Trip to Nuneaton / Hinckley 01-02-2014

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
33397	Nuneaton BS	Stockingford, nr Church Road	9	Stagecoach Midlands
36752	Stockingford, opp St Pauls Road	Nuneaton BS	10	Stagecoach Midlands
36160	Nuneaton BS	Hinckley BS	48	Stagecoach Midlands
36166	Hinckley BS	Nuneaton BS	48	Stagecoach Midlands
34627	Nuneaton BS	Stockingford, opp St Pauls Road	10	Stagecoach Midlands
47070	Stockingford, adj Parish Hall	Nuneaton BS	9	Stagecoach Midlands

Today we decided to visit Nuneaton and Hinckley. Doing the research for last weeks trip to Cannock on the WM Buses in Photograghs site, we noticed that there were now some extra step entranced buses in the Arriva Midlands fleet. Apparently Arriva had taken full control of the Hinckley Bus fleet having previous owned a stake in the company. We decided to visit the area and check out these buses. The decision was made on Friday due to the weather being very uncertain. The weather looked better in this area than in Manchester or anywhere else in the North West so we decided to head South East for a change. Other than check the weather, we had a quick look at the Hinckley bus section of the Arriva Midlands site. We couldn't find out about day tickets or if the Midland Day saver ticket is valid on Hinckley Bus service, so an e-mail was sent... Matthew got up around 10:30 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set off just after 11:30 and we headed onto the A5035. We headed down Stanley Matthews Way passing ABC Supreme minibus YU02 GZG parked up in the Hem Heath pub before today's visited on Manchester United to Stoke City later today. We headed onto the A50 and then the A500 which we did up to Shelton New Road so we could pick up LPG. Once we had filled up we headed West on the A53 before unusually heading South on the A500. We headed down to the M6 and we got on the Southbound carriageway. As we headed South we passed Copeland's Tours MIB 246 heading North. When we reached the A5 we headed East. A couple of miles along the road we stopped at The Hollies transport cafe for dinner. Matthew went to the toilet and then he had a breakfast washed down with a cup of Coke. After we had finished eating we carried on Eastward along the A5. We headed through Brownhills and through Tamworth, before turning on the A444 for the last few miles into Nuneaton. I had seen that the bus station was near the railway station at the North end of town just off the ring road. When we got to Nuneaton I went the wrong way! After a quick correction we headed back towards the bus station we parked on the retail park opposite the bus station and walked across. It was just before 14:00 and we had missed the Hinckley Bus service to Hinckley. We would have to do something different. As we entered the bus station we saw an interesting older Dart... Stagecoach Midlands 33397 running out of service.

Stagecoach Midlands 33397 in Nuneaton bus station

Having missed the preferred bus to Hinckley we had a look around the bus station. We saw that the Arriva service was every 30 minutes and the Stagecoach one every 20 minutes. Having seen that the Stagecoach service was more frequent and the other interseting buses around, we decided to have a Stagecoach Day. We had a wander around a took a few pictures. One such picture was Stagecoach Midlands 36752 about to work a #10 to Grove Farm.

Stagecoach Midlands 36752 in Nuneaton bus station

Having had a look a round we saw that Stagecoach 33397 was about to work a #9 to Stockingford. We got on and booked a £6 ticket so that we could go to Hinkcley aswell. We also asked about the frequency of the service which was every 15 minutes. We sat down near the back of the bus. As we left town on the bus along Queens Road I downloaded and looked at a map of the stagecoach I saw that routes 9,10 & 41 all traveled along Church Road so we decided to head to there. Mum called to tell us she wouldn't be getting sausage rolls today as she wasn't felling very well and was going to go far from the car. When we got onto Saint Paul's Road we decided to get off. As we approached the end of the road we saw a #10 bus heading into town. We got off the bus after Matthew had got a picture inside 33397.

Inside Stagecoach Midlands 33397

He also got another picture of the outside of Stagecoach Midlands 33397 too.

