Trips by Bus and Coach: Your reports

[jimm]

However, I'm struggling to recall much between Moreton and Shipston so the new 51 was a novelty.

I guess one challenge highlighted is that Moreton in essentially in top corner of Gloucs and surrounded by Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and (to a lesser extent) Worcestershire, and so has the problems of funding of tendered services though some pragmatism does exist.

Lovely part of the world, and Blockley is my favourite spot in the area.

Other than random short-lived experiments with routing some summer weekend No 50 buses between Shipston and Chipping Norton via Moreton, instead of going direct on the A3400, I cannot recall anything resembling a regular bus service covering the Shipston-Moreton route until the 51 was launched.

The other challenge when it comes to bus services around Moreton is that the Cotswold Line trains have the market for travel in the directions of Evesham and Oxford sewn up, which is why there isn't a regular Moreton-Evesham bus service, even with Broadway in between, nor was there a Moreton-Chipping Norton operation (other than the odd community bus going via lots of villages) until the 801 was extended. And even then, publicity for the 51 and the 801 extension into Oxfordshire remains pretty haphazard, with the issue over Stagecoach Midland's buses and Gloucestershire's information screens just one example of this.

 

[RELL6L]

I finally managed a day out last Tuesday, not a brilliant day but reasonably bright and it fitted in with other commitments. I had to go to Maidenhead first thing so I parked there and took the Carousel 127 towards Reading. This was only the second day of operation of this new route during the week – there has been a Saturday service run by Thames Valley Buses for some time – and it was a good opportunity to sample it. Quite ambitious – the new service is hourly from around 7am until 6pm. My bus was a modern E200, one of a pair which have worked the route most of the week; there were two other passengers on board who were travelling to Maidenhead Hospital, this new route providing an alternative to the existing services. There was nobody else aboard as we set out into the section along the A4 which hasn’t had a weekday service for years. Long ago it was Thames Valley service 1 which I vaguely remember being served by Bristol Lodekkas. Around Knowl Hill another passenger joined with a prepaid ticket, she looked as if she was heading to a college and so this presumably gave her an alterative to the car. A couple more joined on the edge of Twyford where the route parallels the 850. I alighted in the centre of Twyford where more joined. Surprisingly I then saw an 850 bus heading for Reading which I had seen earlier – the 850 suffering from massive delays due to road works in Henley that morning.

Although relatively local I had never explored Twyford before, just changed trains there. There isn’t much to see, the town centre being dominated by traffic queueing for four-way traffic lights which gridlock the town. There was a decent old silk mill on the edge of the town centre which has been converted to residential accommodation. My next leg was on Thames Valley Buses, taking the 128 to Wokingham. I could see from BusTimes that the bus, another E200, was about 15 minutes late but it caught up a little before arriving as the traffic queues had gone. There was nobody else aboard when it arrived and as we went round a small housing estate with a bus-only section and then the quick way into Wokingham, not via Winnersh, taken only by this journey. Plenty of standing water on and near the roads!

Wokingham is another town I do not know well, for me it isn’t on the way to anywhere else and has no obvious reason to visit. I was surprised by how attractive the town centre was in places, with some greens, open spaces, decent houses and interesting back-streets without too much traffic. I had time for a coffee here as well as exploring the town centre before heading on the Reading Buses 4a to Bracknell. This route, and the 4, are run with new E400 Citys with all the modern features including a table upstairs. These are frequent routes and passengers came and went throughout. The 4a takes the quicker route through industrial estates on the western side of Bracknell, the 4 variation going through more housing. I didn’t stay in Bracknell and immediately transferred to another new E400 City on the 703 towards Heathrow. I have seen criticism of modern ADL products for rattles but there were none evident on this bus. The 703 now provides a regular half hourly services from Bracknell to Windsor and on to Heathrow, and we headed east out of Bracknell with a few passengers aboard and I got off at the hospital at the edge of Ascot, this bus being one which did not go further into the town.

Ascot isn’t a place I knew either, apart from a couple of corporate invitations to the races here some years ago, and I had a while to explore. The town is utterly dominated by the racecourse with the main stand, buildings and car parks right on the main road. The rest of the place has more of a village feel. The area is clearly very wealthy, there was a Maserati dealer in the main street and a McLaren dealer near the station! I had time to walk through a tunnel under the main stand of the racecourse and into the heath beyond, this area being in the middle of the race circuit but the far side is such a long way away you can’t see it. A pleasant walk out there, but avoid on race days!

No prizes for where I was going on the next leg of my trip. Quirky bus route number 10, from Roger French, route 01. This is a route which has been operated by White Bus for ever I think, but I understand they may have lost the tender from the end of March. My bus was one of a pair of 16-plate MCV Evolution bodied Volvo B8RLEs which seem to run most journeys on the route. This seemed a very solid and quiet bus as we headed south out of Ascot through very well-to-do areas of South Ascot, Sunninghill and Sunningdale. We were delayed by two sets of 3-way traffic lights in South Ascot and then by having to reverse in Sunningdale as badly parked cars made it impossible to get through a road called High Street and we had to take a short diversion. There were always a few passengers on board, mostly making short journeys and few being young enough to pay. Then a road closure at Cheapside meant we had to take a longer diversion and nearly got back to Ascot before heading north and into the really quirky bit of the journey through Windsor Great Park. Ordinary folk are not allowed here in their cars, just royalty, residents, authorised tradespeople and the 01 bus plus horses, cyclists and walkers. The gates opened automatically as we approached the turning and we passed a sign showing the speed limit in the park of 28mph. My research on Google says it used to be 38mph but I am sure the sign I saw said 28mph – either option is quirky but if that’s what the King decides then that’s what it is. The roads here were quite wet and there were walkers around. Some sections of the park are only served by the bus by prior arrangements but Prince Andrew didn’t need to go shopping today so we headed straight for the main village, now 10 minutes late. Here a party of eight boarded, all with return tickets, obviously part of some guided trip. We then headed back out of the park through another gate which was already open and into Windsor.

Windsor is a more familiar town to me although there were still some side streets around the castle I hadn’t explored and the weather was now pretty sunny. I then explored further by the river and over the bridge into Eton where there are more upmarket shops and back streets. Then from Eton I took the Thames Valley Buses 15 to Slough, which is a short hop on yet another E200. This route is interworked with the 2 providing an hourly service on each route with two buses. We terminated slightly on the edge of the central area of Slough, the bus station having been severely damaged in a fire a few years ago now. Various buses around here, E400s and Streetlites from First, deckers from Hounslow on the 81, E200s from Thames Valley Buses and a Citaro from Carousel. My final leg was back to Maidenhead on the First Berkshire 6. I’m afraid so many things about First make my blood boil and this was one of them. The main Heathrow service (the 7 series, with Citaros before it became the A4) used to run through to Maidenhead but presumably the custom on the Maidenhead end didn’t match the Heathrow end and it was proposed for withdrawal. Somehow an hourly service remained and to make it work sensibly it was tagged together with a service to Wexham Court to provide an hourly service. Then Artificial Ignorance came along and decreed that a 120-minute round trip wasn’t slow enough or have enough terminus time so, rather than disconnect the two ends and reassemble as hourly with some interworking of other services, the service runs at varying intervals, typically every 67 minutes or so. The timetable is totally unmemorable and users must have to keep track of all the departure times to use the route beyond Cippenham, where the parallel A4 terminates.

To make it worse my bus was a horrible Streetlite where the rattles were immediately evident. No sooner than we had set off than we stopped in a layby just before crossing the A355 at the Salt Hill interchange. Why? Because we were early. The 6 is allowed 11 minutes to get from the centre of Slough to the Salt Hill Cross Roads. The parallel A4 takes 8 minutes at this time, the X74 is allowed 6 minutes while the Carousel 103 makes it in 5 minutes. All the First service times vary slightly and all increase a little in peak hours. We stopped to wait time a couple more times on the Bath Road and for longer just before arriving at Maidenhead. The bus has about 12 minutes turnround at Maidenhead, plus typically 3 minutes each way waiting time at Slough, although only a minute or so at the Wexham Court end as it is a loop. But the stupidity builds all this in and so runs every 67-70 minutes or so, whereas sensibly it could be done with a clockface hourly frequency with shorter journey times and recovery, at least between the peaks. Then passengers would remember the times and might be more inclined to use the bus, whereas regular peak hour travellers can remember the specific times of their bus even if it is every 70 minutes or whatever. Better still, one A4 could be extended from Cippenham to Maidenhead each hour, providing a decent service while the other bus runs the Wexham Court End every hour. It’s just mad! Anyway, enough ranting, there weren’t many passengers once we left Slough and we were in good time getting back to Maidenhead where I finished the trip.

OK, so not the most exciting trip, but it was good to be out and about again. Wokingham, Ascot, Windsor and Eton were pleasant places and, although local, worth visiting. I hope the 127 builds up some custom during the period of its initial funding or it will disappear again. The 01 route, whoever operates it going forward, is an interesting ride including the attractive Windsor Great Park and well worth visiting.

A few pictures, sorry no buses!

Twyford - converted silk mill


Wokingham


Ascot


Ascot - the heath inside the racecourse


Windsor Great Park


Windsor Great Park


Windsor Castle


Eton Bridge



Come friendly bombs - Slough

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I finally managed a day out last Tuesday, not a brilliant day but reasonably bright and it fitted in with other commitments. I had to go to Maidenhead first thing so I parked there and took the Carousel 127 towards Reading. This was only the second day of operation of this new route during the week – there has been a Saturday service run by Thames Valley Buses for some time – and it was a good opportunity to sample it. Quite ambitious – the new service is hourly from around 7am until 6pm. My bus was a modern E200, one of a pair which have worked the route most of the week; there were two other passengers on board who were travelling to Maidenhead Hospital, this new route providing an alternative to the existing services. There was nobody else aboard as we set out into the section along the A4 which hasn’t had a weekday service for years. Long ago it was Thames Valley service 1 which I vaguely remember being served by Bristol Lodekkas. Around Knowl Hill another passenger joined with a prepaid ticket, she looked as if she was heading to a college and so this presumably gave her an alterative to the car. A couple more joined on the edge of Twyford where the route parallels the 850. I alighted in the centre of Twyford where more joined. Surprisingly I then saw an 850 bus heading for Reading which I had seen earlier – the 850 suffering from massive delays due to road works in Henley that morning.

Although relatively local I had never explored Twyford before, just changed trains there. There isn’t much to see, the town centre being dominated by traffic queueing for four-way traffic lights which gridlock the town. There was a decent old silk mill on the edge of the town centre which has been converted to residential accommodation. My next leg was on Thames Valley Buses, taking the 128 to Wokingham. I could see from BusTimes that the bus, another E200, was about 15 minutes late but it caught up a little before arriving as the traffic queues had gone. There was nobody else aboard when it arrived and as we went round a small housing estate with a bus-only section and then the quick way into Wokingham, not via Winnersh, taken only by this journey. Plenty of standing water on and near the roads!

Wokingham is another town I do not know well, for me it isn’t on the way to anywhere else and has no obvious reason to visit. I was surprised by how attractive the town centre was in places, with some greens, open spaces, decent houses and interesting back-streets without too much traffic. I had time for a coffee here as well as exploring the town centre before heading on the Reading Buses 4a to Bracknell. This route, and the 4, are run with new E400 Citys with all the modern features including a table upstairs. These are frequent routes and passengers came and went throughout. The 4a takes the quicker route through industrial estates on the western side of Bracknell, the 4 variation going through more housing. I didn’t stay in Bracknell and immediately transferred to another new E400 City on the 703 towards Heathrow. I have seen criticism of modern ADL products for rattles but there were none evident on this bus. The 703 now provides a regular half hourly services from Bracknell to Windsor and on to Heathrow, and we headed east out of Bracknell with a few passengers aboard and I got off at the hospital at the edge of Ascot, this bus being one which did not go further into the town.

Ascot isn’t a place I knew either, apart from a couple of corporate invitations to the races here some years ago, and I had a while to explore. The town is utterly dominated by the racecourse with the main stand, buildings and car parks right on the main road. The rest of the place has more of a village feel. The area is clearly very wealthy, there was a Maserati dealer in the main street and a McLaren dealer near the station! I had time to walk through a tunnel under the main stand of the racecourse and into the heath beyond, this area being in the middle of the race circuit but the far side is such a long way away you can’t see it. A pleasant walk out there, but avoid on race days!

No prizes for where I was going on the next leg of my trip. Quirky bus route number 10, from Roger French, route 01. This is a route which has been operated by White Bus for ever I think, but I understand they may have lost the tender from the end of March. My bus was one of a pair of 16-plate MCV Evolution bodied Volvo B8RLEs which seem to run most journeys on the route. This seemed a very solid and quiet bus as we headed south out of Ascot through very well-to-do areas of South Ascot, Sunninghill and Sunningdale. We were delayed by two sets of 3-way traffic lights in South Ascot and then by having to reverse in Sunningdale as badly parked cars made it impossible to get through a road called High Street and we had to take a short diversion. There were always a few passengers on board, mostly making short journeys and few being young enough to pay. Then a road closure at Cheapside meant we had to take a longer diversion and nearly got back to Ascot before heading north and into the really quirky bit of the journey through Windsor Great Park. Ordinary folk are not allowed here in their cars, just royalty, residents, authorised tradespeople and the 01 bus plus horses, cyclists and walkers. The gates opened automatically as we approached the turning and we passed a sign showing the speed limit in the park of 28mph. My research on Google says it used to be 38mph but I am sure the sign I saw said 28mph – either option is quirky but if that’s what the King decides then that’s what it is. The roads here were quite wet and there were walkers around. Some sections of the park are only served by the bus by prior arrangements but Prince Andrew didn’t need to go shopping today so we headed straight for the main village, now 10 minutes late. Here a party of eight boarded, all with return tickets, obviously part of some guided trip. We then headed back out of the park through another gate which was already open and into Windsor.

