Ended up down my Dads Friends House last night and me and my Dad got talking about doing a potential Trip (Long Weekend) Friday to Monday to Germany, with my Choice being we go to Munich so I can go see a German Bundesliga Match at the Allianz Arena as change to seeing a Barclays Premier League Match or a Lower League Game.

This trip will also involve some Bus Spotting which my Dad is totally unaware of, anyway he said he would love to do the above, I just need a Passport and save up some Money, put it this way the cost of the Flight, Hotel and Matchday Tickets is Cheaper in some cases than a Journey on the Train from Newcastle to London, We managed to find an Adult Ticket for one upcoming game for just £8, it is amazing how cheap it is which why I want to do it.

(22 Feb 2015, 7:56 pm)Malarkey wrote Ended up down my Dads Friends House last night and me and my Dad got talking about doing a potential Trip (Long Weekend) Friday to Monday to Germany, with my Choice being we go to Munich so I can go see a German Bundesliga Match at the Allianz Arena as change to seeing a Barclays Premier League Match or a Lower League Game.

This trip will also involve some Bus Spotting which my Dad is totally unaware of, anyway he said he would love to do the above, I just need a Passport and save up some Money, put it this way the cost of the Flight, Hotel and Matchday Tickets is Cheaper in some cases than a Journey on the Train from Newcastle to London, We managed to find an Adult Ticket for one upcoming game for just £8, it is amazing how cheap it is which why I want to do it.

German football is cheap as hell, The Bundesliga is probably one of the cheapest top flight divisions in Europe, they have standing areas and you can drink on the Terraces

Hoping to get a few hotels booked for a few UK trips soon:

May - Cumbria
July/August - London
October or December - Edinburgh

(24 Feb 2015, 6:11 pm)Tom wrote Hoping to get a few hotels booked for a few UK trips soon:

May - Cumbria
July/August - London
October or December - Edinburgh

You should aim to make this trip when the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum is having its Open Weekend. It's a great rally - far superior to ours in the North East.

(24 Feb 2015, 6:22 pm)Dan wrote You should aim to make this trip when the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum is having its Open Weekend. It's a great rally - far superior to ours in the North East.

Do you know when it is?

(24 Feb 2015, 6:23 pm)Tom wrote Do you know when it is?

15-16 Aug: Open Weekend, Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, Lathalmond, Fife. 01383-623380.

(24 Feb 2015, 6:24 pm)Dan wrote 15-16 Aug: Open Weekend, Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, Lathalmond, Fife. 01383-623380.

Cheers, I'll see if I can get up then!
When is the Lothian Open Doors day normally?

(24 Feb 2015, 6:26 pm)Tom wrote Cheers, I'll see if I can get up then!
When is the Lothian Open Doors day normally?

The last weekend of September normally. Assuming it's the same weekend and same day this year - it'll be Saturday 26th.

(24 Feb 2015, 6:27 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote The last weekend of September normally. Assuming it's the same weekend and same day this year - it'll be Saturday 26th.

Cheers

(24 Feb 2015, 6:24 pm)Dan wrote 15-16 Aug: Open Weekend, Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, Lathalmond, Fife. 01383-623380.

Think I'll do that one this year, based on what you said about last years.

Stopping at my Dads House in Low Fell to look after his Dog whilst he is on Holiday from Friday Night till a week on Saturday, so I am thinking about getting an All Zones Week Pass on Saturday and doing a few trips out and about, atm I have only next tuesday when I have other things to do which include an Interview followed by an Appointment at Ingeus in Sunderland, rest of the week is totally free so I think I am going to do a few trips out and about.

Really fancy going up to Ashington/Blyth, any ideas on what Ticket I would need to do that covering me from Dinnington/Seaton Burn/Dudley and Whitley Bay onwards, Basically Network One Zone 3 onwards, anyone fancy joining me as I would like to go to Thorntons and Alfa Recovery but I zero idea on how to get there.

Also thinking about having dodge about some of the Housing Estates in Newcastle to Photograph some the Stagecoach Fleet, Quite familiar with Denton Burn/Slatyford/Westerhope and Cowgate as my Brother and his Wifes Family all live within that area, and also going over Byker/Wallsend way also.

And was planning on Photographing some GNE Stuff around the Gateshead Area also, along with perhaps visiting a few of the independent operators depots also.

