(28 Mar 2015, 3:53 pm)Malarkey wrote Would anyone fancy doing a Trip along the AD122 Route over the Summer, getting on/off at Various points of the Route to take Photos, was thinking a minimum of 4 people (Unless your name Dan or Citaro5284 and can use the service for free) doing a £6.25 Split on a AD122 Rover Family Ticket as it is £12 Single for just one Adult, we could also take some scenic photos around Hexham and Corbridge as well to break the Day up a bit, Looking at it you would also have to purchase a 3 Zone+ Day Ticket beforehand depending on where you are travelling from which maybe off putting to some.

(28 Mar 2015, 4:07 pm)aureolin wrote Can Explorers not be used on the AD122? It doesn't say on the web page that it can't. It only refers to corporate tickets - i.e. Get Around and Buzzfare.

http://www.simplygo.com/all-services/ad122

(28 Mar 2015, 4:12 pm)Dan wrote I don't think they can. If they were valid, nobody would purchase a day ticket for £12 for use only on the AD122 service.

(28 Mar 2015, 4:14 pm)aureolin wrote Just edited my original post, but GNE have just confirmed they are. I'm a bit surprised myself! 

(28 Mar 2015, 4:14 pm)aureolin wrote Just edited my original post, but GNE have just confirmed they are. I'm a bit surprised myself! 

(28 Mar 2015, 4:16 pm)Tommy_1581 wrote They're not - Network One's site states.

(28 Mar 2015, 4:16 pm)Dan wrote They never used to be, and the Network One website states that they cannot be used on the AD122 either.

Odd one, if they are now valid..!

(28 Mar 2015, 4:18 pm)aureolin wrote The operator that operates the service have confirmed it's the case. That's got a lot more weight than the Network One site has.


Certainly is. Makes you wonder what the point in the 'Rover Plus' ticket is, when you can get one valid on almost everything for £5.50 cheaper! You're only really going to get value out of that ticket if you purchase a 7 day one.

(28 Mar 2015, 4:18 pm)aureolin wrote The operator that operates the service have confirmed it's the case. That's got a lot more weight than the Network One site has.


Certainly is. Makes you wonder what the point in the 'Rover Plus' ticket is, when you can get one valid on almost everything for £5.50 cheaper! You're only really going to get value out of that ticket if you purchase a 7 day one.

(28 Mar 2015, 4:30 pm)Jimmi wrote Without mentioning the NE explorer ticket GNE are probably hoping to get people to get the more expensive ticket as people won't know if the explorer ticket is valid on the AD122.

Not the first time I've seen this sort of thing, when Blackpool Transport made service 20 the City Sightseeing Blackpool tour they plastered the City Sightseeing fares everywhere even though you could buy local tickets for less.

(28 Mar 2015, 4:32 pm)Malarkey wrote Well if an Explorer is Valid then I would definitely be up for a run out on the AD122 over the summer, although I do have a bad feeling of purchasing one and the Driver turning around and saying it is Invalid mind.

(28 Mar 2015, 5:02 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote Had a great day out today, and coincidentally met Dan in Durham. Went on an adventure with him, and had a great time! I'm absolutely exhausted though (I'm sure Dan must be too!) - so I'm afraid if the review (being so long) isn't up by tonight, I'll definitely do it tomorrow. I'm too busy uploading all the photos to Flickr!...

Great day out and thanks to Dan for the company.

(28 Mar 2015, 5:02 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote Had a great day out today, and coincidentally met Dan in Durham. Went on an adventure with him, and had a great time! I'm absolutely exhausted though (I'm sure Dan must be too!) - so I'm afraid if the review (being so long) isn't up by tonight, I'll definitely do it tomorrow. I'm too busy uploading all the photos to Flickr!...

Great day out and thanks to Dan for the company.

(28 Mar 2015, 6:00 pm)Dan wrote As Marcus and I have been with each other for the majority of the day, I'll leave the in-depth review to him, as I wouldn't want to steal his glory! It might take him a while to publish his, as he's not used to riding quite so many buses in one day!

