Sabden, Lancashire

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Is the only bus that now serves this settlement besides school buses, the Vision Bus service 64 that runs from Burnley to Clitheroe on what seems like an hourly basis. What buses used to serve it quite some years ago?

 

[RELL6L]

Pretty sure the main route from Burnley to Clitheroe used to go that way until not many years ago. Then there was briefly nothing and then the 64 was introduced. The 64 provides an attractive alternative to the Mainline route 2 - if planning a trip it is scenic.

 

[D6130]

Pretty sure the main route from Burnley to Clitheroe used to go that way until not many years ago. Then there was briefly nothing and then the 64 was introduced. The 64 provides an attractive alternative to the Mainline route 2 - if planning a trip it is scenic.

....and handy for bringing visitors to the treacle mines!

 

[Leedsbusman]

In the early 80s it was Ribble’s 237 every two hours and later became part of Burnley’s Mainline. I think that stopped c2016 when the multitude of different versions was reduced to the M1-M4 then.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

....and handy for bringing visitors to the treacle mines!

Closed due to the sugar tax. A quick online search suggests they were not unique. Wikipedia - treacle mining.

 

[RustySpoons]

It used to be served as part of the Burnley & Pendle Mainline network as route 27. It alternated with service 26, which ran direct to Whalley and Clitheroe. As @Leedsbusman states, the Sabden service was withdrawn when the Mainline was rebranded to the 'M' services. If I remember correctly Pilkingtons took it over. It came back into the Transdev network when they introduced the Ribble Country network, but went to Vision when the contract was ended early.

In the early to mid 2000s the evening and Sunday services were operated by Travel For All, as service 257.

 

[M60lad]

I'm also pretty sure that the current Vision 64 Burnley-Clitheroe takes a slightly different route from Padiham-Sabden than what Mainline route used to take.

 

[RustySpoons]

I'm also pretty sure that the current Vision 64 Burnley-Clitheroe takes a slightly different route from Padiham-Sabden than what Mainline route used to take.

Yes, you're right. The Vision service doesn't run via Read. I could be wrong, but I'm sure it now runs up Slade Lane in Padiham, across the Bypass to Whins Lane before turning up Trapp Lane and onto Sabden.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Surely, a Sabdem town population of 1,400+ is deserving of the type of bus service currently provided by Vision Bus that gives the residents connections to Burnley, Padiham and Clitheroe.

 

[TheSel]

Any excuse for me to scan some old slides! Here's two of Ribble's ECW bodied Bristol RESL6L No 352 (OCK352K) at and approaching Sabden. My pics. September 1985

 

[RustySpoons]

Surely, a Sabdem town population of 1,400+ is deserving of the type of bus service currently provided by Vision Bus that gives the residents connections to Burnley, Padiham and Clitheroe.

It is befitting of the services other small towns across the Ribble Valley receive. I don't think there's any need for anything more.

Any excuse for me scan some old slides! Here's two of Ribble's ECW bodied Bristol RESL6L No 352 (OCK352K) at and approaching Sabden. My pics. September 1985

View attachment 200887

View attachment 200888

Brilliant pictures! I can't quite place the top one, but I'm guessing a lot has changed in 40+ years.

I lived in Whalley for a couple of years in the early 2000s and used to regularly use the Burnley & Pendle service. The Sabden journeys worked best for my commute and always enjoyed the journey - especially if you had a driver that was 'making progress'. The B10s would fly up the hill pictured in the second picture.

 

[Leedsbusman]

It is befitting of the services other small towns across the Ribble Valley receive. I don't think there's any need for anything more.


Brilliant pictures! I can't quite place the top one, but I'm guessing a lot has changed in 40+ years.

I lived in Whalley for a couple of years in the early 2000s and used to regularly use the Burnley & Pendle service. The Sabden journeys worked best for my commute and always enjoyed the journey - especially if you had a driver that was 'making progress'. The B10s would fly up the hill pictured in the second picture.

