Trip to Ellesmere Port / Chester 02-11-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
SB09	Ellesmere Port BS	Frodsham, nr Bears Paw	36	GHA
5008	Frodsham, o/s Lloyds TSB Bank	Chester BS	X30	Arriva NW&W
SB23	Chester BS	Littleton, opp Littleton Lane	82	GHA
4078	Littleton, Littleton Lane (cnr)‎	Chester BS	84	Arriva NW&W
4141	Chester BS	Littleton, opp Littleton Lane	84	Arriva NW&W
4061	Littleton, Littleton Lane (cnr)‎	Chester BS	84	Arriva NW&W

Today we decided to go to Ellesmere Port. We didn't make a decision on where we were going until Friday so we didn't do much research. He had however expressed an interest in doing some GHA buses today. There weather was forecast for rain showers. Matthew got up just after 10:00 today and had some toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set off around 11:45 today and we went onto the A5035 and then along Stanley Matthews Way. We went West on the A50 and then onto the Northbound A500. We came off the A500 at Shelton to go pick up some LPG. We got onto the A53 and then back onto the Northbound A500. The weather was poor and we made slow progress in the driving rain up to The M56. When we got on the Westbound M56 the weather cleared up and we had sunshine again. We then made good progress to Ellesmere Port and we parked up near the market around 13:15. As there was a table free in the market food court we went and sat down straight away. mum went to order the food and I took Matthew to the toilet whilst uncle Dave looked after the table. For dinner Matthew had a breakfast which was follow by a large piece of Victoria Sponge. When we had finished eating we walked to the bus station via the car so we could pick up the trip bag out of the car. At the bus station was GHA Solo YM52 TPX parked up on mess duty and we saw Stagecoach Merseyside 28542 on a #1 to Liverpool.

Stagecoach Merseyside 28542 in Ellesmere Port bus station

The next #36 to Runcorn was due, but it looked like it hadn't yet arrived as there were people waiting at the stand. We decided to go to the end of the bus station and take some pictures of buses as the buses arrived into the bus station. The first bus that we saw was GHA T789 KNW on a #6 to Stanney Grange.

GHA T789 KNW in Ellesmere Port

This was immediately followed by required GHA SB09 on the #36 to Runcorn.

GHA SB09 in Ellesmere Port

The bus arrived on stand and after a driver change we boarded the bus and booked our Cheshire Day tickets for £5. The bus was empty at the back so Matthew got a picture as we got on.

Inside GHA SB09

We sat down and the bus set off out of town. The bus went down the A5032 and then we did a quick run down to the railway station before continuing down to the M53. We got on the motorway and went down one junction before we came of and did a circuit of Cheshire Oaks. We then headed east along the A5117. We went past Stanlow oil refinery and did a quick spin around the village of Thornton-le-Moors before carrying on Eastwards down the A5117. We turned North onto Pool Lane and then headed into Elton. Here we passed GHA T510 APS on a Ellesmere port bound #36. We headed past Ince & Elton railway station. before doing a turn in the centre of Ince village. We headed back South through Elton and back onto A5117. We crossed the M56 by Chester services and the we joined onto the eastbound A56. We then had the straight run through Helsby and into Frodsham, passing Arriva NW&W 5006 on a #21 and SB15 on a #36. We decided to get off in Frodsham and do the next #21 or X30 into Chester. We looked at the timetable and we had around 10 minutes to wait for the X30 to Chester. Whilst we waited we shared a galaxy caramel. We saw an Arriva gas bus in the distance coming down the hill so we stood and waited to get a picture. Just in front of this however was Timewells Mercedes minibus SF55 GYA.

Timewells SF55 GYA in Frodsham

We then got a picture of required Arriva NW&W 5008 on the X30.

Arriva NW&W 5008 in Frodsham

We booked out Arriva Daysaver and sat down near the back. This was our first run on one of these gas powered buses. It seemed to be quiet and had lightning fast acceleration. The bus headed South West down the A56 and we passed GHA R504 JFE on the final #36 turn. We headed across the M53 and into Chester down the Hoole Road. When we got into Chester bus station the bus emptied out and Matthew got a picture inside Arriva NW&W 5008.

Inside Arriva NW&W 5008

He also decided to get another picture of the outside of 5008 too.

Arriva NW&W 5008 in Chester bus station

At the stop behind 5008 was Arriva NW&W pulsar II 3143 on the next #15 service to Saughill.

Arriva NW&W 3143 in Chester bus station

We walked down to our usual perch in the bus station so we could take a few pictures and work out what we were going to catch next. Required Arriva NW&W 4481 was on the next #11 to Holywell and there was a Cadet on the #10 and a Solo on the #12. Surprisingly the open top tour was still running and Stagecoach Merseyside 17455 was in charge.

Stagecoach Merseyside 17455 in Chester bus station

We then saw a GHA bus appear on the #82 so we decided to do this. Closer inspection revealed it was GHA SB23.

GHA SB23 in Chester bus station

We got on the bus and sat down near the back. The seats behind us were empty so Matthew got a picture there.

