chipping Campden. If I had made it back to Moreton-in-Marsh then I would have taken a Stagecoach Midlands 2 from there instead to Chipping Campden before then heading south on this bus. A lucky escape – Chipping Campden is attractive but it was packed with parked cars and day trippers swarming all over the village in the sunshine. Frankly I was pleased not to have had time here as it would not have been pleasant. Our bus passing through caused chaos, not helped by cars having parked at the bus stop. I stayed on this bus to the next large village of Blockley and alighted here. What a contrast! Hardly a soul around, every bit as attractive with a long street which leads nowhere and few cars, but beautiful honey-coloured buildings. I had about 40 minutes lovely stroll around this great village.
My next bus was also my last bus, the 2 I had left at Blockley to continue to Moreton-in-Marsh then returned as a 1 back to Stratford but via Broadway, which was my next destination. This was not a long journey but did give views over to the Malvern Hills before we descended into Broadway. Broadway was also pretty heaving with people but there is more space and the parked cars are generally kept out of the way, with very limited parking in the main street and around the green. Another attractive town packed with middle class cafés and shops for things you never knew you needed for the day tripper, but not much for locals who probably have to shop elsewhere for anything but top-of-the-range kitchenware and knick-knacks.
From Broadway I was taking the Cresswell R4 to Evesham. This was like the old days of trips, just waiting for the bus and hoping it would turn up, as Cresswell’s vehicles do not track on BusTimes. I was getting concerned until the bus came through on its outward journey to Willersey about 10 minutes late, it returned later about the same. It was a very smartly presented 59-plate Optare Versa with comfortable seats and did not look anything like 16 years old. Not many passengers on this leg as it was returning from bringing shoppers home from Evesham, and not as attractive a route, mainly along the A44. I only had 10 minutes planned at Evesham and we were running 10 minutes late, but the R4 turns to go alongside the river in the town and then heads back in along Abbey Road, while the First X50 goes the other way round the circuit so I could alight in Abbey Road and cross the road for the outward X50 towards Worcester.
I don’t think I have been on a First bus for over a year and I fancied just nipping to Pershore and back before returning home. The X50 now runs every 30 minutes, a better frequency than it ever used to, and interworks on a complex schedule with the 44 and 144 using a mixture of double and single deckers. It is good to see so many double deckers on the 44 and the 144 from Worcester on the road to Birmingham, these had left the route before I first started visiting the area and the route was a very early conversion to the Leyland National. Many years ago there were variations on the X50 (then just called 50 I think) which visited various villages around and across the river between Evesham and Pershore. There used to be an advertised ‘flood timetable’ for when the river made some roads impassible, sadly these variations have long gone and the bus sticks to the main road. My bus was an E400 double decker which was clean and well presented with a few passengers, but the first bus we passed was an E200. After a short stroll around Pershore I returned on the next journey, which was an E300 single decker. The bus was formerly with First in South Wales, originally on Traws Cymru work. It was filthy and didn’t look like it had been washed for days and over every bump it sounded like there was a bag of spanners under the bus which didn’t sound good. Views from the bus were very limited – just as well I had seen it all on the way out!
That was it on the buses for me. I alighted down by the river and strolled up through the town and then to the station to take a Great Western class 802 train back to Moreton-in-Marsh. The last remains of the market were now being cleared away and there was less traffic and fewer people.
Thoughts on the operators? Pulhams, smart and reliable. Stagecoach, perfectly OK but not as smart or progressive as under previous ownership. Buses are being replaced by cascades from new electric vehicles mainly but there is now quite a lot if old stuff, although seemingly well looked after. Cresswell presented an immaculate, if old, bus. First – in Worcestershire at least – seen better days. Passengers around on all the buses, the age of bus travel is not dead, but I’m not convinced about the economies of some of the routes. Maybe there are more passengers in school terms, for example to the agricultural college in Pershore. For me an enjoyable day out in the sunshine and unseasonable warmth.
Great to see some others out and about too. I will respond on a couple of these shortly!
Some photos from my day:
Moreton-in-Marsh. A Morris Minor in front of an antique shop. Rather twee!
Thanks @Galactic142 - I still haven't been to the Falkirk wheel... It hadn't been built when I was last in the town, so that indicates how long it's been since I was there!! Some lovely other photos of Bo'ness and the area around Stirlingshire. Lord knows when I'll ever get there so really great that you shared these images and observations.
As for @RELL6L - well, I used to live in that area so I know many of the places that you visited and illustrated. I'd often cycle in the evening around there and Blockley is one of my favourite villages. I haven't experienced Cresswells but as for the other operators... well, you sum them up pretty accurately. Pulhams are good, First (Worcester) are bereft of any direction (a disinterested council and a disinterested operator) and Stagecoach are fast becoming a cause for concern. I was up there in Feb 2025 and did the Stratford - Moreton - Shipston - Stratford triangle - as you say, lots of housebuilding but we didn't have many for Meon Park IIRC.
It's been a long time since I did that trip over to Ludlow by bus - probably c.30 years on a Lynx. The trip through Wyre Forest and Cleobury Mortimer and then Clee Hill is absolutely gorgeous, and Ludlow is a cracking town to visit. I was there just a few weeks ago - a small diversion whilst driving down the A49 - and it is just beautiful.
IIRC, the 192 (as was) was hourly from Birmingham to Ludlow with two hourly projections to Hereford. However, it just got chopped back more and more before it was reduced to a two hourly tendered Kiddy to Ludlow route. Sadly, I wouldn't expect any commercial initiative from Diamond.
This is a great journey - I did it early morning in 2022. Not, sadly, on a Lynx.
My recollection is that this was the X92, express Birmingham to Kidderminster then on to Ludlow and Hereford. I thought it was all hourly but may be wrong. I think the 192 was the local stopping service to Kidderminster, I vaguealy recall deckers on this. The 292 was local journeys on part of the X92 which didn't go to Birmingham, eg early and late.
The 292 is now every 75 minutes - not sure if this is commercial or just an improved tender.
Saturday 28th March and an opportunity for an afternoon out on a sunny but blustery day. Scottish Borders Council since the beginning of the month have been running a new route the 34A between Kelso and Coldstream on three days a week funded by Northumberland BSIP money.
I boarded the Council’s Mercedes EVM bodied 16 seat minibus at Woodmarket for the 1245 to Wooler with four others all concession holders. We set off on time heading along the south side of the Tweed through Sprouston crossing into England serving Carham and Wark before doing a double run from Cornhill back into Scotland to the west end of Coldstream turning at the Health Centre. One further passenger joined us at the Besom stop and off we set passing through Cornhill and shortly after turning along the lanes via Branxton. It was then back onto the main Morpeth road at Pallinsburn then after a mile turning right via Flodden and Howtel with the Cheviots getting ever closer. Crossing the former Cornhill to Alnwick railway we turned left and after a rather thrilling ride over the road humps were soon treated to the wonderful view over the valley towards Yeavering before passing through Kirknewton and past the ancient capital of Northumbria at Ad Gefrin . It was then back onto the main road and into Wooler where at 1350 there was an impressive line up of five buses from four different operators, namely Glen Valley (2), Borders Buses, Arriva with an e400 and the Council minibus.
My next ride was at 1405 aboard a Borders Buses Mercedes MCV Evora working the 464 to Berwick. Not having sampled this combination before, I was disappointed in the rather cramped seating arrangement. We set off with some 13 passengers on board at speed crossing desolate countryside before dropping off a family of three in Lowick then reversing just beyond the village and picking up a lad waiting at an unmarked stop in the middle of roadworks where I thought the bus would have normally turned. Next we visited the village of Bowsden traversing the full length of the village necessitating another reversal into a lane before rejoining the main road and onward through Scremerston into a busy Berwick.
Thankfully my next bus on the 67 working the 1512 Berwick Railway Station to Galashiels was one of the ex Perrymans Optare Versas with plenty of leg room and a decent cushion. Now coming up to 13 years old some of this batch of 12 are beginning to show their age. We left Berwick with 14 on board dropping one at East Ord then diving down the lanes via Horncliffe where much to my surprise we were joined by a group of eight who had been out for a walk and were returning to Norham. It was soon back to Cornhill, over the Tweed and into Scotland setting down four and picking up one in Coldstream. We now followed the road along the north bank of the Tweed through Birgham allowing a final view of The Cheviot with snow still visible in its gullies before arriving back at Kelso.
All in all an enjoyable circuit. The 34A is certainly an experience and one that should be promoted opening up opportunities for walkers in what is a beautiful remote corner of England. Spending an hour on the back seat of a minibus to give me the opportunity to spread my legs is something I can pass on though.
Both English and Scottish concessionary passes are valid on the 34A for the full journey. I also assume that the Northumberland £2.50 maximum single fare is charged.
That sounds a great short trip in an area I'd like to explore more. I have only done the 60 through from Berwick to Melrose via Eyemouth and Duns, and also visited Wooler going Alnwick > Wooler > Berwick, I thought the Wooler to Berwick part was scenic through Ford and Etal but this was a different route (the 267).
Here’s a trip report from my recent trip up to Central Scotland and two days of bus exploring on Midland Bluebird. I’ve split this post into two parts. I had two and a half days based in Stirling and mostly I was up there for sightseeing, but I was travelling everywhere by public transport so that involved spending rather a long time on buses!
Part One
I arrived in Stirling around midday, having come up from Glasgow on the train on the Croy Line. Having had a gloriously sunny ride with views towards the Campsie Fells all the way up, when I actually got into Stirling the clouds were suddenly looking pretty ominous and by the time I reached the bus station it was already spotting with rain. My plan was to head to Doune, to visit Doune Castle. Stirling Bus Station is a cramped, functional-feeling little place. It’s a set of saw-tooth bus stands (or stances) that is in between the Thistles shopping centre multi-storey car park and the bypass road down in a cutting behind. The stances face straight onto the pavement, meaning that when you’re queuing there’s lots of pedestrians just trying to squeeze past and walk towards the shopping centre. However, the area does at least have a roof, so it keeps the worst of the weather out. The buses there were in a mixture of liveries – mostly Midland Bluebird but also the McGills standard livery and even a couple of Wrightbus vehicles in the dark green Xplore Dundee colours. I waited for the 59 towards Callander. Meanwhile the bus station became extremely crowded when some school groups turned up, waiting for one of the school coaches that pulled up at one of the other stances. People were struggling to push past the crowds to reach their stops, or just walk down the road, and those of us waiting at the stops were squeezing into tight corners to let other people get past – it didn’t feel like the bus station was built to cope with this level of people.
Stirling bus station
Anyway, the 59 showed up. It was an old Enviro 200, which was in the Midland Bluebird livery but inside was still in First colours (pink stanchions, grey seats etc) and felt definitely on the old side. I wasn’t sure what was the best ticket option to get to Doune so I just asked for a return. The ticket I got issued was actually the all-zones DaySaver – the most expensive day ticket that covers the whole Midland Bluebird network, but when I looked on the website it seemed that this was in fact the only ticket that would cover out to Doune.
The route out of Stirling takes you through an area called Raploch, which is all 20mph, so it felt like it took a long time to get out of Stirling. Once beyond Raploch, however, the bus headed out into the lovely Scottish countryside, with the hills around shrouded in mist but the rain holding off (for now). The bus did a loop round Deanston, passing the distillery, and then stopped in the centre of Doune, where I got off.
Doune Castle is only a short walk from the village centre, down a grassy hill past the site of a Roman camp. It’s a good castle, with a decent amount of stuff to see indoors, and is also (according to the audioguide, and I didn’t know this) where they filmed the Camelot Song in Monty Python’s Holy Grail! Anyway, I headed back up into Doune and looked into the Tourist Info Centre in hope of finding a bus timetable. They had the McGills Stirling area timetable booklet, which was actually a pretty good booklet, with maps and timetables for all the Stirling local routes. Then, at the bus stop, I found a huge queue building up – probably about 60 people. I was a bit worried what would happen when the bus showed up – you weren’t going to get all these people onto an Enviro 200! – but five minutes before it was due a ‘Scotland Tours Italy’ coach decorated with a massive grinning Loch Ness Monster in tartan pulled up and they all got on that. I was the only passenger boarding the 59 when it showed up a few minutes later.
This bus was an Enviro 400. Curiously, it had the vaguely-claustrophobic single seat behind the driver and under the stairs with the tiny window. They always used to have these on the Metroline ones they used on the 82 between Finchley and Victoria in the early 2010s but I’ve never seen this anywhere since. Was this a London bus thing? If so, was this bus an ex-London one? It was in good condition inside and I got the front top-deck seat for the ride back to Stirling.
Arriving back in Stirling bus station
I’d been considering trying to get the X10A out to Aberfoyle and see a bit of the Trossachs National park (maybe get the X10 back from Balfron or the X36 from Glasgow), but I reckoned it would be a single-decker so the views wouldn’t be as good and the round trip would be pushing 4 hours, plus the weather was improving so instead I decided to make a dash for the Wallace Monument, figuring the 52 would get me there 20 minutes before the last admission time.
The 52 wasn’t tracking on Bustimes and didn’t appear on time. It arrived 10 minutes late but the driver had a very quick turnaround so we got off pretty quickly. This bus was a Streetlite, again with a First interior, but was smart enough inside and better than the Enviro 200 on the 59. Traffic up the Causewayhead Rd was pretty slow – it was clearly the start of rush-hour – but it freed up once we started climbing up Logie Rd. The bus stop for the Wallace Monument is just beyond a very sharp hairpin bend, and although I rang the bell the bus didn’t stop and sped on to the next one, outside the back entrance to the Uni of Stirling. As I walked back, I saw there wasn’t actually a stop marked on the road outside the monument car park. It makes sense, as having a bus stop on a bend on a blind summit is probably not safe, but could McGills remove the stop from their maps please? Especially given it’s outside a tourist attraction which the timetable booklet actively advertises that you can reach by bus.
It was lovely sunshine when I started up the path to the monument, and torrential rain by the time I reached the top, but the monument was still open (the top deck was closed due to high winds) so I was able to visit and then when the sun came out again I went for a walk through the parkland with lovely views over to the Ochil Hills.
Wallace Monument from the bus stop
I got back down to the bus stop and checked the timetable, planning to take the 52 to Alloa via Tillicoultry and see the Ochil Hills closer-up. The Midland Bluebird website showed the 52 was running over 15 minutes late, and then after 15 minutes the bus just vanished from the tracker, so I gave up and decided to head back to Stirling. Going back the other way, the 52 was running very late again, in fact the 52 was clearly just in trouble that evening as none of the buses that were tracking were actually identifiable with anything on the timetable. Eventually an Enviro 200 showed up, extremely packed, and took me back into Stirling.
So that was day one. I’d not got as far as I’d hoped, but I’d still been on some interesting journeys, especially the trip out to Doune. On day two, I’d be heading south…
Here’s the second half of my trip out on Midland Bluebird buses in Stirling and Falkirk. On my second day in the area, I was booked to take a boat tour of the Falkirk Wheel that morning so I arrived at Stirling bus station around 8am to get the 38 towards Falkirk. At 8am on a Saturday the place was near deserted, and my 38 showed up on time. I was assuming I’d need the all-zones ticket again but when I asked if it would get me to Bo’ness the driver said I only needed a Forth Valley Explorer instead – which was cheaper so I was very grateful that he pointed that out!
The 38 is operated by electric Yutongs. I’ve never been on any Yutong vehicles before and I have to say I was impressed. The ride was lovely and smooth, silent as the bus was electric, and the seats were comfy. These buses have the full Midland Bluebird colour-scheme inside, next-stop announcements and even tell you the onboard air temperature – altogether it felt like a much more impressive bus travel experience than all the ex-First stuff I’d been on yesterday.
I alighted at Camelon, just after we’d passed the Larbert depot which I’d seen filled with lots more Yutongs, and ran across the road to catch the approaching 1 towards Dunipace. This was another Yutong, although it didn’t have next-stop announcements. We passed the Alexander Dennis factory although it felt slightly depressing to go riding past AD not on an AD bus, especially given the difficulties the company is in at the moment. The yard was full of new buses in the Merseytravel Metro livery. I alighted at the Wheel Approach roundabout and went to see the wheel.
The Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is a stupendous piece of engineering and well worth a visit – the best way to see it is to actually travel through it on one of the regular boat tours. Afterwards I walked along the canal a bit and came down to the main road somewhere near the AD factory. My next destination was Bo’ness and I picked up a 1 to Falkirk, another Yutong, before changing there for a 2 to Bo’ness on yet another Yutong. Falkirk town centre felt like a busy, compact little place, although I didn’t see too much of it. We headed out towards Grangemouth. Somewhere around the motorway roundabout a couple of tourists got off, asking the driver how to find the Kelpies. This was probably the closest stop and he gave them directions about following this track then that track, the walking across that field etc… I wondered if they managed to find them and get there before the next batch of rain came over.
