Trip to Bath 30-11-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
BX13 CYY	Longton TI	Bath Coach Park	Charter	Bakers
42911	Bath BS	Bear Flat, Bear Flat (Stop C)‎	267	First Somerset & Avon
43849	Bear Flat, Bear Flat (Stop A)	Bath BS	179	First Somerset & Avon
46225	Bath BS	Lower Weston, Chelsea Road (NW-bound)‎	319	First Somerset & Avon
40588	Lower Weston, Chelsea Road (SE-bound)	Bath BS	319	First Somerset & Avon
46318	Bath BS	Weston, Outside 68 (NW-bound)‎‎	14	First Somerset & Avon
40513	Weston, Outside 68 (NW-bound)	Lower Weston, Chelsea Road (SE-bound)	14	First Somerset & Avon
46259	Lower Weston, Chelsea Road (SE-bound)	Bath BS	319	First Somerset & Avon
BX13 CYY	Bath Coach Park	Longton TI	Charter	Bakers

Today we decided to do a coach trip down to Bath. Happy Days coaches were due to run a trip to Bath on November 16, but they had to cancel due to low numbers. Bakers were running a trip this weekend, so we decided to go with Bakers. Mum had had a bad fall the day before in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and so this trip was going to be more difficult than usual. Research for the trip consisted of find an old timetable booklet for the area and reading all of the previous 3 Blog postings of our trips to Bath to see what buses we did and on what services. We also looked at which step entranced Darts were in operation with First on Steve White's excellent site on First Somerset and Avon buses. There were also a few P reg low floor buses in the area which probably wont last much longer. We also found a ticket called the Bath Rider. The weather was predicted for a sunny day with temperatures around 7' which is tropical for the time of year! We got up at 07:30 today. Matthew had crumpets for breakfast. Due to there being little in the way of long stay parking in Longton we decided to book a taxi to Longton Interchange. The taxi came around 08:45 and it took us onto the A5035 and into Longton. The taxi dropped us off in the interchange and we had to walk across into the bus station! We had around 15 minutes to wait for the coach so Matthew took a few pictures. We saw Copeland's Tours MIB 783 on the #40 Fenton circular service.

Copeland's Tours MIB 783 in Longton Interchange

We had a bit of time so we went to Wright's Pie and brought some sausage rolls for later. Matthew had a Manchester tart for now. Just after it's due time of 09:10 a coach rolled up into the Interchange. We were expecting a white and green Bakers coach, or one of the newer silver coloured King Longs. Instead a short wheelbase coach in Chino Travel livery arrived. It had a Bakers 'Bath' sticker in the front window and also it had Bakers legals on the side. The coach set off out of the interchange and onto the Westbound A50 where we passed Cox's of Belper coach COX 637V. We joined the Southbound A500 and then we headed South on the M6. In Walsall we joined the Southbound M5 which we did down to Strensham services where we had a quick break. Here Matthew got a picture of the coach.

Bakers BX13 CYY in Strensham services

We visited the toilet and then we went to WH Smiths where we picked up some Irn Bru and sweet as well as a truck magazine. We came out of the services and we saw another coach 3315 HP, which was taking football fans from Bury to their away game in Exeter.

3315 HP in Strensham services

The coach carried on South along the M5, which we did down to the M4. We then went East on the M4 until we reached the A46. We did the A46 southbound and a couple of miles outside Bath we hit stationary traffic. It took around 3/4 of an hour to get into Bath where we stopped at the riverside coach park around 13:30. The driver dropped us off and told us to be back at the coach park at around 18:15. After using the toilet we ate at the coach park cafe where Matthew had a bacon and egg sandwich and a can of Coke. After saying goodbye to mum, we set off on foot to the bus station. We left mum behind as she couldn't keep up with us on her crutches. On the way into the bus station we spotted our First 'First' step entranced Dart of the day. It was required 46318 on the #14 to Odd Down. We had a quick walk around the bus station whilst we decided what we were going to catch. On Dorchester Street was The Traveller's Choice PO12 JNF.