Windsor is a more familiar town to me although there were still some side streets around the castle I hadn’t explored and the weather was now pretty sunny. I then explored further by the river and over the bridge into Eton where there are more upmarket shops and back streets. Then from Eton I took the Thames Valley Buses 15 to Slough, which is a short hop on yet another E200. This route is interworked with the 2 providing an hourly service on each route with two buses. We terminated slightly on the edge of the central area of Slough, the bus station having been severely damaged in a fire a few years ago now. Various buses around here, E400s and Streetlites from First, deckers from Hounslow on the 81, E200s from Thames Valley Buses and a Citaro from Carousel. My final leg was back to Maidenhead on the First Berkshire 6. I’m afraid so many things about First make my blood boil and this was one of them. The main Heathrow service (the 7 series, with Citaros before it became the A4) used to run through to Maidenhead but presumably the custom on the Maidenhead end didn’t match the Heathrow end and it was proposed for withdrawal. Somehow an hourly service remained and to make it work sensibly it was tagged together with a service to Wexham Court to provide an hourly service. Then Artificial Ignorance came along and decreed that a 120-minute round trip wasn’t slow enough or have enough terminus time so, rather than disconnect the two ends and reassemble as hourly with some interworking of other services, the service runs at varying intervals, typically every 67 minutes or so. The timetable is totally unmemorable and users must have to keep track of all the departure times to use the route beyond Cippenham, where the parallel A4 terminates.

To make it worse my bus was a horrible Streetlite where the rattles were immediately evident. No sooner than we had set off than we stopped in a layby just before crossing the A355 at the Salt Hill interchange. Why? Because we were early. The 6 is allowed 11 minutes to get from the centre of Slough to the Salt Hill Cross Roads. The parallel A4 takes 8 minutes at this time, the X74 is allowed 6 minutes while the Carousel 103 makes it in 5 minutes. All the First service times vary slightly and all increase a little in peak hours. We stopped to wait time a couple more times on the Bath Road and for longer just before arriving at Maidenhead. The bus has about 12 minutes turnround at Maidenhead, plus typically 3 minutes each way waiting time at Slough, although only a minute or so at the Wexham Court end as it is a loop. But the stupidity builds all this in and so runs every 67-70 minutes or so, whereas sensibly it could be done with a clockface hourly frequency with shorter journey times and recovery, at least between the peaks. Then passengers would remember the times and might be more inclined to use the bus, whereas regular peak hour travellers can remember the specific times of their bus even if it is every 70 minutes or whatever. Better still, one A4 could be extended from Cippenham to Maidenhead each hour, providing a decent service while the other bus runs the Wexham Court End every hour. It’s just mad! Anyway, enough ranting, there weren’t many passengers once we left Slough and we were in good time getting back to Maidenhead where I finished the trip.

OK, so not the most exciting trip, but it was good to be out and about again. Wokingham, Ascot, Windsor and Eton were pleasant places and, although local, worth visiting. I hope the 127 builds up some custom during the period of its initial funding or it will disappear again. The 01 route, whoever operates it going forward, is an interesting ride including the attractive Windsor Great Park and well worth visiting.

A few pictures, sorry no buses!
View attachment 175633
Twyford - converted silk mill

View attachment 175634
Wokingham

View attachment 175635
Ascot

View attachment 175636
Ascot - the heath inside the racecourse

View attachment 175637
Windsor Great Park

View attachment 175638
Windsor Great Park

View attachment 175639
Windsor Castle

View attachment 175640
Eton Bridge


View attachment 175641
Come friendly bombs - Slough

Thanks for the latest trip report. Nice to see you're taking advantage of the good weather.

The AI generated timetables are an absolute farce. It smacks of Emperors New Clothes. The number of times you simply have to wait time for no reason other than a cockeyed timetable...

No need to apologise for the bus-less shots. It's about the places more than the buses (for me, at least) and a part of the country I really don't know. I've been to Windsor once with friends, and had a wander around the Great Park. I once had a business meeting in the centre of Wokingham so I reckon that's about it for there, and for the other bits of your itinerary... nope! All looks lovely. Of course, things are changing so a last chance to have White's through the Park, and I guess there will be a few new services you'll want to sample.

Weather hasn't been great but I feel a trip coming on myself

 

[RELL6L]

Thanks for the latest trip report. Nice to see you're taking advantage of the good weather.

The AI generated timetables are an absolute farce. It smacks of Emperors New Clothes. The number of times you simply have to wait time for no reason other than a cockeyed timetable...

No need to apologise for the bus-less shots. It's about the places more than the buses (for me, at least) and a part of the country I really don't know. I've been to Windsor once with friends, and had a wander around the Great Park. I once had a business meeting in the centre of Wokingham so I reckon that's about it for there, and for the other bits of your itinerary... nope! All looks lovely. Of course, things are changing so a last chance to have White's through the Park, and I guess there will be a few new services you'll want to sample.

Weather hasn't been great but I feel a trip coming on myself

Thanks for your response. The AI timetables are mad - more reflection on this below. Confirmed that White's are losing the 01 through Windsor Great Park but Thames Valley Buses will now run it and there are more services coming to the area. Hope you are able to get a trip out soon and look forward to hearing about it.

I see that Roger French sampled the 127 on the same day that I did - indeed the same bus but 3 hours later. He seemed encouraged by the patronage on day 2.

Meanwhile, as luck would have it, I was able to get another day out in the good weather last week. This trip was an entirely Stagecoach one to fill in some gaps in my coverage of the Midlands. I first visited this area in the mid 1970s and much of this was then very sparse bus territory with Midland Red, United Counties and many independents. The map of routes looked quite comprehensive but many were very infrequent services and there are now substantially better services on many routes, particularly inter-urban ones. I started at Southam in Warwickshire. To my surprise my first bus was an 06-plate Trident on the Stagecoach Midlands 63 to Rugby, this 19 year old bus still in full day service despite the new deliveries and cascades within the group. It seemed to have been well maintained and in pretty good condition with a decent load, mainly of school children, already aboard. A short way into the journey we diverted off the main road to loop round the village of Stockton, taking on more passengers, then through Dunchurch adding more. Most alighted in the centre of Rugby where I did not have much time to wait. The centre of Rugby is OK but I am not a great fan of the rest of the town.

My next section was to take the long 96 route to Northampton, paralleling the train but visiting far more places. A good number of passengers joined my E200 in the town centre and at the station and we headed off to the north east of the town through industrial areas before coming to the substantial new settlement of Houlton. Many houses have already been built here, plus two schools, and more to come. Surprisingly few stops here though and more people alighted than boarded. From there we went to DIRFT, a huge logistics park with a massive Royal Mail depot and loads of warehouses. Quite a bit of employment here but not on the scale of old industrial estates with manufacturing. For no apparent reason we were 10 minutes late as we arrived at DIRFT but we sped around the empty roads and made up 5 minutes, dropping off handfuls of passengers here and there. Eventually we reached the M1 and after we crossed it the nature of the route changed completely, starting with the village of Crick. Attractive brown sandstone buildings abound and the villages are much quieter. The 96 takes a number of diversions off the main road to West Haddon, Watford (famous for its gap), Long Buckby and East Haddon. Long Buckby is quite sizeable and I don’t think I had ever been here before, quite a few passengers boarded at some of these villages. After this the bus passes the Althorp Estate before a short loop round a housing estate on the edge of Northampton and then into the town to terminate at the Drapery, a row of bus stops just outside the bus station. At least one other person had made the journey the whole way from Rugby as well as me – presumably the bus is a lot cheaper than the train.

I just had a little time in Northampton to walk round the market square which I have always liked. The area is much more pleasant than the old subterranean bus station of the old days. The market square has now been adorned with some small fountains in one of the corners of the sort that children like running through on hot days! My next bus also departed from the Drapery and was an 09-plate Scania/E400 still in the Gold livery. Now nearly 16 years old this was slightly faded at the edges but still seemed a quality bus. I had researched that this journey was always a double decker – the Northampton to Daventry routes, interworked with Daventry locals, are a real mixture of vehicle types but this journey comes off peak hour workings on other routes. This was important to me because the D3 route takes in several more villages with brown stone houses and these were really very attractive. Harpole, Kislingbury, Bugbrooke and Nether Heyford were all fabulous and best viewed from the top of a bus. Due to a road closure we missed out Flore, but that is on the main road D2 route. We then went to Weedon Bec, also attractive, before coming into Daventry. I thoroughly recommend the D3, but make sure you get one of the double deck journeys.

I have always found Daventry itself a little dull, I had time here to grab a coffee, stock up on lunch and wander briefly to the market and town square which are probably the best bits. My next leg was on the Stagecoach Oxfordshire 200 to Banbury, on a standard E200. Back in the day this service was run by Geoff Amos and was very infrequent. Later, it may have been in the day of Rural Bus Grant, it was improved to hourly, taken over by Stagecoach and has built up quite a bit of custom as a commercial route, although I think it was at risk of withdrawal not long ago and may now be partially subsidised. This loops round Woodford Halse which is an interesting village. It was by a junction on the Great Central Railway and had a depot and marshalling yards, little of which now remains. There are some streets of what are clearly railway cottages from that era and there are now new estates which cut across the old trackbed, although bridges remain. Not far south we crossed the path of HS2 and, as elsewhere, the works have cut a wide swathe of land along the route and we were held up by the police for 10 minutes while a wide load came in. The timetable of this route is an interesting contrast to the First Slough 6 which I referred to in my previous report. The 200 used to have a round trip time comfortably within 2 hours and so two buses provided a clockface hourly service. However as time went by, I don’t know if it was route changes or just longer journey times, this increased and now it takes 58 minutes each way. First, if its anything like the 6 in Slough, would vary the time of each trip, stick 10 minutes stand time at each end and run about every 68 minutes, then be puzzled as to where the passengers went. Stagecoach don’t do that, they have interworked the route with the B9 Banbury local service using 4 buses to cover the 200 and half the B9. The other half of the B9 interworks with the 500 to Bicester, which has a round trip time too close to 3 hours for the route to run independently, all knitted together very satisfactorily. Much better than the Artificial Ignorance practiced by First. No route-branded buses here though – wouldn’t work for Trent Barton!

I had a while in Banbury to stroll up to the famous Banbury Cross and walk a little along the canal which passes the back of the bus station. My next leg was back to Stagecoach Midlands on the 76 towards Stratford. This was another journey which research had indicated was a pretty reliable double decker turn and I had another Scania/E400, this one 10-plate in the old standard livery. No way is a double decker needed for this journey but presumably other parts of the board, run by the Stratford outstation with much interworking between routes, need the capacity. A very rural service, also back in the day this was much less frequent and run by an independent whose name I have forgotten. Again very attractive sandstone villages of North Oxfordshire and South Warwickshire as we headed out of Banbury including Wroxton, Shenington and Tysoe, where the bus does a short double-run. After Oxton another road closure meant a diversion via Pillerton Priors before we arrived at Kineton, which was my destination. I don’t recall ever having visited Kineton before, it is a larger village with some facilities and a school and once had a Stratford Blue depot – probably closed decades ago under Midland Red. I had a while to wander around this pleasant and well-maintained village.

I don’t like relying on boarding buses where there isn’t a physical bus stop by the road. My next leg was on the 77A to Leamington Spa, another E200. This particular journey from Banbury to Leamington diverts through Kineton to call at the school but the timetable, together with the relevant bus stop timetable, shows that the bus stops opposite Kineton Church and must then go round a small loop in the village centre to get to Warwick Road. My 76 had just been round the narrow part of the loop as its diversion meant it had to head back the way it came, but my examination of BusTimes showed that the 77A journey never actually did this. The alternative is the stop shown in BusTimes as Warwick Road, just round the corner, where there is no physical stop, nor any road markings. I hoped the bus would stop as there is no other way out of Kineton for a couple of hours after this so I stood confidently in the middle of the road as the bus approached, having not done the loop to serve the official bus stop, and held out my hand. It stopped and I boarded. There were quite a lot of school children on board, most heading to Gaydon or Lighthorne Heath, where there are many new houses in estates beside the main road and more to come. We also went past the entrance to Jaguar Land Rover and the British Motor Museum. We were on time here but the route in Leamington goes past the Stagecoach bus depot and we had a driver change here which took over 5 minutes and then heavy traffic meant we were nearly 15 minutes late into the town centre.