Waiting for the bus opposite Alexander Dennis - lots of E400s bound for Merseyside
Grangemouth is dominated by its massive refinery, which seems to go on for miles. It’s bisected by the road to Bo’ness, so the bus took us right through the middle of it – probably a good ten minutes of driving past nothing but pipes and tanks. Eventually we reached Bo’ness, which is built on a steep hill sloping down to the Forth. The bus loops around the estates at the top of the hill before coming down, with stunning views out over the Firth of Forth towards Fife on the other bank.
The riverside at Bo'ness
I alighted in the centre and spent a wonderful afternoon at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway and the Museum of Scottish Railways – both of which are highly worth a visit. When I’d finished, it was back on the 2 to Falkirk, on another Yutong. It was now gone 4pm so there’d be no point trying to head to any other tourist attractions, so I decided rather than go straight back to Stirling I’d take the bus over the Clackmannanshire Bridge as that would be a more interesting route back. I stayed on the 2 beyond Falkirk as it took a round-the-houses route north of the town. It went through Carronshore, Stenhousemuir and Larbert, which all felt like they were extended suburbs of the Falkirk area, to finish at the Forth Valley Hospital.
View over the Forth from the bus out of Bo'ness
I alighted just short of the hospital with a ten-minute wait until the H1. The bus that showed up was an old Wright Eclipse 2. Coming from an area where every bus is either an AD product or an Optare Solo, it’s always a novelty to travel on a Wrightbus vehicle. This one was in the McGills livery and inside it was in good state but definitely not Midland Bluebird colours. The interior colours of turquoise and cream, with blue seats, made me think it could be ex-Arriva, but it could have been from anywhere to be honest. We headed onto the motorway, travelling non-stop to the Clackmannanshire Bridge. The bridge is next to the Kincardineshire Bridge, which is the older of the two, but is much longer as it crosses the river diagonally to end up much further north on the other bank. The views up and down the river were lovely, as was the ride through rural Clackmannanshire. We passed through Clackmannan, which is not very large at all, then Alloa. The H1/H2/H3 are a trio of routes which run roughly hourly between Larbert and Alloa, but then head off on slightly different routes after that. I stayed on the H1 as we headed through Tullibody and towards the looming Ochil Hills. Besides me, the only people on the bus were a very raucous group at the back who were shouting a lot and then started very noisily voicing their concerns that the bus wasn’t going to take then to Alva after all (the H1 does go to Alva but takes a different route to the much more frequent 52). We arrived in Alva, at the foot of the hills, around 6.30. The light was failing but I had just a few minutes to wait before the 52 appeared, and this time it was a double-decker Enviro 400. So my final ride of this trip was a really atmospheric journey on the top-deck of the 52 as we sped along past the Ochil Hills, back past the Wallace Monument and arrived into Stirling just as the sun was setting.
Alva - waiting for the 52 back to Stirling
My main impressions? The countryside around Stirling is lovely and there’s some great journeys to be had. Midland Bluebird felt like a fairly middle-of-the-road operator. Their timetables and website certainly make it easier to find information than with the big national operators, most services ran to time and the buses were smart and tidy. The Falkirk area definitely feels like the better half of the operation in terms of fleet – most of the frequent town routes use modern Yutongs (I also saw a few MMCs) – whereas the Stirling area has a mix of old buses and cast-offs from elsewhere that are still very obviously ex-First. It’s also good that a lot of the visitor attractions in the rural area can easily be reached by bus (e.g. Doune Castle, the Wallace Monument… Castle Campbell, Alloa Tower and Inchmahome Priory were all closed so not on my itinerary this time but they could also be reached by bus as well). Definitely an area to come back and visit again some day and explore some more by bus!
Great reports on your two days around Stirling. I know part of the area quite well as we have holidayed there, but not stepped on a bus. The Falkirk wheel is a great feat of engineering and well worth a trip - ditto the Kelpies although, as you say, I don't think they are easily accessible by bus.
On your first day you visited Doune Castle and Callendar, these are great places I know well. The X10A is an attractive run, back in the latter days of First the fare was mainly Omnidekkas, now I think double deckers are fairly rare. It may be difficult by public transport but the Lake of Mentieth and Inchmahome Priory (on an island in the lake) are good.
Not sure I'm going to bother with Grangemouth but I do know the road east out of Stirling. The main road through Alva and Tillicoultry (and beyond) is really scenic, dominated by the brooding Ochil hills running parallel to the road to the north. Another time the delightful village on Culross overlooking the Forth estuary with colourful cottages is an easy trip via Alloa.
Hi everyone - I do love reading others trip reports. It's mixed at times, getting both pleasure from hearing of others exploits and gaining ideas to visit myself, but then with the frustration of reading about places that I've not visited or haven't for eons. On the whole, I do enjoy seeing the photos, hearing people's observations and the like. I often post my own trip reports and hope that it interests others; I got into the habit of recording my trips out from the start.
May 2026 sees the 40th anniversary (!) of my first trip out and so I'll aim to share some historic trips out - one each from 1986 (pre-dereg), 1996, 2006, and 2016. Hopefully, it won't be too self indulgent, and I'll garnish with suitable photos from Flickr or my own records.
24th May 1986
This wasn't the first trip out - I'd been emboldened by earlier excursions and so thought I'd explore further from my home territory. In those days, the NBC Explorer was the day out ticket. However, it wasn't exactly user friendly - you couldn't buy on the bus from a driver, but instead from a bus company office OR a Post Office (which is where I got mine). The ticket was a scratch off, with the local operators' name on the bottom (Hampshire Bus in the photo, United Auto in reality) and whilst you could use it on any National Bus Company service (in theory), it wasn't valid on other operators nor with all sorts of other validity rules. However, I duly wandered down on a warm May morning to catch my first bus of the day from Catterick Garrison Post Office.
The main bus service in the area was the 27/28 Catterick Garrison - Richmond - Darlington, operated by United mainly from Richmond depot but with a few workings from the larger Darlington garage. You could always tell which was which.... Darlington used shabby looking Olympians, Richmond used a range of vehicles that were better turned out, usually VRs. The service operates much as it always has but with Arriva's X26/X27 using Streetlites and Pulsars. I left Catterick Garrison on VR 787, a noisy but spirited journey on the top deck sliding around on brown vinyl. Spirited as United had decided to use a lightweight suspension spring which meant certain VRs bounced around like a kangeroo. We headed past various army barracks and then descended the long hill into Richmond, passing the now demolished United depot, up into the town with its large market place. Dominated by the castle, the buses still terminate there and you can still travel on services into the dales and locally though service levels 'are much reduced and are undertaken mainly by Hodgsons and the Council. It's a super little town with the market place, castle, river, friary and lots of lovely little side streets and Georgian architecture. We continued east on 787, pass Scotch Corner and then via Barton and Stapleton on the old A1, arriving at Darlington bus station.
787 in Richmond market place - Knox Family
Darlington bus station was a combined bus station and depot, all under one roof. State of the art in 1961 when built, it was always a dirty, noisy place to wait for a bus as some Leyland National would be revved up to get the air pressure ready for its next journey. Of course, the place is long gone, replaced by a leisure complex (cinema, pub, restaurant); I wandered down the central concourse for my next journey. Historically, Darlington to Stockton has more of a place in rail history but has always had good bus links. Nowadays, the X66/X67 provides a fast service every 15 mins. In 1986, the half hourly service was provided alternately by the 268 to Saltburn, and the 229 to Billingham (having been truncated there from Hartlepool. My next bus was one of Darlington's Leyland Nationals and we headed out past the Darlington Corporation depot and then out towards the A66. We diverted off to serve various villages like Sadberge and Long Newton - now no longer served as Arriva's journeys omit these as safety related road changes make it difficult to do so effectively. We arrived at the broad high street in Stockton - at that time, a much more vibrant place than now, reflecting the decline of many northern towns.
Next up was a short hop on the 265 to Middlesbrough. This was a rarity in that it was a VR (771) - United didn't have many deckers on Teesside because of trade union opposition and this would've been crew operated had it worked it's usual 263 Middlesbrough - Eston - Redcar; conductors were only finally axed at deregulation on Teesside! I can't recall much of this mundane journey, but it would have deposited me at my favourite bus station. Middlesbrough bus station had only opened in 1981 and is still a superb facility though you get the feeling that the council are letting it decline so they can justify cashing in on it. My records showed I spent 90 mins here so I must have been busy enjoying the bustle of various United Nationals, LHs and VRs rubbing shoulders with Cleveland Transit's Fleetlines, Dominators and Leopards, all heading to their traditional allocated areas. Visitors would be Hartlepool Transport, Northern, and many National Express services.
Middlesbrough in 1986 (John Carter) - the buses have changed but the view is still similar
It was time for a trip north and the X10. Of course, that route still runs now from Middlesbrough to Newcastle. However, it is slightly different - in 1986, it ran via Stockton and then non-stop past Sedgefield to take the A1 north, and was jointly operated by United and Northern and took exactly 60 mins. Yep - not the 1h45 of today. However, I think it was c.1988 when it was rerouted via the A19, and that led to incremental diversions to serve Norton, Billingham and then Peterlee so it retains the number but little else. Joint running ceased years ago, now being a Go North East route. However, my bus was 234, one of Middlesbrough's coach seated Olympians - it would be a faithful servant being hammered up and down the A1 and A19.
234 in Tynelink colours on the X10 in Stockton - photo Ned Basher
United used Olympians on the X10 and the interworked X1 (Newcastle - Durham - Middlesbrough - now Arriva X12) and 234 wore a fetching NBC venetian blind livery. Northern had used similar but had cascaded its examples to Stanley, replaced by MCW Metrobuses with turbo charged Gardner engines which were FAST! So 234 would be ponderous in contrast as we went non-stop from Stockton (North Tees) to arrive in Newcastle's Haymarket bus station. This was on the same site as the current bus station but totally different - a very basic structure compared to now. Judging by my notes, I must have decided to have an explore - I'd only ever been to Newcastle with my parents so I will have wandered round free to look at the various PTE and United/Northern vehicles with exotic beasts like Atlanteans, Mk1 Metrobuses and Scania Metropolitans, although I can't recall. I have always absolutely loved Newcastle - being from the sticks, it was always busy and frantic in comparison. It still is and I always recommend that people go and visit the place. I was too young to appreciate it but I know what a great place it was and how much it has changed. Newcastle had 5 bus stations at the time, and I probably wandered between them to see what was what before I headed back to Haymarket. As now, it was the main hub for the Northumberland services - only a few expresses like the X1/X10 arrived from elsewhere. I had a decision as to where to go.
I decided to sample a nearly new United Olympian (258) that had been new to Durham depot just 8 months earlier. It had been reallocated to Ashington in readiness for the split of United - announced in February, it would take place in four short months and a brash new identity called Northumbria would be unleashed. However, at this time, United continued to operate as they always had and I'd never been on a United bus north of Newcastle so a trip to Ashington was a real adventure. I remember the trip north clearly - it was the X32 (similar to the current Arriva X22) and remembering passing several pubs in Bedlington with blue stars on them, crossing what I now know is the River Blyth, climbing up Hartford Bank and towards Plessey Woods before heading into Ashington, enjoying the spring sunshine on a quiet, serene and nearly new Olympian. I didn't realise how much would change in the next few years, both in bus terms but my life though at that age, you never do! Ashington is a pale imitation of the town it was, and I remember it still being vibrant and busy on a Saturday afternoon. The bus station was a pot holed yard with some crude unwelcoming bus shelters, backing onto the large depot at the back. It's all been redeveloped though the current terminus is partly on the same site.
Ashington back in the 1980s - it was much worse in real life. (John Carter)
I decided it was time to head back as I had a connection to make. The return trip was on the 400 - half the Newcastle to Ashington services were "express" in that they omitted Seaton Burn whilst the others were numbered 400/401/402 and were stoppers. My bus back was United's final new VR (829) which had been newly repainted in United's last NBC livery but would soon be adorned with Northumbria colours. Again, I strongly recall the journey south through Bedlington, and the glorious sunshine as we headed back to Newcastle. When we arrived, my last bus was already loading. It was one of Darlington's Leyland Leopards - 6220. It would be operating the X70 back via Newton Aycliffe and Darlington but on a Saturday, it ran through to Catterick Garrison and Richmond. Yes, you could travel on a service express from Newcastle to North Yorkshire - a service that was introduced with the 1980 Transport Act. It would be cut back to Darlington at deregulation so it was the only chance I had to travel on it. I often travelled on the X70 (and X50) with United and later when Stagecoach had the route (as the X90) but it was killed off by increasing congestion and improved trains. The Leopard was a nice machine and we sped back south down the A1 via Newton Aycliffe and again via Darlington bus station before continuing on and arriving back where I'd started.
United 6220 - probably loading for Darlington on the X70 (John Carter)
I genuinely hope this has been of interest, both for the vehicles and the then/now comparisons. I'll do a 1996 one next and it'll be in another part of the world.
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*** From the vault - August 1996 ***
As threatened, another of my historic trips and this was in the afterglow of Euro 96 in August 1996. I'd moved from my native north and was in the Midlands. Staying in Birmingham, and joined by a mate, we set off on a day out on Midland Red West - a lot has changed since then! Hope you enjoy.
It was a bright summer day when me and my mate walked through Birmingham city centre and our start point. Birmingham used to have a bus station underneath the Bull Ring shopping centre. When the shopping centre was redeveloped, the bus station was lost though you can see where it was as it's now the goods entrance. It was a grim old place, full of fumes, and was used mainly by Midland Red West and Midland Red North but with a few other services calling.
The Bull Ring in 1980s... it hadn't got better with the passage of time (David Flett)
We set off on the historic 192 that linked Birmingham with Hereford via Kidderminster and Ludlow. It still did at that time - to do it now would require 4 separate services. Our first bus was one of the 50 Leyland Lynxes delivered to MRW in 1990 - most were Birmingham based but Kidderminster depot got a few and 1146 (and the next bus) were Kiddy natives. We left the gloom of the Bull Ring and bounded along the Hagley Road past the many WMT Metrobuses. On passing through the small bus station at Halesowen (the modern is massive in comparison), we entered into the rolling countryside of the Clent Hills. Lynxes were always a joy - the high pitched whine, the spirited journey also a propensity to rattle. Nowadays, you'd have to catch an NXWM bus to Halesowen before the 192 (now butchered) provides the link via Hagley to Kiddy courtesy of Diamond. The current Tesco store is, I think, built on the old depot (pictured) and the bus station was adjacent. The whole area is almost unrecognisable. Having arrived, we knew we had to change (shown in timetable) onto an identical vehicle 1147. This would take us on the next stage of our journey.
Kiddy depot (Walsall 1955)
As has been recently mentioned by @satters and @RELL6L, the section of route between Kidderminster and Ludlow is one of the classic journeys in the UK. You head out from Kiddy and through the fine georgian town of Bewdley, crossing the Severn Valley Railway and the river. Then you begin to climb through the Wyre Forest, rolling countryside and lush vegetation, passing through the very pretty Cleobury Mortimer which could be from Midsomer Murders! Then the ascent up and over Clee Hill - on this day, we had glorious sunshine and you could see for miles across the Marches and into Wales. It really is a stunning view and well recommended (if not on a Lynx). We then began dropping down and into Ludlow which is one of the most beautiful towns in England, with quaint streets, and the castle as a backdrop. Here we had time for a break - grabbing tea and a bacon sandwich at a cafe. At this time, Midland Red West (only recently being part of First Bus) still had a network of services in Herefordshire and Shropshire and they ran the main services to/from Ludlow and that included the 435 that still runs from Ludlow to Shrewsbury so off we headed on a nearly new Dennis Dart via Church Stretton to Shrewsbury; a route that has passed to various firms on tender as it provides a local link even if it parallels the rail line.
Dart and Lynx in Ludlow, just as we experienced
We arrived in Shrewsbury at the bus station - one of those locations that hasn't really changed. We had the chance to head for lunch (I recall having a very nice chilli and rice) and a walk around the medieval town. It's a place I really should have visited more as it's very interesting. After an over 2 hour break in travelling, we were back at the bus station. At that time, MRW still ran the buses from Shrewsbury to Bridgnorth incredibly and it was another nearly new step floor Dart as we'd left hours earlier to take us on the 436 (still running but with Select) to take us to Bridgnorth. The route is almost untouched except the 435/436 were both two hourly then - now hourly with BSIP funds? Again, the 436 is a super little service to enjoy passing through rolling countryside and via Much Wenlock, home of the modern Olympic games (honestly).
Bridgnorth was yet another picture postcard town to encounter. A town built on two levels, it has a ruined castle (blame Cromwell), a town gate, historical buildings and the River Severn. It's well worth spending some time walking around. We left our old Dart....and a new experience for me. Low floor buses were in their infancy in 1996, and whilst I'd enjoyed the odd Lance SLF, this would be my first low floor Dennis Dart - MRW 341 N341EUY. A single example delivered with funding from Shropshire Council and employed on highly rural services around Ludlow and Bridgnorth. This would take us back to Kidderminster via the 297 - again a route that still exists and to much the same frequency.