The Travellers Choice PO12 JNF in bath bus station

We only had a couple of hours of daylight left so we wanted to catch a bus quickly. The bus station as packed with shoppers. We have never seen the bus station as busy as it was today on all our previous visits. We saw an interesting bus coming into the bus station. It was Libra Travel Mercedes minibus SF06 FSN on a #94 to Trowbridge. I decided to see if we could book a multi-operator ticket. The driver said he would except an Avon Rider ticket on the bus (that was what I'd asked for) but he couldn't issue one. What I actually wanted was a Bath Rider, which turns out aren't valid on the #94 anyway. So we decided no to do this minibus. First Somerset and Avon 46260 was on one of the longer distance services from the middle stands but I don't know which one. We saw 46259 around the same time on a #319 service, but this was a dude bus that we had done back in August 2011. We decided to do required First Somerset & Avon 42911 on the #267 to Frome. This was a service we had covered back in October 2010 with 46237, so we knew we could do it u to Bear Flat. We also thought that if we were lucky we would drop on 46318 returning from Odd Down on the #14 to Weston. Matthew got a picture and then we got on this bus.

First Somerset & Avon 42911 in Bath bus station

We got on the bus and we asked for an Avon Rider (again I should have asked for a Bath Rider but didn't). When he told me the price of £7.50 I decided to get a First Bath ticket at £4.20. We sat down near the back of the bus. We then saw required 46261 on a #231 to Chippenham. The bus left town and crossed under the railway and then climbed to the top of the hill. The bus turned right and we were at our destination. We got off and Matthew got a better picture of 42911.

First Somerset & Avon 42911 in Bear Flat

We crossed the road to wait for a return service into Bath. We didn't have to wait long before we saw there was a Dart approaching. Someone else was catching the bus so I asked Matthew if he wanted to do this bus or let it go. We saw it was required First Somerset and Avon Dart 43849 on a #179 service from Midsommer Norton.

First Somerset & Avon 43849 in Bear Flat

We got on and sat down near the back. As expected at this time of day this inbound service was nearly empty. The bus headed down the hill and we headed into the bus station. When we got to the bus station we let the bus empty and Matthew took a picture inside First Somerset & Avon 43849.

Inside First Somerset & Avon 43849

We thought about going to take a few picture for a short while but we noticed 46318 was in the bus station on the #14 to Weston.

First Somerset & Avon 46318 in Bath bus station

We were going to do this bus but the driver got on the bus and immediately got off it again. In the meantime another step entranced dart came in. It was dud First Somerset & Avon 46247 which we had done up to Bailbrook on the #231 back in October 2012. As 46318 wasn't going anywhere soon we did consider doing 46247 on the #319 up to Lower Weston, but 46247 reversed off stand. We went for a bit of a walk around and we took some pictures. On e of the buses we photographed was Wessex Connect 30928 running out of service.

Wessex Connect 30928 in Bath bus station

We also saw First Somerset & Avon R reg Volvo B10 66107 on a #173 to Wells.

First Somerset & Avon 66107 in Bath bus station

Back in the bus station dud First Somerset & Avon 42824 had arrived on the next #14 to Weston. We considered doing this in case 46318 followed it out of the bus station, but then dud step entranced Dart First Somerset & Avon 46225 appeared on stand to replace 46247 on service #319. We decided to do this instead as we hadn't been on this bus since August 2011. We waited for the driver to ready the bus and then we got on it. The bus was full and standing again, and it set off through the town around Ambury and North up to the A4 picking up more passengers in the town centre. The bus headed West along the A4 before branching right onto the A431. We decidedto get off here so that we could head back to Bath on either a #14 or another #319. We got off and then took a picture of 46225 as it headed of into the distance.

First Somerset & Avon 46225 in Lower Weston

Right behind us was the #14 we had turned down with dud First Somerset and Avon 42824 which was another full bus.

