Bus Related Outings and Reviews
Bus Related Outings and Reviews
Here we are talking about Scotland and I forgot to mention the trip I took up there once using West Coast Motors and McGills a few years ago.
Glasgow - Dunoon using a coach that travels on a ferry.
Stopped up that way for a day or two using local Enviros and coaches across Argyll and to Bute, before we made the way back to Glasgow using the coach from Inverary via 'Rest and be thankful' to Glasgow.
You can travel upto Oban on West Coast Motors and a number if their services travel on the ferries.
There is some fantastic scenery too.
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Here's my travel log for the last 2 days. Was a superb trip away and got to see a load of different stuff, trying out Citylink Gold was one of my highlights I think.
Saturday 11th
0706 Darlington - Edinburgh - East Coast 91126
1003 Edinburgh - Stirling - Scotrail 170419
1109 Stirling - Dundee - Scotrail 170417
1340 Dundee - Glenrothes - Stagecoach X54 53292
1446 Glenrothes - Lammermoor Court - Stagecoach G6 47611
Visit to Moffat & Williamson depot
1609 Fife College - Glenrothes - Stagecoach 39 47870
1647 Glenrothes - Dundee - Stagecoach X54 53293
1805 Dundee - Perth Broxden P&R - Parks of Hamilton M9 KSK954
1845 Perth Broxden P&R - Perth - Stagecoach 301 33434 (Gold spec!)
Sunday 12th
0940 Perth - Dundee - Stagecoach M8 54125
1150 Dundee - Aberdeen - Citylink G92 HSK647 (Citylink Gold)
1635 Aberdeen - Perth Broxden P&R - Parks M9 KSK954
1840 Perth Broxden P&R - Edinburgh - Stagecoach M90 54047
2300 Edinburgh - Scotch Corner - Megabus M20 LSK497 (Parks dupe)
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(13 Jan 2014, 2:57 pm)tyresmoke Here's my travel log for the last 2 days. Was a superb trip away and got to see a load of different stuff, trying out Citylink Gold was one of my highlights I think.
Saturday 11th
0706 Darlington - Edinburgh - East Coast 91126
1003 Edinburgh - Stirling - Scotrail 170419
1109 Stirling - Dundee - Scotrail 170417
1340 Dundee - Glenrothes - Stagecoach X54 53292
1446 Glenrothes - Lammermoor Court - Stagecoach G6 47611
Visit to Moffat & Williamson depot
1609 Fife College - Glenrothes - Stagecoach 39 47870
1647 Glenrothes - Dundee - Stagecoach X54 53293
1805 Dundee - Perth Broxden P&R - Parks of Hamilton M9 KSK954
1845 Perth Broxden P&R - Perth - Stagecoach 301 33434 (Gold spec!)
Sunday 12th
0940 Perth - Dundee - Stagecoach M8 54125
1150 Dundee - Aberdeen - Citylink G92 HSK647 (Citylink Gold)
1635 Aberdeen - Perth Broxden P&R - Parks M9 KSK954
1840 Perth Broxden P&R - Edinburgh - Stagecoach M90 54047
2300 Edinburgh - Scotch Corner - Megabus M20 LSK497 (Parks dupe)
(13 Jan 2014, 2:57 pm)tyresmoke Here's my travel log for the last 2 days. Was a superb trip away and got to see a load of different stuff, trying out Citylink Gold was one of my highlights I think.
Saturday 11th
0706 Darlington - Edinburgh - East Coast 91126
1003 Edinburgh - Stirling - Scotrail 170419
1109 Stirling - Dundee - Scotrail 170417
1340 Dundee - Glenrothes - Stagecoach X54 53292
1446 Glenrothes - Lammermoor Court - Stagecoach G6 47611
Visit to Moffat & Williamson depot
1609 Fife College - Glenrothes - Stagecoach 39 47870
1647 Glenrothes - Dundee - Stagecoach X54 53293
1805 Dundee - Perth Broxden P&R - Parks of Hamilton M9 KSK954
1845 Perth Broxden P&R - Perth - Stagecoach 301 33434 (Gold spec!)
Sunday 12th
0940 Perth - Dundee - Stagecoach M8 54125
1150 Dundee - Aberdeen - Citylink G92 HSK647 (Citylink Gold)
1635 Aberdeen - Perth Broxden P&R - Parks M9 KSK954
1840 Perth Broxden P&R - Edinburgh - Stagecoach M90 54047
2300 Edinburgh - Scotch Corner - Megabus M20 LSK497 (Parks dupe)
(13 Jan 2014, 5:44 pm)aureolin Some distance that mind Scott! What sort of fares are you looking at for that sort of trip, excluding East Coast and Megabus? If you don't mind me asking that is.
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(13 Jan 2014, 5:44 pm)aureolin Some distance that mind Scott! What sort of fares are you looking at for that sort of trip, excluding East Coast and Megabus? If you don't mind me asking that is.
