Ivo's Bus Charity Challenge

[richw]

It does appear to be looking at cornwall council website

Ride Cornwall offers the holder one day's unlimited travel on all rail and most bus services within Cornwall and between Cornwall and Plymouth. It is valid on all bus services within Cornwall operated by First Devon and Cornwall and Western Greyhound and for bus journeys between Cornwall and Plymouth. It is valid on rail services operated by First Great Western and CrossCountry in Cornwall and also between Cornwall and Plymouth and on the Gunnislake Tamar Valley branch line. Ride Cornwall is not valid for local bus journeys within the City of Plymouth.

Ride Cornwall may be used at any time on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays and is valid for use on any rail or bus service after 0900 Monday - Friday

 

[deltic1989]

If I may Ivo, I would like to join you for the stretch between Lincoln and Nottingham.

 

[Blindtraveler]

are the volunteers are coming in now bud. You woant be short on company

 

[Ivo]

Hello again folks

This thread has been reopened (thank you bb21 ) because we are now only three months away and I need to start going over some of the finer details.

First of all, I have seemingly lost contact with NeilAH (and not just because he's banned!). I will be stepping up my efforts to re-establish contact with him over the next week or so with the intention of knowing for certain whether it will be just me or him also by the end of the month. That didn't take very long... :roll:

On a more important note, I will be asking other members of this forum for any advice they may have with regards to bus provision in their local area, or of any potential disruptions that may affect our route (besides the Olympics obviously). I will also be asking others if they would like to join us at any stage of the route. Further, I will be revising the route in an effort to take in every English county, including even the Isle of Wight (via ferry), and also every settlement beyond a certain size - possibly 250,000.

Elsewhere, I will be sending a request to the Customer Services Manager at First SW for a list of media contacts, which she has previously promised me. I will also be sending out requests to operators around the country in an effort to establish whether they will be effecting any timetable changes between now and August that may be of significance (bus operators need to provide 56 days' notice of changes, but in practice they tend to be prepared well before then).

I will also be revising the JustGiving page, which has seemingly been ignored by all (myself included), and also publicising it both on here and elsewhere.

In the meantime, folks, any support you can lend in any of the areas above would be greatly appreciated.

And most importantly, note that as things stand, the event will commence on August 15th. This is subject to change however.

 

[trentside]

Amazingly, this is the first time I've come accross this thread. Sounds like a great idea Ivo, and as you'll no doubt be passing through the East Midlands, I hope I'll be able to join you somewhere along the route.

Having had a glance at your previous plans, you're pretty safe with your plan for Sheffield to Nottingham via Worksop, Gainsborough, Lincoln and Newark. I can't think of any upcoming major disruptions, and the services you've picked are pretty stable in terms of timetabling. If you need any advice on the revised route through Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire - feel free to ask, or PM me.

 

[221129]

What Route are you planning through Devon And Cornwall

 

[Ivo]

It's not a case of "route" - there will be quite a few. The Spreadsheet earlier in the thread has the original plan.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

What Route are you planning through Devon And Cornwall

The original plan is attached to post 15, I don't know if that's changed however. I think the South West was planned as Land's End-Exeter one day, a day off, then Exeter-Hampshire.

 

[Ivo]

The original plan is attached to post 15, I don't know if that's changed however. I think the South West was planned as Land's End-Exeter one day, a day off, then Exeter-Hampshire.

The plan for the days off will change should the new idea of starting on the 15th be maintained, because the order of days will be different (the 15th being a Wednesday and not a Saturday). This will mean the first day off will be at point-blank range to home - I may even try to get the Saturday to finish in Gravesend in time for the last ferry of the night to Tilbury.

As things stand, the plan for Day One (through Cornwall and South Devon) is as follows:

501 Land's End to Penzance
18  Penzance   to Truro
597 Truro      to Trekenning
593 Trekenning to Liskeard
592 Liskeard   to Plymouth
X80 Plymouth   to Totnes
X64 Totnes     to Exeter

...ready for the fabled X53 the next day.

