Trip to Preston / Longridge 24-08-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
18364	Preston BS	Longridge, opp Post Office	1	Stagecoach Lancashire
18154	Longridge, opp Post Office	Preston BS	1	Stagecoach Lancashire
18359	Preston BS	Lea, o/s Police Station	68	Stagecoach Lancashire
15908	Lea, opp Police Station	Preston BS	61	Stagecoach Lancashire
21107	Preston BS	Lea, o/s Police Station	68	Stagecoach Lancashire
18360	Lea, opp Police Station	Preston BS	68	Stagecoach Lancashire

Today we decided to got to Preston. We had considered going to Bamber Bridge this week, but we thought that there wouldn't be enough buses to keep our interest. Research consisted of studying a local map of services and checking out the weather. The weather was for cloudy skies and mild temperatures. Unrelated, we fund out that First South Yorkshire ALX400 deckers 30872 & 30877 had moved from Rotherham to Bolton. Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast and orange juice. We set off around 12:00 and got onto the A5035. We traveled down Stanley Matthews Way and onto the A50. On the Northbound A500 we passed a Holmeswood coaches tri-axle double decker and we also saw Z Carz minibus DL03 HHU. The M6 was quite busy and it took quite a while to get up to the M56. beyond here the M6 was much clearer and we carried on up the M6 until we reached the A59. We did the last couple of miles into Preston along the A59 and then we parked up in the car park over the bus station. We came down into the bus station in the lift and then Matthew visited the toilet. We at at the bus station cafe where Matthew had a breakfast. After we had finished eating we went out to see what we could catch. We picked up a leaflet with tickets information and a few stagecoach timetable and then we went out to see what we could catch. Almost immediately we saw an ALX400 which we fancied doing, it was required Stagecoach Lancashire 18364.

Stagecoach Lancashire 18364 in Preston bus station

We got on and booked our Preston day ticket and went upstairs. the bus was quite well filled, and we noticed by the buses we passed that the bus ran at a 10 minute frequency too. The bus set off out of town and North West along Ribbleton Lane. The bus carried on through Ribbleton and Grange and then onto Longridge Road. We crossed over the M6 and then traveled into Grimsragh. We then headed into Longridge to the Berry lane terminus of the service. The bus emptied out and Matthew waited to get a picture of the empty Stagecoach Lancashire 18364.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 18364

We decided to cross over the road and get another picture of this fine bus.

Stagecoach Lancashire 18364 in Longridge

As we had 10 minutes we decided to visit the toilets in town where they had a Trent bathrooms sink, before returning back to the stop. By the time we got back to the stop the next bus had arrived. It was required Stagecoach Lancashire 18154.

Stagecoach Lancashire 18154 in Longridge

The fact that it was required was a surprise. I thought it was one of the buses that we had in Blackpool back in October 2012. This turned out not to be the case. We got on, and as it was empty Matthew got a picture inside the bus too.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 18154

We sat at the front of the bus and I took a picture of the local co-op out of the front window of the bus as we waited to depart The bus set off around Longridge and then back down Longeridge Road & Ribbleton Lane into Preston. As we cam back into town we noticed a Dart coming into town too n the #109 service. When we gt off the bus we visited to newsagent and picked up a Milky Way and Galaxy Caramel. We also picked up a can of coke and lottery tickets. We then saw required stagecoach 18359 on a 68 to Blackpool so we decided to do this bus.

Stagecoach Lancashire 18359 in Preston bus station

We got on and went upstairs. The top deck was nearly empty when we boarded the bus so Matthew decided to take his picture there and then.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 18359

We did not have a timetable for this service s we had to try and guess where we should get off. We set off and went passed the outdoor market. We passed dud stagecoach Lancashire 15573 on a #125 service. When we stopped on Lancaster Road we saw someone take a picture of this bus. We headed out of town along the A583 and under a narrow arched bridge. Somewhere near the Blackpool line we headed up to the A5085 where we turned left towards Blackpool. We had a guess as to how far we could travel and got off at a crossroads. Matthew got another picture of the bus as we got off.