New and nearly new MRW Dennis Darts - the SLF has the new First fleetname (Viceroy 44)
Now, I have to apologise but as this was the 1990s, we'd done well to avoid minibuses. Well, here they come. We took a local service (13) to Stourport using an MRW Merc 609, a slightly more sophisticated bread van to Stourport - a canal hub which is also well worth an exploration. However, these Mercs were a rarity compared to the more spartan, more widespread L608D which Midland Red West used in numbers around Hereford, Redditch and Worcester. Thus it was that we had the 293 (is it the now infrequent 296?) that would take us to Worcester. Of course, Worcester is a fantastic cathedral city and I recall us having a good walk round before quaffing a pint in the sun at a pub near the bus station. So the next three vehicles were all 608s (1319/1441/1377) as we headed to Worcester and then to Bromsgrove before realising that it would be quicker to head to Redditch to get back to Brum as the 144 Worcester to Birmingham was rather infrequent in the evening.
And to conclude... a trip back to Birmingham from Redditch on an MRW Lynx. At that time, there were 4 buses per hour during the day (and probably 2 at night) from Redditch to Brum. A mix of First ineptitude and Rotala disinterest, allied to a much improved rail service from Brum to Redditch and Bromsgrove has seen that all but disappear. It was a slightly later finish than anticipated but a cracking day out.
Mercs aplenty in MRW world - we had C581SHC, and a sister RUY example
Back to Brum on a Lynx - lush
For the Shropshire bit, you can still travel on those routes but whilst we had an MRW day ticket, you're going to struggle now with no multi-operator ticket nowadays for the many operators. At least Worcestershire still has one but it's not publicised. However, if you can, a trip to any of Ludlow, Bridgnorth, Worcester or Shrewsbury (however you manage it) is definitely recommended as is the countryside.
Hope you enjoyed this wander down memory lane. If it seems like ancient history... hopefully 2006 might feel slightly more relevant!!
Some great reports as ever. Great weather at the moment too, this is my favourite time to travel on buses before it gets too hot.
Yesterday I travelled from Southampton to Heathrow on 3 buses and 1 coach.
I started at Southampton on the X7R to Salisbury. The bus was a Stonehenge Tour branded E400MMC, which more comfortable seats than the higher backed ones with First bus.
The X7R is a variation of the route that goes via Romsey. The X7 is a nice run once out of Southampton but does often get stuck in traffic on the Southern fringes of Salisbury.
Next up is the Activ 8 to Andover which goes via Tidworth and Ludgershall. A Stagecoach E400MMC turned up on the jointly run route. Quite interesting passing past the barracks.
At Andover I was going to catch the train to Basingstoke but I noticed a 76 was due out soon. The 76 appears to run on the old road to London, I gather the old A30 and passed the Bombay Sapphire distillery. A pleasant route although we had an older 62 plate E300.
After lunch in Basingstoke, I decided to take the 731/731 Flightline service to Heathrow T5. At £6 single, its a good deal to the airport. This service is now in the hands of coaches. I enjoyed the first section on the A30 road, which is still dualled in places. After Bagshot its a straight run on teh M3/M25 to the airport.
Not the most exciting of days but the sun was shining and I do like the countryside down Hampshire and Wiltshire way.
Two fabulous reports from @TheGrandWazoo and I'm sorry I hadn't seen the second one until today!
The first one is from an area I have only got reasonably familiar with over the past 10 years but I now like very much. Richmond is a glorious town. I did visit Darlington in the 1980s mainly for the exotic mixture of beasts Darlington Corporation were running on local services. I missed the Roadliners but there were Seddon RUs, Fleetlines (single deck), Dominators and the Ward Dalesmen (is that the plural?). I am sure I visited Stockton and Middlesbrough briefly in the 1980s and certainly remember the fine but odd-looking Bristol VRs run by Cleveland Transit. I did Newcastle to Middlesbrough around 25 years ago on a business trip to both cities and it was a Cummins-engined Olympian - these also flew down the fast roads. Always loved Newcastle, I remember when parts of the city centre enjoyed the roar of Metropolitans setting off (and the squeaky brakes) but these are now long gone. Only much more recently have I ventured further north to Ashington. So I have done most of those journeys but superb recollection of those great times and some really good pictures.
The second one is an area I have long known much better from my days around there in the late 1970s based in Oxford. I am sure I would have done all the sections of route you covered at that time except perhaps Stourport to Worcester. You could get more done in a day in those days. The route from Kidderminster to Ludlow remains as glorious as it was then. My trips on Midlands Red were in the days of Nationals, Leopards, some old BMMO types and small numbers of double deckers, Midlands Red having cancelled their Atlanteans and running down their D11 and D12 Fleetlines. More great memories and pictures, the Leyland Lynx was a fabulous bus. I don't miss the bread vans! I agree on Birmingham to Redditch - it was very busy at this time but has now virtually vanished. And of course Birmingham to Bromsgrove via the trunk Bristol Road has gone completely. The trains are much better now of course.
It is the first picture in the Bull Ring bus station which pleases and interests me most! The X50 bus is Oxford 461, one of a batch of three, 460-462 (AUD460-2R) series 3 VRTs which in my time seemed to be permanently allocated to Chipping Norton, running the X50 and 44 services. This was new in 1976/77 and it looks pretty new in the picture. The X50 ran in to Birmingham at about 12.00 noon and 9.00 pm so I guess the timing would be one of those - the location means you can't tell if it was daylight or not! Many times I would go out on a trip and get the late X50 back home. If we were in good time we would stop for fuel at Chipping Norton on the way south. The buses ran past Digbeth coach station then over the rickety flyover on the way out of Birmingham and into the country, usually with a brief rest at Stratford and into very quiet roads in the darkness. In the original iteration of the X50 there were only two journeys, with a driver change I recall at Shipston on Stour on the first and Tredington on the second. I think vehicles may have changed too sometimes as the types Oxford produced were not familiar types to most Midlands Red drivers.
Back at the Bull Ring the bus in the background looks like a BMMO D9 on the X92. Presumably not through to or from Ludlow as even by the mid-1970s this was solid Leyland Leopard, but I do remember them on Kidderminster shorts. I would be surprised is this was the 1980s as surely the D9s had all gone by then. The other buses in the photo were all Midland Red but I remember several West Midlands PTE routes coming into the Bull Ring by the late 1970s, mainly on services from the Dudley direction, often including the raucous Volvo Ailsas. I was never a great fan of these, they seemed rather basic compared to the sophisticated Metropolitans elsewhere. West Midlands was virtually all double decker at the time, apart from a handful of old Midland Red BMMOs, the strange looking single deck Fleetlines used on the city centre service and a handful of Leyland Nationals. I think Coventry had a small batch of REs but these - like VRs - were a rarity in the West Midlands. I exclude West Midlands' own batch of Bristol VRs, these were also very odd-looking beasts and seemed to be confined to local services in the Black Country rather than gracing the Birmingham streets. Yes, dark, noisy and smoky in the Bull Ring - but happy days!
We arrived at Castle Cary by train, with a 75 min wait for the 667 onwards to Street: not an encouraging way to promote intermodal travel. Rather than sit there we did the pleasant walk up the hill into Castle Cary or Ansford, which appear to be the same place with ‘Ansford Town Hall’ standing in what appears to be Castle Cary’s high street.
There was some confusion around bus stops. The South West Coaches website shows a timetable stating the main stop is “Castle Cary Horse Pond’. Both Bustimes and Google Maps show the 667 towards Street stopping at ‘Castle Cary Horse Pond (north-bound)’ and at ‘Ansford Town Hall’. The spot marked by Bustimes and Google Maps as the location of the ‘Ansford Town Hall’ stop had no physical sign of buses stopping there and the narrow road with parked cars looked inherently unlikely as a stopping point. At the spot marked by Bustimes and Google Maps as the location of the ‘Castle Cary Horse Pond (north-bound)’ stop there was a bench and a bus stop bay painted on the road surface, which looked more promising. Across the triangle-shaped road junction there was the ‘Castle Cary Horse Pond (south-bound)’ stop (served by the 667 going the other way according to Bustimes and Google Maps) which had a shelter supporting a trellis covered by some pretty climbing plants. Idly looking at the layout of the junction and of the 667 routes in each direction as shown on Bustimes led to the realisation that given the local road layout, it looked as if 667’s towards Street and those going the other way to Wincanton would both pass the stop called ‘Castle Cary Horse Pond (south-bound)’ while neither could get alongside the kerb at the ‘Castle Cary Horse Pond (north-bound)’ stop. The ‘south-bound’ stop had a display with timetables in both directions and the ‘north-bound’ had no display. My suspicions aroused, I asked some people waiting at the ‘south-bound’ stop if they knew where the 667 stopped: they were waiting for the 1 to Yeovil but thought that the 667 did stop there in both directions.
The 667 arrived and did indeed stop at the ‘south-bound’ stop, then went on without passing the ‘north-bound’ stop. It also did not pass the supposed ‘Ansford Town Hall’ stop at all but left by a different road, so we were very glad we had not followed Bustimes/Google and waited there. Hopefully no-one else had.
The road between Castle Cary station and Lydford was blocked by roadworks so there were some interesting diversions down back lanes and through small villages. We got into Street understandably late but just in time for a little 669 midi-bus going the back way over the Levels to Glastonbury where we settled in for a few days.
A short trip out to Wells and Priddy Lane End on the First 375 and 376 was pleasant. Due to the peat subsiding, the road over the Levels between Glastonbury and Wells has some significant dips and lumps: these are very evident sat on the upper deck as the bus sways and bounces over them. Wells Wednesday market is always good, and the Hunters Lodge at Priddy …. £3.80/pt for excellent local cider definitely not for drivers.
I set out for a trip on the 8, a county council operated route running from Pilton to Yeovil every Thursday. I planned to get the 09:13 669 from Glastonbury to Pilton, arriving at 09:25 and crossing the road for the 8 starting off at 09:35. However the 669 left Glastonbury 12 mins late, so it seemed wiser to get off at West Pennard and await the 8 there rather than risk carrying on to Pilton. This worked, with a wait of under 10 mins before the 8 appeared. I was sorry to see there was no-one else on board yet. The 8 wove its way around the lanes picking up regulars in small villages until there were seven more passengers on board: I was the only one young enough to have to pay my fare. After a short break in Yeovil a First 376 carried me back to Glastonbury, also via a diversion, going round Ilchester on the A303 rather than through the town.
Later a 375 carried me to Ashcott for the two-mile walk to the Railway Inn, which once stood beside the Somerset and Dorset Rly and the Glastonbury Canal, but now sits isolated on a minor road. The canal is still in evidence, now unnavigable but with a vital role as a land drain, but beyond the name of the Inn and some photos inside there is practically nothing to show that trains forming part of the land and sea link between Cardiff and Paris ever passed this way. A pleasant walk with more excellent Wilkins cider, at £3.60/pt here.
On the way back I tried to make the next day’s booking for the Wedmore Community Transport 751. This bus runs every Friday between Wedmore and Street, passing through the villages of Godney and Bagley. I have used it several times to visit Lane End Farm, near Bagley, source of Wilkins Cider. The route and times are subject to demand-responsive changes, so the drill is to ‘phone that route’s volunteer booker, whose number is given on their website and who undertakes to be at home between 18:00 and 18:30 the day before to take calls. I got a little worried when my first two attempts only got an answering machine, but the third attempt brought clarity if nothing more. The bus had broken down and as it was too late to find a replacement for the next day, there would be no 751 that week.
A change of plan saw me getting the 668 to Wedmore instead (a lonely trip with me the only passenger after Westhay), and walking from there to Lane End Farm. There I partook of a few pints of Roger Wilkins' dry dispensed from the wooden barrel (£1/pt here), acquired some excellent cheese and arranged to have a 20-litre box of the dry delivered back home. The time came when I had to leave to walk to Mudgley Cross to catch the last 668 (a four journeys per day route) back to Glastonbury.
That evening a 376 took us to Priddy Lane End for another walk to the Hunters Lodge for dinner, then we walked back by torchlight and moonlight for the 21:56 back – not a bus to miss.
Next day we left on another 376 to Bristol, and were pleased to see the unusual sight of someone else using the Priddy Lane End stop, preened on passing through Farringdon Gurney and ended up in the city ready to see how Cross Country would perform taking us North. (Reasonably, as it turned out, by their standards: only a few standees most of the way and arrived in Darlington only 20 mins late).
Lovely to see your report, here are a few notes from a local - bus services to/from the station are to be improved over the next few months. We haven't seen a timetable yet, but Somerset Council have announced a new "667X" route between CLC, Street and Glasto, apparently timed to meet trains. The existing 667 timetable is set up primarily around school and college movements rather than the railways.
The last remnants of the weekly shoppers buses around that area are indeed some lovely routes, just a bit of a shame that the previous variety of local operators has now been swallowed by the council's rather less interesting in house fleet of leased minibuses.
Finally, i always find myself astonished at how often buses have intending passengers waiting at Priddy Lane End. Usage there is genuinely impressive for somewhere rather remote from civilisation, particularly as i used to occasionally cover the weekly bus through Priddy village itself (683) and we'd manage two passengers from there on a really busy week and often pass through entirely untroubled by them.
Lovely to see your report, here are a few notes from a local - bus services to/from the station are to be improved over the next few months. We haven't seen a timetable yet, but Somerset Council have announced a new "667X" route between CLC, Street and Glasto, apparently timed to meet trains. The existing 667 timetable is set up primarily around school and college movements rather than the railways.
Is this the same as the proposed 'Glastonbury TrainLink', or an alternative proposal to it? I saw the promoters of that are publishing a proposed timetable with a route via Cannards Grave rather than via Street and Keinton Mandeville. I had wondered whether a more frequent 667 extended to Glastonbury might be a better idea.
Finally, i always find myself astonished at how often buses have intending passengers waiting at Priddy Lane End. Usage there is genuinely impressive for somewhere rather remote from civilisation,
The building a few hundred metres down the lane from the bus stop became a care home a few years ago. I think some of the staff travel on the buses. There are also a few others like us walking to the Hunters Lodge.
particularly as i used to occasionally cover the weekly bus through Priddy village itself (683) and we'd manage two passengers from there on a really busy week and often pass through entirely untroubled by them.
We wanted to use Priddy's buses but it was always difficult, especially as our main reason for going there was the Hunters Lodge. In the days of both the Postbus and the 683, the journeys from Wells would arrive at about closing time (about 14:00) which was distinctly unattractive. The problem with the morning journey was getting to Priddy or Keynsham in time for it.
We did once (sort of) catch the Postbus from the Hunters Lodge for the short trip to Priddy village. [Now it can be told]. We stood outside the pub and saw a red PO vehicle approach, so we waved for it. As it approached we realised it was an ordinary PO van not a postbus. The driver stopped and told is it was, in a way, the bus but there had been no passengers down to Wells on the morning run so he had assumed there would be none going back, and had brought out a van instead of the bus. He invited us to get in the back along with the mailbags. We did, and were carried into Priddy village. The driver refused to accept any fares, saying that paying in the money at the depot would raise eyebrows since he had been driving a van, and so we not did receive tickets. We don't usually keep bus tickets, but we would have kept souvenirs of that trip. We walked back from Priddy to Wookey Hole.
When the 683 replaced the Postbus we looked into arriving in the area by getting an early train to Keynsham and getting the 683, but we never made a visit to the area which started on a Saturday. Catching the northbound 683 from the Hunters posed the problem of getting back from Keynsham so we never got round to that.
Thanks to @RELL6L for the comments on my 1986 and 1996 trips. I will do 2006 in due course
However, I really wanted to talk about @JGurney and his trips in Somerset. As some know, I live close by and have done for many years, which is why I kick myself for never doing those bloody routes that Andy used to operate, nor those of CT Coaches who also had a number around NE Somerset. That said, I have had the experience of a last journey of the day from Wincanton to Street on the 667, courtesy of Nippy Bus on a Solo with the most unyielding seats known to man!! It's a really nice route TBH as it wanders around - I've seen the chatter about a dedicated rail link and whilst I understand the logic, I just don't think it will really make much difference to the local rail usage. I do remember getting a Wakes market day service from Sherborne to Salisbury - a two year old B10M coach; those were the days.
The other routes like the 375/6/7 are much more familiar to me, and I can heartily concur and recommend a trip through the Mendips north of Wells, and indeed the options south of Glastonbury, even if you might be a little seasick after the undulating A39 between the two places (as mentioned). Good to hear a mention of Roger Wilkins' cider farm at Mudgley - an experience like no other. Been there with friends, with family and in-laws, and it is something to behold - no faux rustic stuff, it is proper rustic and all the better for it.