I had a few objectives today, although my main one was to catch some of the OmniCitys mid-route on the 45/46 as there's some stunning backdrops to provide some unique photo opportunities. I decided that it would be best to do this sooner rather than later, as more and more OmniCitys will be getting repainted over the coming weeks, and I wanted my final photos of them before the Streetlites enter service. A side objective was to fit in a ride of the 128, and to also catch some of the Volvo B7TLs which have recently been repainted into Go North East's corporate livery. So, without further ado, the record of my journeys today is given below:

0859 #20: Newcastle Road, Sunderland to Durham - Go North East 4990
1045 #128: Durham to Beamish Museum - Go North East 646
1133 #8: Beamish to Stanley Bus Depot - Go North East 4896
1152 #X31: Stanley Bus Depot to Lanchester - Go North East 3888
1252 #15: Lanchester to Consett - Go North East 6009
1332 #45: Consett to Shotley Bridge - Go North East 5240
1401 #46: Shotley Bridge to Rowlands Gill - Go North East 5235
1431 #45: Rowlands Gill to Newcastle - Go North East 3832
1517 #310: Newcastle to Jesmond - Go North East 6105
1537 #309: Jesmond to Newcastle - Go North East 6113
1546 #21: Newcastle to Gateshead - Go North East 6069
1608 Metro: Gateshead to Stadium of Light - Tyne & Wear Metro 4032

I was a little disappointed when 4990 was allocated to the 20 I had planned to get to Durham. It's certainly not one of the better examples branded for the "Prince Bishops" services, and I had hoped for a double decker as there's usually a few of the Volvo B7s/B9s out on a Saturday (I'm swearing, Michael, I know!) There was some light rain which progressively worsened as I got closer to Houghton-le-Spring, though it died off by the time I (finally) arrived at Durham. I took some photos for about 20 minutes; at which point, Marcus appeared. He had the same objective as me: to catch the 128! After some more photos, we jumped on the 128 at Durham Bus Station and enjoyed the scenic ride to Beamish. I'd checked the sun calculator website to see if it would be possible to get some photos at the entrance of Beamish Museum, and it was our lucky day, as the angle of the sun was more or less spot on.

Marcus and I discussed what we had planned for the day, and our plans were pretty similar, so we decided to stay together rather than split. Hoping to get a "Lime" branded Volvo B10BLE, we waited for the 8 to take us to Stanley, and there was some photo opportunities while we waited. A former "Lime" turned up (4896), and I was quite pleased to be reunited with an old friend. There was a period a few years ago where 4896 was allocated to the 16:08 78 out of Sunderland more or less every day, and I really became quite fond of it. It had a great idling sound and seemed to be one of the quicker ones. It wasn't quite as I had remembered it, but I enjoyed the ride nevertheless. Marcus realised that we were approaching Stanley Depot and suggested that we hopped off to take some photos, then suggesting that it would be a good idea if we got the X31 to Lanchester and 15 to Consett instead of our original plan to get the V8 up to Consett. An Olympian wasn't allocated to this X31 as Marcus had hoped for, but we both quite like Tridents so we weren't complaining. Marcus pointed out that there's less legroom on the native Dennis Trident/Plaxton President opposed to the ex-London Volvo B7TL examples, which we were able to confirm on our ride to Consett from Lanchester. I hadn't yet photographed 6009 following its repaint, so was pleased when it turned up, and I was massively impressed by the way it tackled the steep banks.

We were now on to my main objective for the day: taking photos of the Red Kites. We started off with 5234 in Consett Bus Station, and we made our way to Shotley Bridge on the following 45. We jumped off and took some photos of the river, and then made our way back up to the main road to wait for the 45 which was due in the opposite direction. Marcus was quite pleased with his photo, which made me quite happy, as he probably wouldn't have had that photo opportunity if he didn't decide to stay with me! Soon after, the 46 arrived and took us down to Rowlands Gill. Sadly, the sun wasn't great which meant that we didn't get a decent photo here. To make up for it, I knew an Olympian was due on the 45, so I let Marcus know and he was very happy indeed. We decided to stay on that all the way to Newcastle, and upon arrival, I thought it would be good if we could get some photos of ANE's new arrivals. We weren't as successful as I'd have liked, but we did get some photos (which is better than nothing). I wanted to get a 58 back to Gateshead, but Marcus was pushed for time, so we opted for another ride of a Volvo B9TL and got the 21 back to Gateshead. Marcus continued onwards to Chester-le-Street, and I waited for the Metro, after taking some more photos in Gateshead.

