8.58 (9.03) X21 Bedlington to Regent Centre Metro ANE 7525
Again, I had to start my day on either an X21 or X22, so I just caught the first one that came, after passing 7509 on the prior X22 as I was entering Bedlington in the car. 7525 was 5 minutes late when I boarded, and stayed like that until I got off, with 7507 on our tail as we pulled into Regent Centre on an X22. It was nothing special, quite quiet, at least downstairs, probably about half full, however the fact it didn't make up that much time stood out, especially when you've got an A1 stretch. Plugs, WiFi and NSA's were all working though
9.43 (9.47) X15 Regent Centre Metro to Morpeth ANE 4653
As I got off 7525, 7518 drove past on an X14, which was a kind of blessing, as much as I want to have a ride on it after it's refurb (and had I been at the stop when it passed, I would've jumped on it), it isn't as good as what I was hoping would follow on the X15.
I stood at the stand, after figuring out which one they stop at, and waited in hope of an Omnicity coming around the corner, checking frequently on my phone to see where it was, noticing it was 4 minutes late. I was hoping that, for once, Ashington's allocations were consistent (an Omnicity had worked this run the past two days, unless it was subbed on later on), and they were!!
I boarded with three other people, I went to the back and relaxed, we were 7 minutes late by the time we got onto the A1. We were limited to 50 for much of the A1 stretch, but it still managed to get on time by Morpeth, by which point I was daydreaming only to be brought back by the bell, forgot how loud that thing is!! I got off at the stop near the Library (Damside I think the stop is called) at 10.07 and went to the Library for an hour and a bit's study.11.33 (11.34) 35 Morpeth to North Seaton ANE 7491
I decided to head out of the Library early so I could get my lunch, as I was hungry, so I started to walk towards the stop opposite Morrisons only to notice a B7 Gemini in the bus station, hoping it was for the 35 I stood at the bus stop (even though it should have already gone by) and waited. Sure enough, not a minute later, 7491 came around the corner. I boarded and headed upstairs, it still smells nice from I presume it's refurbishment (can't think of anything else), and I relaxed into it's fabric covered Civic V2's, which was a nice break from leather. It performed well from what I could tell, although we did arrive in Ashington 1 minute late, the timetable seems awfully tight. I got off at North Seaton for my first family visit, and lunch
14.40 X21 Ashington Bus Station to Seaton Burn Fisher Lane ANE 7524
I got a lift to ASDA after my second visit, as I needed to get some prawn crackers to go with the duck I'm having for tea. I decided against buying them there, 40p more than Tesco (I know, a bit petty but I was passing a Tesco later on, or so I thought...). I went across the road towards the bus station, 7523 had just arrived on an X22, but I realised thatb this wouldn't leave until 14.50, so I opted for 7524, which arrived moments later on an X21. I hopped on, and headed for the front two seats on the right upstairs, plugged my phone in and sat back. My original plan had been to get off at Bedlington and finish the day there, however I decided to stay on to see how it compared to 7525 earlier in the day along the Nedderton section. Again, like on Monday, I was impressed by it's performance. We were 5 minutes late because of some badly timed traffic lights etc, by Stakeford, however we were back on time by just after Bedlington main street, unlike 7525 it seemed able to make up time, and it's handling and speed on the road along from Nedderton to Hartford was quite refreshing. I got off at Seaton Burn, expecting to be whisked away to Cramlington imminently, this was not to be the case...
15.22 (15.35) X13 Seaton Burn Fisher Lane to Blyth Bus Station ANE 7607
I'd checked the live app prior to getting off 7524, and it said it was 2 minutes late, however by the time I crossed the road this had increased to 8, two X21's and an X22 flew past before 7607 trundled off the roundabout, I boarded (a mistake in hindsight), and was completely underwhelmed, we were 16 minutes late by Cramlington, too late for me to make it to the Library to return some materials and get the X13 back to Seaton Burn. I stayed on, another mistake, it got later and later, I checked the Live Map and was met with a grim proposal, it would arrive at 16.17, the 2 I needed to get to Bedlington left at 16.18, cutting it fine. I bailed on a road in Blyth and ran for it, straight up across two roundabouts and got to the bus stop with a minute or two to spare. 7607 must be one of the worst vehicles I've been on in a long time, constantly sounded like it was going to give up...
16.19 (16.21) 2 Blyth to Bedlington ANE 1765
Just to give some sense of how much I hated my ride on 7607, this ride on 1765 was luxury. Didn't seem like it was going to break down every time it accelerated, was just a much smoother ride, although I did feel a bit sick because of the run. The only fault with the bus was that one door took a while to close, and as I was sitting on the seat behind the driver, I got a bit of cold air in my face every time we pulled away from a stop. Much nicer than 7606 though!! My ride home was waiting in a Bedlington car ark to take me home (via Tesco)
Wish I'd stopped the day at 7524 to be honest, end on a high, or alternatively, had gone all the way through to Newcastle, and got something to Morpeth, and got picked up there. It was a pretty good day out though, and was more varied than Monday
Thanks for reading