First Somerset & Avon 42824 in Lower Weston

We crossed over catch something back to Bath. We didn't have to wait long before we saw a #319 approaching down the A431. It turned out to be required First Somerset & Avon 40588.

First Somerset & Avon 40588 in Lower Weston

We got on the bus and sat down near the back. There were a few people on this bus but it wasn't full. We headed back into bath along the A4 and then around the back along James Street West along the one way system. We came into the bus station and the bus emptied out and Matthew got his empty bus picture.

Inside First Somerset & Avon 40588

Along side us was required First Somerset and Avon 46262 on the adjacent stand. We decided to turn it down to try and get a few pictures near the bus station before it went dark. We had only taken a few pictures when we saw First Somerset & Avon 46318 again on a #14 to Weston. We had to try and get this so we walked around to the bus station. This time it was loading immediately and we got on the bus.

First Somerset & Avon 46318 in Bath bus station

The bus was full and Matthew sat down and Uncle Dave stood next to him. The bus was full and standing and it picked up even more passengers in the town centre. We headed out along the A4 and then turned towards Weston. The bus emptied out as we went along and by the time we reached the hospital we managed to sit down together. We decided to do the bus up to Eastfield Avenue so we could get a picture of the bus when it emptied out. At the end of the Eastfield Avenue we saw someone getting on the bus so we decided to get off and take a picture as we got off.

Inside First Somerset & Avon 46318

We also got a picture of 46318 as it went off into the sunset.

First Somerset & Avon 46318 in Weston

In theory we had 12 minutes to wait for the next bus. We had decided to do the next #14 down to Lower Weston and then wait for a #319 to Bath. We were hoping to perhaps get a double decker on the #319 as we had seen one leave bath earlier. Around 5 minutes after we had gotten off 46318 we heard another bus approaching. It turned out to be required First Somerset & Avon 40513.

First Somerset & Avon 40513 in Weston

The bus was nearly empty so we sat near the back and Matthew took a picture of the empty bus in front of us.

Inside First Somerset & Avon 40513

The bus headed back into the hospital and down onto the A431. When the bus reached the stop that we had used to catch 40588 earlier in the day, we decided to get off. Matthew got another picture of the bus and the driver paused for a few extra second so Matthew could take his picture...

First Somerset & Avon 40513 in Lower Weston

We had approximately 1o minutes to wait for the next #319, which we were hoping was going to be a double decker. Around due time we saw a Dart approaching. As i got closer we saw that it was dud First Somerset & Avon 46259 which we had seen leave on the #319 a few hours previously.

First Somerset & Avon 46259 in Lower Weston

We got on the bus and we set off back into town. We had arranged to meet mum by the bus station and it was going to be close to that by the time we got back into town. We went in through the one way system and we saw an Enviro 400 loading on the #41 P&R service. There was a queue so long it could have filled 3 or 4 double deckers! We got into the bus station and Matthew photographed the inside of 46259.

Inside First Somerset & Avon 46259

We found mum and then we had 3/4 of an hour to get back to the to the coach park. We took a slow walk back as mum was tired from her day on crutches. On Dorchester street was First Somerset & Avon Enviro 200 44523 on a #13 to Foxhill.

First Somerset & Avon 44523 in Bath bus station

We had a slight diversion into town whilst Matthew checked out the massive queue for the Park & Ride service. It took us a while to actually get across the queue as it was a hundred yards of so up in the pedestrianised area. When we did get across we headed down to Ambury where we took a few more pictures. National Express FJ60 HYW was arriving on a #403 service from London to Bath.

National Express FJ60 HYW in Ambury, Bath

Closer to the park Matthew got a picture of Redwing 231 on Corn Street.