(25 Feb 2015, 9:24 pm)Malarkey wrote Stopping at my Dads House in Low Fell to look after his Dog whilst he is on Holiday from Friday Night till a week on Saturday, so I am thinking about getting an All Zones Week Pass on Saturday and doing a few trips out and about, atm I have only next tuesday when I have other things to do which include an Interview followed by an Appointment at Ingeus in Sunderland, rest of the week is totally free so I think I am going to do a few trips out and about.

Really fancy going up to Ashington/Blyth, any ideas on what Ticket I would need to do that covering me from Dinnington/Seaton Burn/Dudley and Whitley Bay onwards, Basically Network One Zone 3 onwards, anyone fancy joining me as I would like to go to Thorntons and Alfa Recovery but I zero idea on how to get there.

Also thinking about having dodge about some of the Housing Estates in Newcastle to Photograph some the Stagecoach Fleet, Quite familiar with Denton Burn/Slatyford/Westerhope and Cowgate as my Brother and his Wifes Family all live within that area, and also going over Byker/Wallsend way also.

And was planning on Photographing some GNE Stuff around the Gateshead Area also, along with perhaps visiting a few of the independent operators depots also.

http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/globalassets/...es-map.pdf
I'm guessing you'd need an all zones ticket, think they're £7 now

Here's something to get to Thorntons, if you'd like to follow it that is  :
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Ashing...!3e3?hl=en

Seem as everyone seems to like in depth outing write ups, here's mine for today.

0842 7 Newton Aycliffe - Durham (ANE 1516)
Typical Sapphire 7 journey, I was bored out of my mind from how long it takes to get to Durham so as ever I spent most of the journey browsing the web using the free WiFi.

1000 64 Durham County Hospital - Aykley Heads (ANE 1322)
Only a short journey so not much to report on this one, think I spent most of this journey watching the CCTV screen which shows the interior and exterior.

1037 21 Framwellgate Moor - Chester-le-Street South Burns (GNE 3962)
gtom isn't the only one who can't seem to ride a hybrid on the 21   anyway, quite fast down the A167, few slight annoying noises but still alright ride, also for once I managed to connect to the WiFi (I blame my phone for when I can't connect).

1152 50 Chester-le-Street - Washington Galleries Bus Station (GNE 5260)
As ever being an Omnicity I felt all the bumps in the road but it wasn't too bad for this short journey.

1234 50 Washington Galleries - South Shields (GNE 5256)
My lord this journey was awful! again the bus shook like hell every time it went over a pot hole or terrible road surfaces and then we got stuck in traffic getting into South Shields, was happy to be off! Can't say I'm in a hurry to do the 50 route again.

1404 20A South Shields - Sunderland Joplings (GNE unsure but I think it was 5213)
Oh god I thought my ride on the 50 was bad, this was arguably worse! the roads in the South Shields and Sunderland areas are a state so like 5256 the bus was shaking like hell especially at the South Shields end of the route, thankfully it got a bit smoother when we got closer to Sunderland.

1537 22 Sunderland Park Lane - Dalton Park (ANE 1470)
As ever with the 22 I'm sure you all want to know how many passengers were on-board - think it probably carried around 15 passengers whilst I was on it. Anyway pretty quiet journey although again the roads weren't very smooth but was less painful than the 20A/50 journeys but I didn't enjoy this journey too much as I had a bit of a headache.

1631 22 Dalton Park - Peterlee Moorcock (ANE 1469)
Thankfully this turning up about 3 minutes late meant that after I got my shot of 6039 on the 265 I was able to jump straight on this instead of walking for the 23, I think it was probably late because the driver was driving pretty slow, this slow ride meant when it got into Peterlee Bus Station late and I got to see the 21 reversing off the stand so because not many passengers boarded I decided to risk jumping off at the Moorcock in the hope of catching the 21 there as the 22 runs a shorter route through Peterlee than the 21. This journey was actually pretty busy!

1653 21 Peterlee Moorcock - Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre (ANE 4814)
Well the risk paid off, just after I jumped off the 22 this came round, had a feeling it hadn't gone as there was a good few people stood waiting at the stop so because it was rather busy I decided to sit on the seat behind the drivers cab, as ever it was a pretty decent journey and I am really starting to warm to these ex demo EcoCity's and are a great improvement in passenger comfort over the previous Solos which were allocated. As we were going past Tesco, Newton Aycliffe I saw service 5 but because the nearest bell was practically half way down the bus stop I ended up asking the driver to stop at the stop but either he didn't hear me or choose to ignore me, so this p***ed me off, so after we got past the next stop I had to walk right down the bus to press the bell which made me look a right tit.