Stagecoach Lancashire 18359 in Lea

it turned out we had gt ff at Lea on the edge of the Citi zone. We crossed the road to wait for the next bus back. we were pleased to see both the #61 and #68 served this stop. The next bus due was a #68 at 16:15 followed by a #61 at 16:23. The #68 was a little late. We let Preston Bus 20767 on #31A service go, as well as an unidentified Cumfybus on the #75. Next new Stagecoach Lancashire 15908 made an appearance on the #61 so we decided to get on this.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15908 in Lea

We got on and went upstairs. The bus was quite well filled as we sat down. The bus took a slightly different route to the #68 back into town. We headed further along the A5085 and then down Tulketh Brow running alongside the Blackpool line. We joined back into the A583 and ran back into town down a familiar route. When we got back into the bus station we the bus empty and Matthew took a picture inside Stagecoach 15908.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15908

We decided to have a bit for a walk about at this point whilst we decided which bus to catch next. Matthew went to the toilet and then we went out of the bus station to take a few pictures. One of the buses he got a picture of was Stagecoach Megabus 20547 on an Aberdeen service.

Stagecoach Megabus 50247 in Preston bus station

We went back into the bus station and we thought about doing Transdev Lancashire united 1101 on the #152 to Burnley.

Transdev Lancashire United 1101 in Preston bus station

As we didn't have a ticket for this we didn't do it. We then saw Stagecoach Lancashire 19034 on a #2 to Southport which we didn't fancy doing today. Near to this was Stagecoach Lancashire 21107 on a #68. It wasn't ready at first so we sat down and Matthew had a bottle of Coke and a Milky Way. Mum walked passed as she had heard Matthew nearby. When 21107 was ready we got on the bus and sat down near the back. We decided to do the bus to Lea as we know knew where this place was. The bus was quite full and there wasn't an opportunity to take a picture of the bus empty. Just before we got off Matthew took a picture of the bus when it was a little less crowded.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 21107

We got off by the police station in Lea again and Matthew took a picture of this fine Volvo.

Stagecoach Lancashire 21107 in Lea

We crossed the road to wait for the next bus. This time it was the #68 that turned up first and it was required Stagecoach Lancashire 18360. We got on the bus and went upstairs. The bus set off back and seemed to take a different route than last time. Then we remembered we were on a #68 and not a #61! We gt back to the bus station and we waited for the bus to empty before taking picture of the inside of this bus.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 18360

We got off and took a picture of the outside of the bus too.

Stagecoach Lancashire 18360 in Preston bus station

We met up with mum and headed back to the car. At the car we had sausage rolls and Matthew washed this down with an Irn Bru. We got back onto the A59 an headed back to the M6. The motorway was now clear and we got down to Junction 16 in no time. As we traveled down we saw this Starline Travel Van Hool coach YXI 5860 traveling South.

Starline Travel YXI 5860 near Sandbach

We joined the A500 and we passed the same Holmeswood PN07 EHF as we had done on the A500 earlier in the day. We got onto the A50 and then we left the A50 at Longton to have a look at the Z Carz depot. First on the row was Scania coach D104 XAN

Z Carz D104 XAN in Longton

Next was there newest coach ALZ 8539.

Z Carz ALZ 8539 in Longton

Also present was DAF minicoach W344 WNS.

Z Carz W344 WNS in Longton

Behind this was recent arrival, VW minibus OV05 WSW.

Z Carz OV05 WSW in Longton

We turned left to have a look to see if there was anything in the Willow Row compound and we saw LDV minibuses T408 JUX & DS51 ZJU. We went to Longton Hall Road and returned to Blurton around 19:15. As we were running late we had sausage chips and gravy for tea from the chip shop. Just before 22:00 I took uncle Dave home and we saw Wardle Transport 2540 on Stanley Matthews Way working the #500 service. On the way back I traveld via Heron Cross and blurton and we saw 40029 working on the evening #23 service. Matthew chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 00:00...Mark