Inside GHA SB23

After we set off we realised that this was the 3rd run on this bus, the first being back in October 2011 on our first trip to Northwich. The bus went around the ring road and then we came back into the city and down Gorse Stacks and into the city centre. The bus filled up in Foregate Street and then we headed out of town along the A51. It was raining so we decided to go a bit further out than we had done before along this road. We passed the bridge in and then crossed over the A41 & A55. just the other side of the A55 we spotted bus shelters on both sides of the road so we decided to get off the bus here. We got off in Littleton and we crossed the very busy A51 eventually. However the bus stop at which we waited for the return bus was a little bit on the rickety and every time the wind blew or a large vehicle passed the stop it moved in the ground! As it was raining we took our chances. We would 100% get wet if we stood outside the bus shelter...There was only a small chance of the shelter falling down on us whilst we waited for the bus! There was a #84 due in around 10 minutes and sure enough the bus appeared. It was required Arriva NW&W DAF decker 4078.

Arriva NW&W 4078 in Littleton

We got on the bus and went upstairs. The bus headed back into Chester along the A51 passing GHA SB38 on the X20 and then we went onto the ring road. As we passed the bottom end of Foregate Street we saw Arriva NW&W 2357 on a #3 service to Mold. The bus turned into Frodsham Street and then onto Gorse Stacks. The top deck had emptied out at this point so Matthew got a picture inside Arriva NW&W 4078 here.

Inside Arriva NW&W 4078

The bus pulled straight onto stand and we got off the bus. Next to us was Stagecoach Merseyside 21254 on the #2 to Liverpool.

Stagecoach Merseyside 21254 in Chester bus station

We went back to the perch and took a few more pictures. A couple of Darts made appearances on the #10 to Connah's Quay. First Arriva NW&W 2356 appeared and this was followed by Arriva NW&W 2355 on the following turn. We also saw Stagecoach Merseyside 34603 on a #53 to Kingsway.

Stagecoach Merseyside 34603 in Chester bus station

We had seen Arriva NW&W 4078 leave on the 16:30 to Crewe We had also seen dud Arriva NW&W on the #11 to Holywell. Just after 16:45 another double dcker made an appearance on the #84 and it was required Arriva NW&W 4141.

Arriva NW&W 4141 in Chester bus station

We got on the bus and we went upstairs. As we knew it would fill up as we left town Matthew got a picture inside the bus whilst he could before we set off.

Inside Arriva NW&W 4141

We had to wait around 10 minutes for the bus to depart 17:00, and in the meanwhile we contact mum to say that this would be out last out and back trip. The bus set off and once again it loop around the Northern Eastern corner of the city before heading in along Gorse Stacks and Frodsham Street. The bus filled up a little in Foregate Street and we left town along the A51. We had hoped to get off the bus before we reached Littleton, but the rain was now coming down. So we decided to risk injury again at "the bus stop of doom"... We got off the bus and watched Arriva NW&W 4141 disappear into the night towards Crewe. We hoped that it would be easier to cross the A51 now it was nearly 17:30, but the road was still very busy. We eventually crossed the road and I used my pocket torch to read the stop timetable. There was an #84 to Chester due at 17:33. The time 17:33 came and went and the bus eventually turned up around 17:46. It was required Arriva NW&W 4061 and it was a sight for sore eyes after being under that shelter in the wind!

Arriva NW&W 4061 in Littleton

This was the first time in a while that a bus has turned up this late and most of the buses we catch generally run on time. We got on the bus and went upstairs. the bus went back into town along the A51 and onto the ring road. When we reached the bollards at Frodsham Street the bollards failed to go. The transponder either didn't work or the buses wasn't fitted with one. We couldn't go the normal route and so we diverted around the ring road and entered the bus station through Northgate. The bus stopped and emptied out and Matthew got a picture upstairs.

Inside Arriva NW&W 4061

The poor quality was probably down to us trying to rush him off the bus! We got off and he got another picture of 4061 at rest in a more well lit location than Littelton.

Arriva NW&W 4061 in Chester bus station

After a quick toilet stop in the market car park toilets We headed back to the car. Matthew spotted that mum had had cone of chips earlier because she had left the cone in the car, so he insisted we got him some chips too. The only chip shop we could think of that was on or near our route out Chester was the one on Kingsway we had used when we stopped at the Dene Hotel back in June 2011. We went onto the ring road and around to the A56. We headed North to newton Lane and then we turned onto Kingsway just after the bridge. After picking up some chips we headed back onto the A56 and then turned left. We went north up to the M53 which we did up to the junction of the M56. We then headed eastwards up to The M6. Back on the M6 we headed South onto the A500 and then onto the A50 which we did to Longton. At Z Carz today there were quite a few vehicles, but most of then were at the back of the site and not visible in the dark. Front of the row was Scania coach D104 XAN.

Z Carz D104 XAN in Longton

Next to this was Mercedes minibus S952 VMY.

Z Carz S952 VMY in Longton

That was followed by another Mercedes with a different body style, W221 CDN.

Z Carz W221 CDN in Longton

Last in the row was VW minibus OV05 WSW which wasn't very well lit. We checked out the Willow row compound and then headed down Longton Hall Road back to Blurton. First Potteries 40025 was seen on a #23 and First Potteries 43876 was seen on a Longton bound #22. We got back in the house around 19:45. Matthew had a late tea of bangers and mash with carrots followed by cheesecake. He then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 00:30...Mark