Mad dash to Pease Way Surgery

1748 5 Pease Way Surgery - home (ANE 1508)
As ever you can count on the 5 running 10 minutes late! not much to report here as it was pretty short, I wanted this because I didn't want to walk home because it was getting dark and I don't like walking home in the dark, also I really couldn't be bothered so I was glad I caught this.

Hope you enjoyed reading this.

Click here to see my photos from today.

(25 Feb 2015, 9:30 pm)mb134 wrote http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/globalassets/...es-map.pdf
I'm guessing you'd need an all zones ticket, think they're £7 now

Here's something to get to Thorntons, if you'd like to follow it that is  :
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Ashing...!3e3?hl=en

Christ I thought GNEs ticketing options were confusing, £7 is a bit of a rip off like as I would only be using from Seaton Burn Onwards as id be covered the rest of the way by my All Zones Network One..

(25 Feb 2015, 9:34 pm)Jimmi wrote Seem as everyone seems to like in depth outing write ups, here's mine for today.

0842 7 Newton Aycliffe - Durham (ANE 1516)
Typical Sapphire 7 journey, I was bored out of my mind from how long it takes to get to Durham so as ever I spent most of the journey browsing the web using the free WiFi.

1000 64 Durham County Hospital - Aykley Heads (ANE 1322)
Only a short journey so not much to report on this one, think I spent most of this journey watching the CCTV screen which shows the interior and exterior.

1037 21 Framwellgate Moor - Chester-le-Street South Burns (GNE 3962)
gtom isn't the only one who can't seem to ride a hybrid on the 21   anyway, quite fast down the A167, few slight annoying noises but still alright ride, also for once I managed to connect to the WiFi (I blame my phone for when I can't connect).

1152 50 Chester-le-Street - Washington Galleries Bus Station (GNE 5260)
As ever being an Omnicity I felt all the bumps in the road but it wasn't too bad for this short journey.

1234 50 Washington Galleries - South Shields (GNE 5256)
My lord this journey was awful! again the bus shook like hell every time it went over a pot hole or terrible road surfaces and then we got stuck in traffic getting into South Shields, was happy to be off! Can't say I'm in a hurry to do the 50 route again.

1404 20A South Shields - Sunderland Joplings (GNE unsure but I think it was 5213)
Oh god I thought my ride on the 50 was bad, this was arguably worse! the roads in the South Shields and Sunderland areas are a state so like 5256 the bus was shaking like hell especially at the South Shields end of the route, thankfully it got a bit smoother when we got closer to Sunderland.

1537 22 Sunderland Park Lane - Dalton Park (ANE 1470)
As ever with the 22 I'm sure you all want to know how many passengers were on-board - think it probably carried around 15 passengers whilst I was on it. Anyway pretty quiet journey although again the roads weren't very smooth but was less painful than the 20A/50 journeys but I didn't enjoy this journey too much as I had a bit of a headache.

1631 22 Dalton Park - Peterlee Moorcock (ANE 1469)
Thankfully this turning up about 3 minutes late meant that after I got my shot of 6039 on the 265 I was able to jump straight on this instead of walking for the 23, I think it was probably late because the driver was driving pretty slow, this slow ride meant when it got into Peterlee Bus Station late and I got to see the 21 reversing off the stand so because not many passengers boarded I decided to risk jumping off at the Moorcock in the hope of catching the 21 there as the 22 runs a shorter route through Peterlee than the 21. This journey was actually pretty busy!

1653 21 Peterlee Moorcock - Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre (ANE 4814)
Well the risk paid off, just after I jumped off the 22 this came round, had a feeling it hadn't gone as there was a good few people stood waiting at the stop so because it was rather busy I decided to sit on the seat behind the drivers cab, as ever it was a pretty decent journey and I am really starting to warm to these ex demo EcoCity's and are a great improvement in passenger comfort over the previous Solos which were allocated. As we were going past Tesco, Newton Aycliffe I saw service 5 but because the nearest bell was practically half way down the bus stop I ended up asking the driver to stop at the stop but either he didn't hear me or choose to ignore me, so this p***ed me off, so after we got past the next stop I had to walk right down the bus to press the bell which made me look a right tit.

Mad dash to Pease Way Surgery

1748 5 Pease Way Surgery - home (ANE 1508)
As ever you can count on the 5 running 10 minutes late! not much to report here as it was pretty short, I wanted this because I didn't want to walk home because it was getting dark and I don't like walking home in the dark, also I really couldn't be bothered so I was glad I caught this.

