backontrack
Established Member
Hi all 
The doings of both Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire and Reay's Coaches have certainly been extensive in recent years - as have cuts to rural bus services forced by the hand of central government. Austerity has meant that Cumbria County Council has cut its funding for many of Cumbria's bus services outside central Lakeland - and some of these have spent some time shuffling about between different operators. So, with all this stuff going on, I though it would be good to try to cover it all as it happens here.
Recently, services routes 73/73A, operated by Stagecoach, have been cut down. They are summer-only services, and operated on a daily basis between March and October in 2016. On route 73A, one daily service ran on this circuit: Keswick-Castlerigg Stone Circle-Mungrisdale-Bowscale-Mosedale-Hesket Newmarket-Caldbeck-Ireby-Uldale-Castle Inn-Bassenthwaite Village-Keswick.
On Saturdays, there were also two daily returns from Carlisle, which operated Carlisle-Dalston-Buckabank-Welton-Caldbeck. The 73 would run down to Keswick via Mungrisdale and Hesket Newmarket and return to Carlisle later in the day via Bassenthwaite; the 73A would take the alternate route, running to Keswick via Bassenthwaite and returning via Mungrisdale.
Last year, the service was cut down to run on Saturdays only, with route 73A disappearing altogether. What was left consisted of: a service on route 73 from Carlisle to Keswick via Dalston, Caldbeck and Bassenthwaite; a return from Keswick via Mungrisdale and Hesket Newmarket that ran to Caldbeck, then through Ireby and Uldale, then back to Caldbeck and on to Carlisle; and a single loop from Keswick to Keswick via Castlerigg, Mungrisdale, Hesket Newmarket, Caldbeck, Ireby, Uldale, Bassenthwaite and Keswick.
With the start of this year's summer timetable, there are now no more buses to Castlerigg Stone Circle, Mungrisdale, Bowscale or Mosedale. There is a single route 73 return from Carlisle to Keswick via Dalston, Caldbeck, Hesket Newmarket (reversing), Caldbeck again, Ireby, Uldale, Bassenthwaite and Keswick, and another route 73 journey from Keswick to Hesket Newmarket and back.
The demise of rural bus services like this one is hardly surprising, sadly; I just thought someone should mention the changes. In addition to this, route 563 (Penrith-Kirkby Thore-Appleby-Warcop-Brough-Kirkby Stephen), after completely stopping at one point recently, is now being operated by Stagecoach, who have cut things down to run solely between Penrith and Appleby. There are three buses a day, one of which operates via the Drawbriggs area of Appleby and takes a slightly different route round Kirkby Thore.
The doings of both Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire and Reay's Coaches have certainly been extensive in recent years - as have cuts to rural bus services forced by the hand of central government. Austerity has meant that Cumbria County Council has cut its funding for many of Cumbria's bus services outside central Lakeland - and some of these have spent some time shuffling about between different operators. So, with all this stuff going on, I though it would be good to try to cover it all as it happens here.
Recently, services routes 73/73A, operated by Stagecoach, have been cut down. They are summer-only services, and operated on a daily basis between March and October in 2016. On route 73A, one daily service ran on this circuit: Keswick-Castlerigg Stone Circle-Mungrisdale-Bowscale-Mosedale-Hesket Newmarket-Caldbeck-Ireby-Uldale-Castle Inn-Bassenthwaite Village-Keswick.
On Saturdays, there were also two daily returns from Carlisle, which operated Carlisle-Dalston-Buckabank-Welton-Caldbeck. The 73 would run down to Keswick via Mungrisdale and Hesket Newmarket and return to Carlisle later in the day via Bassenthwaite; the 73A would take the alternate route, running to Keswick via Bassenthwaite and returning via Mungrisdale.
Last year, the service was cut down to run on Saturdays only, with route 73A disappearing altogether. What was left consisted of: a service on route 73 from Carlisle to Keswick via Dalston, Caldbeck and Bassenthwaite; a return from Keswick via Mungrisdale and Hesket Newmarket that ran to Caldbeck, then through Ireby and Uldale, then back to Caldbeck and on to Carlisle; and a single loop from Keswick to Keswick via Castlerigg, Mungrisdale, Hesket Newmarket, Caldbeck, Ireby, Uldale, Bassenthwaite and Keswick.
With the start of this year's summer timetable, there are now no more buses to Castlerigg Stone Circle, Mungrisdale, Bowscale or Mosedale. There is a single route 73 return from Carlisle to Keswick via Dalston, Caldbeck, Hesket Newmarket (reversing), Caldbeck again, Ireby, Uldale, Bassenthwaite and Keswick, and another route 73 journey from Keswick to Hesket Newmarket and back.
The demise of rural bus services like this one is hardly surprising, sadly; I just thought someone should mention the changes. In addition to this, route 563 (Penrith-Kirkby Thore-Appleby-Warcop-Brough-Kirkby Stephen), after completely stopping at one point recently, is now being operated by Stagecoach, who have cut things down to run solely between Penrith and Appleby. There are three buses a day, one of which operates via the Drawbriggs area of Appleby and takes a slightly different route round Kirkby Thore.
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