Most of all, thank you for sharing your experiences. Always nice to hear someone's view of an area that you know well.
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**** From the archives - 2006 ****
A bit more recent history though for some, it may still seem like a bygone age when they were very young (or maybe not even born yet). However, by this time, the bus industry had calmed down (a bit). Of course, we were in a Blair government and ENCTS hadn't even been announced. There had been some initiatives and additional funding courtesy of Rural Bus Challenge funding AND Kickstart... a more limited and targeted form of BSIP and some of this is illustrated in this travelogue. I hope you find it interesting (and the photos are mine).
I was living down south by this point but had clearly returned north to the ancestral home in mid 2006, hooking up with one of my mates for a wander into the Lake District. So it was a trip over the A66 past Scotch Corner and Brough, parking the car in Penrith. A short walk to the bus station saw us start the day. Now I remember the route to Keswick being a two hourly affair before and after deregulation but Stagecoach had worked on the route and made it hourly.... yes, it's now two, hourly services with deckers but back then, it was hourly and used B10Ms. Some were bus seated PS's but there were a pair of Jonckheere bodied examples that were royally hammered up and down the road to Workington for the next 10 years. The X5 now has the X4 and is a great route into the Northern Lakes, running parallel to the old rail line and leaving the Eden Valley for the mass of Skiddaw that dominates Keswick. We arrived in decent weather in a busy bus station (which is par for the course) with the current facility being rather poor for the numbers that use the buses.
A busy interchange at Keswick
It was onto the connecting 555 service to Ambleside. These were then operated by some 10 year old Olympians - these had been destined (I think) for the 700 route in Sussex/Hants and carried Sussex regs but had been diverted before delivery to Greater Manchester Buses (South) before then heading a few years later to Cumbria. They had high backed seats but were otherwise spartan (if spirited) vehicles. Thus we passed the Twa Dogs pub in Keswick, climbing up and over the high ground near Thirlmere (Dunmail Raise) and then descending into the central Lakes and the honeypot areas of Grasmere. It is a bit of road that is often referred to as the best driving road in the UK... I don't know about that but it's a cracker on a bus. You must do the 555 at some point in your life!
We arrived into Ambleside where the open toppers were doing good business. At this time, they were in the hands of ex London Titans that had replaced the Southdown liveried VRs - a moment when standard Stagecoach beachball held sway albeit suitably branded.
An immaculate ex London Titan with the 555 Olympian that had just dropped us off
I know Ambleside well as a friend of mine had lived there for a year or two, so had no great wish to wander around amongst the tourists. Instead, my mate had plotted a route with a devious feature. Whilst the frequent 505 ran from Ambleside to Coniston still runs at the 505 today), there was a tendered service (512) that ran infrequently to Coniston but then continued to Torver and Broughton in Furness, arriving at Ulverston (home town of Stan Laurel). We awaited our vehicle - a former United Counties Mercedes 709. The service alongside Coniston Water is a delight (well recommended) but then we climbed over the top to Torver - a section of route no longer served since the large scale austerity cuts c.2011.
The trusty and robust Mercedes that took us to Ulverston
I remember that we took time to have a spot of lunch and a wander around the town; Ulverston is a fairly non-descript but not unpleasant town. The next bus was a relatively new development. I think the Kickstart scheme was behind the development of the X35. It hitherto had been a two hourly service (Mon to Sat) but with government funding, this was massively expanded. Three new deckers arrived - Dennis Tridents but not to Stagecoach spec and carrying East Lancs bodies. I assumed they were sourced by Cumbria Council in a dedicated livery, running hourly with evening and Sunday services added. Such was the success, the service continues now as the X6, integrated into the main Barrow to Ulverston service. Having enjoyed traditional Lakeland scenery, it was now a chance to enjoy the views of both this on one side and the Solway Firth on the other. Again, thoroughly recommended.
One of the X35 vehicles, almost brand new.
Sadly, arriving at Kendal is one of the more depressing experiences. Not the town, which is a lovely place, vibrant and bustling. No, it was the bus station which had replaced an even worse one. It's hard to comprehend a more soulless place, a cold and grey expanse with pebble dashing and little in the way of customer facilities. It is scarcely changed today.
Kendal bus station
Our last bus of the day was the 106 from Kendal to Penrith. The service ran a few times each day but now is only daily between Penrith and Shap though with two return journeys on Tues/Fri. This is a very different experience from the Lakeland countryside as we climbed onto a Volvo B10M that was unusually fitted with Northern Counties bodywork rather than the usual PS. The B10M was a perfect machine for this work, as we headed into the North Pennines with more rolling uplands as we headed for the cement works in Shap albeit with few others to join us on the journey. I think we had the bus to ourselves after leaving the outskirts of Kendal, arriving into Penrith as dusk was falling.
A selection of B10Ms - our NC Paladin and the usual version on the X5, back in Penrith
Apologies for the lack of photos of anything other than buses but hope it was of interest. I think you can do the route still with the service from Coniston to Ulverston now the X12 operated by Blueworks so sadly you can't do it all on a Stagecoach Dayrider as we did. Whatever you do, the Lakes is a fabulous area to visit and Stagecoach do a very good job in serving the place.
Thanks for posting that report - it's an area I visit a lot but it wasn't back in 2006 so it's fascinating to see what buses in the Lakes were like back then!
Interesting to hear there used to be an Ambleside-Coniston-Ulverston bus. It'd be great if that was still around. As you say, there is the X12 via Greenodd but that only runs weekdays. Last year Traveller's Choice operated a Saturday X12 service over the summer, funded by the council - I'm hoping they do that again this year but not heard anything yet. Also, it's no good if you want a through connection to Ambleside as it invariably arrives in Coniston just when the 505 is leaving. Having spent ages today queuing through Windermere and then into Ambleside on the 6/555 due to the inevitable Bank Holiday traffic, an alternative route via Coniston would certainly be nice to have again.
It's a shame there's no longer any buses between Kendal and Penrith any more. Never knew the 106 used to run the whole way between the two towns. It was interesting the other year when Stagecoach tried to link the two again by extending the 563 (Penrith - Kirkby Stephen) down to Kendal via Sedburgh. I did manage to take a trip on it and after Kirkby I was the only person onboard - and I guess it wasn't viable as the route didn't return the next year.
Great photo of that X35 - that's quite an eye-catching livery that stands out from all the Stagecoach vehicles. Agree about Kendal bus station - other than the addition of a few green seating benches it doesn't look much different today and it's still a pretty grim place to wait.
Thanks for posting that report - it's an area I visit a lot but it wasn't back in 2006 so it's fascinating to see what buses in the Lakes were like back then!
Interesting to hear there used to be an Ambleside-Coniston-Ulverston bus. It'd be great if that was still around. As you say, there is the X12 via Greenodd but that only runs weekdays. Last year Traveller's Choice operated a Saturday X12 service over the summer, funded by the council - I'm hoping they do that again this year but not heard anything yet. Also, it's no good if you want a through connection to Ambleside as it invariably arrives in Coniston just when the 505 is leaving. Having spent ages today queuing through Windermere and then into Ambleside on the 6/555 due to the inevitable Bank Holiday traffic, an alternative route via Coniston would certainly be nice to have again.
It's a shame there's no longer any buses between Kendal and Penrith any more. Never knew the 106 used to run the whole way between the two towns. It was interesting the other year when Stagecoach tried to link the two again by extending the 563 (Penrith - Kirkby Stephen) down to Kendal via Sedburgh. I did manage to take a trip on it and after Kirkby I was the only person onboard - and I guess it wasn't viable as the route didn't return the next year.
Great photo of that X35 - that's quite an eye-catching livery that stands out from all the Stagecoach vehicles. Agree about Kendal bus station - other than the addition of a few green seating benches it doesn't look much different today and it's still a pretty grim place to wait.
Thanks for the feedback and glad you found it interesting. Judging by bustimes (with all the appropriate caveats), the X12 is still running Mon-Fri, built around some schools working. Also a timetable here
The 106 is a strange beast as I seem to recall it was mainly Penrith to Shap but with a couple of Kendal depot journeys that would connect in Shap. Then came the Rural Bus Challenge money and Cumbria threw cash at it - the 2007 timetable (from the excellent Timetable World) showed a bonkers level of service (I bet those even runs had no one on them) - we caught the 1740 from Kendal. Apparently, Lonsdale are still operating a couple of round trips https://bustimes.org/services/nw_03_scc_106 on Penrith market days alongside daily runs between Shap and Penrith by Stagecoach.
The X35 and it's dedicated livery was a bit special, as were the vehicles. I guess it did make sense to incorporate it into the 6 group between Ulverston and Barrow, and the timetable now is really quite similar 20 years on. A real Kickstart success story.
I am really envious of your trips to the Lakes. TBH, I have no excuse for not getting over there in recent years but seemingly head to the North East and forget I can get to Penrith in not much more than an hour!!
Great to read the report from @TheGrandWazoo from his 2006 trip to the Lake District. It is pleasing that this is generally an area where the level and quality of bus operations has improved in the last 20 years. This is an area I have covered both on buses and on holiday and know reasonably well.
The X4 and X5 from Penrith to Keswick, I think you say they are now two hourly - they are half hourly (or two per hour) mainly with deckers. A great service now, almost turn-up-and-go for train connections bringing Keswick closer to the rail network, and pretty scenic too. The 555 is a superb run between Keswick and Ambleside and the 599 is now at a great frequency in the hands of reasonably modern open top buses. Then you go on to Coniston and Ulverston. I have done Ulverston to Coniston on the Blueworks X12 and then on to Ambleside on the 505, these are great runs. The 505 was really busy with locals and tourists on my journey, the Solo was really inadequate from Hawkshead onwards. There is also an X7 which runs twice a week from Coniston over via Torver to Foxfield and down to Barrow, although oddly not diverting to Broughton in Furness. I don't think you can easily get from this side to Ulverston except via Barrow. I had forgotten that the X6 was originally the X35 and built up using Kickstart money - this is a real success story with an hourly commercial double decker X6 service. I have used this a couple of times and it was pretty busy both times.
I did travel the 106 many years ago on an almost new Gardner-engined Leyland National 2. More recently I was at Penrith and could have taken an elderly double decker on it to Kendal but it didn't fit with my plans for the day. I agree on Kendal, lovely town, pretty ghastly bus station, with no facilities. I was there a couple of years ago to take the 563 to Appleby in the brief period that was run from this end by Stagecoach. Not sure which stand it used and a soulless place. Many other good routes in the area - take the 508 from Bowness up to Penrith - although I'm not sure it is going to run this year as the Kirkstone Pass has been damaged, and of course the 78 from Keswick down into Borrowdale or the 77/A loop from Keswick through the Buttermere area.
Another interesting report, please do keep them coming!
Great to read the report from @TheGrandWazoo from his 2006 trip to the Lake District. It is pleasing that this is generally an area where the level and quality of bus operations has improved in the last 20 years. This is an area I have covered both on buses and on holiday and know reasonably well.
The X4 and X5 from Penrith to Keswick, I think you say they are now two hourly - they are half hourly (or two per hour) mainly with deckers. A great service now, almost turn-up-and-go for train connections bringing Keswick closer to the rail network, and pretty scenic too. The 555 is a superb run between Keswick and Ambleside and the 599 is now at a great frequency in the hands of reasonably modern open top buses. Then you go on to Coniston and Ulverston. I have done Ulverston to Coniston on the Blueworks X12 and then on to Ambleside on the 505, these are great runs. The 505 was really busy with locals and tourists on my journey, the Solo was really inadequate from Hawkshead onwards. There is also an X7 which runs twice a week from Coniston over via Torver to Foxfield and down to Barrow, although oddly not diverting to Broughton in Furness. I don't think you can easily get from this side to Ulverston except via Barrow. I had forgotten that the X6 was originally the X35 and built up using Kickstart money - this is a real success story with an hourly commercial double decker X6 service. I have used this a couple of times and it was pretty busy both times.
I did travel the 106 many years ago on an almost new Gardner-engined Leyland National 2. More recently I was at Penrith and could have taken an elderly double decker on it to Kendal but it didn't fit with my plans for the day. I agree on Kendal, lovely town, pretty ghastly bus station, with no facilities. I was there a couple of years ago to take the 563 to Appleby in the brief period that was run from this end by Stagecoach. Not sure which stand it used and a soulless place. Many other good routes in the area - take the 508 from Bowness up to Penrith - although I'm not sure it is going to run this year as the Kirkstone Pass has been damaged, and of course the 78 from Keswick down into Borrowdale or the 77/A loop from Keswick through the Buttermere area.
Another interesting report, please do keep them coming!
Oops @RELL6L - I missed out a crucial comma I meant two, hourly services (X4/X5) rather than a two hourly service
I'm glad people have focussed on the 106. I really enjoyed the 106 because it is markedly different in terms of scenery. Whilst the Lakeland scenery is superb, I really enjoyed the more rolling hills and upland scenery of the Lune Valley/Shap Fells, and the descent into the Eden Valley. Would've been good on a National 2 but the B10M was really the best beast for the job.
IIRC, Kendal bus station used to be a fully enclosed, fume filled place box. It was demolished and the site redeveloped as a shopping centre but with a bus station added on as an afterthought. It really is one of the most soulless places to wait but don't think anyone has ever had any inclination to improve it.
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***** From the Vaults - 2016 *****
As I promised/threatened, the latest in my trips from the vault from my first Explorer in the pre dereg days of 1986 through 1996, 2006 and now 2016. Oddly, looking back at my photos and recounting the day (plus the routes that I travelled on), it's the day that is both closest to the operators and vehicles yet has changed the most in terms of the routes etc. I hope you enjoy the trip!
This was May 2016 and I'd been looking for a day out. However, the collapse of expansionist Somerset firm Webberbus had created a small window of opportunity. Somerset County Council had been left with the unenviable task of immediately replacing those Webberbus services that didn't duplicate Buses of Somerset, of which some were surprisingly commercial. This led to a short term drafting in of First vehicles to various depots, appearing in spots that they'd not been seen for years. So I drove to Shepton Mallet to start the day.
My first bus of the day was one of the Wright Eclipses that were based at Wells depot and employed mainly on the Wells to Bath corridor. This had a set of short workings numbered 161 between Wells and Shepton and it was this that I caught, operated by 69446 which is still working for First but in South Yorkshire
A bit of quality for the short trip to Wells from Shepton
As nothing was open in Wells for breakfast, I caught an otherwise needless trip to Street to see what was available there, and that meant the trunk 376 operated by nearly new Streetdeck 35167. Allocated to Wells to convert the 376 to decker operation, the Streetdecks were soon exposed as not being durable enough for the hills and high speed running and were soon swapped for older e400s which still operate the service. That machine is now 71054 in Glasgow - one of the Streetdeck Repowers embracing EV technology. After breakfast, I was then able to catch a service that originated in Wells. The 55 was a service that was introduced by First Buses of Somerset to compete with Webberbus, running down to Somerton before mirroring the 54 to Taunton. My 55 was one of the better buses that First had - a former Manchester/Aberdeen B10BLE/Wright Renown that would've been perfect had it not been fitted with the appalling seating that First specified between 1999 and 2003. Early morning cloudiness had given way to brilliant blue skies and sunshine as we made our way over the Somerset Levels via Langport. The direct 55 was always competitive overkill and would soon disappear after Webberbus' demise and is now once again achievable only by getting the 377 to Somerton and changing onto the 54.
A hive of activity at Taunton bus station
Redundant Kernow vehicles stored in Taunton bus station
We arrived at Taunton bus station which has always been a fave place to wait for a bus for me. It had recently been spruced up by Buses of Somerset (though would be closed only 4 years later before being bought by the council and about to reopen albeit remodelled). It was busy with lots of rather mature BoS kit - mainly ex London Tridents, some B6LEs and the occasional B10BLE. However, arguably the busiest service is the 28 from Taunton to Minehead. Now operated by new GB Kites, it had the best of the BoS fleet but that wasn't much of a boast. It had some 10/11 year old Wright Eclipses that had been cascaded from South Yorkshire - it would be one of the better machines that worked the route before being sent back north to Halifax.
The 28 is a beautiful route. It passes Taunton station and then escapes into the countryside, heading to Bishops Lydeard and the home of the West Somerset Railway which the 28 parallels for much of its route. I can't recommend the 28 highly enough as it also passes via Williton and Watchet - small towns that are well worth an explore. The scenery is also really good, as you carve your way through the Quantock Hills, with views over to Dunster and its impressive castle. Minehead is also a great little town that benefits from a sheltered location and views across the Bristol Channel. Minehead used to have a rather large combined bus station and depot - long gone and replaced by a Coop. I had plenty of time to explore the town and had chance to see the BoS outstation which was coincidentally located just by the Webberbus depot - a site that had been cleared of any trace of the tenant that had failed just three weeks earlier. In the BoS base were a number of ex Kernow Olympians, made spare following DDA changes a few months earlier. I then walked into the town and past a bus stop where the Webberbus collapse was brutally communicated to the travelling public.