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(13 Jan 2014, 6:07 pm)tyresmoke The Edinburgh-Perth by Scotrail was £5.50 advance (with a 16-25 railcard).
£5 single to Dundee as was joined by 2 mates in Perth.
Stagecoach East Fife dayrider plus £10 for the afternoon (valid across a huge area, can get to Edinburgh for example). The Dundee-Perth Citylink was £4 I think, booked through Megabus which includes your Park & Ride fare into the city (on regular service 301).
Sunday we paid about £8 via Megabus for the M8 to Dundee, though there was only 4 of us on a 15m Panther!
The Citylink Gold was £9 to Aberdeen, well worth it though with a huge (and very comfy) leather seat, 53 seats on a 15m Elite. Customer Service assistant came round with a lovely cake and a choice of soft drink during the 80 minute journey, as well as refresh kit with a knife and fork, wet wipe etc.
The return journey to Edinburgh I think was £7 from Aberdeen to Edinburgh with a connection between M9/M90 at Broxden Park & Ride where all the Megabus/Citylink services meet up (4 in the space of 10 mins!), 2 northbound and 2 southbound. The connections work perfectly but in times of disruption I can imagine it could be problematic.
I paid £14 for my return trip to Scotch Corner but the other 2 got it cheaper as they booked further in advance, I had to try and get the time off work for the Saturday. Thankfully I got my lieu day confirmed last week and got everything booked up.
The sleeper was operated by 50307, the service M20 was operated by 54208 which was sent with people for Newcastle etc on it, Parks of Hamilton Volvo B9R LSK497 was operating the duplicate M20 which had all of the passengers for London and they stuck the three of us for Scotch Corner on it, as thats where our driver came off and handed over to the 2 replacement drivers. Non stop Edinburgh to Scotch Corner was completed in under 3 hours, getting us to Scotch Corner around 45 mins earlier than planned!!
(13 Jan 2014, 6:07 pm)tyresmoke The Edinburgh-Perth by Scotrail was £5.50 advance (with a 16-25 railcard).
£5 single to Dundee as was joined by 2 mates in Perth.
Stagecoach East Fife dayrider plus £10 for the afternoon (valid across a huge area, can get to Edinburgh for example). The Dundee-Perth Citylink was £4 I think, booked through Megabus which includes your Park & Ride fare into the city (on regular service 301).
Sunday we paid about £8 via Megabus for the M8 to Dundee, though there was only 4 of us on a 15m Panther!
The Citylink Gold was £9 to Aberdeen, well worth it though with a huge (and very comfy) leather seat, 53 seats on a 15m Elite. Customer Service assistant came round with a lovely cake and a choice of soft drink during the 80 minute journey, as well as refresh kit with a knife and fork, wet wipe etc.
The return journey to Edinburgh I think was £7 from Aberdeen to Edinburgh with a connection between M9/M90 at Broxden Park & Ride where all the Megabus/Citylink services meet up (4 in the space of 10 mins!), 2 northbound and 2 southbound. The connections work perfectly but in times of disruption I can imagine it could be problematic.
I paid £14 for my return trip to Scotch Corner but the other 2 got it cheaper as they booked further in advance, I had to try and get the time off work for the Saturday. Thankfully I got my lieu day confirmed last week and got everything booked up.
The sleeper was operated by 50307, the service M20 was operated by 54208 which was sent with people for Newcastle etc on it, Parks of Hamilton Volvo B9R LSK497 was operating the duplicate M20 which had all of the passengers for London and they stuck the three of us for Scotch Corner on it, as thats where our driver came off and handed over to the 2 replacement drivers. Non stop Edinburgh to Scotch Corner was completed in under 3 hours, getting us to Scotch Corner around 45 mins earlier than planned!!
(13 Jan 2014, 6:30 pm)aureolin The golds look extremely impressive. I think a trip from Glasgow to Aberdeen may be in order in the near future.
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(13 Jan 2014, 6:30 pm)aureolin The golds look extremely impressive. I think a trip from Glasgow to Aberdeen may be in order in the near future.
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(13 Jan 2014, 6:30 pm)aureolin The golds look extremely impressive. I think a trip from Glasgow to Aberdeen may be in order in the near future.
(13 Jan 2014, 6:30 pm)aureolin The golds look extremely impressive. I think a trip from Glasgow to Aberdeen may be in order in the near future.
(13 Jan 2014, 6:47 pm)Kuyoyo The interior shot is of the Elites, which are part of the Parks of Hamilton fleet. The interior of the Astromegas is completely different. The majority of the Elites are now found on the G92 between Aberdeen and Edinburgh with a mix of both on the G9 (Glasgow-Aberdeen) and G10 (Glasgow-Inverness).