Superb day out. Glad that I've managed to take some photos in areas I hadn't previously, and pleased Marcus didn't ignore me this time!  

(28 Mar 2015, 7:55 pm)MurdnunoC wrote @Dan and Marcus - Where abouts in the Gill did you go?

Judging by the time you were there, I would've been getting ready to go to work, but I would have still tried to make time to introduce myself - if I had of known you were around.

(28 Mar 2015, 7:55 pm)MurdnunoC wrote @Dan and Marcus - Where abouts in the Gill did you go?

Judging by the time you were there, I would've been getting ready to go to work, but I would have still tried to make time to introduce myself - if I had of known you were around.

(28 Mar 2015, 7:57 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote Not entirely sure, Adam. Dan might have made a note, but it was on a long stretch of country road where you could see the bus coming well in advance.  Neither of us really had much knowledge of the area, but it was definitely after the Rowlands Gill sign coming from Consett. 

(28 Mar 2015, 8:00 pm)Dan wrote Dipwood Road - we walked to the bus stop located right next to the speed camera.

The sun was too head-on for Consett-bound buses rather than behind us at an angle, so our photos didn't come out great.

(28 Mar 2015, 8:11 pm)MurdnunoC wrote Personally, I think Linzford Mill would provide a better backdrop. That's the place where the road has been rebuilt and the old road, now a elongated layby, runs alongside.

Also, the Mill Bends/Thornley Woodlands Centre bit would be nice in my opinion.

There's loads of other interesting features in the area if wish to photograph other things aside buses. The Derwent Walk between Hamsterley Mill and Swalwell, for example, has four disused railway viaducts - all pretty impressive feats of engineering.

(28 Mar 2015, 8:13 pm)citaro5284 wrote So in a nutshell, I right pair of moaners!

(28 Mar 2015, 8:56 pm)northern156 wrote I was in completely different locations today

SNW 27142 0643 685 Greenhead to Eldon Square

Decent little ride on 27142, one of my less travelled on E300s on 685. It has developed an amusing whining noise when a good amount of power is put down at high-ish RPM. Had to wait to catch up with time in several places as it really was a flying run in. Sat right at the back, Wifi didn't work though which isn't really surprising!

ANE 1442 0820 X2 Eldon Square to Chester-le-Street Market

Got to Eldon Square with the aim of heading to Chester. Having passed the previous 28A on Percy Street and not fancying a 30 minute wait for the next one, I thought about getting the X25. Looked at the journey time and compared it to the X2 which was 10 minutes faster plus 'Maxed' Pulsar 1442 was pulling into the stand! Great little bus plus a good driver too, full power pretty much everywhere. Something about the Max Pulsars for me though which makes them feel 'empty' - I think it may be the new seating though.

Got to Chester Market and walked up to the Wicket Gate for a proper Spoons breakfast, just had a traditional one plus coffee but it filled me right up. Walked up Front Street to see some builders pissing about really, one of them was holding a shovel like a guitar and they were shouting on. After my brekkie, I walked up to the main street that the 21 used to go on, expecting to find one pop along. As I walked up, one of the shuttle buses passed me and I didn't fancy waiting 20 minutes for the next so walked all the way back, past the station, to the market. Not too keen on Chester now after today.

GNE 4958 1002 28 Chester-le-Street Market to Birtley

Riding the 'Waggonway' was one of the main aims for me today so I was quite pleased to find Scania 4958 stood at Stand L working the 1002 to Newcastle. Was about to go on a Lime Volvo B10BLE but it was stood with hazards on and the destination to not in service, minus a wiper! The nearside wiper arm had stretched right down the front of the bus and looked knackered. Driver was on the phone for a good 10 minutes and it soon set off with no-one on board.
I quite liked the 28, nice little run although it takes a good while! If I had a few more hours in the day I would've alighted at Beamish and had a go on the trams etc.
Hopped off at Birtley hoping to get an 82 to Heworth as I passed a Cadet on it as I passed on the X2 earlier on.