Hope you enjoyed reading this.

Click here to see my photos from today.

To be honest I did South Shields to Lambton on 5259 Yesterday afternoon when the weather took a turn for the worst, and it was a nice smooth ride which I really enjoyed, as for the other Omnicities on the 50 they are also usually quite smooth also, must just be poor Road Surface.

(25 Feb 2015, 9:42 pm)Malarkey wrote Christ I thought GNEs ticketing options were confusing, £7 is a bit of a rip off like as I would only be using from Seaton Burn Onwards as id be covered the rest of the way by my All Zones Network One..

Aye, I had to buy one last summer as I'd sent my Teencard off to get a new picture, and I was pretty confused!

Could you buy an explorer?

(25 Feb 2015, 9:47 pm)Malarkey wrote To be honest I did South Shields to Lambton on 5259 Yesterday afternoon when the weather took a turn for the worst, and it was a nice smooth ride which I really enjoyed, as for the other Omnicities on the 50 they are also usually quite smooth also, must just be poor Road Surface.

I was looking out the window at times and the road surface was shocking.

That or 5256 must be worse than 5259 is even round Concord Bus Station it was terrible, although most Omnicity's I've been on shake including Arriva's - they often do on that small stretch of duel carriage way entering Great Burdon (Darlington) on Darlington bound X66's.

I always hate it when I ride these Omnicity's, last time I rode on there was a problem with the wheelchair ramp and two wheelchair users wanted to be on and off between Washington and Durham - left Washington on-time then arrived in Durham around 10 minutes late.

(25 Feb 2015, 9:48 pm)mb134 wrote Aye, I had to buy one last summer as I'd sent my Teencard off to get a new picture, and I was pretty confused!

Could you buy an explorer?

I could but that is another £9.70 on top of what I will be spending on Week Pass, would of thought it would of been a lot cheaper than that.

(25 Feb 2015, 10:01 pm)Malarkey wrote I could but that is another £9.70 on top of what I will be spending on Week Pass, would of thought it would of been a lot cheaper than that.

You could always get the Metro to Northumberland Park, then a 19 from there to Ashington? Just get a return?
Or you could just do Blyth where a max return on the 309 is £3.75.

(25 Feb 2015, 10:19 pm)Tom wrote You could always get the Metro to Northumberland Park, then a 19 from there to Ashington? Just get a return?
Or you could just do Blyth where a max return on the 309 is £3.75.

Thats a good Idea Tom, then pay for single each way from Ashington to Thorntons on the 30.

(25 Feb 2015, 10:24 pm)Malarkey wrote Thats a good Idea Tom, then pay for single each way from Ashington to Thorntons on the 30.

Yeah, and I can't see the 30 being too much?
The 19 would probably be £5.70 as that is how much it is from Shields. 

Adam Malarkey - the Phoenix 30 adult single fare is 60p, you will have to walk from N/S Colliery to Thorntons, approx 3 minutes.

(26 Feb 2015, 2:18 pm)Tommy_1581 wrote Adam Malarkey - the Phoenix 30 adult single fare is 60p, you will have to walk from N/S Colliery to Thorntons, approx 3 minutes.

Is that 60p for an Adult or a Child?, would of thought it would be more for an Adult.

(26 Feb 2015, 10:09 pm)Malarkey wrote Is that 60p for an Adult or a Child?, would of thought it would be more for an Adult.

I agree, it does seem a bit on the cheap side for an adult fare. You never know your luck though. 

Planning a solo mission to the areas surrounding Durham for some photos tomorrow.

Might spend a bit of time at the University Hospital, then head towards Bishop Auckland - in my experience, it's always been a relatively quiet bus station and being so big I doubt anyone will see me and give me those unnerving looks.

I was going to go somewhere but I'm just going to stay in as I can't be arsed with Newcastle and stuff.

Might watch the football at 12:45 whatever match is on too.

(26 Feb 2015, 10:09 pm)Malarkey wrote Is that 60p for an Adult or a Child?, would of thought it would be more for an Adult.

Adult.

60p is Ashington - 5th Avenue anyway.

If that's Phoenix's flat fare, then it's 60p for adult and 30p child

If its not flat fare I'm expecting it to be around 90p Ashington-NS Colliery.

Possible plan for tomorrow:

#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.

Cannot wait for the review!!

(27 Feb 2015, 7:07 pm)citaro5284 wrote Cannot wait for the review!!

I love writing them...when you get 6 or 7 likes you know they're worth doing!