 

[221129]

I could Join you on the Willand - Barnstaple if you would like

 

[Ivo]

One idea I have had is to abandon the 'X' in Milton Keynes and instead do a true loop. It will still use the X5 through MK, but it will no longer be a focal point. I will attach a map shortly to give an idea of what I mean by this.

I could Join you on the Willand - Barnstaple if you would like

It's not a case of "if I would like" - it's a case of "if you would like"! If you want to join and are able to, feel free! Do remember that the plan may change of course, so keep an eye out.

 

[221129]

Yeah im happy to lol
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
You may want to review your itinery though

 

[burns20]

On your leg from Manchester to Preston this service has been trimmed down to a 2 jny a day service X25 departing Shudehill at 1440 and 1745 and arriving into Preston at 1605 and 1925 respectively. (This service is due for withdrawal at the end of June).

Alternative routing available via First Manchester Service 8 Shudehill to Bolton every 10 mins, and Stagecoach Service 125 to Preston every 10 mins

 

[Ivo]

On your leg from Manchester to Preston this service has been trimmed down to a 2 jny a day service X25 departing Shudehill at 1440 and 1745 and arriving into Preston at 1605 and 1925 respectively. (This service is due for withdrawal at the end of June).

Alternative routing available via First Manchester Service 8 Shudehill to Bolton every 10 mins, and Stagecoach Service 125 to Preston every 10 mins

Thank you for pointing me in the direction of the alternative. I knew the X61 (it'll always be the X61 to me, as it was the one time I travelled on it! ) was due for withdrawal, but did not know how to get around it.

 

[VTPreston_Tez]

I will most likely be joining you through Preston. As I live near to a major bus stop where the 68 calls, it may be worth popping round for something I can prepare you!
(I'd recommend you cover the Orbital)
And for the X53, it may be recommended to use the old bottle trick as the only call with toilets is at Bridport and you have little time to go.
(I used to live in West Bay, worth a visit)

 

[Ivo]

Here is an idea for a revised route. I haven't verified it against Traveline or anything else as yet, but I am confident it will work.

The largest places we avoid are Luton and Northampton. No bias there then

The most awkward bit of the run is Southend. If I hadn't grown up there I wouldn't have bothered - instead, I would hope to be able to finish a day there.

 

[trentside]

The only area I can spot that may give you difficulty is Scunthorpe to Grimsby. Surprisingly there is no direct bus service between the two, you've got to do Scunthorpe to Brigg, then a very infrequent service from Brigg to Barton - I think there's only 2 or 3 per day so it could be tricky to coordinate. Barton to Grimsby is better, with at least one per hour.

 

[sonic2009]

Ivo PM your iteinary

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

 

[Eagle]

I wouldn't mind a look too, especially the areas I live in...

 

[142094]

Carlisle - Newcastle and Newcastle - Berwick should be easy enough to do it two buses, with a very short walk between the two bus interchanges in Newcastle.

Also note if you were planning to have a look around on the Metro while you're here, your concessionary pass isn't valid.

 

[Ivo]

Ivo PM your iteinary

I've sent a response, but it's not the one you wanted...

I don't mind you coming along at all. Just promise me you won't say "Press the Dinger"

Also note if you were planning to have a look around on the Metro while you're here, your concessionary pass isn't valid.

Yep, I know. I've been on some of the Metro (Central to Sunderland) anyway, so it's not that much of a problem.

I wouldn't mind a look too, especially the areas I live in...

I told you before mister

Come and join me (unless you're in Edinburgh at the time)!

 

[Eagle]

I told you before mister

Come and join me (unless you're in Edinburgh at the time)!

Yes, but what you told me before doesn't match up with your map any more (your map goes through Leamington, you said Rugby) :P

 

[Ivo]

Oh right. That. Fair enough

The map has changed in an effort to run a full circle and not an "8" shape. The X53 is still included, and I will be visiting Coventry/Leamington towards the end.

 

[Eagle]

and I will be visiting Coventry/Leamington towards the end.

12, X15/X18 or X17? :P

 

[Ivo]

I don't know! The only ones I know of - and then because of a certain bird () - are the 12 and X17, and even then I don't know much...