I woke up at 08:30ish, and immediately messaged him to make sure everything was still for the go ahead (pun intended). He said he was on 5407 and passing through Bournmoor, so I got myself dressed etc, before we left in the car at 08:55. Dan replied saying he was in Chester-le-Street, so as my dad had parked up in an area he used to live in, not far from the Front Street, I sent him a photo of the Audi A6. Eventually, my dad returned from the plumber's, and we then headed towards the Market Place, where Dan was. We parked in the car park at Tesco, and I walked to the location where he was, which he sent me photos of. I attempted to creep up on him, but he saw me... Walked back to the car, and my dad greeted him. He sat on the left hand side in the rear, and I took the right hand side. As we drove along Picktree Lane, we had a peak in Chester-le-Street depot, to see a variety of vehicles on the pits, including ''OK Way'' MPD 571, which I think has been there for a good length of time now!
We reached the A1, following the satnav onto the A69 (
), which was quite a lengthy journey!! Eventually reached Carlisle, where Dan pointed out Willowholme depot, identifying it by it's blue shutters. Then came the A595. Quite a fuss on this motorway... First off, we got stuck behind a blue tractor; which led to a queue of dozens of cars. Eventually, our patience snapped, and we attempted to overtake it when the other side of the road was clear (this stretch was a single lane per direction). Being about 5 cars behind the tractor itself, we thought this would be a smooth procedure. Wrong. As we moved out into the opposite side of the road, the car in front, without indicating or showing any sign of moving out, pulled out in front of us. My dad slammed on the brakes, and the stupid twat went ahead and moved in front of the tractor... A 60mph road, and we were going at 20-30mph at a guess. I honestly don't think tractors should be allowed on main roads!Anyway, thanks to the tractor and a few little traffic problems getting around some areas, we finally hit Workington at 11:45. After locating the distinctive and rather quaint bus station, my dad swung the car around on what seemed to be one of the main streets of the town centre, dropping us off as close to the bus station as possible, before going off to do his own thing. Entering the bus station, we noticed preserved Leyland Lynx 251 (F251 JRM) on the shuttle to Lillyhall, still boarding passengers. We had arrived just at the right time, and boarded. The first thing that hit me was the smell. Nothing wrong with the smell, it was actually quite nice, but it's a smell that seems to be common among preserved buses. I smelt it on preserved Leyland National 4710 (FTN 710W), possibly something distinctive with Leyland buses? I think I'm just talking drivel here, haha. Dan and I sat next to each other at some seats with very bad legroom, as the vehicle was quite packed, however the roar of the engine of this Leyland Lynx was immense. Sounded very much like a Plaxton Prestige engine when going up hills, absolutely fantastic.
Before we knew it, we were entering Lillyhall depot. I had told Dan prior to today that a look on Google Maps showed it was right in the middle of an industrial estate and amongst some trees. We entered the depot grounds slowly, with the Lynx slowly making it's way around the depot. For anyone who has no earthly idea what Lillyhall looks like; it's like a much smaller Riverside. Eyeing everything on display; the first things we saw were two Palatine 1-bodied Volvo Olympians, followed by an example identical to the Olympians at Stockton, further behind them towards the other side of the depot we saw; The Big Lemon's B10M, Wright B10BLE 21118, which made me all excited, preserved Leyland National 210, then what made us both giddy was the sight of an Enviro400 MMC!! We really are sad people...
The way Lillyhall seemed to work was this; a bus would enter on the right hand side of the depot front, then make it's way around in a loop of the vehicles on show, before coming to a halt on the left hand side of the yard, to set off and pick up. As we alighted Leyland Lynx F251 JRM, we didn't know where to go first. Being so popular, we chose to head over to the two Palatine 1-bodied Olympians first, fleet numbers were 16119 and 16118 (parked in that order!). The doors were open on both buses, so we entered 16119 first. Had a sniff around, taking interior shots, and having a look inside the cab, before moving on and heading further up the yard. IIRC, we briefly had a look in 16118 as well, although we came back to it later on anyway. Behind the pair, was Alexander-bodied Olympian 16795, which we took photos of, before Dan spotted a pair of breadvans. One, P545 PNE, was in something of a Stagecoach livery with an all-over advertisement, while G572 PRM, was in a black livery. Photographed both, before having a look inside P545 PNE, quite a nice little vehicle I have to say. Adjacent to these, was The Big Lemon's K779 DAO (for those of you who cannot remember, this attended the MetroCentre Rally!), followed by Stagecoach's funky-liveried 37106 (YX14 RZK); the latter of which we had the chance to board and take an interior photo. Now, came the godly 10420 (SL64 JBO) – the E400 MMC! Quite a fair few people were taking an interest in this, making it hard to take a photograph, which we did eventually manage to do. Also took up the opportunity to have a look inside. Had a brief sit down, before taking interior shots of this. Would not mind some of these in the north east, just a shame it didn't go out on any shuttles!