Redwing 231 in Corn Street, Bath

Matthew was getting a bit would up and wanted to head back into town to visit Sainsbury's as he had read in a text that mum had been there earlier in the day. We persuaded him to head back to the coach park with the promise that we would take him to a supermarket for dinner the next day. At the coach park he took a few pictures of coaches, used the toilet, had a drink a Coke and ate some chicken popcorn that mum hadn't finished off that she had saved. As promised the coach appeared into the coach park from it's designated parking spot at the race course. The reason the city had been incredibly busy was there was a rugby match on accounting for 12,200 extra people in town as well as the Christmas market. We left the coach park at 18:20, but it took more than 30 minutes to get out of Bath town centre along the A4. Eventually we reached the A46 and the traffic was still nose to tail albeit moving steadily. We made it onto the Westbound M4 and then onto the M5. We stopped again at Strensham service going North and we had a quick toilet stop. Matthew had a chicken nugget meal and a plain cheeseburger as we knew we would not be able to do tea when we got back tonight. Around 20:20 we set off North on the M5 and joined the Northbound M6 at Walsall. We headed North up to the A500 and then onto the A50 into Longton. We said goodbye to the driver and then we called for a taxi to take us home. A few minutes later the taxi appeared. He took us out of Longton and onto Longton Hall Road. We went through Blurton and the taxi dropped us hoe around 22:10. Matthew then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 00:30. A very tiring trip that is better done earlier in the year when the days are longer...Mark

Trip to Rawtenstall / Burnley 23-11-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
2777	Rawtenstall, Bank Street (Stand L)	Burnley BS	X43	Transdev
1069	Burnley BS	Accrington BS	23	Transdev Burnley & Pendle
N375 PNY	Accrington BS	West End, by Percy Street	46	M&M Coaches
N125 YHH	West End, opp Percy Street	Accrington BS	46	M&M Coaches
404	Accrington BS	Haslingden, opp Health Centre‎	X41	Transdev Lancashire United

Today we decided to visit Rawtenstall. We gave Matthew a few options of place we could visit and Matthew said yes to Rawtenstall. research consisted at looking at the Rossobus website and to check the weather which was for cold and sunny weather. Matthew got up around 10:00 and had cheese and oatcakes for breakfast washed down with orange juice. We set off around 11:45 heading onto the A5035. We went down stanley Matthews way and passed former Procters Coaches Van Hool coach HIL 7614 which now operates with Atlantic Travel. We headed onto the A50 and then onto the Northbound A500. We came off the A500 at Shelton New Road and we headed to the garage to pick up LPG. Once we had filled up we got onto the Westbound A53 before carrying on Northwards on the A500. We headed North on the M6 up to the M62 and then carried onto the clockwise M60. We then headed North on the M66 and carried on to the A56. around Haslingden we joined the A682 to do the last mile or so into town. We then parked up in a car park just off Bacup Road. We had planned on eating at a chip shop on Bacup Road but when we got there it was closed! We walked up to the bus station and we saw Rossendale Tranport 203 parked up between duties.

'Rosso' 203 in Rawtenstall bus station

Still a little thrown by the 'Chip shop shut on a Saturday' situation, we carried on past the bus station whilst we went to look where we could go and eat. As we passed the bus station, a couple of Rossendale Transport buses arrived into the bus station. 'Rosso' 334 appeared on a #465 to Todmorden.

'Rosso' 334 in Rawtenstall bus station

Behind this was 149 on a #482 to Bacup. We walked past a corner shop which was closed and passed a toilet block which was also shut. Across the car park / public space we could see a bakery on Kay Street. We walked across to there to see if we could find anything Matthew would eat. Matthew had a bacon bap followed by a slice of cake all washed down with a glass of Coke. Whilst we were there we saw a couple of Transdev's new Witch Way X43 buses. I asked Matthew if he wanted to do Rosso or Transdev and he chose Transdev. After we had eaten we went in search of toilets. This was solved by a visit to local pub The Crown and Matthew having another drink of Coke. We went to the bus station to see where the X43 we from, and the board directed us to stops L & K on Bank Street. As we were about to walk back up to the stops we saw 'Rosso' 221 on a #483 to Bury.

'Rosso' 221 in Rawtenstall bus station

We stood near the stops and we saw a very full X43 heading towards Manchester which we decided to give a miss to. The was a X43 due at 14:03 which we should have seen but hadn't followed by another at 14:18. Around 14:18 a bus arrived and it was required Transdev 2777.

