1014 E6: Roker Avenue to South Shields - Stagecoach North East 27733
1115 Ferry: South Shields to North Shields - Tyne & Wear Ferry 'Spirit of the Tyne'
1130 333: North Shields Ferry to Town Centre - Phoenix 907
1150 310: North Shields to Newcastle - Go North East 6112
1305 Q1: Newcastle to Gateshead - Go North East 638
1340 X70: Gateshead to Team Valley - Go North East 6126
1420 97: Team Valley to Gateshead - Go North East 5228
1445 X1: Gateshead to Washington Galleries - Go North East 6053
1508 4: Washington to Fatfield - Go North East 5360
1531 2: Fatfield to Sunderland - Go North East 8324
1606 9: Park Lane Interchange to Newcastle Road - Go North East 3980
It's been a few weeks since I've gone out to get photos of all the latest things to have happened across the region, so as it was forecast to be sunny, I decided to head out this morning with no set plan. I had a few things in mind that I wanted to catch up with, but nothing set in stone for when and where I would get photos of these things.
I set out at about 10 o'clock, and walked from my house to Stagecoach in Sunderland's Wheatsheaf Depot. Many photos have now appeared online of the recently acquired ADL Enviro400s and the enthusiast who lives the closest hadn't managed to walk over to the depot yet... I had to put that right! Regrettably, other buses were parked in the way of the ADL Enviro400s meaning that it was quite difficult to get photos of them. Alas, I moved on, and headed to Roker Avenue where I intended to catch an E6 to South Shields.
I wasn't waiting long before 27733 turned up on service E6. I really like these ADL Enviro300s; granted, they're no Mercedes Citaro, but they are quite comfortable and are ideal in the summer months because they're light and breezy. As usual, I took my seat by the emergency exit towards the back of the bus, as this set of seats have the most leg room. I was expecting a much busier bus with it being sunny, but I found only five or so older passengers were on-board. I still can't work out the issue with contravision: the only time when it is difficult to see is when the sun shines through it, otherwise it barely makes a difference. I for one certainly enjoyed the coastal and country views from Lizard Lane, despite sitting in a seat which allegedly restricts the view of the outside world... It wasn't long before I arrived in South Shields, where I intended to catch up with a couple of the new ADL Enviro200s.
After taking a few photos, I decided to head to North Shields on the Ferry. It's been quite some time since I last used one of these, and every experience is always pleasant. The sun had gone in by this point but it was still quite warm. The staff are always very polite, and I often think that this has its disadvantages, as you can be stood at a terminal boarding until well after departure, while those running late continue to run to catch it. We departed about four minutes late - nothing too disastrous but could have easily been avoided.
I don't get a lot of opportunities to travel on independent operators' vehicles these days as I no longer have a POP Card, so I opted for the connecting 333 service opposed to the faster 19 service up to the town centre. I had to stand (as did a few others) as the bus was full. This made for a rather uncomfortable journey, which, when paired with an annoying bell sound which went off every second, was one I regretted somewhat too. I must however compliment the skill of the driver, who coped rather well with the excessive traffic owing to an event being held at North Shields. I'm unsure what this event was, but there was a large grey ship further down the road from the ferry terminal.
Next up was a trip to Newcastle (I know; I could have easily hopped on the Metro or 27 from South Shields, but where's the fun in that?) I just missed a 310 at 1135, so had to settle for the 1150 departure instead. I spend enough time on the Metro during the week, so definitely wasn't going to use it if I had the option not to! After all, who could turn down a Volvo B9TL with plug sockets and Wi-Fi?! This was a really nice journey which I thoroughly enjoyed.
After a walk through Newcastle City Centre and a bite to eat, I jumped on a Q1 at Central Station. I was looking forward to a ride of an Optare Versa, but was landed with a Solo. I had plenty of time to kill before Go North East's recently acquired Scania OmniDekkas arrived on the scene for a photo I'd planned, so stayed on all the way through to Gateshead on the Q1. It's a nice little run and does pick up a fair few people en-route on a good run. Best of luck to Go North East running the service commercially from the end of this month!
I saw another enthusiast at Gateshead Interchange taking photos and jotting down things in his notepad. He didn't make an attempt to acknowledge me, so I assumed he was not the talkative type. A lack of Nexus supervisors at Gateshead meant that both of us were able to take some photos without getting any hassle. I didn't stay too long before leaving however, as I spotted an OmniDekka which I could kill some time on while waiting for the next one to turn up. These still are some of my favourite buses in the fleet, but as they spend longer within the fleet, opinion seems to have been divided somewhat...
Unfortunately, after waiting for quite some time at Team Valley (which admittedly did allow for some photos in an area not many people take photos at), I realised that 6133 wasn't going to turn up. The service cancellation was noted on Go North East's Twitter feed a little later to confirm this. As such, I headed back to Gateshead on 5228 to meet a connection to an X1 to Washington, where I intended to catch 5162 having transferred to Deptford.
The ride on 6053 was really smooth, albeit a bit too warm. I had decided to sit on the lower deck on the very back seats - great decision during the winter, but not so in the summer. I'll not be so lazy and climb the stairs next time! I met a connection to the 4 service to Fatfield, got my photos of 5300 and 5162 on the 2/2A services, and then caught 8324 back to Sunderland. I walked from Hays Travel to Park Lane after this, and got a few photos, before heading home on 3980, which had been allocated to service 9. Was rather gutted when 6099 pulled up on service 20 after I boarded 3980, but did get home a minute or two quicker!
Look forward to reading the rest of your reviews - I'll get to them later tonight, as I'm going to try my best to upload some photos first!