Since Tom was on about Edinburgh the other day, and it got onto Glasgow too, I thought I'd share this post I've just noticed on Facebook. Newcastle to Glasgow for little over £10.
http://www.thetrainline.com/farefinder/B...x?orig=NCL&dest=GLC&out=20140210&utm_source=Display&utm_campaign=CRITEO
(13 Jan 2014, 6:47 pm)Kuyoyo The interior shot is of the Elites, which are part of the Parks of Hamilton fleet. The interior of the Astromegas is completely different. The majority of the Elites are now found on the G92 between Aberdeen and Edinburgh with a mix of both on the G9 (Glasgow-Aberdeen) and G10 (Glasgow-Inverness).
[quote='aureolin' pid='26513' dateline='1389642879']
Since Tom was on about Edinburgh the other day, and it got onto Glasgow too, I thought I'd share this post I've just noticed on Facebook. Newcastle to Glasgow for little over £10.
http://www.thetrainline.com/farefinder/B...x?orig=NCL&dest=GLC&out=20140210&utm_source=Display&utm_campaign=CRITEO
[quote]
Brilliant, thanks.
Word of advice to anyone travelling to Glasgow (having spent a lot of time myself in the place).
Do not wear Blue or Green clothing. As if you end up in the wrong part of Glasgow wearing the wrong colour, then you could have problems.
Glasgow does have a reputation to be a rough place, and it can be in some places, but I found it's just like Newcastle. Just keep yourself to yourself and you should be ok.
And also whilst you're in Glasgow, have a whirl on the Clockwork Orange.
Currently planning a few days out for the end of Jan. I was thinking of an early start from Durham to Darlington on the 7, photo some of the sapphires and gas buses in Darlington, head across to Boro on the X66 to see what's out, head up to Newcastle and then across to Consett for the venture solos. I'll draw a route up when I'm home.
Any suggestions or tips?
Also was thinking of a trip to Carlisle to see the Stagecoach Gold. Anyone done this and is it worth the day out?
(14 Jan 2014, 2:36 pm)aureolin Currently planning a few days out for the end of Jan. I was thinking of an early start from Durham to Darlington on the 7, photo some of the sapphires and gas buses in Darlington, head across to Boro on the X66 to see what's out, head up to Newcastle and then across to Consett for the venture solos. I'll draw a route up when I'm home.
Any suggestions or tips?
Also was thinking of a trip to Carlisle to see the Stagecoach Gold. Anyone done this and is it worth the day out?
(14 Jan 2014, 2:36 pm)aureolin Currently planning a few days out for the end of Jan. I was thinking of an early start from Durham to Darlington on the 7, photo some of the sapphires and gas buses in Darlington, head across to Boro on the X66 to see what's out, head up to Newcastle and then across to Consett for the venture solos. I'll draw a route up when I'm home.
Any suggestions or tips?
Also was thinking of a trip to Carlisle to see the Stagecoach Gold. Anyone done this and is it worth the day out?
Had a think about it, and based on what Tom has said, I'm going to probably give Boro a miss. I'm going to cross over to there to get the X10 though, as I haven't done it for a number of years now. I think in all I'll do something like this:
07:14 Durham - Darlington 08:25 - 7 (ANE)
09:40 Darlington - Middlesbrough - 10:25 - X66 (ANE)
10:30 Middlesbrough - Newcastle 11:50 - X10 (GNE)
12:30 Newcastle - Consett 13:23 - X70 (GNE)
14:30 Consett - Chester le Street 15:34 - 78 (GNE)
15:51 Chester le Street - Washington 16:06 - 50 (GNE)
(14 Jan 2014, 5:39 pm)aureolin Had a think about it, and based on what Tom has said, I'm going to probably give Boro a miss. I'm going to cross over to there to get the X10 though, as I haven't done it for a number of years now. I think in all I'll do something like this:
07:14 Durham - Darlington 08:25 - 7 (ANE)
09:40 Darlington - Middlesbrough - 10:25 - X66 (ANE)
10:30 Middlesbrough - Newcastle 11:50 - X10 (GNE)
12:30 Newcastle - Consett 13:23 - X70 (GNE)
14:30 Consett - Chester le Street 15:34 - 78 (GNE)
15:51 Chester le Street - Washington 16:06 - 50 (GNE)
)
(14 Jan 2014, 5:39 pm)aureolin Had a think about it, and based on what Tom has said, I'm going to probably give Boro a miss. I'm going to cross over to there to get the X10 though, as I haven't done it for a number of years now. I think in all I'll do something like this:
07:14 Durham - Darlington 08:25 - 7 (ANE)
09:40 Darlington - Middlesbrough - 10:25 - X66 (ANE)
10:30 Middlesbrough - Newcastle 11:50 - X10 (GNE)
12:30 Newcastle - Consett 13:23 - X70 (GNE)
14:30 Consett - Chester le Street 15:34 - 78 (GNE)
15:51 Chester le Street - Washington 16:06 - 50 (GNE)
)
(14 Jan 2014, 5:50 pm)Dan Would probably be best off giving yourself less time in Consett and more time in M'bro for a connection. Not sure what the X66 is like for reliability, but I do try and give myself at least 10m connections (though I have given myself 2m connections in the past...