Leamington Spa is a lovely town with a many Georgian buildings especially around the town centre, while the gardens by the river are very attractive. I had half an hour or so here before returning to Southam on the 63 again. My bus was the same Trident as I had been on in the morning and there was an even older 55-plate Trident running on the 67, in fact the two appeared together at one point. I presume they are running these until either the MOT expires or a major failure as they must have more modern vehicles available to them. The 63 used to be run by Rugby depot and didn’t have double deckers, indeed generally Rugby depot never had double deckers as the town and the 86 to Coventry have low bridges. This journey showed why the 63 does now, the upstairs was almost full with students, many going as far as Southam or even beyond. Back at Southam I had a short wander and before setting off for home. A lovely sunny day and a very enjoyable trip, much of the area having a number of attractive villages. An interesting contrast to days out in the area from getting on for 50 years ago.


Northampton - Market Square


Sandstone cottages at Kislingbury on the D3


The Canal near Bugbrooke - not actually on the route but on the diversion we took


Daventry


The Oxford Canal at Banbury


Middle Tysoe


Kineton


Georgian splendour at Leamington Spa


A Dennis Trident (18401) at Southam

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Thank you for that report @RELL6L - unlike your Berks/Bucks one recently, this is an area I know quite well. Lots of familiar routes and photo locations; one of my friends was married in the church that you photographed in Daventry, and another lives in Long Buckby - in fact, I had pub crawls in the village!

A few years ago, I did a one way trip from Trowbridge to Market Harborough (don't ask why) and sampled the 200 from Banbury to Daventry. The latter town is rather dull, it has to be said, though Banbury is ok. The 200 was Geoff Amos' Grand Central Connection until they went bust and ran through to Rugby. I think you're right that Stagecoach took it on though it was still very marginal but after covid, it was under threat as a major loss maker until some funding came in. My trip involved the D4 to Long Buckby and then the 96 to Northampton, and I can vouch for the fact that it is a lovely run through the countryside in that area.

You've definitely done the best of the Daventry to Northampton routes and one thing you mention... is that Stagecoach has done a pretty decent job in improving buses in that area. The only one where they have tried and tried without success is the A43 corridor (Northampton to Oxford) which is very thin territory but otherwise, they've done a decent job in the hinterlands.

Thanks again and I would definitely recommend this slightly unfashionable corner of the East Midlands.


BTW, we can disagree though - whilst Northampton market square could be really nice, it isn't as good as it should be and the rest of the town centre is variable (but there are some great pubs)

 

[RELL6L]

Thank you for that report @RELL6L - unlike your Berks/Bucks one recently, this is an area I know quite well. Lots of familiar routes and photo locations; one of my friends was married in the church that you photographed in Daventry, and another lives in Long Buckby - in fact, I had pub crawls in the village!

A few years ago, I did a one way trip from Trowbridge to Market Harborough (don't ask why) and sampled the 200 from Banbury to Daventry. The latter town is rather dull, it has to be said, though Banbury is ok. The 200 was Geoff Amos' Grand Central Connection until they went bust and ran through to Rugby. I think you're right that Stagecoach took it on though it was still very marginal but after covid, it was under threat as a major loss maker until some funding came in. My trip involved the D4 to Long Buckby and then the 96 to Northampton, and I can vouch for the fact that it is a lovely run through the countryside in that area.

You've definitely done the best of the Daventry to Northampton routes and one thing you mention... is that Stagecoach has done a pretty decent job in improving buses in that area. The only one where they have tried and tried without success is the A43 corridor (Northampton to Oxford) which is very thin territory but otherwise, they've done a decent job in the hinterlands.

Thanks again and I would definitely recommend this slightly unfashionable corner of the East Midlands.


BTW, we can disagree though - whilst Northampton market square could be really nice, it isn't as good as it should be and the rest of the town centre is variable (but there are some great pubs)

Thanks for your comments. I agree this area is unfashionable but I suspect the locals like to keep it that way way because it’s really attractive, well worth a trip.

I’ve had a quick look at my old United Counties and Midland Red timetables from the mid 1970s in this area. It’s notable how much better the inter-urban services are now compared to that time. What is now the 96 from Northampton to Rugby only went regularly as far as Long Buckby with just a few journeys to West Haddon, nothing further. Leamington to Southam was OK but almost nothing on to Rugby. Few rural services from Banbury except very infrequent ones although more to Aynho and Bicester, not covered now. There were more really infrequent services then though, some to tiny settlements.

I agree that the A43 corridor has been difficult to cover and many services have come and gone, perhaps because the road is so good nothing can come close to driving. I recall from the mid 1970s the 338 ran Oxford to Northampton four times a day and seemed quite busy, but it went downhill from there.

The centre of Northampton could be a lot better but I don’t think the local councils have a great deal of money to spend!

 

[ChrisC]

When I was looking at the weather forecast last weekend, and a few days of warm dry weather had been forecast, I decided to book a few days away. I had a few ideas of where to go but ended up staying in Harrogate for 4 nights. I’d stayed at the very good Crowne Plaza Hotel a few years ago and although it can be very expensive, it can also be very reasonable if there are no events taking place at the adjoining Convention Centre. I was in luck, prices for Monday to Thursday were very reasonable and so I was able to get a Premier room with breakfast included at a good price. I left my car at home and travelled up to Harrogate by train.

The main Ripon Road north out of Harrogate is currently closed for a few weeks due to roadworks, which meant that the Harrogate Bus Company 24 to Pateley Bridge and 36 to Ripon buses were diverted and stopping directly outside the hotel door.

On my first day I got the number 24 to Pateley Bridge which these days just runs approximately 2 hourly. I was quite surprised, for an infrequent sparsely populated rural route, to find it operated by a new electric bus. Anyone who has read my previous reports will be surprised to hear that I even discovered it was an eCitaro. I don’t usually care what sort of bus it is as long as it’s comfortable and I can enjoy the journey and scenery! I was very impressed how comfortable it was and how smooth and quiet. I was also impressed at well how it accelerated on some of the winding hilly roads.

After leaving Harrogate and turning off the main A61 at Killinghall it then passes through a number of attractive villages, including Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Darley and Summerbridge as it slowly climbs on the hour long journey up the River Nidd Valley. Daffodils could be seen ieverywhere and lots of new born lambs in the fields. This area is outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park but is a lovely quiet area for walking without the crowds. I travelled right through to Pateley Bridge where I was to walk further up the side of the river to the small village of Wath before crossing the river and returning back to Pateley Bridge on the other side of the river. A lovely walk which really feels like you are in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. The walk is only a 3 mile round trip which allows plenty of time and a short look around Pateley Bridge before getting the return bus 2 hours later. Pateley Bridge is a lovely old town with a steep narrow high street. I can definately recommend the Yorkshire Curd Tart from the Yorkshire Born and Bread Bakery.

Another eCitaro for the trip back down the valley but this time just as far as the village of Hampsthwaite for another walk of around 3 miles to Ripley on the 36 bus route. The church at Hampsthwaite is beautifully situated on the bank of the River Nidd and there was a seat in the churchyard at the side of the river where I could have sat in the sun all afternoon. After a short break I crossed the narrow stone river bridge and climbed a steep hill before joining the Nidderdale Way to walk through the parkland of Ripley Castle. I paid to have a look around the gardens and grounds at Ripley Castle which was well worth it just to see the daffodils and then enjoyed a snack in the Castle Tearooms before getting the 36 bus for the short ride back into Harrogate. This was also a new electric bus, but this time a double decker on the frequent Ripon-Harrogate-Leeds route.


Daffodils in the grounds of Ripley Castle

On my second day I decided to take a longer bus ride and set out a bit earlier paying the £3 single fare on the 36 to Ripon as it was just after 8.30am before I was able to use my bus pass. Incidentally North Yorkshire is one of the few areas where an ENCTS pass can be used after 9am rather than 9.30am. This bus was another of the Harrogate Bus Company new electric double deckers. The reason for my earlier start was to be in Ripon in plenty of time to catch the infrequent Hodgsons Buses service 159 to Richmond. I‘ve visited small historic City of Ripon, complete with its cathedral a number of times before so was not intending to spend much time there.

There were just 8 passengers on the 159 when it left Ripon and that was about the maximum number of passenger aboard for the whole 90 minute journey. It was great ride through some fantastic North Yorkshire scenery and passing through some lovely villages and historic towns. I can really recommend this route for a scenic ride passing through Masham, East Witton, Jervaulx Abbey, Middleham and Leyburn among others. It was a route which passed through towns and villages that I would have liked to have got off and explored, but with only 3 buses a day it was not practical because of the long wait for the next bus. The last few miles into,Richmond down the side of the River Swale has some wonderful views. The bus passes through many touristy locations but with no opportunity to hop on and off for an hour or so to explore. Although sparsely populated countryside the towns are of a reasonable size but with very infrequent buses between them. My impression was that such an infrequent service was of little relevance to locals unless they had no other means of transport to get into town and was not frequent enough to attract tourists out of their cars for travel between the towns. I intend to return at some point staying in the area and taking my car.

I had 2 and a half hours looking around the lovely historic market town of Richmond visiting the castle and taking a walk by the river. There’s a lot of climbing up steep narrow streets from the river. I could have got the 159 back Ripon and would have liked to considering how impressive the scenery had been but decided to take an alternative route back to Ripon via Northallerton and Thirsk. It was good to take a different route and through some nice countryside but very ordinary scenery compared to the 159 route.


View from the top of a Richmond Castle


Hodgsons bus in Richmond

I left Richmond on another Hodgsons route the 55 to Northallerton. Again only 3 buses a day and the 1350 departure I caught was the last of the day. It was just a short 35 minute journey. On arrival in Northallerton I had a quick walk down the main street, and although a nice enough place it was spoilt by the heavy traffic. I then went and had something to eat and drink in a surprisingly nice Wetherspoons before getting the Hodgsons number 70 back to Ripon which ran via Thirsk. It was one of those routes which seemed to take ages along narrow country lanes passing through numerous small villages. I quite enjoyed my day travelling on Hodgsons buses which were all clean and well presented with friendly drivers. Before I got my ENCTC pass I rarely used these small operators and usually stuck to routes of a main operator which were included on their day or weekly ticket. On arrival back in Ripon there was just a short wait for the 36 bus back to Harrogate.

On my final day I stayed fairly local to Harrogate. In the morning I had a trip out to Knaresborough on the 1A which was another of the eCitaros as on my day out on the 24 to Pateley Bridge. I know Knaresborough very well but never tire of the well known view from the castle grounds of the riverside below and the railway viaduct. After taking a walk by the river I returned to Harrogate.


The River Nidd and railway viaduct in Knaresborough

For my final afternoon I took ride on the Harrogate Electrics route 6 to the RHS Gardens at Harlow Carr. I have been before but it was good to see it in early spring. Whilst there I sat outside in the sun and enjoyed sandwiches, cake and tea from Betty’s. Very expensive but extremely enjoyable. I don’t care these days how much things cost. I worked hard and saved for my retirement so now I’ve retired why not spend it as what was the point in saving. I enjoyed my 3 days in North Yorkshire and a good quick decision to go away during the good weather. I’ve got another free week in April when if good weather is forecast I may do a similar thing. Then I have 7 days already booked down in Eastbourne at the beginning of May.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

When I was looking at the weather forecast last weekend, and a few days of warm dry weather had been forecast, I decided to book a few days away. I had a few ideas of where to go but ended up staying in Harrogate for 4 nights. I’d stayed at the very good Crowne Plaza Hotel a few years ago and although it can be very expensive, it can also be very reasonable if there are no events taking place at the adjoining Convention Centre. I was in luck, prices for Monday to Thursday were very reasonable and so I was able to get a Premier room with breakfast included at a good price. I left my car at home and travelled up to Harrogate by train.

The main Ripon Road north out of Harrogate is currently closed for a few weeks due to roadworks, which meant that the Harrogate Bus Company 24 to Pateley Bridge and 36 to Ripon buses were diverted and stopping directly outside the hotel door.

On my first day I got the number 24 to Pateley Bridge which these days just runs approximately 2 hourly. I was quite surprised, for an infrequent sparsely populated rural route, to find it operated by a new electric bus. Anyone who has read my previous reports will be surprised to hear that I even discovered it was an eCitaro. I don’t usually care what sort of bus it is as long as it’s comfortable and I can enjoy the journey and scenery! I was very impressed how comfortable it was and how smooth and quiet. I was also impressed at well how it accelerated on some of the winding hilly roads.

After leaving Harrogate and turning off the main A61 at Killinghall it then passes through a number of attractive villages, including Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Darley and Summerbridge as it slowly climbs on the hour long journey up the River Nidd Valley. Daffodils could be seen ieverywhere and lots of new born lambs in the fields. This area is outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park but is a lovely quiet area for walking without the crowds. I travelled right through to Pateley Bridge where I was to walk further up the side of the river to the small village of Wath before crossing the river and returning back to Pateley Bridge on the other side of the river. A lovely walk which really feels like you are in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. The walk is only a 3 mile round trip which allows plenty of time and a short look around Pateley Bridge before getting the return bus 2 hours later. Pateley Bridge is a lovely old town with a steep narrow high street. I can definately recommend the Yorkshire Curd Tart from the Yorkshire Born and Bread Bakery.