My Eclipse in totally tropical Minehead
Ouch!
Buses of Somerset had been busy mobilising vehicles and drivers and they had resuscitated some mature MPDs that had been stored (for such an eventuality?) and these were working the town service and the route to Porlock Weir. The service to Porlock had been Southern National 39 worked by minibuses but was taken on by Webberbus so it was a return for First albeit shortlived - aside from schools services, they soon passed to a quasi community operator who still work it today. It was a quick out and back for me or else it would be two hours before I could come back.
A quick trip to Porlock Weir - didn't have time to explore
A very quick reallocation from Worcester
On arriving back at Minehead, it was a short wait at the main Bancks Street stop and the 16 to Cannington. I'm not certain of the origin of the route - a rural bus challenge job from c.1999 that became a tendered service? Whatever it was, Webberbus had been operating it and it would now be a First Solo, just reallocated from Worcester and still wearing the fleetnames for the city. A few passengers boarded for the journey to Cannington - a service now reduced to a college day only service to Bridgwater. We hugged the A39, navigating the area between the coast and the Quantocks - it's sad that the area's bus service has declined but then again, Somerset Council is largely broke. At Cannington, the connection seemed to be guaranteed but it wasn't. The Solo terminated and I waited... just a few minutes passed until a Wright bodied B6LE arrived. Like my earlier B10BLE, it was a decent machine ruined by rock hard seating. The 14 would take me to Bridgwater on roads now extensively remodelled for the construction of Hinckley Point C - it remains one of the few regular First services in the town.
Returned from Plymouth - fast but uncomfortable B7L in Burnham on Sea
On arriving at Bridgwater, I could've got a direct bus to Wells but elected to do something slightly different. The 21 operated half hourly - it now runs every 35 mins - from Taunton via Bridgwater to Burnham on Sea. It had been entrusted to ex London Tridents for some months but had just reacquired some Wright bodied B7Ls that had been sent to Plymouth to operate Park and Rider services. They had worked on loan to Stagecoach but now returned and received a green Somerset front before being sent to Bradford. I had a love/hate relationship with these machines - the enthusiast element liked the raucous engine tone etc but for a passenger... they were terrible. They were noisy (yet quick) and also had those uncomfortable seats whilst the ride quality was also less than great - far worse than the B10BLEs before or the B7RLEs after. Burnham is a weird place - it has both the worst of a seaside resort but does have its redeeming features like the promenade and nearby Apex Park.
My penultimate bus was the Burnham to Wells service, and that's one of the saddest losses of the period. A longstanding route, the 170 became the 670 as a tendered service and then passed to Webberbus. Unbelievably, I think Webberbus then registered it commercially (?) and it became the 67 but continuing to have 5 return journeys linking the two places via Wedmore. When Webberbus collapsed, First's Wells depot received two short e200s to operate the route until it was retendered. It still exists but in two halves, different operators but still the 67. Wells to Wedmore has five journeys with a community minibus from Mon to Sat; the Wedmore to Burnham section has only three journeys (which do connect with the others) and operates Mon to Fri. It's a shame as the run is gorgeous - the e200 bounced across the Levels whilst the sun lit up the Mendip Hills and Cheddar Gorge in the distance. From Wells, it was a simple retracing of my steps back to Shepton...on the same Eclipse that I'd enjoyed some hours earlier.
My dinky e200 having arrived in Wells and about to have a short trip to Wookey Hole
So that was 2016 - some buses still survive but B10BLEs, B6LEs and B7Ls have now largely disappeared from the scene. The routes have changed and many links now lost...but if you can plan it effectively, many of journeys can be done. Unfortunately, the 67 is now a bit of a mess, and of course, Somerset doesn't have a multi-operator ticket, whilst the Minehead to Bridgwater link has now disappeared almost totally.
The scenery still remains a lovely as ever. Hope you enjoyed the read and sorry if I've wittered on. After SW England, NW England and NE England, as well as the Midlands... what will be 2026's contribution feature?
After detailing trips in 1986, 1996, 2006, and 2016, time to bring things up to date and a brand new trip out for May 2016, reflecting the 40th anniversary of my first proper trip out. I am now older and greyer, fitter yet fatter. Hopefully, people like my spirit guide @RELL6L will enjoy it and it is something a little bit different. Having previously featured other English areas, I was tempted to do a Scotland or Wales trip. However, I elected to do something that I hope appeals to people on different levels....literally.
I began the day by driving along the M4, identifying a nice spot to leave the car that would be safe and logistically handy, not far from Osterley tube on the Great West Road. I've perhaps indicated that I have a love of architecture and infrastructure, and Osterley tube station is a Charles Holden designed creation that is one of many fabulous 1930s structures on the Piccadilly line that he created (alongside others for London Transport). I had the opportunity to grab a few photos of this distinctive station with its tower and obelisk. I then tapped in and descended down to catch a Picc line to Hounslow Central. I exited just a few minutes later, crossed the road for my first bus trip of the day - the 120 to Northolt. Operated by Metroline, it arrived on time and I headed upstairs on a Volvo B5LH - this now seems distinctly old tech. The driver was very much in the point and press mode of driving - a bit academic as the dreaded stops for 2/3 mins as they regulated the service. It was an interesting route, passing via Southall in the heart of the Sikh community with lots of industry and vibrancy. As we approached Northolt Station, the HS2 works were clearly visible as we then reached our terminus.
I had choices for the next bus between the 140, and the Superloop SL9. I decided on the latter though the vehicle was a standard red BYD electric with ADL body. Still, it was a reasonably decent machine as we then headed up through South Harrow though the sheer amount of Saturday morning traffic meant the SL9 was hampered in providing a fast link. We arrived in an old stomping ground of mine; a good friend lived in Harrow in the 90s and the bus station has seemingly barely changed in that time. A coffee and danish later, I was on another BYD/ADL of First Bus though this had been treated to the Superloop colours. This also felt like a faster journey on the SL10 to North Finchley. I began to note the changes in demographics as we headed through various areas - it had been mainly Sikh in Southall, more mixed in Harrow whilst we were soon in the Jewish heartland of Hendon. It was really saddening to see young children heading out from worship and playing with friends but being guarded by high profile private security guards after the recent Golders Green attacks. It was also interesting to see how the fabric of buildings and areas changes with South Harrow being busy and congested high streets whilst Hendon and Kenton were quieter and more sedate.
My all red Superloop
The dark heart of North Finchley
I arrived into North Finchley. Wow - what a bus station. I marvelled at the fume filled black hole, reminiscent of past experiences in equally god awful places that have long since been vacated - Blackpool, Newcastle Eldon Square etc. Even more dispiriting was that corner of the concourse by the old information point (long closed) was clearly now someone's home. Sad to think that someone has to live in that squalor, and that TfL seemingly accept it in any case. Concluding my Superlooping was the SL1, and a new experience for me; whilst I'd just enjoyed two BYDD8s with ADL bodies (and have travelled on the same in Bolton and Coventry), it was my first try of the new all BYD B11 deckers. These were operated by Arriva from their Palmers Green depot and are moquette seated. I went upstairs and my impression was... build quality was better than the ADLs in terms of rattles etc. However, things like the scuffs on the staircase, and general wear and tear on a vehicle less than a year old, is concerning. We headed along through Friern Barnet and the huge expanse of the former Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum; apparently it had the longest corridor in Britain but has long since been converted to high end apartments. We soon arrived at Arnos Grove tube station - another Charles Holden masterpiece. I decamped here and took some photos - a TfL staff member asked me what I was doing, I explained and chatted about the architecture and he seemed happy I wasn't a potential terrorist. It is a beautiful building, influenced by the Stockholm Central Library (which I've also been to). I love it.
Desperate in North Finchley bus station - not right in a modern country
The joy that is Arnos Grove
Having had enough of the Superloop, I caught the parallel 34 which was another of these new, albeit all red, BYDs to take me to Edmonton. We headed along the North Circular and then...gridlock. To get to Angel Corner took an eternity as a lack of bus priority was really exposed as we crawled past Pymmes Park and along the road. I exited here and waited for my sole single decker of the day on the 491 towards Waltham Cross. We laboured through heavy traffic (though there is a bus lane on the other carriageway) before veering off onto various residential back roads. The bus was a very tired, very warm, e200 of Metroline and was showing all its 14 years of heavy and punishing work. Eventually, we arrived onto Hertford Road in Ponders End and I conceded defeated - the heat and stuffiness of a straining e200 could be endured no more so I bailed. Thankfully, the alternative soon arrived in the form of a two year old Arriva Wright Electroliner on the 279. What a difference and I think that these may be the best passenger experience of the four main EV deckers. We carved our way through the traffic - precious little bus lane here though lots of cycle path. Passenger loadings were quite light which was a little surprising. We duly arrived into Waltham Cross bus station, having cross the boundary of London and Herts as well as the M25 as I travelled over the top of the Holmesdale Tunnel.
The Eleanor Cross in Waltham Cross
The boundary point - where London Transport meets London Country
WCBS, as no one calls it, is a TfL facility despite being in Hertfordshire. it's a basic office structure with some adjacent stands and shelters but it's perfect for the traffic levels. It is also where red meets blue as despite the many TfL services, it is also served by Arriva from Hertford and local routes from TMS. I took time to wander around the small, rather non descript town centre, enjoying a coffee whilst sat opposite the replica of the Eleanor Cross from which it gets its name. Sadly, the town has also been afflicted by people cable tying Temu England flags to lamp posts, now all looking rather faded and dog eared. I wandered back to the bus station, which is manned even on a Saturday afternoon, to begin my return. I went for the 317 to Enfield Town and it was a year old Electroliner operated by Metroline. A lovely vehicle, we headed out and after being very lightly loaded, we began to pick up passengers consistently though we were rather delayed by the extensive trip around Enfield Retail Park for very little benefit.
My last bus of the day would be an 8th double decker but an older one with an Arriva DB300/Wright of Enfield depot. It had been a long time since I'd been to Enfield but the place seemed more vibrant than I remember. The 121 would then take me through some leafy areas and past the strange little bus terminus at Little Park Gardens before I spied my target. The Piccadilly Line station at Oakwood - again designed by Charles Holden as part of the Piccadilly line extension, it is a design classic with loads of wonderful features. I was again marvelling at this and snapping away when I was challenged, nicely, by a TfL lady. She said she was probably being monitored on CCTV but we had a laugh as I explained my love of the architecture and how lucky she was to work in a place like it. To which she replied "oh, you really should go to Cockfosters". So I did, heading one station north to the end of the line, before returning on a long trip back to Osterley.
Oakwood Station
Cockfosters with period signage
I hope you've enjoyed something slightly different. The tap on system was quick but not appreciably better than TOTO in my experience. The buses were good (except the e200) and Superloop is a decent idea but it's as prone as any bus to delay without decent bus priority. I loved my bit of art deco architecture but also loved how London's suburbs each have a definite feel with changes in demographics, religions and the like. Well worth an explore for a change.
I hope you've enjoyed something slightly different. The tap on system was quick but not appreciably better than TOTO in my experience. The buses were good (except the e200) and Superloop is a decent idea but it's as prone as any bus to delay without decent bus priority. I loved my bit of art deco architecture but also loved how London's suburbs each have a definite feel with changes in demographics, religions and the like. Well worth an explore for a change.
I think I'm quite unusual in enjoying bus travel in London, as long as you drop any illusions about getting anywhere quickly there really is so much to see on almost every route, and you can jump on different routes without any particular fixed plan, as you know you won't be far from an interchange with another route, or an underground/NR station. Do that in almost any other city in the UK and you will come unstuck sharpish!
Great report - really interesting to read! I agree about North Finchley Bus Station. I used to use it every day going to/from school for 7 years and so it never bothered me, but with hindsight (and having seen other bus stations elsewhere) it really is a horrible place, really dingy and dark. The info office was staffed back then, but it must have been a pretty depressing place to staff. I remember once or twice trying to ask the man behind the desk for advice when my 125 hadn't shown up and he'd just scowl and point me to the timetables on the wall. I can't imagine the air pollution levels are good in there, although they're probably better than they used to be with no/low emission buses now the norm in London - back in the mid 2000s you'd sometimes have up to 4 very noisy Wright Eclipse Gemini B7TLs lining up and revving their engines in there at any one time!
Thanks @Temple Meads and @Galactic142 for the comments. You're right that with turn up and travel frequencies, it does make for a very simple day and minimal planning.
Whilst I do like services with classic countryside views and the like, it was really interesting to travel across North London and see how the places change, and how the demographics and cultural mix changes too. Quite amazed what a timewarp Harrow bus station was - barely changed, it feels, for 25 years. Hoping to read some more trip reports from others.
First apologies for the delay in responding to @TheGrandWazoo's report on visiting North London. The London network was my main stomping ground when I lived there in the 1980s and I visited all these places, although of course this was well before anyone though of SuperLoop and its routes. But some of the routes then were longer and the SuperLoop routes have just replaced the original routes non-stop, such as the 140 (Harrow to Heathrow) and 207 (Shepherds Bush to Uxbridge). It will be interesting to see whether these routes really increase travel on these corridors or they are just abstracting travel from existing routes. Unlike Central London it is very difficult to cover all flows in out London because people have so many different traffic objectives - town centres, shopping centres, hospitals etc. The architecture of some of the tube stations from the 1930s is really fabulous and it is well worth visiting many of the best of them as you have done. I am sure, like everywhere, places have changed since I knew them well in the 1980s but not all have been gentrified. North Finchley is still horrible!
I've finally also got a report of my own from just my second trip of the year...
I was able to negotiate a two day pass-out last week on Tuesday and Wednesday and could head anywhere I liked. However the weather had other ideas, being extremely hot on Tuesday but with the promise of cloud on Wednesday in areas I might have visited. The North East was my first plan but the forecast cloud on Wednesday put paid to that and it is too far to go for one day. My North Wales planned trips are schooldays only and the West Country in a hot half term week would have been madness. So I settled for one day around Merseyside, heading up to Knutsford Services on Monday night. The trip was to visit a handful of places and travel several routes I had not been before also with a view to seeing some sections of or close to the coastline rarely travelled.
The start of my trip was at Leigh in Greater Manchester. I parked in the Spinning Gate shopping centre car park which is virtually next to the bus station and was deserted at 6.30am. I had a few minutes in the town centre but there is very little to see. I recalled a pleasant open green area near the town hall from a previous visit – but it was being dug up. My first leg was to Warrington on Warrington’s Own Buses 28A. The 19 and 28 generally provide a half hourly service between Warrington and Leigh via different routes, they both go to Culceth then the 19 goes via the village of Croft while the 28 passes Risley prison and then takes a huge tour of Birchwood. But one morning journey is a 28A which follows the 28 but omitting the Birchwood loop saving around 10 minutes. A 19 arrived but then headed off not in service back to Warrington, which seemed odd, but on college days this bus appears to move onto a contract journey from Leigh. A 28 arrived a couple of minutes later and returned as our 28A. A decent number of passengers joined in Leigh and we picked up more as we left the town. The bus was a single deck Volvo BZL, it surprised me how small these buses are. I think seating was 32 plus, allegedly, another 30 or so standing, reminding me of early standee buses around London! Our bus was busy but no standing. A few joined and left around Culceth and Risley prison but at the edge of Birchwood employment area around two-thirds of the passengers alighted and walked into this industrial area. We were quite empty the rest of the way into Warrington and arrived slightly early. The bus seemed perfectly capable, smooth and rattle-free, but I do find electric buses boring now.
I had a few minutes in Warrington and the open activity area where the night life is close to the bus station was quiet and still reasonably cool. The bus station was a sea of yellow buses, mostly electric BZLs from Warrington but an Arriva E200 on the 7 was a slightly different shade of yellow, then a Bee Network 100 double decker turned up in a similar shade. The only Arriva blue livery bus visible looked very tatty in comparison. Next it was back onto another Warrington Volvo BZL for the 62A to Runcorn. A similar type of trip, several passengers from central Warrington, some alighting and boarding through Stockton Heath, then at Daresbury Science Park almost everybody left, a few others alighting at the next industrial area on the edge of Runcorn. From here it was through residential roads and then the busway through Murdishaw, past the ‘ghost’ bus station on the busway and a diversion through the suburb of Grange before arriving at central Runcorn. Here I had a longer break to have breakfast and a coffee, buy some lunch and drop down to the shore of the Mersey to look at the bridges and over towards Widnes.