Transdev 2777 in Rawtenstall

We got on this bus which was also quite full and we booked some Transdev Silver day tickets. We sat down upstairs and the bus was quite full. The bus set off out of town along the A682 and it was a straight run. It took around 25 minutes to do the trip. As we headed into town we saw Gibson Direct K70 AYR a set of lights to the right of us. The coach followed us into town and Matthew got a picture of it put of the rear window of the bus!

Gibson Direct K70 AYR in Burnley

When we arrived in Burnley bus station Matthew waited for our bus to empty before getting a picture inside Transdev 2777 too.

Inside Transdev 2777

This was our first visit to Burnley, so we decided to have a quick explore around the bus station. Matthew visited the toilets and then we went out of the bus station and walked around the outside on the path we had spotted when we came into the bus station on 2777. There was a small layover area with space for 3 vehicles. There were 2 vehicles parked up there today. The vehicles were Transdev Burnley and Pendle 1072 and Springfield JH03 HDW. We saw 'Rosso' 204 on a #483 to Bury.

'Rosso' 204 in Burnley bus station

We also saw First West Yorkshire 66790 on a #592 service to Halifax and Transdev 'Starship' MPD dart 715.

Transdev Burnley & Pendle 715 in Burnley bus station

At the far end of the bus station we saw Tyrers 'Pendle Green Line' Solo MX08 DGE.

Tyrer MX08 DGE in Burnley bus station

We walked back into the bus station and then we visited the Information centre to pick up a few timetables. We then spotted Transdev Burnley & Pendle 1066 on a #25 to Keighley which was going even further away. We had also seen Transdev Burnley & Pendle 1069 on a #23 to Accrington which was headed in a similar direction to where we came from, and also somewhere we knew we could get back to Rawtenstall from, so we decided to do this.

Transdev Burnley & Pendle 1069 in Burnley bus station

We got on the bus and we sat near the back. The bus set off through town and then out towards Padiham passing Transdev Lancashire United 1102 on a #152 from Preston. The bus turned into Green Lane and then headed through a housing estate to Hapton. We passed over the M65 and then through Huncoat before heading into Accrington. The bus pulled into town and Matthew waited for the bus to empty before getting a picture inside Transdev Burnley & Pendle 1069.

Inside Transdev Burnley & Pendle 1069

As we had come into town we noticed M&M coaches minibuses parked up in 2 of the side streets. In bank Street was required M&M Coaches N375 PNY between working #46 turns to Blackburn.

M&M Coaches N375 PNY in Accrington

In Bridge street M&M Coaches N201 UHH.

M&M Coaches N201 UHH in Accrington

Back in August, we had mistakenly caught N202 LPN thinking it was a required bus. Today we did the opposite! We ignored doing N201 UHH thinking that it was a bus that we had already done... We did need N375 PNY so we decided to do this up towards Oswaldtwistle. We walked onto Peel Street were we saw N652 VSS on the #1 to Oswaldtwistle. We definitely did not need this bus as we had done it back in September 2013. Whilst we waited for N375 PNY to appear Matthew went to the toilet and we then saw Pilkington Buse S451 WAT on the Dill Hall Circular

Pilkington Bus S451 WAT in Accrington

M&M Coaches N375 PNY appeared from around the corner and we got on the bus. The bus was quite well filled so Matthew wasn't able to get a good picture inside this bus. There was however one empty set of seats.

Inside M&M Coaches N375 PNY

We set of towards Owaldtwistle with the intention of getting a X41 back to Haslingden or a Transdev Hyndburn Circular to Accrington if we missed the X41. We soon passed a X41 so we knew we were unlikely to be on one of those. We got off just before we reached the M65 and we crossed over the road to wait for the next Transdev bus. What I had forgotten about was the fact that there are 2 M&M coaches buses working on the #46. I was sorting out tickets and timetables in the trip bag when we saw an M&M Coaches minibus approaching. It caused me a bit of a kerfuffle but I kne Matthew would want to do this bus and we would have to pay for extra tickets. As it got closer we saw it was required N125 YHH!