It’s Watt Street stop.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nmidFxeyTSgXkgmS8?g_st=ic

 

[Open top 80]

Not a good picture but here a Sabden to Burnley timetable from 1974 from my private collection of timetables

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Prior to the timetable in the previous post, there were separate Burnley to Sabden (Ribble & Burnley joint 237) and Sabden to Whalley services (Ribble 288). Some copies of the Ribble timetable books are available on the Timetable World site.

A 2005 Mainline leaflet in my collection has an hourly 28 Clitheroe to Burnley (and Colne) direct and an hourly 29 Clitheroe to Burnley (and Colne) via Sabden.
A 2010 Clitheroe map lists the Mainline via Sabden plus the Pendle Witch Hopper (service 70/71) on Sundays.
2011 and 2013 have the same level of service as in 2005.
April or May 2016 has the Mainline omitting Sabden. From the Transdev service changes notes:

• We will no longer serve Sabden due to low customer numbers - less than two people a journey use the bus at the moment.

From the December 2016 Lancashire County Council bus service changes leaflet:

From 5 December 2016 Lancashire County Council will reinstate Service 4, providing a replacement route for the Peel Park area of Clitheroe, removed by the extension of
Clitheroe Town Service 2 into Henthorn. With the revisions to other services and to ensure efficient use of the resources available, this service will also extend through Whalley to Sabden and Padiham, reinstating a local bus service to the village of Sabden.

From the December 2017 Lancashire County Council bus service changes leaflet:

64 Clitheroe – Sabden – Padiham – Rosegrove –Burnley
65 Nelson – Fence – Padiham – Rosegrove – Burnley
66 Nelson – Fence – Barley – Chatburn – Clitheroe
67 Nelson – Blacko – Barley – Chatburn – Clitheroe
(LCC Lft 3)
This new network of Pendleside Link bus Services 64/65/66/67 will restore rural village links and improve frequencies across the Ribble Valley, Burnley and Pendle.
Boomerang Travel Ltd will operate this new Pendleside Links network of services on behalf of LCC.

Boomerang being Pilkingtons. They just keep coming back!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Having noticed in certain postings on this thread that there were times when Sabden was not served by a bus service, would the Sabden residents had to use their own tranport or private hire vehicles to visit the main towns thin that area?

 

[stevieinselby]

Having noticed in certain postings on this thread that there were times when Sabden was not served by a bus service, would the Sabden residents had to use their own tranport or private hire vehicles to visit the main towns thin that area?

There was a short period, maybe about 6 months?, in 2016 where Sabden didn't have any kind of scheduled bus service, but I think that's the only time.
Compare that with Slaidburn and the surrounding villages to the north of Clitheroe, which went for several years without any buses at all.

 

[RustySpoons]

There was a short period, maybe about 6 months?, in 2016 where Sabden didn't have any kind of scheduled bus service, but I think that's the only time.
Compare that with Slaidburn and the surrounding villages to the north of Clitheroe, which went for several years without any buses at all.

Yes, I was going to mention Slaidburn as an example.

There were a lot of anomalies with various services thanks to LCC funding cutbacks around 2016. Worsthorne in Burnley went for a period of time with a service that only ran in the evenings and on Sundays.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Is there a high car ownership in those rural villages?

 

[RustySpoons]

Is there a high car ownership in those rural villages?

I believe so. The majority of the villages are quite affluent so will have at least one or two cars per household.

 

[Ballyheigue]

Yes, I was going to mention Slaidburn as an example.

There were a lot of anomalies with various services thanks to LCC funding cutbacks around 2016. Worsthorne in Burnley went for a period of time with a service that only ran in the evenings and on Sundays.

Good parts of Worsthorne did at least have access to the Halifax bus (via the back road into the village which is pathless for a bit but is quiet) or were a shortish walk to the 3.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Was Cow Ark on the bus route from Clitheroe to Slaidburn? From what I recall, there were a number of large, expensive houses occasionally coming onto the house market there quite some years ago, which must now carry a very high purchase price.

 

[stevieinselby]

Was Cow Ark on the bus route from Clitheroe to Slaidburn? From what I recall, there were a number of large, expensive houses occasionally coming onto the house market there quite some years ago, which must now carry a very high purchase price.

Yes, the route did – and now once again does – run past Cow Ark.