(14 Jan 2014, 2:56 pm)Tom Consett is defiantly worth a visit, and so is Hexham. Maybe if you can fit it in get the 689 from Hexham to Consett or vice-versa!
(14 Jan 2014, 5:50 pm)Dan Would probably be best off giving yourself less time in Consett and more time in M'bro for a connection. Not sure what the X66 is like for reliability, but I do try and give myself at least 10m connections (though I have given myself 2m connections in the past...
(14 Jan 2014, 2:56 pm)Tom Consett is defiantly worth a visit, and so is Hexham. Maybe if you can fit it in get the 689 from Hexham to Consett or vice-versa!
I've edited it to make it a better plan, but it does start a bit earlier.
My type of place though, less time in places, more places ;-)
7 - Durham Bus Station (0647) to Darlington (0748)
X66 - Darlington (0820) to Stockton High Street (0852)
X1 - Stockton High Street (0921) to Durham Bus Station (1014)
15A - Durham Bus Station (1030) to Consett Bus Station (1110)
V8 - Consett Bus Station (1136) to Stanley Bus Station (1209)
X30 - Stanley Bus Station (1229) to Newcastle Eldon Square (1307)
X85 - Newcastle Eldon Square (1310) to Hexham Bus Station (1357)
X85 - Hexham Bus Station (1448) to Newcastle Eldon Square (1535)
What do you think?
(14 Jan 2014, 6:54 pm)Tom I've edited it to make it a better plan, but it does start a bit earlier.
My type of place though, less time in places, more places ;-)
7 - Durham Bus Station (0647) to Darlington (0748)
X66 - Darlington (0820) to Stockton High Street (0852)
X1 - Stockton High Street (0921) to Durham Bus Station (1014)
15A - Durham Bus Station (1030) to Consett Bus Station (1110)
V8 - Consett Bus Station (1136) to Stanley Bus Station (1209)
X30 - Stanley Bus Station (1229) to Newcastle Eldon Square (1307)
X85 - Newcastle Eldon Square (1310) to Hexham Bus Station (1357)
X85 - Hexham Bus Station (1448) to Newcastle Eldon Square (1535)
What do you think?
although I may take the portable battery with me and do that instead.
(14 Jan 2014, 6:54 pm)Tom I've edited it to make it a better plan, but it does start a bit earlier.
My type of place though, less time in places, more places ;-)
7 - Durham Bus Station (0647) to Darlington (0748)
X66 - Darlington (0820) to Stockton High Street (0852)
X1 - Stockton High Street (0921) to Durham Bus Station (1014)
15A - Durham Bus Station (1030) to Consett Bus Station (1110)
V8 - Consett Bus Station (1136) to Stanley Bus Station (1209)
X30 - Stanley Bus Station (1229) to Newcastle Eldon Square (1307)
X85 - Newcastle Eldon Square (1310) to Hexham Bus Station (1357)
X85 - Hexham Bus Station (1448) to Newcastle Eldon Square (1535)
What do you think?
although I may take the portable battery with me and do that instead.
(14 Jan 2014, 7:55 pm)aureolin Good alternative. Cheers Tom. Part of the reason for the X9/X10 was to charge my phone though
- Would you be happy in leaving Darlo/Stockton and going for a fully Go North East day, or do you want to include Darlo?
(14 Jan 2014, 7:55 pm)aureolin Good alternative. Cheers Tom. Part of the reason for the X9/X10 was to charge my phone though
- Would you be happy in leaving Darlo/Stockton and going for a fully Go North East day, or do you want to include Darlo?
Despite it being rather cold today, I decided after my Trip to the Eye Infirmary this morning, that I would take some more photos of the FAB56 B9's in which I took photos at the following locations.
Fawcett Street
Stadium of Light
Southwick
Concord
Donwell
Wrekenton
Gateshead High Street
Gateshead Interchange
New Bridge Street
I am hoping to fix my bike at some point so I can get few more Photos at the Following Locations.
Sulgrave
Next to Concord Bus Depot
The Drive (Donwell)
Springwell
Q.E. Hospital
Overall I had quite a Ride about on the 56's Today, It took me 2 and Half Hours to go from Sunderland to Newcastle and I have to say there some Excellent Photos to be Uploaded despite it not being Sunny, Particularly at Donwell which a Great Location for Photos. The photos shall be Uploaded either Tomorrow or Thursday, and to top my DAY off I finally up with 3964 in its Children In Need Livery, shame it wasn't in Service though.