M&M Coaches N125 YHH in Oswaldtwistle

We got on the bus and booked to Accrington. This unexpected move meant that we had to give the bus driver a £10 note which never goes down to well. We did this fine bus back into Accrington and when the bus emptied out Matthew got a picture inside the empty M&M Coaches N125 YHH.

Inside M&M Coaches N125 YHH

We checked the time of the next X41 to Haslingden. It was not due for another 25 minutes so we had a bit of time to kill. We went to the shop at the end of Peel Street where Matthew bought Some Coke and Irn Bru and a small selection of Chocolate. Matthew decided to drink the Irn Bru and afterwards we visited the toilets again. We saw for the first time Pilkington Bus step entranced decker E329 MSG, but unfortunately we couldn't do it today. The was also 'Rosso' 200 on a #484 to Helmshore.

'Rosso' 200 in Accrington bus station

Across the road from this was Pilkington Bus VU52 UEJ on another local service.

Pilkington Bus VU52 UEJ in Accrington

Eventually Trandev Lancashire United 404 turned up on the X41.

Transdev Lancashire United 404 in Accrington

We got on the bus and we went upstairs. We had originally thought that we had been on this bus before, but a quick check of the 'Buses I have Travelled on' page revealed that it was 407 that we had done on this service back in August. We set off out of town down the A680 towards Haslingden. We called mum to ask her to meet us there and the bus headed South and across the A56. When we looked like we had got to the built up centre of town we decided to get off. Matthew took a picture inside of Transdev Lancashire United 404 just before we got off.

Inside Transdev Lancashire United 404

After a few minutes mum managed to find us and we got in the car. Here Matthew tucked into his Greggs sausage roll and drank some Irn Bru. We found our way back onto the Manchester Road / A680 and then we headed South on the A56. We did the A56 straight onto the M66 and then we did the anticlockwise M60 around the North end of Manchester. We went onto the westbound M62 which we did onto The M6. We headed South M6 and then we went onto the Southbound A500. went East at the A50 which we did to Longton Z Carz to see what was parked up. There were 3 vehicle parked up on the spare ground. At the back was Mercedes minibus M372 NWN which was too far back to get a picture. In front of this was Volvo coach M534 RSO.

Z Carz M534 RSO in Longton

Nearby was LDV minibus M420 UEH.

Z Carz M420 UEH in Longton

In the Willow Row compound was LDV minibus T408 JUX in the same position as last week. We headed back home via the A50 and Heron Cross. We did Blurton Road through Blurton and onto the A5035. We got home at 18:45. For a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash with carrots followed by cheesecake. Matthew then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 00:30...Mark

Trip to Bury 16-11-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
37291	Bury BS	Heap Bridge, o/s Old Boars Head Bury New Road/Heap Bridge	471	First Manchester
37431	Heap Bridge, Bury New Road/Heap Bridge (W-bound)	Bury BS	163	First Manchester
30871	Bury BS	Unsworth, o/s Hse 165 Parr Lane/Kennedy Drive	93	First Manchester
60282	Unsworth, o/s Hse 204 Parr Lane/Kennedy Drive	Bury BS	93	First Manchester
106	Bury BS	Radcliffe BS	486	Rossendale Easyride
33867	Radcliffe BS	Bury BS	512	stagecoach Manchester