Stagecoach Midlands 33397 in Stockingford

We walked onto Church Road to see when the next #10 service was due. There was one due every 10 minutes which was fortunate. A few minutes later we saw an Enviro 200 approaching. It was required Stagecoach Midlands 36752.

Stagecoach Midlands 36752 in Stockingford

We got on the bus and sat down near the back. The bus set off along a different route back into town via Haunchwood Road and Black-a-Tree Road. When we got back into town Matthew waited for the bus to empty so he could get a picture inside.

Inside Stagecoach Midlands 36752

We got off the bus and we immediately saw Stagecoach Midlands 33459 parked up between duties.

Stagecoach Midlands 33459 in Nuneaton bus station

Matthew decided he wanted to go to the toilet so we headed towards town. We didn't go very far when we spotted a toilet next to the bus station. After using the toilet we saw required Stagecoach Midlands 36160 about to work towards Hinckley on the #48 service so we decided to do it.

Stagecoach Midlands 36160 in Nuneaton bus station

We got on and sat down near the back. It was quite full and people were still getting on so Matthew took a picture of the back seat of the bus.

Inside Stagecoach Midlands 36160

The bus set off out of town and past the railway station before heading along Hinckley Road. We crossed the A5 and continued into town. When we got into Hinckley we took a turn to the right before turning left into the bus station. As we pulled into the bus station we passed a Hinckley Bus Dart. We got off the bus and got another picture Stagecoach Midlands 36160.

Stagecoach Midlands 36160 in Hinckley bus station

We walked back through the bus station and we saw Hinckley Bus ALX200 MPD Dart 2200.

Hinckley Bus 2200 in Hinckley bus station

We walked back though the bus station and checked the timetable for the bus back to Nuneaton. We had seen one depart as we arrived so there was another one due in just less than 20 minutes. We decided to have a quick walk around so we could find a newsagent and buy some food. We headed along Lancaster Road to the traffic lights and we could see three buses on Regent Road. As we walked up we saw our first step entranced Hinckley Bus vehicle. It was Hinckley Bus 1912 on a #5 service to Three Pots.

Hinckley Bus 1912 in Regent Street Hinckley

This was followed by Hinckley bus 2201 on the #71 Burbage circular service.

Hinckley Bus 2201 in Regent Street Hinckley

Finally we saw Hinckley bus Optare Solo 6100 on a #75 service to the Morrisons at Cloverfield.

Hinckley Bus 6100 in Regent Street Hinckley

We visited the shop on Regent Street and Matthew had a few cans of pop. a Galaxy Caramel and a flapjack. We started to head back to the bus station and we saw Roberts Coaches YX63 GXR on the #120 service to Coalville.

Roberts Coaches YX63 GXR in Hinckley

We headed back into the bus station and we sat down on a bench. Matthew ate his flapjack and then washed it down with a can of Barr Cola. The bus we should have caught was late. Whilst we waited we saw the #48 heading in the opposite direction towards Leicester. It was required Stagecoach Midlands 36173.

Stagecoach Midlands 36173 in Hinckley bus station

This was followed by the Arriva #158 service to Leicester. This was being worked by Arriva Midlands 3907.

Arriva Midlands 3907 in Hinckley bus station

It was sunny but very cold! The wind was quite strong and we were desperate for the bus to turn up. Matthew then decided we were going to go to the toilet. He had spotted the sign on Lancaster Road and we walked up to the top. We were going to go in when Matthew decided to go around to the side because he had spotted the disabled toilet so I got his key out and he used that toilet instead. Whilst we was in there he missed Hinckley bus 1910 heading down into Station Road. We walked back to the bus station and we saw Hinkley Bus 1912 returning from working it's #5 service.

Hinckley Bus 1912 in Hinckley bus station

Eventually around 20 minutes late we saw required Stagecoach Midlands 36166 on a Coventry bound #48.