Following this, we headed over to the Wright Renown, 21118, wearing it's CMT livery. Boarded this for some interior photographs, before testing out a lot of the seats to see which was the comfiest in a Goldilocks and the Three Bears fashion, after which Dan took my photo in the cab of a B10BLE, one of the little things I have always hoped to do. Was very nice to see what a Wright Renown is like in another part of the country. Some more photo-taking ensued before we headed up to the very top of the depot, to what looked very much like the old ''death row'' at Hexham. An Olympian, adjacent to a coach, with two withdrawn former Wheatsheaf-based ALX300s (22728 and 22730, still with faded Stagecoach in Sunderland lettering!) next to two SPDs, and an Optare Solo. Separate to these, was green open-top President 17692 alongside another coach, the latter of which I must say didn't look like it saw everyday use, 52635? After it seemed we had photographed nearly everything, the time was 12:35. Hadn't even been at the event half an hour, so we decided to head down to the pits to see what they had. A ''Gold'' E400 with a freshly repainted Solo in the latest Stagecoach livery. Bought burgers (nom) for lunch, I just went plain, whereas Dan had cheese....... Then applied ketchup on top of the cheese!? I asked who the hell puts ketchup on cheese, to which the woman serving started laughing. As we ate, Dan spotted HDV 639E, a preserved Bristol MW, on a Whitehaven shuttle. Boarded this; a few minutes later, we were off!
Some fantastic seating on this lovingly restored vehicle, with leather and a carpet-like fabric on each the back of each seat. The conductor even handed each passenger an old fashioned ticket from his machine, which I couldn't understand the writing on but kept nonetheless! A very pleasant ride to Whitehaven town centre, where we alighted. By this point, the beating sun was so much that we needed something to drink. Dan thought it was a good idea to go to the Waitrose of Sunderland...........................Herons. Didn't even like standing in the shop... I mean, if you're going to sell drinks, surely you're going to put them in a cooler, rather than mixed in with the Baked Beans? Moving on...oh, and one more thing – the drinks were like lava they were that warm! Before I start nitpicking out of the bottom of the barrel... We emerged from Hellon's, I, I mean Heron's, and walked around the perimeter of the one-way system Whitehaven seemed to have, before finding a nice quiet spot which all buses passed through, and as an added bonus we had the sun behind us, allowing for decent photos. Stood there, walking up and down the stretch of pathway for about 10-15 minutes, before, (gasp!), the Wright Renown appeared. Assuming it was on the shuttles (can't help but wonder what else it would have left the depot for!), we slowly made our way to the stop we were dropped off at, expecting 21118 to come to a halt.... Flew straight past us!!!
Didn't seem to stop at all, which puzzled me, as the shuttles were to a timetable and that place we were stood at was clearly the stop it was meant to stop at! A minute or two of blaspheming from Dan (as he was waiting another 30 minutes for the next shuttle!) and myself (as I was missing out on a ride on a Renown!) took place, when we noticed an Optare Solo coming to a stop next to us. It was on the 302 service, where travel to/from Lillyhall was free today. Dan and I conferred for a moment, before double-checking with the driver, who allowed us on. Saved half an hour of our day, that's for sure! Vehicle fleet number was 47060, a good runner on some of the steep hills and country roads that the 302 route covered on our 10-15 minutes on it. It was still roasting, so to avoid this bus becoming an oven, Dan opened the window nearest us... Literally the nicest breeze I think I've ever felt! I would have happily stayed on until Workington, but travel was only free if we were going to the depot, so we alighted here. A queue of a couple of drivers and a young couple had formed, so we took advantage of this delay in time and took a few photos of 47060 basking in the sun. Believe it or not, this was my very first Stagecoach in Cumbria ride. I was very impressed with the speeds this Solo got up to, although I wasn't too keen on the smell that seemed to enter the bus from one of the cow fields...(barf).
Re-entered the depot, taking a few photos of 53338, branded for the X4/X5 express coach service between Workington and Penrith. Afterwards, we had a proper look around the other Olympian that was parked in the pair, 16118. Noticed the coach seating that 16119 seemed to have was not present on 16118. Although the seating moquette was the same, the seats on 16118 seemed a lot like those on a Go North East Olympian. Walked back up to ''death row'' after this, to have a look inside Alexander-bodied Olympian 16657. A random old man was sitting downstairs by himself, so we headed upstairs to take some interior shots, before leaving and heading down to the parked up heritage vehicles. Had a brief sit down in Leyland National 210, lovingly preserved. Sat facing each other at the bench-style seats, talking. I was tempted to have a sit in the cab, but I was just happy to sit down haha. Started telling Dan about when our little group at the MetroCentre rally (Adrian, Adam Y, Sean, Jimmi and I) had finished our tour of 4710, Adrian and Adam started joking on saying that they didn't know if Nationals were really that good; but they were just happily content with it because the fumes at the back were so powerful you were just high for the journey.