After a break I took the first bus to Widnes, which was a standard Arriva Pulsar on the 110 to take a very short visit to the town centre. There are some prominent red brick public buildings in the town centre which look good in the sunshine, plus a couple of rather dull shopping centres. Then it was onwards on another Pulsar on the 82A through the western suburbs of Widnes and out to Hale Village and then Speke. This was another route I had not travelled before. Hale Village seemed very smart with a number of expensive looking houses and some thatched cottages. Rather a contrast to suddenly appear in the large and soulless Liverpool suburb of Speke. I alighted on Central Avenue to change to an 82 which was following us and would take a more direct route towards the city whereas the 82A goes via John Lennon airport. In fact where the routes met up again the 82A appeared just in front of us! The 82 was another Arriva bus, this time a 66-plate hybrid Volvo B5H. This seemed a lot smoother than the last time I went on one of these, which was an older one in Yorkshire, all of which have now been withdrawn, none of the lurches as the engine takes over from the batteries. I don’t know what the future will hold for these once franchising takes over in Liverpool. It took us some time to get through Garston where the traffic lights all seemed to work against us but soon afterwards we arrived at my destination for this leg at Aigburth. I have to confess I had always thought Aigburth was a down-at-heel suburb of Liverpool but I was wrong, at least around the Lark Lane area, something I first saw in a ‘best places to live’ feature in a Sunday paper. Alighting from the 82 on the main road it was still rough but a few yards away Lark Lane is a bastion of gentrified trendy eating places with tables in the street and middle class customers all along the road. I walked up to the far end and into a corner of Sefton Park which was busy with visitors in the late morning sunshine, a very attractive area.
Back to the same bus stop and then onto the 60 ring road service. I took this many years ago, in the 1980s I would think, when it was run by Merseyside PTE’s small fleet of Metropolitans. I remember this charging round the ring road at a rapid pace and with great sound effects from these marvellous buses. My bus this time was a standard 15-plate E400. I’m not sure it was exactly the same route though as the current route does not actually reach the ring road until halfway through the journey to Bootle. The early parts are through some reasonably leafy suburbs such as Wavertree and then to Old Swan. Here we were delayed by badly phased traffic lights which favoured a Tesco car park over the main roads and long pedestrian phases over everyone else. Then it was onto the busy ring road where progress was tedious. There were traffic lights every half mile or so where the road crossed one of the many arterial routes into the city centre. Some cars would get through these traffic lights quite well, whereas the bus would be happily approaching a green light at the junction only to stop at a bus stop and then arrive at the junction when the light was red. And the lights were red for long periods as the traffic lights had lots of phases. Then on to the next one and repeat. We were caught by an 81 which helped as we missed out the odd bus stop. Maybe not in the city centre, but out here the bus has totally lost the battle against the car, nobody would use the bus by choice for journeys along here. Obviously some people don’t have a choice because we did have a number of passengers. So, first gripe of the trip, outer Liverpool traffic management!
By the time I got to Bootle it was pretty hot and I just walked up from the bus station to the main shopping street. I now wanted to get a 53 northbound, this currently being a quality corridor route with both Arriva and Stagecoach operating every 15 minutes or so from Liverpool to Crosby. Oddly, on journeys leaving Liverpool at about midday, the Arriva journeys take 6 minutes longer, so the frequency is not uniform at the Crosby end. I just missed an Arriva bus and took the Stagecoach E300 which was just behind. We were slowed down by a driver change at the following stop although the Arriva one must have done the same at their changing stop one further on as we nearly caught it up. I alighted at Waterloo station and walked down to the boating lake, as near as possible to get to the coast here. From now on my plan was to try and get fairly close to the actual coastline, as it isn’t very accessible, especially by bus. When I got back I had just missed the next Arriva bus but the Stagecoach one, another E300, was not far behind, and I took this on to the terminus at Crosby Village. I had been through Crosby on the X2 before but not stopped off here, in parts this was a pleasant upmarket eating and shopping area.
From Crosby it was on the Huyton Travel 206, operated by a Solo. Here we come to gripe number two and it is not against Huyton Travel as the driver and bus were fine. I started off going on the loop round Crosby, passing Hall Road station, a loop of Blundellsands including the nearest there is to a sea front, and back past Hall Road station again. Here is a screenshot of part of the BusTimes record of times along with a Real Times trains extract from this time which I can confirm are accurate.
We were just a couple of minutes late approaching Hall Road station but the level crossing gates were down and we had to wait 7 minutes to get through, as trains passed in either direction. The first train to pass was the 14.09 to Southport, but this did not appear until 14.13, some four minutes after we had stopped. So why were the gates closed? Understandably we then waited for the 14.15 departure. The timings for the 206 show that 9 minutes are allowed to get round the loop in Blundellsands and we managed it in 7 minutes. But the level crossing gates were then closed for the next pair of trains. Again we arrived at 14.23 and the first train did not appear for four minutes. This time a police car with flashing lights and sirens turned up the other side, turned round to find another route then reappeared two minutes later. Why are the gates closed for so long? Who makes these decisions or sets the criteria for them? On this basis, with two trains every quarter of an hour, the gates are closed over half the time. I am surprised the locals put up with it – but there isn’t anyone to complain to! My second gripe! There were a few passengers on this loop and I think a couple of others went right round – if they had finished their shopping and were going on the next bit then the bus would be cooler than the bus stop!
At the end of the loop I stayed on the bus, now about 10 minutes late, and continued through a small patch of rural country to Hightown, a small surprisingly self-contained village with its own station, just a little further north. After about 10 minutes here I took the next train north to Formby. Alighting at Formby station I was surprised by how little there was near the station. I had some time here, there was nothing to do – but there was a pub, it was hot, I was parched… perfect. I wanted to repeat the exercise of getting near the coast at Formby by getting the F3 to the west of the railway and this was also running 10 minutes late. There are no views of the coast from the built-up area just access roads to car parks. It was now late afternoon on a very hot day and the car parks were all full with cars parked all over the roads in the area and people heading on foot to the beach. Well-to-do houses in this part of town. The F3 also went over a level crossing and the light turned red just in front of us, but within two minutes the train passed and we were on our way, so I don’t know why the Hall Road one was so slow.
I took the F3 back to Formby Village, which is nothing interesting, just a few shops nearer to the main road. From here it was a short walk to the stop where the X2 and 47 run up the main road from Liverpool to Southport. For some reasons none of Stagecoach Preston was tracking so I had no idea if the X2 would turn up when due, but it did, bang on time I think it was a standard E400MMC on which we proceeded further north fairly near the coast to Southport, arriving slightly early. I know the Arriva 49 runs slightly closer to the coast through Ainsdale but I didn’t feel the need to do this short section.
So on to gripe number 3. I didn’t fancy the 375/385 back to Wigan as these take ages and I have done the route before. So to the train, with the added interest of perhaps getting one of the hybrid class 769 trains. The plan had been, if I could make the train at 17.03, to stop off at Burscough Bridge for 20 minutes for a quick look around here as the canal is close to the station. However, by looking at Real Time trains, I could see that the arrival to form the following train had been cancelled and my intended train was just a 2-car Sprinter. This on a sunny day with trippers returning from the seaside. I ended up taking the 17.03 all the way to Wigan, it was not quite full but the next one, an hour later, with extra stops to make up for the cancelled one, would have been interesting. I see that this one, at least a 769, was 11 minutes late by Wigan, whereas mine was on time. I haven’t trawled through Real Time Trains to see if the cancelled train was a 769 which broke down earlier in the day, I am not so into trains as to do that. But the farce of the 769 saga is appalling, it has gone on for so long and has not been sorted. Not enough trains have been procured but how hard can it be to stick an engine into these trains and make them work (which they have) reliably (which they haven’t). The government and Department for Transport are to blame with a complete lack of direction and planning, it really is a disgrace. Will Great British Railways be any better – very much doubt it!
Anyway I got off the train from Wigan and strolled around the town centre in the early evening with plenty of people out for drinks in the town centre hostelries. I then just had to take a bus back to Leigh with a number of routes to choose from. I am sure in First’s day the 607-610 routes to Leigh and Bolton were mainly single deckers, with Stagecoach about 50-50 single and double, now they are all double deckers on the Bee Network. I chose a 608 which went through Hindley. The Makerfield by election campaign has started in earnest apparently and Hindley is in the constituency but I didn’t see anyone door knocking or the second coming and just a single ‘Reform’ poster in a window. I know the Bee Network has improved reliability, timekeeping and resilience, but at the cost of waiting around. We paused for 4 minutes in the middle of Hindley in the company of a 607 going in our direction and a 608 towards Wigan and a further 5 minutes further on, so 9 minutes stopped in a 43 minute journey. I accept this was a quiet day for traffic and it is a balance between reliability and speed but if the buses are too slow then they become less attractive.
Back in Leigh I returned to the Spinning Gate car park, again deserted by now, and drove home. A hot but interesting day. Three gripes but well worth an explore of this relatively unfamiliar area.
Some photos - because of the screenshots it will only allow 7!
Leigh, 6.30am
The River Mersey at Runcorn
Lark Lane, Aigburth
From the boating lake at Waterloo, over towards the cranes visible from Liverpool and New Brighton
Crosby Village
The sea front at Blundellsands - no-one around
Hightown
No room for Southport or Wigan!
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Later post added 8 June.
I've just found the trip report to Somerset by @TheGrandWazoo from 2016, not sure how I missed this before. I am waiting for the taxi to the airport for 3 week away but would make some hurried comments on this most enjoyable report as I have visited many of these places.
My notes show that in 2007 I did a trip from Nether Stowey, starting by heading to Watchet, then returning to Bridgwater along what was the 15 route. I think this may have been First at that time. The trip finished with a journey from Taunton to Nether Stowey, possibly the First 23, now the 23B only at Taunton college times. These are very difficult now with the college bus on the road west of Cannington and very little else. Watchet is a lovely place and well worth a trip. This trip also included a route from Langport to Bridgwater across the Somerset Levels, this still exists.
In 2011 I covered the once a week 850 route from Langport to East Lambrook, walking to South Petherton, this route still exists.
In 2012 I did Burnham on Sea to Wells via Wedmore for the first time, this is a scenic route. This was on a trip starting in Cheddar and finishing with the leg from Glastonbury back to Cheddar also via Wedmore, but not stopping there.
In March 2016 I did another trip in the area including Webberbus before it disappeared. This included a journey with them from Weston super Mare to Woolavington before continuing to Glastonbury. I think this route is long gone but was once a trunk route from Weston to Taunton largely using the A38 route. The loss of Webberbus did cut back services in the area and I suspect they ran some services which lost money and priced tenders to low, meaning some were not replaced. I think at this time there was competition between Bridgwater and Wells which must have been daft.
Most recently, in 2020 just before the pandemic, I did a trip from Burnham on Sea. First leg was to Wedmore as the through route to Wells does not make it easy to stop off here. I then went to Glastonbury heading on to Taunton, visiting Wellington and then back via the more frequent routes.
I have done the fabulous Exmoor run from Minehead to Lynmouth a couple of times and also the Taunton to Minehead run. I think the original Exmoor run, with Quantock Coaches, may have included a double-run to Porlock Weir. The timetables now make it very difficult to get off and explore here. I have also done Minehead to Tiverton and Taunton to South Molton crossing the area through Dulverton and Bampton, but not managed to stop off at either of those small towns.
Travelling around this area is considerably harder now as there are fewer buses but some supported services do remain. Great to hear about other trips. Sorry this is rushed!
First apologies for the delay in responding to @TheGrandWazoo's report on visiting North London. The London network was my main stomping ground when I lived there in the 1980s and I visited all these places, although of course this was well before anyone though of SuperLoop and its routes. But some of the routes then were longer and the SuperLoop routes have just replaced the original routes non-stop, such as the 140 (Harrow to Heathrow) and 207 (Shepherds Bush to Uxbridge). It will be interesting to see whether these routes really increase travel on these corridors or they are just abstracting travel from existing routes. Unlike Central London it is very difficult to cover all flows in out London because people have so many different traffic objectives - town centres, shopping centres, hospitals etc. The architecture of some of the tube stations from the 1930s is really fabulous and it is well worth visiting many of the best of them as you have done. I am sure, like everywhere, places have changed since I knew them well in the 1980s but not all have been gentrified. North Finchley is still horrible!
I've finally also got a report of my own from just my second trip of the year...
I was able to negotiate a two day pass-out last week on Tuesday and Wednesday and could head anywhere I liked. However the weather had other ideas, being extremely hot on Tuesday but with the promise of cloud on Wednesday in areas I might have visited. The North East was my first plan but the forecast cloud on Wednesday put paid to that and it is too far to go for one day. My North Wales planned trips are schooldays only and the West Country in a hot half term week would have been madness. So I settled for one day around Merseyside, heading up to Knutsford Services on Monday night. The trip was to visit a handful of places and travel several routes I had not been before also with a view to seeing some sections of or close to the coastline rarely travelled.
The start of my trip was at Leigh in Greater Manchester. I parked in the Spinning Gate shopping centre car park which is virtually next to the bus station and was deserted at 6.30am. I had a few minutes in the town centre but there is very little to see. I recalled a pleasant open green area near the town hall from a previous visit – but it was being dug up. My first leg was to Warrington on Warrington’s Own Buses 28A. The 19 and 28 generally provide a half hourly service between Warrington and Leigh via different routes, they both go to Culceth then the 19 goes via the village of Croft while the 28 passes Risley prison and then takes a huge tour of Birchwood. But one morning journey is a 28A which follows the 28 but omitting the Birchwood loop saving around 10 minutes. A 19 arrived but then headed off not in service back to Warrington, which seemed odd, but on college days this bus appears to move onto a contract journey from Leigh. A 28 arrived a couple of minutes later and returned as our 28A. A decent number of passengers joined in Leigh and we picked up more as we left the town. The bus was a single deck Volvo BZL, it surprised me how small these buses are. I think seating was 32 plus, allegedly, another 30 or so standing, reminding me of early standee buses around London! Our bus was busy but no standing. A few joined and left around Culceth and Risley prison but at the edge of Birchwood employment area around two-thirds of the passengers alighted and walked into this industrial area. We were quite empty the rest of the way into Warrington and arrived slightly early. The bus seemed perfectly capable, smooth and rattle-free, but I do find electric buses boring now.
I had a few minutes in Warrington and the open activity area where the night life is close to the bus station was quiet and still reasonably cool. The bus station was a sea of yellow buses, mostly electric BZLs from Warrington but an Arriva E200 on the 7 was a slightly different shade of yellow, then a Bee Network 100 double decker turned up in a similar shade. The only Arriva blue livery bus visible looked very tatty in comparison. Next it was back onto another Warrington Volvo BZL for the 62A to Runcorn. A similar type of trip, several passengers from central Warrington, some alighting and boarding through Stockton Heath, then at Daresbury Science Park almost everybody left, a few others alighting at the next industrial area on the edge of Runcorn. From here it was through residential roads and then the busway through Murdishaw, past the ‘ghost’ bus station on the busway and a diversion through the suburb of Grange before arriving at central Runcorn. Here I had a longer break to have breakfast and a coffee, buy some lunch and drop down to the shore of the Mersey to look at the bridges and over towards Widnes.
After a break I took the first bus to Widnes, which was a standard Arriva Pulsar on the 110 to take a very short visit to the town centre. There are some prominent red brick public buildings in the town centre which look good in the sunshine, plus a couple of rather dull shopping centres. Then it was onwards on another Pulsar on the 82A through the western suburbs of Widnes and out to Hale Village and then Speke. This was another route I had not travelled before. Hale Village seemed very smart with a number of expensive looking houses and some thatched cottages. Rather a contrast to suddenly appear in the large and soulless Liverpool suburb of Speke. I alighted on Central Avenue to change to an 82 which was following us and would take a more direct route towards the city whereas the 82A goes via John Lennon airport. In fact where the routes met up again the 82A appeared just in front of us! The 82 was another Arriva bus, this time a 66-plate hybrid Volvo B5H. This seemed a lot smoother than the last time I went on one of these, which was an older one in Yorkshire, all of which have now been withdrawn, none of the lurches as the engine takes over from the batteries. I don’t know what the future will hold for these once franchising takes over in Liverpool. It took us some time to get through Garston where the traffic lights all seemed to work against us but soon afterwards we arrived at my destination for this leg at Aigburth. I have to confess I had always thought Aigburth was a down-at-heel suburb of Liverpool but I was wrong, at least around the Lark Lane area, something I first saw in a ‘best places to live’ feature in a Sunday paper. Alighting from the 82 on the main road it was still rough but a few yards away Lark Lane is a bastion of gentrified trendy eating places with tables in the street and middle class customers all along the road. I walked up to the far end and into a corner of Sefton Park which was busy with visitors in the late morning sunshine, a very attractive area.
