Had a day out in Hexham today. Highlights include the route 689. (Links below for photos)
Stagecoach Cross Pennine Enviro 300 27141 / SN64 OGE (Route 685 09:45 Newcastle - Hexham 10:37)
Chose this time on purpose as I prefer an Enviro 300 to the Scania's that Arriva use on this route. I find the stagecoach high backed seating more comfortable too. For me, this is really a route of 2 halves. Average from Newcastle to Throckley with an improvement from there, although I do prefer the Go North East X85 route. Once we get into the second half of the route, it passed quickly and I arrived in a fairly cloudy Hexham.
First time that I have been to Hexham since the new bus station opened so I took quite a few photos there. These can be seen here. After that I spent some time in the town before returning to the bus station in time for the 13:41 689 route. The indoor waiting room proved useful as it was fairly cold during this wait.
Go North East "Venture" Optare Solo SR 641 / NL63 YBA (Route 689 13:41 Hexham - Consett 14:35)
First time I have done this route and I really enjoyed it. The entire route passes through rural areas. There is fields either side and great views. The roads give a variety of small and hilly roads with in some areas the only vehicle I could see was our Solo SR. In some areas there are no bus stops so this route operates as hail and ride. If you have not tried this before, then I thoroughly recommend it although it may be better during the summer months when it is less cloudy than today. It runs once in each direction on weekdays and 4 times in each direction on Saturdays.
Go North East Corporate (old) Scania N94UD / East Lancs Omnideka 6139 / GX03 SVJ (Route X70 14:57 Consett - Newcastle 15:55)
Did a few photos in Consett before leaving on the X70. I have done most of this route before but not in a long time so I thought it would be more interesting than the 45. Unfortunately the bus was fairly poor as it rattled a lot and also had the old faded red seats. The route itself is quite good with a variety of scenery but the B9TL on the Red Kite may have provided a more comfortable journey.
Overall I enjoyed my day a lot. Only disappointment was the dull and cold weather.
RE: Bus Related Outings and Reviews
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