Another eCitaro for the trip back down the valley but this time just as far as the village of Hampsthwaite for another walk of around 3 miles to Ripley on the 36 bus route. The church at Hampsthwaite is beautifully situated on the bank of the River Nidd and there was a seat in the churchyard at the side of the river where I could have sat in the sun all afternoon. After a short break I crossed the narrow stone river bridge and climbed a steep hill before joining the Nidderdale Way to walk through the parkland of Ripley Castle. I paid to have a look around the gardens and grounds at Ripley Castle which was well worth it just to see the daffodils and then enjoyed a snack in the Castle Tearooms before getting the 36 bus for the short ride back into Harrogate. This was also a new electric bus, but this time a double decker on the frequent Ripon-Harrogate-Leeds route.

View attachment 177025
Daffodils in the grounds of Ripley Castle

On my second day I decided to take a longer bus ride and set out a bit earlier paying the £3 single fare on the 36 to Ripon as it was just after 8.30am before I was able to use my bus pass. Incidentally North Yorkshire is one of the few areas where an ENCTS pass can be used after 9am rather than 9.30am. This bus was another of the Harrogate Bus Company new electric double deckers. The reason for my earlier start was to be in Ripon in plenty of time to catch the infrequent Hodgsons Buses service 159 to Richmond. I‘ve visited small historic City of Ripon, complete with its cathedral a number of times before so was not intending to spend much time there.

There were just 8 passengers on the 159 when it left Ripon and that was about the maximum number of passenger aboard for the whole 90 minute journey. It was great ride through some fantastic North Yorkshire scenery and passing through some lovely villages and historic towns. I can really recommend this route for a scenic ride passing through Masham, East Witton, Jervaulx Abbey, Middleham and Leyburn among others. It was a route which passed through towns and villages that I would have liked to have got off and explored, but with only 3 buses a day it was not practical because of the long wait for the next bus. The last few miles into,Richmond down the side of the River Swale has some wonderful views. The bus passes through many touristy locations but with no opportunity to hop on and off for an hour or so to explore. Although sparsely populated countryside the towns are of a reasonable size but with very infrequent buses between them. My impression was that such an infrequent service was of little relevance to locals unless they had no other means of transport to get into town and was not frequent enough to attract tourists out of their cars for travel between the towns. I intend to return at some point staying in the area and taking my car.

I had 2 and a half hours looking around the lovely historic market town of Richmond visiting the castle and taking a walk by the river. There’s a lot of climbing up steep narrow streets from the river. I could have got the 159 back Ripon and would have liked to considering how impressive the scenery had been but decided to take an alternative route back to Ripon via Northallerton and Thirsk. It was good to take a different route and through some nice countryside but very ordinary scenery compared to the 159 route.

View attachment 177023
View from the top of a Richmond Castle

View attachment 177024
Hodgsons bus in Richmond

I left Richmond on another Hodgsons route the 55 to Northallerton. Again only 3 buses a day and the 1350 departure I caught was the last of the day. It was just a short 35 minute journey. On arrival in Northallerton I had a quick walk down the main street, and although a nice enough place it was spoilt by the heavy traffic. I then went and had something to eat and drink in a surprisingly nice Wetherspoons before getting the Hodgsons number 70 back to Ripon which ran via Thirsk. It was one of those routes which seemed to take ages along narrow country lanes passing through numerous small villages. I quite enjoyed my day travelling on Hodgsons buses which were all clean and well presented with friendly drivers. Before I got my ENCTC pass I rarely used these small operators and usually stuck to routes of a main operator which were included on their day or weekly ticket. On arrival back in Ripon there was just a short wait for the 36 bus back to Harrogate.

On my final day I stayed fairly local to Harrogate. In the morning I had a trip out to Knaresborough on the 1A which was another of the eCitaros as on my day out on the 24 to Pateley Bridge. I know Knaresborough very well but never tire of the well known view from the castle grounds of the riverside below and the railway viaduct. After taking a walk by the river I returned to Harrogate.

View attachment 177022
The River Nidd and railway viaduct in Knaresborough

For my final afternoon I took ride on the Harrogate Electrics route 6 to the RHS Gardens at Harlow Carr. I have been before but it was good to see it in early spring. Whilst there I sat outside in the sun and enjoyed sandwiches, cake and tea from Betty’s. Very expensive but extremely enjoyable. I don’t care these days how much things cost. I worked hard and saved for my retirement so now I’ve retired why not spend it as what was the point in saving. I enjoyed my 3 days in North Yorkshire and a good quick decision to go away during the good weather. I’ve got another free week in April when if good weather is forecast I may do a similar thing. Then I have 7 days already booked down in Eastbourne at the beginning of May.

Some lovely photos there and you caught North Yorkshire at its best. I know those areas very well - in fact, my avatar indicates a familiarity with the area. Richmond and Ripon are both really pleasant towns to wander around - one has a castle (and a friary and an abbey) whilst the other has a cathedral so they're brimming with history and the areas by their rivers are delightful. However, the scenery in the Dales is the real star and good you had the chance to enjoy it - rather than a Hodgsons e200, my first trip on the 159 was on a United RELH just to make you jealous. As for Hodgsons, they are really maturing into quite a decent operator - the fleet is standard dealer stuff but they do put timetables at stops.

Look forward to seeing your next adventure.

 

[ian1944]

Yes, on my last visit to Harlow Carr I found that Betty had taken over the tearoom and upped the prices. At the time I did mind what things cost, so the rather cheaper refreshment kiosk got the custom.

 

[JKP]

Thank you ChrisC for your report. I have not visited this area for some time now. From your photo of Richmond, do I assume that buses no longer serve the Market Place? I have a number of pictures of United buses in the Market Place, mainly Bristol LH if I recall correctly.

 

[ChrisC]

Thank you ChrisC for your report. I have not visited this area for some time now. From your photo of Richmond, do I assume that buses no longer serve the Market Place? I have a number of pictures of United buses in the Market Place, mainly Bristol LH if I recall correctly.

Buses do normally still serve Richmond Market Place. Parts of the Market Place are being resurfaced and all buses have been using the stops at Friary Gardens from 10th March. They are due to return to the Market Place on 1st April.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Thank you ChrisC for your report. I have not visited this area for some time now. From your photo of Richmond, do I assume that buses no longer serve the Market Place? I have a number of pictures of United buses in the Market Place, mainly Bristol LH if I recall correctly.

The buses usually serve the edge of the market place (that you can’t see) by the Golden Lion and Town Hall so that low floor access can be enabled.

The other shot (Queens Road) is used for layover in the main but as they’re relaying the market place cobbles, they’ve moved there.

 

[JKP]

The buses usually serve the edge of the market place (that you can’t see) by the Golden Lion and Town Hall so that low floor access can be enabled.

The other shot (Queens Road) is used for layover in the main but as they’re relaying the market place cobbles, they’ve moved there.

Many thanks both for the update.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Been a little while since I posted details of a trip - photos and content won't be to the standards of @RELL6L or @ChrisC but here goes. Apologies for the overindulgent preamble (in advance).

Living in the South West, I do a few Devon trips. Last year, I received some really bad news and I headed out for a days' travelling to clear my head and reflect with a trip from Totnes to Plymouth, the Tamar Valley and then back via the Tavy. The weather reflected my mood, being enveloped in a bleak mist and mizzle that never broke across the day. A year on, I decided to return on a better day (figuratively and meteorologically) covering some but not all the same territory. I hope you enjoy the read.

I started the day in Kingsbridge in the South Hams. It's a lovely little town, typical of Devon, and has a large car park for the many tourists that costs about £8 for the day...or you can go to the carpark about 5 mins walk and pay £2! I did that and then had a wander around and explored the area by the estuary and into the town having had breakfast at the Creeks End Inn. Kingsbridge had a Western National garage until about 1971, and it is still standing. Given how rural the area is, it's amazing that WN had garages there, Dartmouth and Totnes plus a small shed at Salcombe! Kingsbridge also has a small bus station, and it was from there that I caught my first bus of the day - the 3 to Plymouth.


Former Western National depot, Kingsbridge



My carriage awaits - my future e200 is in the background in Kingsbridge's small bus station

This was traditionally a double decked route, and last time I rode it was a few years into Stagecoach operation with a Trident. Nowadays, it tends to be e200 operated and so it was for me. The driver eventually found the multi operator Devon Bus ticket ("never sold one of those before" - as ever, a handy ticket that has very little promotion) and off we headed. We had a reasonable load but continued to fill up as we travelled along, though the appearance of ten visiting football fans (their team were away to Plymouth) at Brixton meant that we had a rare standing load into Plymouth. We'd kept time well, passing the Dartmouth bound vehicle on the curious one way loop in the village of Aveton Gifford yet I knew that this run had a habit of running late. The reason is that there is a driver change just near the Stagecoach depot - fortunately, I'd planned for this and was able to bail a little early and get my next bus.

This was another Stagecoach bus and a trip to Tavistock. This was one of the 2016 batch of e400mmcs that Stagecoach put into Plymouth and to be honest, was the last major investment they have made in the city. Still, the grey skies had cleared and it was a lovely trip to Tavistock across the southern edges of Dartmoor. One thing I did notice was the odd disparity in bus priority in Plymouth - to the north, serving Derriford Hospital, the George P&R, and Marjon University, it's really good. However, coming in from Elburton into the city on my earlier bus, it's begging for better provision. I was nervously checking my watch as I knew I had a very, very tight connection but thankfully, it worked out. On the stand was my next bus - the bus itself may not have been a classic but the journey would be.



Dartmoor from the top deck of an e400mmc

The bus was a Wright Streetlite WF, suitable for a rural service. It wore the Dartline livery though bustimes suggests it is a Plymouth Citybus operation (though I believe it is now changing to Oakleys on retendering). The 98 to Bellever Forest and Yelverton operates as a Tavistock local service at first, with a double run into an estate and after 20 mins, we had still barely escaped the town. We then climbed and into Dartmoor as the weather got brighter. Soon, we were in Ten Tor territory as we followed the moorland roads - I don't think I've ever explored this bit of Dartmoor but it is wild and stunning. We then turned to head to Princetown and I noticed an oldish Police sign saying No Stopping - I wondered why and then realised. We were approaching Dartmoor Jail - a foreboding presence on the edge of Princetown. It looks like something out of a gothic novel. We passed by, through Princetown depositing a couple of passengers with a hardcore left of 3, and we then had a better view of it as we headed out further into Dartmoor. We passed Two Bridges (guess why it has that name?) and then we headed to Postbridge. However, on entering the village, we turned right and headed up a single track road (with barely a passing point). This was Bellever Forest and we headed further up with the bus then arriving in what is a hamlet of about ten houses. I think this may be the most rural, barren point I've been to. After some smart reversing, we headed back to Postbridge and performed a loop by the National Park Centre and then retraced our route to Princetown. The last part of the route afforded wonderful views of the Tors, the Devon coast (nearly) and Bodmin Moor - absolutely stunning. I would recommend the 98 to everyone.



Dartmoor Prison - grim on a nice day

Single track only to Bellever



Dropping down towards Yelverton

We reached Yelverton and I was starving so had a quick pasty from one of the shops there. The 98 operates twice a day as a circular (Tavi - Yelverton - Bellever - Tavi in the morning, and reverse at lunchtime) and now the Dartmoor Explorer has gone, it's a great way to see harsh, bleak but stunningly attractive scenery. Even the Streetlite wasn't bad - it was an early one (2012) but had few rattles, was clean inside and whilst it was a bit wheezy on some climbs, it was perfectly fine. At Yelverton, it was back to retrace my route back to Plymouth. I'd had a wander there last year and felt no need to linger. However, it is really noticeable that both Go Ahead and Stagecoach haven't really invested in the city for a while. There's some very middle aged fleet there and both firms have a mix of liveries on the go.



My steed arrives in Plymouth - in the old livery whilst the PCB bus has another outmoded scheme

Last year, my trip on the Gold from Totnes was a murky affair. Thankfully, whilst the earlier blue skies had disappeared, this was a better day than 2024 so I could enjoy the rolling Devon countryside to Totnes via Ivybridge. The GOLD was the replacement for First's X80 and was, obviously, a Gold service. Nowadays, the Scania deckers are yellow but even they don't rule the roost. It was another 2016 mmc in standard local livery which was fine but again, it shows the need for a bit of investment. That said, it's still better than First's ex London Tridents that were working the route until Gold appeared.



My not Gold bus in Totnes
The final bus of the day was on a firm that I don't think I've ever travelled on. In a day where traditional independents are rare and often mentioned in reverential tones, there is seldom little coverage of Tally Ho! Coaches. They have run between Salcombe and Kingsbridge for years, with occasional extensions and tendered forays. The 164 is now a three vehicle operation with Rail Link branding, running via Totnes station. I like Totnes a lot but time was getting on, getting dark, and I've explored the town before so I just waited the 15 mins for my last bus. We left with four on board... and picked up a further four at the station. I really do commend Devon CC on their efforts to promote their services and rail connections. As the light fell, we picked up and dropped off passengers whilst our basic but functional e200 bounced along the inconsistent Devon roads. I arrived on time into the small bus station in Kingsbridge. A much happier and brighter day than a year earlier.