Back to the same bus stop and then onto the 60 ring road service. I took this many years ago, in the 1980s I would think, when it was run by Merseyside PTE’s small fleet of Metropolitans. I remember this charging round the ring road at a rapid pace and with great sound effects from these marvellous buses. My bus this time was a standard 15-plate E400. I’m not sure it was exactly the same route though as the current route does not actually reach the ring road until halfway through the journey to Bootle. The early parts are through some reasonably leafy suburbs such as Wavertree and then to Old Swan. Here we were delayed by badly phased traffic lights which favoured a Tesco car park over the main roads and long pedestrian phases over everyone else. Then it was onto the busy ring road where progress was tedious. There were traffic lights every half mile or so where the road crossed one of the many arterial routes into the city centre. Some cars would get through these traffic lights quite well, whereas the bus would be happily approaching a green light at the junction only to stop at a bus stop and then arrive at the junction when the light was red. And the lights were red for long periods as the traffic lights had lots of phases. Then on to the next one and repeat. We were caught by an 81 which helped as we missed out the odd bus stop. Maybe not in the city centre, but out here the bus has totally lost the battle against the car, nobody would use the bus by choice for journeys along here. Obviously some people don’t have a choice because we did have a number of passengers. So, first gripe of the trip, outer Liverpool traffic management!
By the time I got to Bootle it was pretty hot and I just walked up from the bus station to the main shopping street. I now wanted to get a 53 northbound, this currently being a quality corridor route with both Arriva and Stagecoach operating every 15 minutes or so from Liverpool to Crosby. Oddly, on journeys leaving Liverpool at about midday, the Arriva journeys take 6 minutes longer, so the frequency is not uniform at the Crosby end. I just missed an Arriva bus and took the Stagecoach E300 which was just behind. We were slowed down by a driver change at the following stop although the Arriva one must have done the same at their changing stop one further on as we nearly caught it up. I alighted at Waterloo station and walked down to the boating lake, as near as possible to get to the coast here. From now on my plan was to try and get fairly close to the actual coastline, as it isn’t very accessible, especially by bus. When I got back I had just missed the next Arriva bus but the Stagecoach one, another E300, was not far behind, and I took this on to the terminus at Crosby Village. I had been through Crosby on the X2 before but not stopped off here, in parts this was a pleasant upmarket eating and shopping area.
From Crosby it was on the Huyton Travel 206, operated by a Solo. Here we come to gripe number two and it is not against Huyton Travel as the driver and bus were fine. I started off going on the loop round Crosby, passing Hall Road station, a loop of Blundellsands including the nearest there is to a sea front, and back past Hall Road station again. Here is a screenshot of part of the BusTimes record of times along with a Real Times trains extract from this time which I can confirm are accurate.
We were just a couple of minutes late approaching Hall Road station but the level crossing gates were down and we had to wait 7 minutes to get through, as trains passed in either direction. The first train to pass was the 14.09 to Southport, but this did not appear until 14.13, some four minutes after we had stopped. So why were the gates closed? Understandably we then waited for the 14.15 departure. The timings for the 206 show that 9 minutes are allowed to get round the loop in Blundellsands and we managed it in 7 minutes. But the level crossing gates were then closed for the next pair of trains. Again we arrived at 14.23 and the first train did not appear for four minutes. This time a police car with flashing lights and sirens turned up the other side, turned round to find another route then reappeared two minutes later. Why are the gates closed for so long? Who makes these decisions or sets the criteria for them? On this basis, with two trains every quarter of an hour, the gates are closed over half the time. I am surprised the locals put up with it – but there isn’t anyone to complain to! My second gripe! There were a few passengers on this loop and I think a couple of others went right round – if they had finished their shopping and were going on the next bit then the bus would be cooler than the bus stop!
At the end of the loop I stayed on the bus, now about 10 minutes late, and continued through a small patch of rural country to Hightown, a small surprisingly self-contained village with its own station, just a little further north. After about 10 minutes here I took the next train north to Formby. Alighting at Formby station I was surprised by how little there was near the station. I had some time here, there was nothing to do – but there was a pub, it was hot, I was parched… perfect. I wanted to repeat the exercise of getting near the coast at Formby by getting the F3 to the west of the railway and this was also running 10 minutes late. There are no views of the coast from the built-up area just access roads to car parks. It was now late afternoon on a very hot day and the car parks were all full with cars parked all over the roads in the area and people heading on foot to the beach. Well-to-do houses in this part of town. The F3 also went over a level crossing and the light turned red just in front of us, but within two minutes the train passed and we were on our way, so I don’t know why the Hall Road one was so slow.
I took the F3 back to Formby Village, which is nothing interesting, just a few shops nearer to the main road. From here it was a short walk to the stop where the X2 and 47 run up the main road from Liverpool to Southport. For some reasons none of Stagecoach Preston was tracking so I had no idea if the X2 would turn up when due, but it did, bang on time I think it was a standard E400MMC on which we proceeded further north fairly near the coast to Southport, arriving slightly early. I know the Arriva 49 runs slightly closer to the coast through Ainsdale but I didn’t feel the need to do this short section.
So on to gripe number 3. I didn’t fancy the 375/385 back to Wigan as these take ages and I have done the route before. So to the train, with the added interest of perhaps getting one of the hybrid class 769 trains. The plan had been, if I could make the train at 17.03, to stop off at Burscough Bridge for 20 minutes for a quick look around here as the canal is close to the station. However, by looking at Real Time trains, I could see that the arrival to form the following train had been cancelled and my intended train was just a 2-car Sprinter. This on a sunny day with trippers returning from the seaside. I ended up taking the 17.03 all the way to Wigan, it was not quite full but the next one, an hour later, with extra stops to make up for the cancelled one, would have been interesting. I see that this one, at least a 769, was 11 minutes late by Wigan, whereas mine was on time. I haven’t trawled through Real Time Trains to see if the cancelled train was a 769 which broke down earlier in the day, I am not so into trains as to do that. But the farce of the 769 saga is appalling, it has gone on for so long and has not been sorted. Not enough trains have been procured but how hard can it be to stick an engine into these trains and make them work (which they have) reliably (which they haven’t). The government and Department for Transport are to blame with a complete lack of direction and planning, it really is a disgrace. Will Great British Railways be any better – very much doubt it!
Anyway I got off the train from Wigan and strolled around the town centre in the early evening with plenty of people out for drinks in the town centre hostelries. I then just had to take a bus back to Leigh with a number of routes to choose from. I am sure in First’s day the 607-610 routes to Leigh and Bolton were mainly single deckers, with Stagecoach about 50-50 single and double, now they are all double deckers on the Bee Network. I chose a 608 which went through Hindley. The Makerfield by election campaign has started in earnest apparently and Hindley is in the constituency but I didn’t see anyone door knocking or the second coming and just a single ‘Reform’ poster in a window. I know the Bee Network has improved reliability, timekeeping and resilience, but at the cost of waiting around. We paused for 4 minutes in the middle of Hindley in the company of a 607 going in our direction and a 608 towards Wigan and a further 5 minutes further on, so 9 minutes stopped in a 43 minute journey. I accept this was a quiet day for traffic and it is a balance between reliability and speed but if the buses are too slow then they become less attractive.
Back in Leigh I returned to the Spinning Gate car park, again deserted by now, and drove home. A hot but interesting day. Three gripes but well worth an explore of this relatively unfamiliar area.
Some photos - because of the screenshots it will only allow 7!
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Later post added 8 June.
I've just found the trip report to Somerset by @TheGrandWazoo from 2016, not sure how I missed this before. I am waiting for the taxi to the airport for 3 week away but would make some hurried comments on this most enjoyable report as I have visited many of these places.
My notes show that in 2007 I did a trip from Nether Stowey, starting by heading to Watchet, then returning to Bridgwater along what was the 15 route. I think this may have been First at that time. The trip finished with a journey from Taunton to Nether Stowey, possibly the First 23, now the 23B only at Taunton college times. These are very difficult now with the college bus on the road west of Cannington and very little else. Watchet is a lovely place and well worth a trip. This trip also included a route from Langport to Bridgwater across the Somerset Levels, this still exists.
In 2011 I covered the once a week 850 route from Langport to East Lambrook, walking to South Petherton, this route still exists.
In 2012 I did Burnham on Sea to Wells via Wedmore for the first time, this is a scenic route. This was on a trip starting in Cheddar and finishing with the leg from Glastonbury back to Cheddar also via Wedmore, but not stopping there.
In March 2016 I did another trip in the area including Webberbus before it disappeared. This included a journey with them from Weston super Mare to Woolavington before continuing to Glastonbury. I think this route is long gone but was once a trunk route from Weston to Taunton largely using the A38 route. The loss of Webberbus did cut back services in the area and I suspect they ran some services which lost money and priced tenders to low, meaning some were not replaced. I think at this time there was competition between Bridgwater and Wells which must have been daft.
Most recently, in 2020 just before the pandemic, I did a trip from Burnham on Sea. First leg was to Wedmore as the through route to Wells does not make it easy to stop off here. I then went to Glastonbury heading on to Taunton, visiting Wellington and then back via the more frequent routes.
I have done the fabulous Exmoor run from Minehead to Lynmouth a couple of times and also the Taunton to Minehead run. I think the original Exmoor run, with Quantock Coaches, may have included a double-run to Porlock Weir. The timetables now make it very difficult to get off and explore here. I have also done Minehead to Tiverton and Taunton to South Molton crossing the area through Dulverton and Bampton, but not managed to stop off at either of those small towns.
Travelling around this area is considerably harder now as there are fewer buses but some supported services do remain. Great to hear about other trips. Sorry this is rushed!
No worries - have a great holiday. Webberbus operated some stuff commercially that must have been lossmaking. I think the route you're thinking of was the Badgerline X2 that ran from Bristol to Weston to Taunton and did go via Woolavington on entering Bridgwater; I think it was also operated as the 102 in later years from Weston to Bridgwater and yes, I think Webberbus did have a go with it.
The decline of routes in Somerset is rather sad but the local authority is skint.
Have a great time - I have another trip done and ready to share.
As threatened, I have had another trip report locked and loaded. Most of my trips out tend to feature the North East (family visits and nostagia for my youth), South West and Wales, though with a few in East Anglia and the South East. In the Midlands, it has tended to be West for most trips with the East Mids being criminally overlooked. Only a couple of trips in recent years meant it was overdue a visit, and I headed out for a jaunt to Nottinghamshire, covering some territory that I last visited about 2.5 years ago but some much more unfamiliar. I hope you enjoy the read.
Circumstances meant that I started my day in Shirebrook, just over the border in Derbyshire. A former pit town, it is the sort of town that epitomises Reform's growth into hitherto Labour strongholds. The place has suffered years of decline with well paid jobs now lost and a reliance on low paid jobs (like the large SportsDirect warehouse in the town) plus immigration fermenting a feeling of desperation and frustration. Certainly, it had a feel of a place left behind and intended to do much the same as I caught my first bus on a bright and sunny morning. A Stagecoach Gold ticket (£11) was bought and I headed to Mansfield on a cascaded e400, dislodged from Manchester after the Bee Network rollout was completed - it would be one of many in the local fleet I'd see. There are two routes from Shirebrook to Mansfield with this being the direct 23. We wound our way through some large estates on the edge of Shirebrook and then made our way via Pleasley to Mansfield and the large modern bus station there. It's a really good facility - typical of Notts CC and their investment. I wasn't staying long as it was a quick swap onto another Bee Network refugee e400 for the 16 which would take me through more ex mining territory. None more distinctive than Clipstone where the colliery headstocks and other buildings are listed and make up part of the Vicar Water Country Park; the headstocks were Europe's tallest, I believe. Our e400 was in decent shape as we lolled our way along the road arriving in the town of Edwinstowe. Edwinstowe is a curious place. It doesn't feel like a former mining town (like so many other places do in the area like Shirebrook and Ollerton). It feels almost like a rural market town/large village yet it depended on Thoresby Colliery until 2015 for its existence. I had chance for a drinks break and then hopped onto the Sherwood Arrow, passing the now redeveloped colliery site on the edge of the place as we headed towards Worksop; Edwinstowe is also home to the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre which the SA serves and perhaps tourism is now the pre-eminent employer as the town reinvents itself. The Sherwood Arrow is one of those routes that had a real identity and Stagecoach developed it during the 2000s with newer vehicles and a dedicated livery. Nowadays, it's just another route operated with any old vehicles and yes, it was tired 16 year old e300 that rattled its way through Ollerton and past Clumber Park to Worksop. As with earlier journeys, the countryside was green and verdant, and was clearly healing from the scars of mining over many years. It was really very pretty and well worth an explore.
Edwinstowe
A rather dull Sherwood Arrow
Worksop again has a modern bus station though since I was last there 2.5 years ago, the cafe has closed; I guess it's dependant on the bus station trade as there is little other footfall given the location. I waited for my next bus to arrive from Wensleydale... not North Yorkshire but part of Worksop. It was yet another former Stagecoach Manchester e400, this one being older and more careworn than my earlier examples. This also illustrates one observation I had... The Stagecoach fleet is getting really old. I'd had four journeys and the vehicle ages were 18, 17, 16 and 18 years and even with 24 new EVs due for Mansfield, there's a lot of ageing and elderly fleet (and that's evident elsewhere in the UK) as vehicle replacement seems to have declined with Covid and the sale of the business.
This was new territory for me as I'd never travelled to Retford by bus. In fact, I'm not certain I'd be to Retford this century for any reason! The scenery had definitely moved to being more traditionally rural rather than former mining spots. We passed close to the Rampton institution and were soon arriving into Retford. What a lovely little town. The rather lousy bus station I remember inhabited by knackered Road Car vehicles has been replaced by a small but appropriately sized modern bus facility. The buses are still old though whether it is Stagecoach or Marshalls. I took the opportunity to take the short walk into the market place - it was bustling and an absolute delight of a place to grab lunch in. However, time was marching on, and I had to walk back for my next bus of the day, and it was Marshall's service to Newark. The very smartly liveried Versa was waiting for me though I have to say that the interior was beginning to look a little frayed. We had about 20 or more passengers as we left Retford. I was just in front of a man who seemed to have a respiratory condition as he kept coughing quite violently; it was welcome when a few passengers got off and I could move. The 37 is really two separate routes as there wasn't much end to end trade as we dwindled to having about five on board before we became well loaded into Newark. We continued and finally reached the A1 at Markham Moor where the distinctive Grade II listed former Little Chef survives, heading south to Tuxford was part of the stagecoach route (not buses but 18th century) evidenced by the large hotels on the main street that used to be the A1 and where we also saw a large group waiting to head into Retford. The 37 then heads into big sky territory and open fields before arriving into Sutton on Trent, home of Marshall's. We passed their depot, the yard full of deckers. The looped around and through the village before we arrived at a stop where a driver changeover was to be undertaken...near to their other depot. I didn't realise Marshall's had two depots in the village - you live and learn. We then headed off with our new driver and had a very healthy load from Carlton and North Muskham by the time we hit the traffic caused by the level crossing near Newark Castle, delaying our arrival into Newark bus station.
Retford Market Place
Retford bus station and a smart Versa
Apologies for the repetition but yes, it was another modern Nottinghamshire bus station. To be honest, it's a bit oversized and grand but an improvement on the old site (on the same location) which went when the depot/bus station was redeveloped and Asda built a store. It was getting very warm by now so I headed to said Asda to get a drink which was just as well. My next bus was another £3 fare - the NCT Pathfinder service 90 to Nottingham. It was one of the branded Solo SRs that NCT have moved onto the route. I can't recall all the operators etc on a service that has had very mixed fortunes over the years; it was traditional operator Gash until they failed and sold to RoadCar, then Pathfinder ran it before they were bought by NCT who then operated and then axed it. Marshalls had a go for several years, then Vectare and then they pulled out of the area so NCT re-entered the fray. Can anyone advise if any other firm has had a try?? I think it's just one of those services with a few well loaded journeys but the rest are much more modest and it struggles with the length of the service. The journey itself isn't especially interesting if I'm honest though I should have a look around Bingham at some point. The Solo SR was boiling hot and I was pleased I had my drink. However, the Solo was too hot - even with a break in Bingham, the ailing machine was struggling in the heat with various buzzers and bleepers sounding so the driver raised the alarm, nursing it into West Bridgford where we were met by an identical if healthier vehicle from the nearby Trent Bridge depot that completed the last five mins of the journey.
The cavalry arrives
I love Nottingham. It's a great city and there's always lots of hustle and bustle in the centre. In the sunshine, that was even more evident with a vibrancy about the place. I had chance to have a walk around and savour some of the atmosphere but was conscious that I had to be getting back to my car and travel to a family meal. So it was a walk across the city centre to Victoria bus station. Now this is Nottingham not Notts... Victoria bus station is a dump. It's miserable and ill maintained. Always rudimentary, it's now a dirty and uninspiring place to wait for a bus. I was pleased when my Pronto to Mansfield arrived and it was something relatively modern - up until then, the most modern vehicle had been Marshall's 62 plate Versa but now we had a 69 plate e400mmc which seemed luxurious. Pronto heads on the main A60 and past the former Home Ales brewery which closed in 1996. A fine art deco structure, it is now home to Nottinghamshire County Council. The Pronto then goes through rolling countryside, providing a 10 min headway to Mansfield. Time was pressing and having just missed the 23, it was quicker to get the slower 12 to Shirebrook. Another more modern e400mmc, this headed via Warsop and some more ex colliery scenery to deposit me just by the former Shirebrook bus depot that still stands, 35 years after closure.