Made our way to the open-topper Leyland Titan; as we sat upstairs, Dan headed downstairs for an interior shot, before shouting my name up the stairs, saying that a Palatine 1 was going out on shuttles. Dashed downstairs, and out of the Titan faster than Sean out of Chester-le-Street, before we joined a queue of two people to board 16119, which was the Olympian in the pair with coach-style seating. More people gathered and joined the line to board, while two Stagecoach employees conferred, asking if this was meant to be going out on a run to Workington, to which one, who I assumed was senior, said yes. Dan and I sighed in relief, boarding and choosing to sit upstairs. Front seats were taken, so we sat towards the middle. Three enthusiasts at the very rear on the upper saloon were making a ruckus, which annoyed me, as I was looking forward to a nice quiet journey on an Olympian. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the ride on 16119, certainly a reminder of the old days of Go North East's Palatine 1s in their death throws on my scholars service, probably the best thing about school at the time!
Dan and I decided to disembark 16119 in Workington Bus Station, where, in terms of buses, we had started today. As we took photos, two older enthusiasts said something to Dan about having to sign in to take photos. That didn't phase him, and we headed out of the bus station to get a shot of Olympian 16649 exiting the magnificent architecture of Workington's Bus Station. Will certainly be uploading that to Flickr, very pleased with how it came out! We stood in Workington for around 20 minutes, taking photos of a Stagecoach Gold 300 service, a few local services operated by Solos, Darts and Enviros, before heading over to join a big crowd of enthusiasts at the other part of the bus station. I told Dan I could see a Solo operating the X4/X5, so he waited for it to emerge from the bus station. During this time, the shuttle back to Lillyhall came. Leyland Tiger-Duple Dominant B900 WRN, carrying it's red Ribble livery, was in charge of this run. Sat at the very back, and enjoyed the hilly ride back to the event. Like when I rode The Eden's Leopard at the MetroCentre, there is something about older buses that I really like. I'm unsure if it's the idea of it being so old, or just riding a bus, but I really love the feeling that the older vehicles have when they're going at a decent speed.
Once back at the depot, we spotted a red double decker, with the staircase at the rear, boarding passengers back to Workington. As this would be where my dad would pick us up again, and the next shuttle was half an hour later, we took the opportunity. We made our way up the rear staircase, sitting towards the back of the upper deck. 109 DRM, a Bristol Lodekka, had fantastic leather seating and even cigarette stubbers on the rear of seats. Another very good journey, albeit the last of the day. When we arrived back in Workington, we stopped in Boots for some water, before Dan made his way to Poundworld, dragging me along against my wishes, for the ''cultural experience'' of picking the packet of Haribo's for the journey back. In the end we winded up with some Frenzy things that he had never seen before... Honesty..!
A walk to the toilets then took place, as Dan was in need of it. I stood outside waiting for him to come out, his face alone was enough for me to utter the words ''worse than Park Lane?'', to which he laughed and asked how I knew he was going to say that. My dad walked towards us, and a couple of minutes later we were back at the car. Like they always say, the journey back is always a lot quicker than the journey there. I was absolutely exhausted, within two hours or so of leaving Workington, we were back in Chester-le-Street. Dan said it was fine to just drop him at the Cricket Ground, as he knows I live near it, and he could get the 78 back from there. We did exactly that, and I was at this desk writing this review up by 18:15. The log from today;
11:52 Shuttle – Workington Bus Station to Lillyhall Depot – Preserved F251 JRM - Leyland Lynx
12:44 Shuttle – Lillyhall to Whitehaven Town Centre – Preserved HDV 639E - Bristol MW
13:34 #302 – Whitehaven Town Centre to Lillyhall Depot – SiC 47060 - Optare Solo
14:14 Shuttle – Lillyhall Depot to Workington Bus Station – SiC 16119 - Volvo Olympian/NC Palatine 1
14:48 Shuttle – Workington Bus Station to Lillyhall Depot – Preserved B900 WRN - Leyland Tiger-Duple Dominant
15:02 Shuttle – Lillyhall Depot to Workington Bus Station – Preserved 109 DRM - Bristol Lodekka
As ever, I hope you all enjoyed reading the review from today, enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Now to upload photos to Flickr...FTAO citaro5284: Dan said the Audi A6 was better than the Seat Leon.
Marcus