Back in Kingsbridge - another in the pantheon of pathetic bus stations!

Hope you enjoyed the read. I do love Devon and this was one of the better days out.

 

[RELL6L]

When I was looking at the weather forecast last weekend, and a few days of warm dry weather had been forecast, I decided to book a few days away. I had a few ideas of where to go but ended up staying in Harrogate for 4 nights. I’d stayed at the very good Crowne Plaza Hotel a few years ago and although it can be very expensive, it can also be very reasonable if there are no events taking place at the adjoining Convention Centre. I was in luck, prices for Monday to Thursday were very reasonable and so I was able to get a Premier room with breakfast included at a good price. I left my car at home and travelled up to Harrogate by train.

The main Ripon Road north out of Harrogate is currently closed for a few weeks due to roadworks, which meant that the Harrogate Bus Company 24 to Pateley Bridge and 36 to Ripon buses were diverted and stopping directly outside the hotel door.

On my first day I got the number 24 to Pateley Bridge which these days just runs approximately 2 hourly. I was quite surprised, for an infrequent sparsely populated rural route, to find it operated by a new electric bus. Anyone who has read my previous reports will be surprised to hear that I even discovered it was an eCitaro. I don’t usually care what sort of bus it is as long as it’s comfortable and I can enjoy the journey and scenery! I was very impressed how comfortable it was and how smooth and quiet. I was also impressed at well how it accelerated on some of the winding hilly roads.

After leaving Harrogate and turning off the main A61 at Killinghall it then passes through a number of attractive villages, including Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Darley and Summerbridge as it slowly climbs on the hour long journey up the River Nidd Valley. Daffodils could be seen ieverywhere and lots of new born lambs in the fields. This area is outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park but is a lovely quiet area for walking without the crowds. I travelled right through to Pateley Bridge where I was to walk further up the side of the river to the small village of Wath before crossing the river and returning back to Pateley Bridge on the other side of the river. A lovely walk which really feels like you are in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. The walk is only a 3 mile round trip which allows plenty of time and a short look around Pateley Bridge before getting the return bus 2 hours later. Pateley Bridge is a lovely old town with a steep narrow high street. I can definately recommend the Yorkshire Curd Tart from the Yorkshire Born and Bread Bakery.

Another eCitaro for the trip back down the valley but this time just as far as the village of Hampsthwaite for another walk of around 3 miles to Ripley on the 36 bus route. The church at Hampsthwaite is beautifully situated on the bank of the River Nidd and there was a seat in the churchyard at the side of the river where I could have sat in the sun all afternoon. After a short break I crossed the narrow stone river bridge and climbed a steep hill before joining the Nidderdale Way to walk through the parkland of Ripley Castle. I paid to have a look around the gardens and grounds at Ripley Castle which was well worth it just to see the daffodils and then enjoyed a snack in the Castle Tearooms before getting the 36 bus for the short ride back into Harrogate. This was also a new electric bus, but this time a double decker on the frequent Ripon-Harrogate-Leeds route.


Daffodils in the grounds of Ripley Castle

On my second day I decided to take a longer bus ride and set out a bit earlier paying the £3 single fare on the 36 to Ripon as it was just after 8.30am before I was able to use my bus pass. Incidentally North Yorkshire is one of the few areas where an ENCTS pass can be used after 9am rather than 9.30am. This bus was another of the Harrogate Bus Company new electric double deckers. The reason for my earlier start was to be in Ripon in plenty of time to catch the infrequent Hodgsons Buses service 159 to Richmond. I‘ve visited small historic City of Ripon, complete with its cathedral a number of times before so was not intending to spend much time there.

There were just 8 passengers on the 159 when it left Ripon and that was about the maximum number of passenger aboard for the whole 90 minute journey. It was great ride through some fantastic North Yorkshire scenery and passing through some lovely villages and historic towns. I can really recommend this route for a scenic ride passing through Masham, East Witton, Jervaulx Abbey, Middleham and Leyburn among others. It was a route which passed through towns and villages that I would have liked to have got off and explored, but with only 3 buses a day it was not practical because of the long wait for the next bus. The last few miles into,Richmond down the side of the River Swale has some wonderful views. The bus passes through many touristy locations but with no opportunity to hop on and off for an hour or so to explore. Although sparsely populated countryside the towns are of a reasonable size but with very infrequent buses between them. My impression was that such an infrequent service was of little relevance to locals unless they had no other means of transport to get into town and was not frequent enough to attract tourists out of their cars for travel between the towns. I intend to return at some point staying in the area and taking my car.

I had 2 and a half hours looking around the lovely historic market town of Richmond visiting the castle and taking a walk by the river. There’s a lot of climbing up steep narrow streets from the river. I could have got the 159 back Ripon and would have liked to considering how impressive the scenery had been but decided to take an alternative route back to Ripon via Northallerton and Thirsk. It was good to take a different route and through some nice countryside but very ordinary scenery compared to the 159 route.


View from the top of a Richmond Castle


Hodgsons bus in Richmond

I left Richmond on another Hodgsons route the 55 to Northallerton. Again only 3 buses a day and the 1350 departure I caught was the last of the day. It was just a short 35 minute journey. On arrival in Northallerton I had a quick walk down the main street, and although a nice enough place it was spoilt by the heavy traffic. I then went and had something to eat and drink in a surprisingly nice Wetherspoons before getting the Hodgsons number 70 back to Ripon which ran via Thirsk. It was one of those routes which seemed to take ages along narrow country lanes passing through numerous small villages. I quite enjoyed my day travelling on Hodgsons buses which were all clean and well presented with friendly drivers. Before I got my ENCTC pass I rarely used these small operators and usually stuck to routes of a main operator which were included on their day or weekly ticket. On arrival back in Ripon there was just a short wait for the 36 bus back to Harrogate.

On my final day I stayed fairly local to Harrogate. In the morning I had a trip out to Knaresborough on the 1A which was another of the eCitaros as on my day out on the 24 to Pateley Bridge. I know Knaresborough very well but never tire of the well known view from the castle grounds of the riverside below and the railway viaduct. After taking a walk by the river I returned to Harrogate.


The River Nidd and railway viaduct in Knaresborough

For my final afternoon I took ride on the Harrogate Electrics route 6 to the RHS Gardens at Harlow Carr. I have been before but it was good to see it in early spring. Whilst there I sat outside in the sun and enjoyed sandwiches, cake and tea from Betty’s. Very expensive but extremely enjoyable. I don’t care these days how much things cost. I worked hard and saved for my retirement so now I’ve retired why not spend it as what was the point in saving. I enjoyed my 3 days in North Yorkshire and a good quick decision to go away during the good weather. I’ve got another free week in April when if good weather is forecast I may do a similar thing. Then I have 7 days already booked down in Eastbourne at the beginning of May.

Great report of fabulous trips and really good photos. I've not been on the 24 to Pateley Bridge, it is on my to-do list sometime. It's really good to fit in a decent walk like you did.
I have done the other sections, notably the 159 from Ripon to Richmond. This is a fabulous route and I thoroughly recommend it, especially on a sunny day. The towns are great and the views terrific, particularly towards Swaledale as you are getting closer to Richmond. I also really like Richmond, Ripon and Knaresborough, some great trips.

Been a little while since I posted details of a trip - photos and content won't be to the standards of @RELL6L or @ChrisC but here goes. Apologies for the overindulgent preamble (in advance).

Living in the South West, I do a few Devon trips. Last year, I received some really bad news and I headed out for a days' travelling to clear my head and reflect with a trip from Totnes to Plymouth, the Tamar Valley and then back via the Tavy. The weather reflected my mood, being enveloped in a bleak mist and mizzle that never broke across the day. A year on, I decided to return on a better day (figuratively and meteorologically) covering some but not all the same territory. I hope you enjoy the read.

I started the day in Kingsbridge in the South Hams. It's a lovely little town, typical of Devon, and has a large car park for the many tourists that costs about £8 for the day...or you can go to the carpark about 5 mins walk and pay £2! I did that and then had a wander around and explored the area by the estuary and into the town having had breakfast at the Creeks End Inn. Kingsbridge had a Western National garage until about 1971, and it is still standing. Given how rural the area is, it's amazing that WN had garages there, Dartmouth and Totnes plus a small shed at Salcombe! Kingsbridge also has a small bus station, and it was from there that I caught my first bus of the day - the 3 to Plymouth.


Former Western National depot, Kingsbridge



My carriage awaits - my future e200 is in the background in Kingsbridge's small bus station

This was traditionally a double decked route, and last time I rode it was a few years into Stagecoach operation with a Trident. Nowadays, it tends to be e200 operated and so it was for me. The driver eventually found the multi operator Devon Bus ticket ("never sold one of those before" - as ever, a handy ticket that has very little promotion) and off we headed. We had a reasonable load but continued to fill up as we travelled along, though the appearance of ten visiting football fans (their team were away to Plymouth) at Brixton meant that we had a rare standing load into Plymouth. We'd kept time well, passing the Dartmouth bound vehicle on the curious one way loop in the village of Aveton Gifford yet I knew that this run had a habit of running late. The reason is that there is a driver change just near the Stagecoach depot - fortunately, I'd planned for this and was able to bail a little early and get my next bus.

This was another Stagecoach bus and a trip to Tavistock. This was one of the 2016 batch of e400mmcs that Stagecoach put into Plymouth and to be honest, was the last major investment they have made in the city. Still, the grey skies had cleared and it was a lovely trip to Tavistock across the southern edges of Dartmoor. One thing I did notice was the odd disparity in bus priority in Plymouth - to the north, serving Derriford Hospital, the George P&R, and Marjon University, it's really good. However, coming in from Elburton into the city on my earlier bus, it's begging for better provision. I was nervously checking my watch as I knew I had a very, very tight connection but thankfully, it worked out. On the stand was my next bus - the bus itself may not have been a classic but the journey would be.



Dartmoor from the top deck of an e400mmc

The bus was a Wright Streetlite WF, suitable for a rural service. It wore the Dartline livery though bustimes suggests it is a Plymouth Citybus operation (though I believe it is now changing to Oakleys on retendering). The 98 to Bellever Forest and Yelverton operates as a Tavistock local service at first, with a double run into an estate and after 20 mins, we had still barely escaped the town. We then climbed and into Dartmoor as the weather got brighter. Soon, we were in Ten Tor territory as we followed the moorland roads - I don't think I've ever explored this bit of Dartmoor but it is wild and stunning. We then turned to head to Princetown and I noticed an oldish Police sign saying No Stopping - I wondered why and then realised. We were approaching Dartmoor Jail - a foreboding presence on the edge of Princetown. It looks like something out of a gothic novel. We passed by, through Princetown depositing a couple of passengers with a hardcore left of 3, and we then had a better view of it as we headed out further into Dartmoor. We passed Two Bridges (guess why it has that name?) and then we headed to Postbridge. However, on entering the village, we turned right and headed up a single track road (with barely a passing point). This was Bellever Forest and we headed further up with the bus then arriving in what is a hamlet of about ten houses. I think this may be the most rural, barren point I've been to. After some smart reversing, we headed back to Postbridge and performed a loop by the National Park Centre and then retraced our route to Princetown. The last part of the route afforded wonderful views of the Tors, the Devon coast (nearly) and Bodmin Moor - absolutely stunning. I would recommend the 98 to everyone.



Dartmoor Prison - grim on a nice day

Single track only to Bellever



Dropping down towards Yelverton

We reached Yelverton and I was starving so had a quick pasty from one of the shops there. The 98 operates twice a day as a circular (Tavi - Yelverton - Bellever - Tavi in the morning, and reverse at lunchtime) and now the Dartmoor Explorer has gone, it's a great way to see harsh, bleak but stunningly attractive scenery. Even the Streetlite wasn't bad - it was an early one (2012) but had few rattles, was clean inside and whilst it was a bit wheezy on some climbs, it was perfectly fine. At Yelverton, it was back to retrace my route back to Plymouth. I'd had a wander there last year and felt no need to linger. However, it is really noticeable that both Go Ahead and Stagecoach haven't really invested in the city for a while. There's some very middle aged fleet there and both firms have a mix of liveries on the go.



My steed arrives in Plymouth - in the old livery whilst the PCB bus has another outmoded scheme

Last year, my trip on the Gold from Totnes was a murky affair. Thankfully, whilst the earlier blue skies had disappeared, this was a better day than 2024 so I could enjoy the rolling Devon countryside to Totnes via Ivybridge. The GOLD was the replacement for First's X80 and was, obviously, a Gold service. Nowadays, the Scania deckers are yellow but even they don't rule the roost. It was another 2016 mmc in standard local livery which was fine but again, it shows the need for a bit of investment. That said, it's still better than First's ex London Tridents that were working the route until Gold appeared.



My not Gold bus in Totnes
The final bus of the day was on a firm that I don't think I've ever travelled on. In a day where traditional independents are rare and often mentioned in reverential tones, there is seldom little coverage of Tally Ho! Coaches. They have run between Salcombe and Kingsbridge for years, with occasional extensions and tendered forays. The 164 is now a three vehicle operation with Rail Link branding, running via Totnes station. I like Totnes a lot but time was getting on, getting dark, and I've explored the town before so I just waited the 15 mins for my last bus. We left with four on board... and picked up a further four at the station. I really do commend Devon CC on their efforts to promote their services and rail connections. As the light fell, we picked up and dropped off passengers whilst our basic but functional e200 bounced along the inconsistent Devon roads. I arrived on time into the small bus station in Kingsbridge. A much happier and brighter day than a year earlier.