GNE 6022 1044 21 Birtley to Eldon Square

I looked at the timetable and noticed that Heworth on the 82 took an hour so didn't fancy it really! To my delight, President 6022 turned up on a 21 for Newcastle so I hopped on board that, sat on the lower deck at the back. Cue me being hit by someone's rucksack, a young child going on and on and on and on and on and on..... and I eventually got to Eldon Square!

ANE 1588 1215 306 Haymarket to Whitley Bay

ANE 1588 1330 306 Whitley Bay to Haymarket

Knew the driver on this and my mate was on too so had a little jolly to Whitley Bay. One of the best Streetlites I've been on but that's not really saying much!

TWM 4047 4013* 1444 Haymarket to Monument

TWM 4041 4035* 1448 Monument to St James

Little one-stop hops on these Metrocars, I needed a Hybrid Enviro 400 fix so this was a strategic move to get one!

SNE 19150 1452 62 St James to Blackett Street

I took the first bus that came past which was a standard Enviro 400. Pretty busy, I sat in the 'elderly' seats near to the front of the vehicle on the lower deck.

SNE 12067 1500 40 Blackett Street to Wallsend Interchange

Both a 39 and 40 came along at the same time so I went on the 40 to Wallsend. Really good journey on this, never got too busy and the sun came out too(!)
Sat right at the back on the lower deck to get the battery noise (that sounds a bit sad doesn't it?)

GNE 5152 1530 17 Wallsend Interchange to Cramlington Shops

I saw this dual-doored Volvo B10BLE in front at Wallsend so jumped on board, planning to go to Forest Hall or Killingworth to then come back to Newcastle. However, both these locations came and gone - the reason mostly being I saw the connecting services leave right in front of my eyes! Stayed on to Cramlington which was the final stop. Was quite glad when I got to Cramlington as the driver wasn't the best by any measurement - full brakes everywhere, harsh steering and a few kerbs mounted. Some roundabouts he'd put on full throttle to not notice a car coming then to slam the brakes on!! Popped into Sainsburys and got some chocolate chip shortbread and fizzy strawberry laces.

ANE 1493 1640 X13 Cramlington to Haymarket

I was wanting to get either an ALX200-bodied Volvo or an ALX400-bodied DAF back to Newcastle but in came 1493 and stood for a few minutes on X13 so I played it safe on this. Very good journey again, straight down the A1 really!

ANE 2842 1700 46 Haymarket to Gosforth

Wanting to get the 1745 85/685 home, I had just less than an hour to play with so went on the nearest Optare Solo I could find. Decent enough journey up to Gosforth, pretty good speeds they can get up to!

ANE 7494 1715 43 Gosforth to Haymarket

Caught the next bus I could back to Newcastle; a lovely B7TL which was another type of vehicle I could cross off my list for today! Nothing really to be said due to it being such a short journey.

ANE 4663 1745 85/685 Eldon Square to Haydon Bridge to Greenhead

Very good end to the day with yet another Jesmond driver I know, had a bit chat when I got on and got off. Got bored towards the end of the journey but as it's an Omnicity that's normal!
Of note though was the run along the A69 from Horsley to Corbridge - we hit 65mph at one point which was the best part of the trip!!


I'll be doing another trip soon, hopefully to get some Olympians!

(28 Mar 2015, 9:14 pm)mb134 wrote Anyone out and about in Northumberland this week?

I'll try and get out on a few days, track down some Streetlites (still failing on this front!), maybe an Omnicity, and one or two DAF deckers, so I should be around Morpeth, if anyone's around there I'll look out for you

(28 Mar 2015, 9:14 pm)mb134 wrote Anyone out and about in Northumberland this week?

I'll try and get out on a few days, track down some Streetlites (still failing on this front!), maybe an Omnicity, and one or two DAF deckers, so I should be around Morpeth, if anyone's around there I'll look out for you

(28 Mar 2015, 9:32 pm)Davie wrote I might try Blyth at some point 

(28 Mar 2015, 10:12 pm)northern156 wrote Don't expect much there...!