Today we decided to re-visit Bury for the first time in nearly a year. The last time we visited Bury there were still step entranced Volvo operating for First Manchester. We didn't do any research for this trip other than to check the weather, which was forecast for grey, overcast skies but no rain! We did find our old Bury bus map to take with us. Matthew got up around 10:00 and had some toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set off around 11:45 and we headed onto the A5035. We headed along Stanley Matthews Way and onto the A50. We then went North on the A500 and up to Etruria to pick up LPG. We got onto the Westbound A53 and then back onto the Northbound A500. The traffic seemed much clearer today, perhaps this was related to there being no Premiership and Championship football during the international break. We carried on North on the M6 and we were overtaken by Parks of Hamilton / National Express LSK 513 on a #570 to Blackpool. We then went East on the M62 and clockwise on the M60. We headed North on The M66 and then we did the last mile into Bury along the A58 through Pimhole and into town. The traffic on this road was horrendous and it took us a while to get into town. We parked up near to the library and we walked over to Radleys which Matthew requested to visit for dinner. The downstairs area was full so after Matthew had used the toilet we took a seat upstairs. Breakfast had finished serving at 11:30, so Matthew had chips sausage and beans with bread and butter. This was washed down with a bottle of Coke. The food took a while becasue they were busy, and we didn't get out of there until after 14:30. The one good thing about being there was that we were able to see what buses were around even if we couldn't identify them. We saw 69166 in Ramsbottom livery, and we also saw a Rosso double decker and a First Manchester ALX400 Volvo. After we had finished eating we went down to the end of the bus station to take a few pictures before we caught our first bus of the day. As we walked up we saw recent arrival Rosso 232 on a #494 Bury - Fishpool circular.

'Rosso' 232 in Bury transport interchange

We also saw First Manchester 69186 on a #524 Bolton service.

First Manchester 69186 in Bury transport interchange

As we had been delayed in getting some food, we had to do a bus quickly. We then saw required First Manchester 37291 on a #471 to Rochdale.

First Manchester 37291 in Bury transport interchange

We walked down to the stop and we waited for the driver change to take place. We got on the bus and booked our System One bus tickets. We then went and sat upstairs. The bus was quite full and we didn't manage to get a picture inside. The bus set off out of the bus station and onto the ring road. The bus came to a stand out the market and the traffic was very slow all the way down to the M66. We decided to get of just the other side of the M66 as we were running out of time. We got off and Matthew decided to chase after another one of the passengers getting off to say hello. He was very lucky not to scare her... We then crossedthe road to wait for the next bus back. After a couple of minutes we saw #471 service coming down the hill. Just before it reached us another bus came out of Heap Brow on a #163 from Manchester so we decided to get on that instead. It was required First Manchester 37431.

First Manchester 37431 in Heap Bridge

We got on the bus and sat down upstairs. as it was around 15:00 now the bus was nearly empty. The bus went back up the A58 into Bury. We did the trip into town much quicker than we did the trip out. As we came past the market we saw Wints Mercedes coach NIL 8261 loading up with shoppers for their return trip to the Staffordshire Moorlands. When we got back to the bus station we spotted a First Manchester ALX400 Volvo in the bus station. We waited for 37431 to empty out and Matthew got a picture inside the empty bus.

Inside First Manchester 37431

We got off the bus and we walked straight to the crossing so we could get a picture of required First Manchester 30871.

First Manchester 30871 in Bury transport interchange

The driver set the destination to #93 Manchester and we got on the bus and booked to Unsworth. We went upstairs and Matthew took a picture inside the bus.

Inside First Manchester 30871

As we waited to go we saw another First Manchester ALX400 Volvo. It was required First Manchester 30873 on a #98 to Manchester. We set off out of the bus station and we saw Wints NIL 8261 was still loading up. We went down Market Street towards Fishpool. We passed the rows of coaches parked up. we then turn onto Manchester Road and headed South. As we passed Hollins Brow we passed First Manchester 60270 on a Northbound #92 service. The #92 replaced the old #137 service, a bus that we have not been on since we went to Bury regularly back in may 2011. We carried on South and then we went East along Sunny Bank Road. When we got onto Parr Lane we got off the bus and Matthew got another picture of First Manchester 30871 as it went South towards Manchester.

