Bus Related Outings and Reviews
Bus Related Outings and Reviews
(27 Feb 2015, 7:01 pm)MarcTheA4 Possible plan for tomorrow:Is this still your plan today Marcy Boy
#21 - Chester-le-Street Clifford Terrace to Durham University Hospital
(10:03 --- 10:18) - GNE Volvo B5HL/Wright Gemini 2
About 10 minutes of taking photos at the Durham University Hospital
#Anything - Durham University Hospital to Durham Bus Station
(10:30ish --- 10:35ish) - GNE..could be anything depending on which service I opt for!
#50 - Durham Bus Station to Durham Arnison Centre Retail Park
(10:53 --- 11:02) - GNE Scania CN230UB/Scania OmniCity
About 20 minutes taking photos at a few spots around the Arnison Centre
#64 - Durham Arnison Centre Retail Park to Durham North Road
(11:30 --- 11:45) - ANE..anything...hopefully one of those Enviro200s again!
#X21 - Durham Bus Station to Bishop Auckland Bus Station
(11:55 --- 12:29) - GNE Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President
About half an hour of taking photos around Bishop Auckland Bus Station
#X21 - Bishop Auckland Bus Station to Durham Bus Station
(13:04 --- 13:39) - GNE Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President
#21 - Durham Bus Station to Chester-le-Street Clifford Terrace
(13:46 --- 14:03) - GNE Volvo B5HL/Wright Gemini 2
I'll get a Get Around day ticket for £3.75, I don't mind paying £1.70 on the 64 for another ride on an E200.
(27 Feb 2015, 7:01 pm)MarcTheA4 Possible plan for tomorrow:Is this still your plan today Marcy Boy
#21 - Chester-le-Street Clifford Terrace to Durham University Hospital
(10:03 --- 10:18) - GNE Volvo B5HL/Wright Gemini 2
About 10 minutes of taking photos at the Durham University Hospital
#Anything - Durham University Hospital to Durham Bus Station
(10:30ish --- 10:35ish) - GNE..could be anything depending on which service I opt for!
#50 - Durham Bus Station to Durham Arnison Centre Retail Park
(10:53 --- 11:02) - GNE Scania CN230UB/Scania OmniCity
About 20 minutes taking photos at a few spots around the Arnison Centre
#64 - Durham Arnison Centre Retail Park to Durham North Road
(11:30 --- 11:45) - ANE..anything...hopefully one of those Enviro200s again!
#X21 - Durham Bus Station to Bishop Auckland Bus Station
(11:55 --- 12:29) - GNE Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President
About half an hour of taking photos around Bishop Auckland Bus Station
#X21 - Bishop Auckland Bus Station to Durham Bus Station
(13:04 --- 13:39) - GNE Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President
#21 - Durham Bus Station to Chester-le-Street Clifford Terrace
(13:46 --- 14:03) - GNE Volvo B5HL/Wright Gemini 2
I'll get a Get Around day ticket for £3.75, I don't mind paying £1.70 on the 64 for another ride on an E200.
Left the house - should be on the 10:03 #21 to Durham my local stop.
Would be the 10:00 from CLS.
(28 Feb 2015, 9:44 am)MarcTheA4 Left the house - should be on the 10:03 #21 to Durham my local stop.
Would be the 10:00 from CLS.
(28 Feb 2015, 9:44 am)MarcTheA4 Left the house - should be on the 10:03 #21 to Durham my local stop.
Would be the 10:00 from CLS.
(28 Feb 2015, 9:44 am)MarcTheA4 Left the house - should be on the 10:03 #21 to Durham my local stop.
Would be the 10:00 from CLS.
(28 Feb 2015, 9:44 am)MarcTheA4 Left the house - should be on the 10:03 #21 to Durham my local stop.
Would be the 10:00 from CLS.
(28 Feb 2015, 9:56 am)citaro5284 I reckon it will be bus 6070....
(28 Feb 2015, 9:57 am)MarcTheA4 Here we go again...you reckon...or you KNOW?!
(28 Feb 2015, 9:57 am)MarcTheA4 Here we go again...you reckon...or you KNOW?!
6065.
(28 Feb 2015, 7:13 am)Dan Yeah, it's impossible to do it in one day.
I bought a North West 7-day Explorer last year during the summer, and even on the days where I used Northern Rail to/from Carlisle to speed things up, I couldn't cram everything in that I wanted to.
Going to the lakes and back in one day needs vigorous planning, and I'd suggest that it would perhaps be easier and more efficient to book a hotelif it's as cheap as £35 for a night. I left some very risky connections when I went, and luckily nothing went wrong, but some running was required.
(28 Feb 2015, 7:13 am)Dan Yeah, it's impossible to do it in one day.