Stagecoach Midlands 36166 in Hinckley bus station

We got on and sat down near the back. We set off out of town towards Nuneaton. We were passed by another #48 presumably we were on the service behind and that bus was running late. It was now gone 16:00 and we knew by the time we got back we would only have time for one out and back before it went dark. We carried on over the A5 and along hinckley Road into town. When we got to the bus station Matthew waited for the bus to empty before getting a picture inside Stagecoach Midlands 36166.

Inside Stagecoach Midlands 36166

We decided to take a few pictures until we found a bus worth catching. The first thing we saw was Stagecoach Midlands Optare Solo 47073 on a #10 to Grove Farm.

Stagecoach Midlands 47073 in Nuneaton bus station

We turned that down hoping for something better. Stagecoach Midlands 36752 that had been on earlier was now on a #7 service to Whitestone. Next to this was required Stagecoach Midlands 47071 on a #2 service to Red Deeps.

Stagecoach Midlands 47071 in Nuneaton bus station

Around this time we saw dud Stagecoach Midlands 33397 arrive ready to work a #9 to Stockingford again. Also we saw required Stagecoach Midlands 34627 about to work a #10 to Grove Farm.

Stagecoach Midlands 34627 in Nuneaton bus station

We decided to do the Dart, but we had to wait for the driver to ready the bus for service. In the meantime, we had out first Glimpse of the bus that we had originally intended to catch. It was required Hinckley Bus 2560 on the #86 service.

Hinckley Bus 2560 in Nuneaton bus station

The bus was now ready to go so we got on it and as we sat down Matthew got a picture of the empty rear of Stagecoach Midlands 34627.

Inside Stagecoach Midlands 34627

The bus filled up and we set off out of town along Queens Road and onto Croft Road. We crossed over the canal before turning onto Tomkinson Road. We headed through the estate along Black-A-Tree Road. We headed up to Grove Farm before returning back toward Nuneaton along Ansley Road and Wiclif Way. When we got into Church road we got off at the same stop as we had got on the #10 earlier in the day. We crossed over the road to see when the next #9 was due. It happened to be in about a minute! Sure enough a minute later an Optare Solo rounded the corner. We knew it would be required as we have never done a Solo here before. It was required Stagecoach Midlands 47070.

Stagecoach Midlands 47070 in Stockingford

We got on and as expected Matthew beeped the horn of the Solo. The driver also briefly sounded some kind of siren! We headed back through Stockingford and back into town. When we got back Matthew photographed the inside of Stagecoach Midlands 47070.

Inside Stagecoach Midlands 47070

When we got back it was time to head back to the car. Not before taking a few pictures on the way. One picture was of Travel de Courcey MAN eVolotion 544.

Travel de Courcey 544 in Nuneaton bus station

We headed back to the car via the multi-storey car park. Matthew wanted to say hello to someone. It was now raining heavily. When we got to the car mum had sausage baps waiting for us. We set off out of town along the A444 and onto the A5. We headed West on the A5 through Tamworth and Brownhills and south of Cannock before getting onto the Northbound M6. We headed up to Junction 15 and the we headed along Whitmore Road to the A34. We then headed into Longton along the A5035 so we could check out Z Carz. There were 4 buses parked up on the spare ground tonight. Closet was former Alton Towers coach M534 RSO.

Z Carz M534 RSO in Longton

Behind this was Mercedes minibus BV51 BNO which was about to go out on duty.

Z Carz BV51 BNO in Longton

The there were 2 more coaches. Former Ausden Clark CNZ 3828, which is still sport an all over white livery.

Z Carz CNZ 3828 in Longton

Next to this was the Blackwoods liveried coach,B12 FWS.

Z Carz B12 FWS in Longton

In the Willow Row compound there was long term SORN LDV minibus T408 JUX. We headed back onto the A50 and into Heron Cross. Here we saw Lightning Travel minibus T2 DLT we headed into Blurton and we got home around 19:15. Matthew had a late tea of bangers and mash followed by a slice of lemon meringue that mum had brought in Nuneaton. He then chilled out on his computer and went to bed around 00:50...Mark