Trip to Bury 19-03-2011

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
164	Bury BS	Walshaw, Church Street/Moyse Avenue (N-bound)	481	Easyride
40371	Bury BS	Walshaw War Memorial	510	First Manchester
34019	Bury BS	Unsworth, Parr Lane/Castlebrook High School	137	First Manchester
34263	Unsworth, Hollins Lane/Parr Lane	Bury BS	137	First Manchester
40356	Bury BS	Walshaw War Memorial	510	First Manchester
40371	Walshaw War Memorial	Bury BS	510	First Manchester

Matthew had decided we were going to Bury on this day a few weeks ago... He likes to keep a full social calender. He was a bit lethargic today so we did not set off until nearly 12:30. It appeared to be a fine sunny spring day. An uneventful journey followed although it did seem a bit cloudier the further north we went. We parked as usual by the library. Arriving around 13:30 we had dinner in the Corn Market fish and chip restaurant today. The adults had pie peas and gravy, and Matthew had jumbo sausage chips and gravy. With drinks it came to around £18, although they did try and charge us £22 for the food! As we left I realised I could not find my phone, so I went back to the car whilst Matthew and UD stood at he end of the bus station taking bus pictures and mum called my phone...


Maytree Travel MX08 MYR enters Bury bus station (Matt)

The phone turned up in the footwell and must have fallen out of my pockets. When I returned to Matthew it seemed as if we had to wait around 20 minutes before we saw anything worth doing. Whilst I was away a NC's double decker had left on a 98, but we knew that it would not return for at least a couple of hours.


Easyride 164 Bury bus station on a 481 Ramsbottom (Matt)

We decided to try and catch a 510 to start, but there was a different bus on stand. luckily, GMPTE provide diagrams with services and the towns they visit, we saw that the 481 Ramsbottom goes via Walshaw. We decided to do this bus and, it was going to be our first journey on Easyride. We boarded 164 and purchased a system one day ticket. Whilst on the bus, we decided to go a stop further than usual and then walk back as we had a bit of extra time before the returning #510. I thought this would mean we would get a better picture of the bus and if photographed from the rear it would not be taken into the sun. As we left Bury we passed 2 NC's double decker coming into Bury and 60338 which I assumed was on the next 510. As the bus went through Walshaw it turned right, right again and the left. When we got off the rear picture was taken as the bus went off into the distance.


Easyride 164 Walshaw, Church Street on a 481 Ramsbottom (Matt)

There was a short walk back to the stop for the 510 and around a 15 minute wait. Whilst waiting a 510 towards Bolton came past with 40356, meaning 60338 must have been on something else! Eventually our bus turned up, 40371. This bus is right in the middle of the batch that were transferred to Adderley Green, with this bus and a couple of the others being exceptions. When we arrived at Bury, Matthew photographed the inside of the empty bus.


Inside 40371 on it's First arrival at Bury (Matt)

This time at Bury we didn't have to wait long for a NC's double decker. Required 34019 turned up on a 137 Manchester. There was a short layover whilst there was a driver change, and then we got on it.


34019 awaits time before working a #137 to Manchester (Matt)

As per usual, we did this to Parr Lane, Unsworth. On the way down Market Street we saw Copelands MIB 236 which we could have done this morning had we booked on it. Hopefully we'll get this one soon...
As we got off I could see another NC's double decker on the return. We did not have time to get a picture, as we had to quickly cross the road to get it. 34263 turned up.. Dud, but a NC's decker is always welcome.


On arrival at Bury, insude the top deck of 34263 (Matt)

When we got back it was gone 16:00, so there only time to go Walshaw and back. We knew we missed a 510, so the next bus was the 16:15 480... The time was closing in on 16:15 and the bus still hadn't turned up. the was a 98 on stand J and the next 510 arrived and Went straight past it went around again and by the time it did stand J was clear, the bus was 40356, oldest Dart on the #510 today. This bus is not as smart as the others we have seen in the P... LND batch, as some of the seats have been replaced with First purple and green ones. We did this up to Walshaw as usual and we were wondering what would be the return. I was hoping for 40404 which I'd seen early, but if I'd thought about it, I would have realised that it could only be 40371, which had passed 40356 in the Walshaw area earlier! So we did this back into Bury. After we returned Matthew photo graphed a couple more NC's Volvo Olympians...


34260 departs Bury bu station on a 98 Manchester (Matt)


34023 arriving in Bury on a 137 from Manchester (Matt)

Back to the car at around 15:45, just in time to here that Stoke had won 4-0 against Newcastle! One the way back we past quite a few coaches on the M6 and A500 from the North East. Back in Staffordshire we stopped for lottery tickets and Filled up with LPG in Longport. We were back home before it went dark (Mark)