I bought a North West 7-day Explorer last year during the summer, and even on the days where I used Northern Rail to/from Carlisle to speed things up, I couldn't cram everything in that I wanted to.
Going to the lakes and back in one day needs vigorous planning, and I'd suggest that it would perhaps be easier and more efficient to book a hotel
(28 Feb 2015, 10:12 am)MarcTheA4 6065.
(28 Feb 2015, 10:12 am)MarcTheA4 6065.
(28 Feb 2015, 10:17 am)Michael Defo, iv'e used it a few times during the summer although its one of the best routes in the lakes
(28 Feb 2015, 10:17 am)Michael Defo, iv'e used it a few times during the summer although its one of the best routes in the lakes
I wonder how Marcus is getting on.....with the dizzy heights of been in Bishop Auckland
The review will be up by 20:00 this evening, unfortunately I was in the process of writing it - 10 minutes in - 7 paragraphs - and I accidentally let my phone drop off the desk and it hit the switch - making the desktop die on me. #epicfail
However, I did take a few photos while I was out, and you can view this for the time being until my review is up! - https://www.flickr.com/photos/127739730@N02/
(28 Feb 2015, 3:04 pm)MarcTheA4 The review will be up by 20:00 this evening, unfortunately I was in the process of writing it - 10 minutes in - 7 paragraphs - and I accidentally let my phone drop off the desk and it hit the switch - making the desktop die on me. #epicfail
However, I did take a few photos while I was out, and you can view this for the time being until my review is up! - https://www.flickr.com/photos/127739730@N02/
(28 Feb 2015, 3:04 pm)MarcTheA4 The review will be up by 20:00 this evening, unfortunately I was in the process of writing it - 10 minutes in - 7 paragraphs - and I accidentally let my phone drop off the desk and it hit the switch - making the desktop die on me. #epicfail
However, I did take a few photos while I was out, and you can view this for the time being until my review is up! - https://www.flickr.com/photos/127739730@N02/
I haven't got a great deal to say about today's journeys, but find my log below nevertheless:
0906 Metro: Stadium of Light to Monument - Tyne & Wear Metro 4034
0945 #685: Newcastle to Carlisle - Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire 24123
1407 #685: Carlisle to Hexham - Arriva North East 4663
1547 #X85 Hexham to Newcastle - Go North East 5232
1638 Metro: Haymarket to Stadium of Light - Tyne & Wear Metro 4044
I have been meaning to go to Carlisle for quite a while now, as I've wanted a ride on Stagecoach's fairly new Enviro300s on the 685 to see how they compare to Arriva's OmniCitys and the previous coaches allocated. Unfortunately, a MANviro (usually allocate to service 79) turned up. I guess these are used above any other vehicle in Carlisle's fleet as they are equipped with high backed seating, but still lack the free Wi-Fi usually on offer. This proved quite irritating as for a substantial part of the 685 route, it's difficult to get signal. Those of you who have been out with me before know I find putting my phone down quite challenging, but on the plus side, at least today prepared me for future weekdays? I abandoned ship as soon as I could, arriving approximately 10 minutes late into Carlisle. Due to high traffic in the city centre, the bus actually arrived at the terminus a whopping 23 minutes late. I wasn't overly impressed with the MANviro, and will have to make a trip again in the future to sample one of the Enviro300s with coach-style seating.
I walked around the City Centre for a while and ended up at Stagecoach's depot in Carlisle. This allowed me to take a couple of photos of the remaining high-floor vehicles in the fleet and a few other photos of older vehicles kept indoors on Saturdays. Thankfully, I caught up with the Solo SR which is being trialled on Carlisle Town Services, which meant I was happy to head to the train station to add some variety to today's batch of photos. There was a heritage train of some sort pulled into the station and about 20 enthusiasts with cameras. I'm not entirely sure what was quite so special about the train but hopefully someone on here knows so I have something to say on Flickr about it later this evening when I upload the photos!
I headed back to the bus station after this and I was delighted to see an OmniCity which didn't carry Arriva's interurban livery, as this meant only one thing: 4663 was my chariot home! This example is not fitted with leather seating and seems to be a lot faster based on my previous journeys on it, so I was delighted to see it. The bus was reasonably full until Brampton but more or less empty after that. At last minute, I decided to hop off the 685 at Hexham and get the X85 back to Newcastle, as this would allow me to add Go North East to the list of vehicles travelled on today, and would mean I could use the Internet on the A69! The bus was warm and the driver seemed to be very skilled - he arrived into Eldon Square a few minutes early and this allowed me to head to Haymarket for my Metro home, making me more likely to get a seat (which I did!)
Hope you all enjoyed reading, and I apologise in advance for any typos as I wrote this on my phone during my Metro journey!
