Newcastle upon Tyne to Alnwick

[STEVIEBOY1]

Good morning,

I may be going to the North East in a few months and am considering going upto Alnwick from Newcastle, I did this years ago with Northumbria buses who were really good, had great friendly & helpful staff and a fast service that took about 80 minutes ish. They don't seem to exist now. When I looked on travel line there seems to be slow services, but also faster buses, X15 & X20, although the website seems to show that you have to change buses at Morpeth or Ashington, with a 5 to 10 minute connection time, although both sectors have the same number, i.e. X15/X15. Does anyone know if you do need to changes buses, or is it a through service, just stay on the bus? I presume a North East rover ticket would be cheaper than a day return and I think you can use that on the Metro to get to Haymarket Bus Station?

Tks.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Good morning,

I may be going to the North East in a few months and am considering going upto Alnwick from Newcastle, I did this years ago with Northumbria buses who were really good, had great friendly & helpful staff and a fast service that took about 80 minutes ish. They don't seem to exist now. When I looked on travel line there seems to be slow services, but also faster buses, X15 & X20, although the website seems to show that you have to change buses at Morpeth or Ashington, with a 5 to 10 minute connection time, although both sectors have the same number, i.e. X15/X15. Does anyone know if you do need to changes buses, or is it a through service, just stay on the bus? I presume a North East rover ticket would be cheaper than a day return and I think you can use that on the Metro to get to Haymarket Bus Station?

Tks.

Fear not - the X15 is the old 501/505 that you experienced last time. You don't need to change. https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/globala...5-newcastle-to-berwick/neasx15_240515edit.pdf

As well as Arriva's own day ticket, there are multi operator options https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/north-east/bus-tickets/Multi-Operator-Tickets/ with the Explorer North East ticket being valid on Metro

 

[Tetchytyke]

Does anyone know if you do need to changes buses, or is it a through service, just stay on the bus? I presume a North East rover ticket would be cheaper than a day return and I think you can use that on the Metro to get to Haymarket Bus Station?

They're all through services with the same bus, it's just the usual fudge around the EU rules.

The old 501/505 straight up the A1 through Felton is now the X15 and the old 518 through Amble and Alnmouth is now the X18. The X20 is a combination of an express bus from Newcastle to Ashington and then the old 420 up through Amble and Alnmouth.

If you're sticking to Arriva then their regionwide day ticket is £7.80, not valid on the Metro, but if you want Metro/ferry/Go/Stagecoach you'll want an Explorer North East for £9.70. You can buy an Explorer off the Metro ticket machines.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

They're all through services with the same bus, it's just the usual fudge around the EU rules.

The old 501/505 straight up the A1 through Felton is now the X15 and the old 518 through Amble and Alnmouth is now the X18. The X20 is a combination of an express bus from Newcastle to Ashington and then the old 420 up through Amble and Alnmouth.

If you're sticking to Arriva then their regionwide day ticket is £7.80, not valid on the Metro, but if you want Metro/ferry/Go/Stagecoach you'll want an Explorer North East for £9.70. You can buy an Explorer off the Metro ticket machines.

The old 518 was for many years with United and Northumbria.....the X18. Plus ca change!!!

 

[nottinghamcity]

The old 518 was for many years with United and Northumbria.....the X18. Plus ca change!!!

It has been many a year since I made that journey, and my first thought was the bus i caught from Alnmouth to Alnwick was an X18! One thing I have noticed though is that back then, getting all the way to Alnmouth from the Midlands was a "couple of trains a day" thing. XC's offering these days is much improved.

 

[Busaholic]

Good morning,

I may be going to the North East in a few months and am considering going upto Alnwick from Newcastle, I did this years ago with Northumbria buses who were really good, had great friendly & helpful staff and a fast service that took about 80 minutes ish. They don't seem to exist now. When I looked on travel line there seems to be slow services, but also faster buses, X15 & X20, although the website seems to show that you have to change buses at Morpeth or Ashington, with a 5 to 10 minute connection time, although both sectors have the same number, i.e. X15/X15. Does anyone know if you do need to changes buses, or is it a through service, just stay on the bus? I presume a North East rover ticket would be cheaper than a day return and I think you can use that on the Metro to get to Haymarket Bus Station?

Tks.

I've no personal knowledge, but my carless sister-in-law lives in Alnwick and regularly travels by bus to Newcastle and speaks very highly of the service. She is now an ENCTS holder, but used the service as a farepayer for years before that.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Thank you all for this very useful info, infact I still have the timetable from when I did that journey before on the above mentioned 501/505. (Strange that EU rules govern our bus timetables?)