Back in Kingsbridge - another in the pantheon of pathetic bus stations!

Hope you enjoyed the read. I do love Devon and this was one of the better days out.

Another great report in another very attractive area. I did the Dartmoor Explorer when that ran and it gave a great trip across Dartmoor, including Princetown, but I have not managed the 98. The section to Bellever looks particularly rural and interesting. I've also not done the Kingsbridge to Plymouth section of the 3, although I did the Dartmouth section a couple of times in the days it was a double decker service. This always seemed a strange decision to me, Stagecoach are good at running double deckers in all sorts of unlikely locations and this route, especially the Dartmouth section, was very scenic from the top deck and could be very busy indeed. I have used Tally Ho! coaches, both on this section and to Salcombe - a lovely spot to spend an hour before returning to the lovely town of Kingsbridge, although well out of the way from anywhere else! Generally speaking I think Devon is one of the best counties for bus support and promotion with plenty of good connections.

Normally in the good weather such as we had last week I would have got out for a trip or even two, but unfortunately this was not possible as we were on holiday in the Malvern area. Mainly indoor activities - but we did get out for some short walks in the afternoons.

 

[JKP]

Thanks TheGrandWazoo for your interesting report.

Bellever was Forestry Commission houses. I have a bus timetable issued by Devon County Council which suggests that the first bus service to Tavistock started in March 1976. It was run by Finch of Princetown and ran on the first and third Fridays in the month.

 

[Signaller86]

Hi,
this is my first reply in this forum and I'm sorry, if this shouldn't be the right section for it (after consulting the other sections, I didn't think a new thread was appropriate).

I'm currently planning a trip to the UK. Among other things, I'd like to ride (and take picture of) a few older bus models, like the Tridents etc. From Youtube, I understand that the Sheffield/Rotherham/Huddersfield-area could be interesting from that perspective (and it would be the direction I'd heading anways). But I'm open for suggestions and more detailled advice on what could make more sense for a couple of days.

Thank you!

 

[peterblue]

Hi,
this is my first reply in this forum and I'm sorry, if this shouldn't be the right section for it (after consulting the other sections, I didn't think a new thread was appropriate).

I'm currently planning a trip to the UK. Among other things, I'd like to ride (and take picture of) a few older bus models, like the Tridents etc. From Youtube, I understand that the Sheffield/Rotherham/Huddersfield-area could be interesting from that perspective (and it would be the direction I'd heading anways). But I'm open for suggestions and more detailled advice on what could make more sense for a couple of days.

Thank you!

There's a few tridents up in Lancaster and Barrow area. I'd recommend the Cumbria / North Lancashire area as there you're also reasonably close to the Lake District which is quite a scenic area to ride routes in general; though the tridents don't make it onto the 'main' routes. Within Cumbria, you also have Cumbria Classic Coaches running route 576 on Wednesdays only through to Barnard Castle, this is run by a Bristol Lodekka (https://bustimes.org/vehicles/cucc-627-hfm)

 

[Signaller86]

Thank you!
Lancaster sounds good! I spent 10 days in the Lake District last April and a few days in 2012 or 2013 (but not because of buses ). Last year I caught a nice Trident on the 78 service (Keswick-Seatoller) - and 10 years ago, well, travelling around Ambleside by bus was definitely something else compared to 2024...

 

[Ken H]

The 24 route in Nidderdale has a lovely set of bus shelters. Worth spotting them.
This is the one in Hampsthwaite
Google maps grab..

 

[ChrisC]

The 24 route in Nidderdale has a lovely set of bus shelters. Worth spotting them.
This is the one in Hampsthwaite
Google maps grab..View attachment 177646

That’s where I got off the bus to do my walk from Hampsthwaite to Ripley.

 

[EnviroExplorer]

Hi,
this is my first reply in this forum and I'm sorry, if this shouldn't be the right section for it (after consulting the other sections, I didn't think a new thread was appropriate).

I'm currently planning a trip to the UK. Among other things, I'd like to ride (and take picture of) a few older bus models, like the Tridents etc. From Youtube, I understand that the Sheffield/Rotherham/Huddersfield-area could be interesting from that perspective (and it would be the direction I'd heading anways). But I'm open for suggestions and more detailled advice on what could make more sense for a couple of days.

Thank you!

Being a West Midlands local I’m inclined to advise a trip to these parts for the older buses. There’s a good sum (around 20-30 each) of the outgoing Dennis Tridents and Volvo/Wright Eclipse Geminis remaining in service for now, Walsall and West Bromwich areas will be your best options. Just don’t expect any scenery like the previous suggestion of the Lake District

If you haven’t already, have a look through the bustimes.org website, where you can track almost all buses in service, and see vehicle lists with service allocations which might prompt a few more ideas.

 

[Teapot42]

I'm currently planning a trip to the UK. Among other things, I'd like to ride (and take picture of) a few older bus models, like the Tridents etc.

Depending when your trip is, the Peak Sightseer uses a mix of Tridents and older E400s. It starts again in late May so if that fits in it's worth a look for some very scenic journeys.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Being a West Midlands local I’m inclined to advise a trip to these parts for the older buses. There’s a good sum (around 20-30 each) of the outgoing Dennis Tridents and Volvo/Wright Eclipse Geminis remaining in service for now, Walsall and West Bromwich areas will be your best options. Just don’t expect any scenery like the previous suggestion of the Lake District

If you haven’t already, have a look through the bustimes.org website, where you can track almost all buses in service, and see vehicle lists with service allocations which might prompt a few more ideas.

Got to agree with all the other statements. Lakes is good for the open toppers (less for regular types), and West Midlands was good for both Tridents and B7TLs when I was last there in December.

Other places... Swindon still has a few Tridents and Darts with Stagecoach, and there are a few Tridents still hanging on at Winchester and Basingstoke. They are very much under threat as new EVs continue to arrive. In addition, for older deckers, I'd suggest the Go East operations in Suffolk and Essex. Lots of Omnidekkas and B7TLs still there (and great scenery) but again, I'd expect cascades in soon to sweep some away (and indeed, the first e400 from Manchester is liveried up for that area).

 

[JD2168]

Hi,
this is my first reply in this forum and I'm sorry, if this shouldn't be the right section for it (after consulting the other sections, I didn't think a new thread was appropriate).

I'm currently planning a trip to the UK. Among other things, I'd like to ride (and take picture of) a few older bus models, like the Tridents etc. From Youtube, I understand that the Sheffield/Rotherham/Huddersfield-area could be interesting from that perspective (and it would be the direction I'd heading anways). But I'm open for suggestions and more detailled advice on what could make more sense for a couple of days.

Thank you!

There are a declining amount of Trident ALX400 at Mansfield & also one at Worksop depot, BusTimes is a good place to see what routes they are on, be quick they don’t have long left.

In terms of oddities at Gainsborough depot there is a Transbus bodied Enviro 300 in use.

Chesterfield is interesting at the moment as the EV’s are entering service, the Yutong’s are all running with the E400 EV’s are starting to enter service, the Gold Enviro’s are still running as well.

 

[RELL6L]

With the great weather we are having I was keen to get out and do a trip or two. Circumstances rather restrict my time but last week I was able to go out on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. I’ll start here with my report on the Tuesday and follow with Wednesday later.

So on Monday night I stayed just outside Barnsley and early on Tuesday morning drove to Hoyland. My plan was a trip covering the northern part of South Yorkshire and part of the Wakefield area in West Yorkshire. Arriving in Hoyland just before 7am it was immediately clear that there was nothing to do or see and no shops open for a breakfast here. So instead of having half an hour I stepped straight onto a Stagecoach 2 heading towards Sheffield, as far as Chapeltown. This was a Scania/E400 painted in the new dark blue colours. Quite a few on board and we picked up more as we continued south, probably most heading for Sheffield. I alighted soon after in Chapeltown where Tesco in the petrol station offered a great ‘meal deal’ including a sandwich, croissant and coffee for £3.60. Nothing else was open but there was a small park to visit near the centre. Buses locally included Stagecoach Streetlites, fairly rare beasts. There was also a purple Scania Omnicity which said Heathrow on the side and was on route 35, I assume this was Cawthornes M35, BusTimes doesn’t show the vehicles for this operator. I kept a lookout for the bus I had planned to get from Hoyland, the 2a, which is a shift-change times route between Sheffield and Grimethorpe, although with an 08.26 arrival in Sheffield probably attracts normal traffic too. Watching the bus the upstairs at least looked pretty well occupied by workers who looked as if they were returning home after the night shift. I don’t know if this is just for one company or many – I have seen mention of ASOS but there seem to be several logistics and manufacturing businesses based in the former colliery village of Grimethorpe.

My second leg was to Rotherham on the Stagecoach 135. My bus was a standard E200 in North Western heritage livery. We gained a few passengers on the route but this was never very busy and there didn’t seem to be any schoolchildren around. We had to wait time and still arrived slightly early in Rotherham. I have been to Rotherham a couple of times before and explored the centre so I was not looking to stay long here and barely left the interchange. My next leg was more interesting, taking the Stagecoach 221 to Mexborough. This is one of two routes, the 22x to Barnsley being the other, now run pretty much exclusively by a 2024 batch of Yutong E12s. My bus glided into the interchange on time and I was the only passenger as we headed out of Rotherham and past the depot at Rawmarsh, a bank of chargers visible the far side of the site. In terms of feel and quality the bus was really in a different league to anything else I have been on recently. No lurches or heavy braking, very quiet, few rattles, brisk when required, this seemed a real quality bus. We met several others from the batch coming into Rotherham on the electric routes and they seemed to have reasonable loads. We picked up more passengers as we went along especially into Swinton, although it was not yet the hour of ENCTS pass validity. I had in fact bought a Stagecoach day ticket as this was cheaper than three £3 fares before 09.30.

Mexborough was a very depressing town centre notable for the huge number of mobility scooters, most commonly ridden it seemed by females below retirement age. There was a mobility scooter shop in the High Street but I would suggest this was here because of demand rather than to generate demand – funeral parlours do not encourage death. I don’t know why this would be. A reasonable High Street slightly up from grandly-named interchange but not much to see. Buses heading south and west don’t stop at the interchange but at stops in Hartley Street, a short walk away, although information here was adequate. My next bus went from there and was not Stagecoach, it was the X20 run by Globe Holidays, who have amassed quite a collection of routes in the Barnsley and Wakefield and a fleet of mainly white ADL E200s. The X20 is a relatively direct service between Doncaster and Barnsley via Mexborough and Wombwell, all strong Stagecoach territory, which I am surprised Stagecoach do not feel able to run commercially. My bus was on time, reasonably well loaded and proceeded briskly along the Dearne Valley, past Manvers but not diverting into the town centre of Wath-on-Dearne. Around 45 years ago I had cause to visit a glassworks around here, the glassworks is long gone along with nearby collieries and the valley has been regenerated by new logistics and other businesses. I alighted at Wombwell, a town known from many years ago as a place where London buses went to die, although I think this business has now moved out. The town centre was quite pleasant with blossom coming out on the trees in the High Street.

My next leg was on the 27b to Grimethorpe town centre, going up a valley on a new road through where the colliery once was and past more factories and logistics depots. My bus for this leg was a fairly old ADL E400, double deckers now being more prevalent on the routes into Barnsley via Shafton. Nothing much to see at Grimethorpe town centre, another grandly named interchange comprising a few stops on either side of the road where I waited for my next bus, the 28 to Pontefract. Really odd one here, it should have left Barnsley at 11.15 but this journey tracked on BusTimes only at the bus station and the remainder of the journey tracked as the 10.15 but running an hour late. I put this down to driver error but I notice on BusTimes the same situation all last week – two buses at 10.15. Most odd! My bus was a more modern E400MMC and took me up to Hemsworth and through some quite attractive West Yorkshire villages such as Ackworth on my way into Pontefract.

I went to Pontefract and explored the town a couple of years ago so I did not need to spend long here. A decent bus station with information and facilities. I was going to Castleford, I had previously done the direct route and I worked out I could add in a small diversion to Ferrybridge, somewhere I had never been. I took an Arriva 149 there, luckily this was running late or I would have missed it. The bus was a double decker, one of the odd batch of Volvo B5LH hybrids that cuts out at every stop, the battery moves the bus forward a few yards, it lurches then takes off again using the engine. These feel very rough, I don’t know how much longer they will last. We dropped off a few people on our way to Ferrybridge where I got off at The Square, alongside the river and virtually underneath a stretch of dual carriageway which I think used to be the A1. Ignoring the overhead noise the village was quite pleasant by the river. I didn’t have long before continuing to Castleford on another dealer white E200 on the 156 run by Ross Travel. I had never heard of this company but the hourly route attracted some custom through the eastern suburbs of Castleford and then at the dead-end (geographically) village of Fryston.