First Manchester 30871 in Unsworth

We crossed the road and consulted the bus stop timetable. We had around 5 minutes to wait, which was quite fortunate as the #93 was now only a 30 minute frequency! Bang on time we saw a Mercedes Citaro heading up the hill. We knew there was a good chance of it being required as we have avoided these buses in the passed when we used to chase after the step entranced Volvo's. As it got closer we saw that it was required First Manchester 60282.

First Manchester 60282 in Unsworth

We got on the bus and we sat down near the back. The bus was nearly empty as would be expected on an inbound bus at this time of the day. The bus set off back through Unsworth and along Sunny Bank Road. The bus then went North on the A56. We turned right at Fishpool and then headed into Bury up Market Street. When we got back to the bus station we waited for the bus to empty and Matthew got a picture inside the empty First Manchester 60282.

Inside First Manchester 60282

Almost immediately we saw Ross 106 on Stand C. It was on a #486 to Radcliffe so we decided to do this bus.

'Rosso' 106 in Bury transport interchange

We got on the bus and we went upstairs. Matthew got his empty bus picture as he got on the bus.

Inside 'Rosso' 106

Matthew decided he was going to say hello to someone in the bus station.Luckily for Matthew the bus was not due to depart until 16:10, so we were able to get back on it. Whilst we waited for the bus to depart we saw Rossendale 148 on the #480 to Bolton and 147 on the #483 to Burnley. The bus set off West towards Elton and then headed North towards Ainsworth. The bus then headed South down Bradley Fold Road and dark. We crossed the A58 and headed down into Bradley Fold. We passed the garden centre, and headed into Radcliffe. At the bus station we then got another picture of Rossendale Transport 106.

'Rosso' 106 in Radcliffe bus station

After using the disabled toilet by Radcliffe Market we walked back to the bus station to see what we could catch back. The #524's seemed to be all new buses, and there wasn't a #98 imminent. There was an #512 due just before 17:00. We had seen Stagecoach Manchester 25343 & 33867 working the #512/513's so we thought it would probably be one of these required buses. Just before 17:00 required Stagecoach Manchester rolls up into the bus station.

Stagecoach Manchester 33867 in Radcliffe bus station

The bus set off out of town. The bus down had taken close to 30 minutes to get into Radcliffe, and we were a little surprised at how quick the #512 takes to get to Bury. The bus headed North East along Bury Road. We were expecting a 20-25 journey back and we were back in just over 10 minutes! When we got back Matthew waited for the bus to empty before getting a picture inside Stagecoach Manchester 33867.

Inside Stagecoach Manchester 33867

We got off the bus and we decided to have a quick walk around taking picture before we set off homeward. On Stand R was Rosso 258 on a #483 Burnley service

'Rosso' 258 in Bury transport interchange

We walked around to the other side of the Tram terminus and we saw Stagecoach Manchester 33867 parked up between duties.

Stagecoach Manchester 33867 in Bury transport interchange

As we walked back passed the end of the bus station we saw another Ross double decker. It was Rosso 103 on the #487 to Nangreaves.

'Rosso' 103 in Bury transport interchange

We headed back to the car and Matthew had a sausage roll washed down with Irn Bru. We set off back onto the ring road and then East on the A58 to The M66. We headed south onto the M60 where we headed in the anti-clockwise direction. We headed West on the M62 and then South on the M6. On the M6 we passed Chalton Minicoaches KF52 UAG. We did the M6 down to the A500. We did the A500 South passing Z carz M372 NWN going north. We did the A500 down to the A50 and then into Longton to check out the buses parked up at Z carz. There were only 2 buses on the spare ground. At the back of the site was Mercedes minibus W221 CDN VW minibus OV05 WSW

Z Carz OV05 WSW in Longton

In front of the Mercedes minibus W885 PTS was volvo coach M534 RSO.

Z Carz M534 RSO in Longton

We went passed the Willow Row compound, were LDV minibus T408 JUX was still parked at the back of the yard with it's bonnet up. We headed Down Longton Hall Road and into Blurton. We headed onto the A5035 and we got back home around 18:45. For a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash followed by cheesecake. He then chilled out on his computer until around 01:00...Mark