City Hall Nottingham
Journey's end in Shirebrook
I'd never travelled around East Notts and I discovered it to be markedly different from the West side of the county, much more agricultural and wider open expanses. Retford was a lovely surprise and worth a wander round. I didn't explore Newark but wish I had - it too looks like a good honest town to wander about. As I said, you can't knock Nottingham. Perhaps my experience of the 90 was tempered by my excess heat but that was not the most exciting trip along the (old) A46. As for the vehicles - well, they all turned up and were largely to time but Stagecoach East Midlands looks a tired fleet on that showing even with new vehicles on the way. Marshalls - first time on them and the exterior was immaculate but the interior was showing its age. All in all, a lovely day out in an area that I seldom explore. That said, I must get over the border to Lincolnshire soon too.
@TheGrandWazoo as you would probably guess I enjoyed reading your trip report from Nottinghamshire. I don’t think that there is anywhere you went to that I am not familiar with, but there are lots of places I haven‘t travelled to by bus and that includes Worksop and Retford.
You were very brave starting and finishing in Shirebrook. It is somewhere I try to avoid! I’m afraid I can’t see any improvement in the future. Sports Direct has certainly provided lots of low paid employment, but many of the workers there are immigrants rather than local people. There is also a big possibility that Sports Direct may not remain in Shirebrook long term. Their lease runs out in 2034 and they are looking at developing a site near the M6 in Warwickshire. Having worked for almost 40 years teaching in a primary school in an ex mining community south of Mansfield I do understand why many ex staunch Labour voters have turned to Reform. I would never vote for Reform and I’m sure it’s not the long term answer.
Retford is a lovely market town and the area around the market square is interesting to wander around. You must have a wander around Newark. You don’t really get to appreciate it from the main road and the bus station. The market place and narrow streets are lovely. There are some very historic buildings and a magnificent church. If you liked Retford, the centre of Newark is even better.
The 90 from Newark to Nottingham is not the most inspiring route. If ever you are in the area again I recommend using the Stagecoach 28 from Newark to Mansfield. The 29 is also a nice route but misses a few of the more attractive villages. The 28/29 shows rural Central Nottinghamshire at its best with rolling countryside and very attractive villages with their red brick cottages and pan tile roofs. The section between Southwell and Farnsfield where you can connect with the Sherwood Arrow is particularly nice. You also must stop off at the small cathedral town of Southwell on the 28/29 route. If you haven’t been it’s an absolute hidden gem with it‘s narrow streets and the Minster. It really is a place often passed by and largely undiscovered. The NCT route from Southwell to Nottingham is also much more interesting and varied than the 90.
Reading your report reminds me to complete and post a couple of reports of trips I have done this year. In April I did a week based in Dundee using a 7 Day Stagecoach East Scotland ticket and a couple of weeks ago I had a few days based in Darlington travelling around visiting locations by bus. Next month I am in Worcestershire meeting up with friends. I’m staying in a village on the bus route between Worcester and Ledbury but the service is so infrequent that I will probably just use my car to travel around.
@TheGrandWazoo as you would probably guess I enjoyed reading your trip report from Nottinghamshire. I don’t think that there is anywhere you went to that I am not familiar with, but there are lots of places I haven‘t travelled to by bus and that includes Worksop and Retford.
You were very brave starting and finishing in Shirebrook. It is somewhere I try to avoid! I’m afraid I can’t see any improvement in the future. Sports Direct has certainly provided lots of low paid employment, but many of the workers there are immigrants rather than local people. There is also a big possibility that Sports Direct may not remain in Shirebrook long term. Their lease runs out in 2034 and they are looking at developing a site near the M6 in Warwickshire. Having worked for almost 40 years teaching in a primary school in an ex mining community south of Mansfield I do understand why many ex staunch Labour voters have turned to Reform. I would never vote for Reform and I’m sure it’s not the long term answer.
Retford is a lovely market town and the area around the market square is interesting to wander around. You must have a wander around Newark. You don’t really get to appreciate it from the main road and the bus station. The market place and narrow streets are lovely. There are some very historic buildings and a magnificent church. If you liked Retford, the centre of Newark is even better.
The 90 from Newark to Nottingham is not the most inspiring route. If ever you are in the area again I recommend using the Stagecoach 28 from Newark to Mansfield. The 29 is also a nice route but misses a few of the more attractive villages. The 28/29 shows rural Central Nottinghamshire at its best with rolling countryside and very attractive villages with their red brick cottages and pan tile roofs. The section between Southwell and Farnsfield where you can connect with the Sherwood Arrow is particularly nice. You also must stop off at the small cathedral town of Southwell on the 28/29 route. If you haven’t been it’s an absolute hidden gem with it‘s narrow streets and the Minster. It really is a place often passed by and largely undiscovered. The NCT route from Southwell to Nottingham is also much more interesting and varied than the 90.
Reading your report reminds me to complete and post a couple of reports of trips I have done this year. In April I did a week based in Dundee using a 7 Day Stagecoach East Scotland ticket and a couple of weeks ago I had a few days based in Darlington travelling around visiting locations by bus. Next month I am in Worcestershire meeting up with friends. I’m staying in a village on the bus route between Worcester and Ledbury but the service is so infrequent that I will probably just use my car to travel around.
Thanks @ChrisC. I didn't feel too concerned about being in Shirebrook. I can understand why voters may be disillusioned with the Tories and Labour but you do wonder the affinity for a party led by a former stockbroker who takes a £5m gift from a crypto trader and £270k for advertising gold bullion. We digress! About the town... it just seemed on its uppers like so many similar towns and if SD do leave, that would be something of a bodyblow, and it was probably a fairly safe place to leave my car.
I'm now a little disappointed in my day out. I really should have had an explore in Newark as it's a place I've only ever passed through but thought I'd seen most of it. Likewise, I did consider getting the 28/29 to Mansfield but decided on the 90 - looks like I backed the wrong horse as a) sounds like Southwell is one place I should wander around and b) I've only ever driven the central Notts bit on the A1/A60 so north/south and not east/west. That said, there's a finite number of trips I can fit in during a year and it might be a little while til I get back into Notts. At least it was a drier trip than last time - that was Dec 2023 and it tipped it down until mid morning. This was much nicer.
I'd love to hear about your trip to Dundee (Scotland is a rare experience for me) and as for Darlington... well, they are my people so always pleased to hear about familiar places and peoples experiences and perceptions.
As threatened, I have had another trip report locked and loaded. Most of my trips out tend to feature the North East (family visits and nostagia for my youth), South West and Wales, though with a few in East Anglia and the South East. In the Midlands, it has tended to be West for most trips with the East Mids being criminally overlooked. Only a couple of trips in recent years meant it was overdue a visit, and I headed out for a jaunt to Nottinghamshire, covering some territory that I last visited about 2.5 years ago but some much more unfamiliar. I hope you enjoy the read.
Circumstances meant that I started my day in Shirebrook, just over the border in Derbyshire. A former pit town, it is the sort of town that epitomises Reform's growth into hitherto Labour strongholds. The place has suffered years of decline with well paid jobs now lost and a reliance on low paid jobs (like the large SportsDirect warehouse in the town) plus immigration fermenting a feeling of desperation and frustration. Certainly, it had a feel of a place left behind and intended to do much the same as I caught my first bus on a bright and sunny morning. A Stagecoach Gold ticket (£11) was bought and I headed to Mansfield on a cascaded e400, dislodged from Manchester after the Bee Network rollout was completed - it would be one of many in the local fleet I'd see. There are two routes from Shirebrook to Mansfield with this being the direct 23. We wound our way through some large estates on the edge of Shirebrook and then made our way via Pleasley to Mansfield and the large modern bus station there. It's a really good facility - typical of Notts CC and their investment. I wasn't staying long as it was a quick swap onto another Bee Network refugee e400 for the 16 which would take me through more ex mining territory. None more distinctive than Clipstone where the colliery headstocks and other buildings are listed and make up part of the Vicar Water Country Park; the headstocks were Europe's tallest, I believe. Our e400 was in decent shape as we lolled our way along the road arriving in the town of Edwinstowe. Edwinstowe is a curious place. It doesn't feel like a former mining town (like so many other places do in the area like Shirebrook and Ollerton). It feels almost like a rural market town/large village yet it depended on Thoresby Colliery until 2015 for its existence. I had chance for a drinks break and then hopped onto the Sherwood Arrow, passing the now redeveloped colliery site on the edge of the place as we headed towards Worksop; Edwinstowe is also home to the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre which the SA serves and perhaps tourism is now the pre-eminent employer as the town reinvents itself. The Sherwood Arrow is one of those routes that had a real identity and Stagecoach developed it during the 2000s with newer vehicles and a dedicated livery. Nowadays, it's just another route operated with any old vehicles and yes, it was tired 16 year old e300 that rattled its way through Ollerton and past Clumber Park to Worksop. As with earlier journeys, the countryside was green and verdant, and was clearly healing from the scars of mining over many years. It was really very pretty and well worth an explore.
Worksop again has a modern bus station though since I was last there 2.5 years ago, the cafe has closed; I guess it's dependant on the bus station trade as there is little other footfall given the location. I waited for my next bus to arrive from Wensleydale... not North Yorkshire but part of Worksop. It was yet another former Stagecoach Manchester e400, this one being older and more careworn than my earlier examples. This also illustrates one observation I had... The Stagecoach fleet is getting really old. I'd had four journeys and the vehicle ages were 18, 17, 16 and 18 years and even with 24 new EVs due for Mansfield, there's a lot of ageing and elderly fleet (and that's evident elsewhere in the UK) as vehicle replacement seems to have declined with Covid and the sale of the business.
This was new territory for me as I'd never travelled to Retford by bus. In fact, I'm not certain I'd be to Retford this century for any reason! The scenery had definitely moved to being more traditionally rural rather than former mining spots. We passed close to the Rampton institution and were soon arriving into Retford. What a lovely little town. The rather lousy bus station I remember inhabited by knackered Road Car vehicles has been replaced by a small but appropriately sized modern bus facility. The buses are still old though whether it is Stagecoach or Marshalls. I took the opportunity to take the short walk into the market place - it was bustling and an absolute delight of a place to grab lunch in. However, time was marching on, and I had to walk back for my next bus of the day, and it was Marshall's service to Newark. The very smartly liveried Versa was waiting for me though I have to say that the interior was beginning to look a little frayed. We had about 20 or more passengers as we left Retford. I was just in front of a man who seemed to have a respiratory condition as he kept coughing quite violently; it was welcome when a few passengers got off and I could move. The 37 is really two separate routes as there wasn't much end to end trade as we dwindled to having about five on board before we became well loaded into Newark. We continued and finally reached the A1 at Markham Moor where the distinctive Grade II listed former Little Chef survives, heading south to Tuxford was part of the stagecoach route (not buses but 18th century) evidenced by the large hotels on the main street that used to be the A1 and where we also saw a large group waiting to head into Retford. The 37 then heads into big sky territory and open fields before arriving into Sutton on Trent, home of Marshall's. We passed their depot, the yard full of deckers. The looped around and through the village before we arrived at a stop where a driver changeover was to be undertaken...near to their other depot. I didn't realise Marshall's had two depots in the village - you live and learn. We then headed off with our new driver and had a very healthy load from Carlton and North Muskham by the time we hit the traffic caused by the level crossing near Newark Castle, delaying our arrival into Newark bus station.
Apologies for the repetition but yes, it was another modern Nottinghamshire bus station. To be honest, it's a bit oversized and grand but an improvement on the old site (on the same location) which went when the depot/bus station was redeveloped and Asda built a store. It was getting very warm by now so I headed to said Asda to get a drink which was just as well. My next bus was another £3 fare - the NCT Pathfinder service 90 to Nottingham. It was one of the branded Solo SRs that NCT have moved onto the route. I can't recall all the operators etc on a service that has had very mixed fortunes over the years; it was traditional operator Gash until they failed and sold to RoadCar, then Pathfinder ran it before they were bought by NCT who then operated and then axed it. Marshalls had a go for several years, then Vectare and then they pulled out of the area so NCT re-entered the fray. Can anyone advise if any other firm has had a try?? I think it's just one of those services with a few well loaded journeys but the rest are much more modest and it struggles with the length of the service. The journey itself isn't especially interesting if I'm honest though I should have a look around Bingham at some point. The Solo SR was boiling hot and I was pleased I had my drink. However, the Solo was too hot - even with a break in Bingham, the ailing machine was struggling in the heat with various buzzers and bleepers sounding so the driver raised the alarm, nursing it into West Bridgford where we were met by an identical if healthier vehicle from the nearby Trent Bridge depot that completed the last five mins of the journey.
I love Nottingham. It's a great city and there's always lots of hustle and bustle in the centre. In the sunshine, that was even more evident with a vibrancy about the place. I had chance to have a walk around and savour some of the atmosphere but was conscious that I had to be getting back to my car and travel to a family meal. So it was a walk across the city centre to Victoria bus station. Now this is Nottingham not Notts... Victoria bus station is a dump. It's miserable and ill maintained. Always rudimentary, it's now a dirty and uninspiring place to wait for a bus. I was pleased when my Pronto to Mansfield arrived and it was something relatively modern - up until then, the most modern vehicle had been Marshall's 62 plate Versa but now we had a 69 plate e400mmc which seemed luxurious. Pronto heads on the main A60 and past the former Home Ales brewery which closed in 1996. A fine art deco structure, it is now home to Nottinghamshire County Council. The Pronto then goes through rolling countryside, providing a 10 min headway to Mansfield. Time was pressing and having just missed the 23, it was quicker to get the slower 12 to Shirebrook. Another more modern e400mmc, this headed via Warsop and some more ex colliery scenery to deposit me just by the former Shirebrook bus depot that still stands, 35 years after closure.
I'd never travelled around East Notts and I discovered it to be markedly different from the West side of the county, much more agricultural and wider open expanses. Retford was a lovely surprise and worth a wander round. I didn't explore Newark but wish I had - it too looks like a good honest town to wander about. As I said, you can't knock Nottingham. Perhaps my experience of the 90 was tempered by my excess heat but that was not the most exciting trip along the (old) A46. As for the vehicles - well, they all turned up and were largely to time but Stagecoach East Midlands looks a tired fleet on that showing even with new vehicles on the way. Marshalls - first time on them and the exterior was immaculate but the interior was showing its age. All in all, a lovely day out in an area that I seldom explore. That said, I must get over the border to Lincolnshire soon too.
Just returned from 3+ weeks in Canada and very interested to read this report. Your trip largely paralleled the one I did in November 2024 reported on post 901 of this thread, which was Mansfield > Ollerton > Tuxford > Newark > Bingham > Nottingham > Mansfield > Warsop > Shirebrook > Mansfield although you started at Shirebrook rather than Mansfield.
Agreed Shirebrook was fairly depressing but I would have been happy to leave my car there. I would like to visit Edwinstowe, I have been through it and it looked interesting, your report has added to that. I did like Ollerton and Tuxford and have visited Retford and Worksop separately. I also chose the 90 from Newark to Nottingham but did break at Bingham, worth a stop and the main Trent Barton route is frequent. However I would agree that Southwell is definitely worth a visit and I have done both 28 and 29 routes from Newark to Southwell, once continuing after a break to Mansfield and once to Nottingham. Southwell really is a lovely interesting little town and this little area is surprisingly pleasant. Nottinghamshire isn’t always seen as an attractive area to visit but it has pretty good bus links by most standards and some decent towns and countryside.
Stagecoach is getting new buses but there do seem to be a lot of old ones still running around some of the operations, but they do seem to have been well maintained and survived in better condition than some other national operators who shall not be named!
Thanks for the interesting report. I have still only done two trips this year - the Cotswolds and Merseyside- if it stays as hot as it was while I was away then I shan’t be out but if we get sunny but cooler days then hopefully I can get out again.
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I meant two, hourly services (X4/X5) rather than a two hourly service 
I think it's just one of those services with a few well loaded journeys but the rest are much more modest and it struggles with the length of the service. The journey itself isn't especially interesting if I'm honest though I should have a look around Bingham at some point. The Solo SR was boiling hot and I was pleased I had my drink. However, the Solo was too hot - even with a break in Bingham, the ailing machine was struggling in the heat with various buzzers and bleepers sounding so the driver raised the alarm, nursing it into West Bridgford where we were met by an identical if healthier vehicle from the nearby Trent Bridge depot that completed the last five mins of the journey.