I alighted in Castleford at Aire Street, an attractive corner alongside the river, and took a couple of pictures of the new footbridge and old buildings alongside it. I then took an Arriva 156 to the bus station on an early E400 with a personalised registration A1YBG, although I’m not sure what this signifies. Another reasonable bus station in Castleford. From here I took a more modern E400 on the 189 to Wakefield, having identified that if I waited another 15 minutes as per an alternative plan I would have found myself on a Versa, well worth avoiding. This relatively short route runs frequently through Normanton and past Heath Common, an attractive green space just before arriving at Wakefield.

I have been to Wakefield a few times and I still find it an attractive city centre. There is the area around the cathedral and also some quiet streets near the town hall slightly further north which have decent architecture and look mainly to be expensive houses. Wakefield is very much Arriva territory and I wondered if my buses there would work as well as they had with Stagecoach. Not long to find out as I planned to head south east out of town on the Arriva 496 in three stages, starting with the 15.22 to Upton as far as Hemsworth. At the stand the display said that the 15.52 to Upton was cancelled, unhelpful but at least some forewarning. The 15.22 arrived, set its blinds, the driver left…. and no new driver came. Plenty of passengers waiting but no notification or update. Then the vehicle for the 15.37 shorter journey to South Elmsall arrived and parked up in the adjacent stand, the driver left, this time another driver came over in good time and loaded up in time for an on-time departure. We picked up plenty more passengers in Wakefield but as our bus was another Volvo B5LH hybrid on this mixed single-double decker route it was not full. A good view of Nostell Priory on the double decker as we passed before reaching Hemsworth. I had planned to take 30 minutes in Hemsworth and 15 minutes in South Elmsall before proceeding further but the cancellation of both buses on which I had intended to travel – the second one was indeed cancelled – made this impossible, so I stuck with 30 minutes in Hemsworth. Passing through South Elmsall later I don’t think I missed much. These cancellations missed two consecutive buses to and from Upton in a half hourly service leaving a 90 minute gap – not impressive. The town centre at Hemsworth was not too bad but no information or guidance of any sort at the bus station, which is a pretty dilapidated affair, some stands with no bus time information. Although the trunk routes in this area are provided by Arriva, there are a number of other routes run by independents, notably Globe Holidays, showing how much of the Wakefield area routes Arriva have allowed to fall away.

My journey then continued from Hemsworth on the next 496 to Doncaster, this time on a Pulsar. This is one of the few connections into Doncaster from anywhere in West Yorkshire, the days of hourly services from Wakefield and Pontefract long gone. There are three journeys a day into Doncaster and two back out, I wanted to see why these ran. As we left Hemsworth I thought it might be the 20 or so workers in high-viz or protective workwear heading for a particular factory beyond the normal route, but they all got off at the large industrial estate on the edge of South Elmsall. Whether these workers had been inconvenienced by the two previous buses not running past South Elmsall I could not tell. After this we only had about four on board, one alighted on the edge of Doncaster and the rest of us continued into the bus station. A quick run into town along the featureless dual carriageway through the uninspiring Woodlands and Scawthorpe outskirts of the town. When we arrived at Doncaster bus station there were four or five passengers waiting to catch the bus back out, but neither the load in nor the load out would seem to justify the service, so I still don’t know why this bus runs.

A few minutes in the centre of Doncaster but early evening was approaching and I didn’t need to spend too long sampling its delights. Then it was back to Stagecoach and the X19 to Barnsley on a standard E200. This runs hourly during the day but more in the peak hours and we had a good load, with passengers alighting at Darfield, Goldthorpe and some through to Barnsley. Not particularly scenic although we went through one decent village, albeit on a busy road, and Goldthorpe looked depressing. A few minutes in Barnsley and then back to Hoyland on an E400 on the 66 service, then back to my hotel.

Conclusion on the day – Stagecoach very good, Arriva not so. Hardly surprising. Stagecoach have kept hold of a strong position through South Yorkshire (ex Yorkshire Traction) and provide a decent reliable service, while Arriva provide a somewhat worse service (small sample I know) and have a much weaker position in the ex West Riding territory of Wakefield district. No great scenery here and some of the towns depressing, although Wakefield is decent. Yutongs very impressive.

I stayed another night in Yorkshire but I had to be home by early evening on the Wednesday. I wasn’t originally sure what I should do but I consulted my spreadsheet of possible trips and arrived at an answer which initially surprised me - but on reflection I thought was a good idea. It nearly went horribly wrong - but I’ll report on that shortly.

A few photos:

Rotherham


The interior of a Yutong E12


Mexborough


Wombwell


near Ackworth


Ferrybridge


Castleford


Wakefield


Hemsworth

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

With the great weather we are having I was keen to get out and do a trip or two. Circumstances rather restrict my time but last week I was able to go out on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. I’ll start here with my report on the Tuesday and follow with Wednesday later.

So on Monday night I stayed just outside Barnsley and early on Tuesday morning drove to Hoyland. My plan was a trip covering the northern part of South Yorkshire and part of the Wakefield area in West Yorkshire. Arriving in Hoyland just before 7am it was immediately clear that there was nothing to do or see and no shops open for a breakfast here. So instead of having half an hour I stepped straight onto a Stagecoach 2 heading towards Sheffield, as far as Chapeltown. This was a Scania/E400 painted in the new dark blue colours. Quite a few on board and we picked up more as we continued south, probably most heading for Sheffield. I alighted soon after in Chapeltown where Tesco in the petrol station offered a great ‘meal deal’ including a sandwich, croissant and coffee for £3.60. Nothing else was open but there was a small park to visit near the centre. Buses locally included Stagecoach Streetlites, fairly rare beasts. There was also a purple Scania Omnicity which said Heathrow on the side and was on route 35, I assume this was Cawthornes M35, BusTimes doesn’t show the vehicles for this operator. I kept a lookout for the bus I had planned to get from Hoyland, the 2a, which is a shift-change times route between Sheffield and Grimethorpe, although with an 08.26 arrival in Sheffield probably attracts normal traffic too. Watching the bus the upstairs at least looked pretty well occupied by workers who looked as if they were returning home after the night shift. I don’t know if this is just for one company or many – I have seen mention of ASOS but there seem to be several logistics and manufacturing businesses based in the former colliery village of Grimethorpe.

My second leg was to Rotherham on the Stagecoach 135. My bus was a standard E200 in North Western heritage livery. We gained a few passengers on the route but this was never very busy and there didn’t seem to be any schoolchildren around. We had to wait time and still arrived slightly early in Rotherham. I have been to Rotherham a couple of times before and explored the centre so I was not looking to stay long here and barely left the interchange. My next leg was more interesting, taking the Stagecoach 221 to Mexborough. This is one of two routes, the 22x to Barnsley being the other, now run pretty much exclusively by a 2024 batch of Yutong E12s. My bus glided into the interchange on time and I was the only passenger as we headed out of Rotherham and past the depot at Rawmarsh, a bank of chargers visible the far side of the site. In terms of feel and quality the bus was really in a different league to anything else I have been on recently. No lurches or heavy braking, very quiet, few rattles, brisk when required, this seemed a real quality bus. We met several others from the batch coming into Rotherham on the electric routes and they seemed to have reasonable loads. We picked up more passengers as we went along especially into Swinton, although it was not yet the hour of ENCTS pass validity. I had in fact bought a Stagecoach day ticket as this was cheaper than three £3 fares before 09.30.

Mexborough was a very depressing town centre notable for the huge number of mobility scooters, most commonly ridden it seemed by females below retirement age. There was a mobility scooter shop in the High Street but I would suggest this was here because of demand rather than to generate demand – funeral parlours do not encourage death. I don’t know why this would be. A reasonable High Street slightly up from grandly-named interchange but not much to see. Buses heading south and west don’t stop at the interchange but at stops in Hartley Street, a short walk away, although information here was adequate. My next bus went from there and was not Stagecoach, it was the X20 run by Globe Holidays, who have amassed quite a collection of routes in the Barnsley and Wakefield and a fleet of mainly white ADL E200s. The X20 is a relatively direct service between Doncaster and Barnsley via Mexborough and Wombwell, all strong Stagecoach territory, which I am surprised Stagecoach do not feel able to run commercially. My bus was on time, reasonably well loaded and proceeded briskly along the Dearne Valley, past Manvers but not diverting into the town centre of Wath-on-Dearne. Around 45 years ago I had cause to visit a glassworks around here, the glassworks is long gone along with nearby collieries and the valley has been regenerated by new logistics and other businesses. I alighted at Wombwell, a town known from many years ago as a place where London buses went to die, although I think this business has now moved out. The town centre was quite pleasant with blossom coming out on the trees in the High Street.

My next leg was on the 27b to Grimethorpe town centre, going up a valley on a new road through where the colliery once was and past more factories and logistics depots. My bus for this leg was a fairly old ADL E400, double deckers now being more prevalent on the routes into Barnsley via Shafton. Nothing much to see at Grimethorpe town centre, another grandly named interchange comprising a few stops on either side of the road where I waited for my next bus, the 28 to Pontefract. Really odd one here, it should have left Barnsley at 11.15 but this journey tracked on BusTimes only at the bus station and the remainder of the journey tracked as the 10.15 but running an hour late. I put this down to driver error but I notice on BusTimes the same situation all last week – two buses at 10.15. Most odd! My bus was a more modern E400MMC and took me up to Hemsworth and through some quite attractive West Yorkshire villages such as Ackworth on my way into Pontefract.

I went to Pontefract and explored the town a couple of years ago so I did not need to spend long here. A decent bus station with information and facilities. I was going to Castleford, I had previously done the direct route and I worked out I could add in a small diversion to Ferrybridge, somewhere I had never been. I took an Arriva 149 there, luckily this was running late or I would have missed it. The bus was a double decker, one of the odd batch of Volvo B5LH hybrids that cuts out at every stop, the battery moves the bus forward a few yards, it lurches then takes off again using the engine. These feel very rough, I don’t know how much longer they will last. We dropped off a few people on our way to Ferrybridge where I got off at The Square, alongside the river and virtually underneath a stretch of dual carriageway which I think used to be the A1. Ignoring the overhead noise the village was quite pleasant by the river. I didn’t have long before continuing to Castleford on another dealer white E200 on the 156 run by Ross Travel. I had never heard of this company but the hourly route attracted some custom through the eastern suburbs of Castleford and then at the dead-end (geographically) village of Fryston.

I alighted in Castleford at Aire Street, an attractive corner alongside the river, and took a couple of pictures of the new footbridge and old buildings alongside it. I then took an Arriva 156 to the bus station on an early E400 with a personalised registration A1YBG, although I’m not sure what this signifies. Another reasonable bus station in Castleford. From here I took a more modern E400 on the 189 to Wakefield, having identified that if I waited another 15 minutes as per an alternative plan I would have found myself on a Versa, well worth avoiding. This relatively short route runs frequently through Normanton and past Heath Common, an attractive green space just before arriving at Wakefield.

I have been to Wakefield a few times and I still find it an attractive city centre. There is the area around the cathedral and also some quiet streets near the town hall slightly further north which have decent architecture and look mainly to be expensive houses. Wakefield is very much Arriva territory and I wondered if my buses there would work as well as they had with Stagecoach. Not long to find out as I planned to head south east out of town on the Arriva 496 in three stages, starting with the 15.22 to Upton as far as Hemsworth. At the stand the display said that the 15.52 to Upton was cancelled, unhelpful but at least some forewarning. The 15.22 arrived, set its blinds, the driver left…. and no new driver came. Plenty of passengers waiting but no notification or update. Then the vehicle for the 15.37 shorter journey to South Elmsall arrived and parked up in the adjacent stand, the driver left, this time another driver came over in good time and loaded up in time for an on-time departure. We picked up plenty more passengers in Wakefield but as our bus was another Volvo B5LH hybrid on this mixed single-double decker route it was not full. A good view of Nostell Priory on the double decker as we passed before reaching Hemsworth. I had planned to take 30 minutes in Hemsworth and 15 minutes in South Elmsall before proceeding further but the cancellation of both buses on which I had intended to travel – the second one was indeed cancelled – made this impossible, so I stuck with 30 minutes in Hemsworth. Passing through South Elmsall later I don’t think I missed much. These cancellations missed two consecutive buses to and from Upton in a half hourly service leaving a 90 minute gap – not impressive. The town centre at Hemsworth was not too bad but no information or guidance of any sort at the bus station, which is a pretty dilapidated affair, some stands with no bus time information. Although the trunk routes in this area are provided by Arriva, there are a number of other routes run by independents, notably Globe Holidays, showing how much of the Wakefield area routes Arriva have allowed to fall away.

My journey then continued from Hemsworth on the next 496 to Doncaster, this time on a Pulsar. This is one of the few connections into Doncaster from anywhere in West Yorkshire, the days of hourly services from Wakefield and Pontefract long gone. There are three journeys a day into Doncaster and two back out, I wanted to see why these ran. As we left Hemsworth I thought it might be the 20 or so workers in high-viz or protective workwear heading for a particular factory beyond the normal route, but they all got off at the large industrial estate on the edge of South Elmsall. Whether these workers had been inconvenienced by the two previous buses not running past South Elmsall I could not tell. After this we only had about four on board, one alighted on the edge of Doncaster and the rest of us continued into the bus station. A quick run into town along the featureless dual carriageway through the uninspiring Woodlands and Scawthorpe outskirts of the town. When we arrived at Doncaster bus station there were four or five passengers waiting to catch the bus back out, but neither the load in nor the load out would seem to justify the service, so I still don’t know why this bus runs.

A few minutes in the centre of Doncaster but early evening was approaching and I didn’t need to spend too long sampling its delights. Then it was back to Stagecoach and the X19 to Barnsley on a standard E200. This runs hourly during the day but more in the peak hours and we had a good load, with passengers alighting at Darfield, Goldthorpe and some through to Barnsley. Not particularly scenic although we went through one decent village, albeit on a busy road, and Goldthorpe looked depressing. A few minutes in Barnsley and then back to Hoyland on an E400 on the 66 service, then back to my hotel.

Conclusion on the day – Stagecoach very good, Arriva not so. Hardly surprising. Stagecoach have kept hold of a strong position through South Yorkshire (ex Yorkshire Traction) and provide a decent reliable service, while Arriva provide a somewhat worse service (small sample I know) and have a much weaker position in the ex West Riding territory of Wakefield district. No great scenery here and some of the towns depressing, although Wakefield is decent. Yutongs very impressive.

I stayed another night in Yorkshire but I had to be home by early evening on the Wednesday. I wasn’t originally sure what I should do but I consulted my spreadsheet of possible trips and arrived at an answer which initially surprised me - but on reflection I thought was a good idea. It nearly went horribly wrong - but I’ll report on that shortly.

A few photos:
View attachment 177931
Rotherham

View attachment 177932
The interior of a Yutong E12

View attachment 177933
Mexborough

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Wombwell

View attachment 177935
near Ackworth

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Ferrybridge

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Castleford

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Wakefield

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Hemsworth

Thanks for that @RELL6L. I can't offer a reason as to why so many people in Mexborough are reduced to using mobility scooters. However, I can offer a few other bits of info...

The road in Ferrybridge is, I think, the former A1. I think the road was realigned about 20 years ago when they extended the A1(M) and because it was unfeasible or too expensive to route it on the old alignment, they did a new alignment further west on the other side of the power station. It was always a reference point on trips home and even now, I find it odd to head the other side of the power station.

Like many others that weren't in Carlton (such as Whitings of Ferrybridge or Norths in Sherburn in Elmet), I think they were too isolated and the rules on recycling/environmental requirements too high and so they exited. ASOS/GXO Logistics certainly used to lay on services to the Distribution Centre and fund them. Whether they still contribute, I don't know, but there are a lot of similar businesses in the area. NEXT has their main base at South Elmsall and it makes sense - there's a pool of available labour, land is cheap, and for online goods, it's all going into a parcel network anyway. It's just a sad case that many former colliery towns now have poorly paid, low skilled jobs.

I've not done the "spanning the boundary" area in quite the same way as you did....well, I've not spanned it. I did a trip to South Yorkshire (not long before Covid?) and I found Stagecoach to be competent without being especially exciting. That's not a criticism - they do a good job. I've not been on their Yutongs yet but been on others and found them to be very well built machines, far ahead of the ADL options.

More recently, perhaps two years ago, I had a trip in the West Yorkshire side of things, and it was very much as you describe with Arriva. I travelled to Wakefield and thence to South Elmsall; I too was shocked at how much Arriva had declined. It was such a strong business up to British Bus days but it has been hamstrung by a lack of investment. I travelled on an e400 which was truly shocking, dragged up from the Medway Towns in exchange for newer fleet, and that typified the operation. Too little funds (as DB were skint) and a gradual retrenchment - remember that as well as the old West Riding routes, they bought South Yorkshire Road Car whose operations were basically linking West and South Yorkshire via Pontefract. It's a sad decline. I think the A1YBG registration relates to Yorkshire Bus Group which was the informal name for what had been Caldaire Holdings before it was sold to British Bus. Hemsworth bus station wasn't too bad last I was there. It's an odd one, grafted onto the Tesco, and operated by WY (Metro) or whatever the combined authority wants to call itself? Certainly better than the old one which was a few bus shelters around some waste ground. South Elmsall is more rudimentary and I had time to kill there... I was homicidal after a short while!

Certainly looking forward to the next instalment

 

[Hyebone]

New trip report!

Last Monday, I travelled across to see a friend of mine in Skegness from Chesterfield using only service buses.

Leg one: Stagecoach East Midlands - Pronto

Still sporting the Trentbarton-esque Pronto livery, 10979 was my chariot between Chesterfield and Nottingham. Running every 10 minutes between Nottingham and Mansfield, with half-hourly extensions to Chesterfield, the Pronto service connects places such as Winsick, Glapwell, Pleasley, Ravenshead and Daybrook. Arriving into Nottingham roughly 10 minutes late, I grabbed some breakfast and got some quick photos whilst I had time.




Leg two: Central Connect - 93

The 93 had just been extended to Nottingham, originally running between Bingham and Grantham. It has also been upgraded to an hourly service.

I'll be honest, being crammed into a bread van for an hour-long journey isn't pleasant. I was the only passenger between Nottingham and Bottesford; and at an assumption, the only passenger sub-65 years old at all!



Leg three: Stagecoach East Midlands - 1

A fairly straight shot upwards from Grantham towards Lincoln aboard ex-North East Trident2 19201. There's some lovely scenery between the two locations.

Shown is Wellingore All Saints Church in, you guessed it, Wellingore!


Leg four: Stagecoach East Midlands - 56

I didn't manage to get a photo of the vehicle, but Skegness' 11737 was my noble steed from Lincoln, through Horncastle and into Skegness. Being used to Stagecoach Yorkshire's next stop anoucements being a recorded voice, the text-to-speech announcements on board this vehicle seemed lower quality. Direct and clear however, so no complaints there.

 

[Signaller86]

Being a West Midlands local I’m inclined to advise a trip to these parts for the older buses. There’s a good sum (around 20-30 each) of the outgoing Dennis Tridents and Volvo/Wright Eclipse Geminis remaining in service for now, Walsall and West Bromwich areas will be your best options. Just don’t expect any scenery like the previous suggestion of the Lake District

If you haven’t already, have a look through the bustimes.org website, where you can track almost all buses in service, and see vehicle lists with service allocations which might prompt a few more ideas.

Thank you for all your suggestions - and for the warning about the not-Lake-District-like scenery in your area!

Depending when your trip is, the Peak Sightseer uses a mix of Tridents and older E400s. It starts again in late May so if that fits in it's worth a look for some very scenic journeys.

Thank you! End of May might be a bit late, but it's on my list!

Got to agree with all the other statements. Lakes is good for the open toppers (less for regular types), and West Midlands was good for both Tridents and B7TLs when I was last there in December.

Other places... Swindon still has a few Tridents and Darts with Stagecoach, and there are a few Tridents still hanging on at Winchester and Basingstoke. They are very much under threat as new EVs continue to arrive. In addition, for older deckers, I'd suggest the Go East operations in Suffolk and Essex. Lots of Omnidekkas and B7TLs still there (and great scenery) but again, I'd expect cascades in soon to sweep some away (and indeed, the first e400 from Manchester is liveried up for that area).

I was in the Cotswolds in April 2023. On our day in Cheltenham, I took a few pictures of the buses there. Thank you for the suggestions!

There are a declining amount of Trident ALX400 at Mansfield & also one at Worksop depot, BusTimes is a good place to see what routes they are on, be quick they don’t have long left.

In terms of oddities at Gainsborough depot there is a Transbus bodied Enviro 300 in use.

Chesterfield is interesting at the moment as the EV’s are entering service, the Yutong’s are all running with the E400 EV’s are starting to enter service, the Gold Enviro’s are still running as well.

I will definitely have a look at BusTimes and see if I can arrange a stop at Mansfield.

We will see how this trip is going to turn out. I'm currently planning on combining it with the "Heritage Bus Rally and Running Weekend" at the GCR’s Quorn & Woodhouse Station. Fingers crossed!

 

[RELL6L]

As I reported earlier, last Wednesday I was in Yorkshire overnight and able to take a further trip for the morning. I had a route in mind to head for which I am sure I have been advised of some time ago, quite possibly by @TheGrandWazoo, but I can’t find any record of this on the forum. This tied in well with another couple of routes I had not previously done. So I started at the East Yorkshire depot in Elloughton on the way into Hull. A number of vehicles inside the depot, all looking pretty smart, mostly heading out on school services while my 55 to Hull, a Volvo B9TL, arrived from an earlier return trip to Hull. The 55 route operates west of Elloughton as far as Goole but there is no peak service from any of these villages towards Hull which seems quite a gap. The bus took us through Brough and a couple of smaller villages, then a business park alongside the A63 where some passengers alighted, and then headed into Hull. All was going well, indeed we were early, until we hit a very slow moving queue just before we got to Anlaby Road in Hull. Anlaby Road itself was OK as there is a bus lane all the way along but the other traffic was moving incredibly slowly. After the hospital the road ahead was closed so I alighted here to walk straight on into the city centre. Police had closed a number of roads with ambulances and fire trucks also in evidence and some places were even not accessible by foot, notably the junction of Anlaby Road and Ferensway, and I had to divert through the station forecourt and cross central flowerbeds in Ferensway, although there were no cars here. It was clear that buses from all directions were very badly delayed, our bus actually being least affected although it missed out all the town centre stops. I learned afterwards that a man had threatened to throw himself from a roof and the city was paralysed until mid morning. This was not looking good for my onward journey – I had researched what it did previously and it was already 25 minutes late. There was nothing I could do now though so I bought some breakfast and enjoyed a short wander round the city centre, devoid of cars and largely devoid of people too.

I arrived back at the Interchange in time for my next bus which was showing as ‘on time’, although I did not have a great deal of faith in this as I knew the planned bus was now about 45 minutes late heading to Hymers College. I was hoping that East Yorkshire would have someone ‘in control’ who would prioritise departures and swap buses round to maintain key services – classing my chosen one as key of course! It seems they did just that, as shortly after the scheduled arrival time a driver turned up at the stand and said that he had driven the inward journey, been relieved at the bus station, there was a problem with the bus as well as the traffic and another bus was on its way for him. A couple of minutes later he revised that to say that he had been given authority to take another bus from elsewhere in the bus station. Unfortunately this meant a single decker Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora for my next two journeys instead of the scheduled B9TL double decker but that was better than no bus at all!

So, about 10 minutes late, we departed the bus station on the 24 to Hornsea. I was right about key services, being a sunny day there were many people who wished to take the bus to the coast and we picked up in the city centre and at many stops heading out of town. Some were making local journeys, as the local services were in greater chaos, but many were taking a longer journey. We did not quite have standing passengers but a good load and we were still about 10 minutes late as we arrived at Hornsea. I have been to Hornsea before, previously I arrived from Withernsea and departed to Bridlington, spending all my time in the sea front area, this time I wanted to see the area around the market place and this worked well with the timetables. As my 24 would travel 10 minutes each way to the old depot before turning round and heading back as a 25 I knew I should have at least 20 minutes or so here. This gave me time to head over to close to Hornsea Mere and look around the quieter bits of the centre of town before moving on.

The same Volvo B8RLE, with the same driver, then retraced our steps virtually on time as far as Leven before heading out on the 25 to Beverley. It was market day in Beverley and this journey was also very busy, we did have standing passengers arriving into Beverley, slightly delayed by a level crossing. I have been to Beverley a couple of times before but I enjoyed a decent break here exploring some of the side streets and also visiting the famous Beverley Bar, in years gone by some East Yorkshire double deckers were especially bodied to fit through this – it has long since been bypassed by other roads and now shows a height limit of 9’9”!

From Beverley I was able to take the main route I had come here to travel. This only runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays with one or two trips a day. Had I been an hour later coming up from Hull and Hornsea I would have missed it. This was the East Yorkshire 143 back to Elloughton, run exclusively by double deckers, on school days between school contracts but also on other days, as this is pretty much all that Elloughton depot has. Loading up we took on about 25 passengers, which was impressive for a market day service. We headed west out of Beverley through the pretty but clearly wealthy village of Walkington and then into the real East Yorkshire Wolds, turning north to go to the village of North Newbald. Very rural stuff, about 7 or 8 passengers alighted here and in the nearby and even smaller village of Hotham. Fabulous rolling scenery here. Then we turned south and joined up with the 55 route west of Elloughton, dropping off a number of passengers in North Cave and South Cave and one even at the prison between them. After South Cave we headed off the main 55 route to visit Ellerker and Brantingham, two other small pretty villages. No-one got off here but one passenger joined at Ellerker, where this route is the only bus service. Then we were back at Elloughton, where I alighted and headed home.

A slightly disjointed day with the disruption in Hull, but credit to East Yorkshire for making some decisions and keeping services running. Very easy to say ‘chaos in Hull, various services not running’, but the shoppers heading into Beverley would not have been impressed. And I strongly recommend visiting the 143 route, great Wolds scenery!

Some photos of the day:

Hull


Hull


Hornsea Mere


Hornsea


Beverley, showing the Beverley Bar archway


East Yorkshire wolds near North Newbald


North Newbald


South Cave


Ellerker