Trip to Rochdale / Bacup 05-07-2014

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
37555	Rochdale Interchange	Royton, Oldham Road/High Barn Street (Stop F)	182	First Manchester
33703	Royton, Oldham Road/High Barn Street (Stop G)	Rochdale Interchange	409	First Manchester
144	Rochdale Interchange	Bacup, St James Gardens (Stand A)	464	Rossendale Easyride
223	Bacup, St James Gardens (Stand B)	Rochdale Interchange	464	Rossendale Easyride
163	Rochdale Interchange	Hooley Bridge, Bury & Rochdale Old Rd/Queens Park Rd (School)	468	Rossendale Easyride
139	Hooley Bridge, Bury & Rochdale Old Rd/Queens Park Rd (Church)	Rochdale Interchange	469	Rossendale Easyride

Today we decided to re-visit Rochdale. After a check of the weather on Friday night it was decided to go North to avoid any possible rain showers. From a list of around 8 Northern destinations Matthew chose Rochdale. No research was done I just packed my Rochdale area bus map in the trip bag. Matthew got up just after 10:00 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set off at around 11:40 and we headed out onto the A5035 and onto Stanley Matthews Way. We turned onto the A50 where there has been a change of lane markings and then we headed North onto the A500. We turned off the A500 and onto Shelton New Road to get LPG. After we had filled up we got onto the A53 and back onto the Northbound A500. We got onto the Northbound M6 and it was quite busy but it was still moving quite well. AS we headed North of the A556 the road cleared and we got up to full speed. We went North past the M56 and through the 4 lane section over Thelwall Viaduct. When we got to the M62 we headed East and then onto the clockwise M60. We passed Pygalls N564 CHE and carried onto the Eastbound M62. At the M627 we went North and then turned left onto the A664. Here we saw the oldest bendy bus in the First Manchester fleet 10017 on the #471 to Rochdale. We carried on to visit The Mighty Bite in Castleton for dinner. The toilet was out of order and they had run out of sausages! So Matthew had a bacon and sausage barm washed down with a can of Coke. After we had finished eating we set off back along the A664 into Rochdale. I managed to go straight to our intended car park without making a wrong turning and we got into town a fraction before 14:00. This was the first time we had been to Rochdale since the Trams started to run into the town centre. Most of the fencing around town had been removed and the old bus station had been demolished. We said goodbye to mum and we walked towards the bus station. We stopped at the Tardis style toilet so that Matthew could use the facilities before we carried on walking to the bus station. We walked into the bus station an we had a quick look around to see what was about. We saw First Manchester 60269 in the new colours about to work a #454 to Stansfield, and on the opposite side of the bus station required Rossendale Easyride 163 was parked up on layover.

Rossendale 163 in Rochdale Interchange

Back on the Western side of the bus station we considered doing Yorkshire Tiger 310 which was on the #528 to Halifax.

Yorkshire Tiger 310 in Rochdale Interchange

This pulled off after Matthew took the picture. It was the first time we had seen a Yorkshire Tiger bus since the old company Centrebus sold off this part of the business to Arriva. We saw a couple of double decker that were heading towards Royton. Out of the two Matthew chose to do required First Manchester 37555 which was on the #182 to Manchester via Oldham.

First Manchester 37555 in Rochdale Interchange

We got on the bus and booked our system one bus only tickets at £5.20 each. We went upstairs and as it was empty Matthew took a picture inside this bus before we sat down.

Inside First Manchester 37555

We settled down and a few minutes later the bus left the bus station and we climbed up Drake Street on the tram tracks. We then turned towards Newbold and crossed under the railway and tram lines. The road and the tram then ran almost parallel for quite a way with the road crossing over and back over the line in Milnrow we passed former Chester Solo 40683 and then we carried on into Shaw town centre where we saw Checkmate Solo GU52 HXM on the #404 Shaw town circular. We carried on for around another mile and quarter before we got to Royton. On the way we passed First Manchester 36279 going the other way. We turned onto Oldham Road and we got up and got off the bus. In the bright sunshine Matthew managed to get a better picture of First Manchester 37555 before it carried on South towards Oldham and Manchester.

First Manchester 37555 in Royton

As we came through the crossroads we noticed a sizeable Co-op store. As I had forgotten to pack any supplies in the trip bag, we decided to visit the co-op. Matthew got a can of Coke to take home and a bottle of Irn Bru to drink this afternoon. He also picked up a 6 pack of Milky Way. We paid for the thing and we walked back down to the stop opposite where we had got off the bus. Coming around the corner on a #64 towards Oldham was First Manchester 66912. Matthew had his Irn Bru an then we saw a #409 branded Enviro400 approaching. It pulled up at the stop and it was required irst Manchester 33703.

First Manchester 33703 in Royton

I asked Matthew if he wanted to do the bus and he said yes. The #409 goes along the most direct route to Rochdale which is along Rochdale Road and Oldham Road. We got on the bus and we flashed our tickets. We went upstairs and then hte bus set off. The bus climbed the hill to Summit and then we went under the M62 motorway passing a yard on the left where there was a British Airways liveried Leyland National single decker. We carried on down the hill and into Rochdale. When we got to the bus station we let the bus empty and Matthew got a picture inside First Manchester 33703.

Inside First Manchester 33703

Back in the bus station, Matthew decided to go to the toilet. Whilst he was in there we saw dud First West Yorkshire 69585 on the #589 to Burnley. We had a wander up to the top of the bus station to take a few pictures. Whilst we were there we saw required Rossendale East Lancs Spryte Dart 144 on the #464 to Accrington.

Rossendale 144 in Rochdale Interchange

I asked Matthew if he wanted to do this bus and he said yes. We got on and I asked the driver how far we could do the bus on a system one ticket. The driver told we could go as far as Bacup so we decided to go there. We got on the bus and we sat down at the back of the bus. It was almost full as it left the bus station. We also saw required Rossendale Easyride 143. The bus set off Northwards out of town and we passed several unidentified Rosso liveried buses coming the way. We went though the village of Whitworth which is situated in a tight valley. There were sheep feeding at the edge of the road. By now the bus had emptied out a little and Matthew was able to take a picture inside of the seats opposite us.

Inside Rossendale 144

We carried on North and into the town of Bacup. When we got to town we passed a square where most of the bus stops are. The bus went round a roundabout and we went back to the square. When we got off the bus Matthew got another picture of Rossendale Easyride 144.

Rossendale 144 in Bacup

We saw that the adjacent stop was the stop for Rochdale so we sat down and we all had a Milky Way each. By the time we had finished we saw red Scania Rossendale Easyride 223 on the next #464 to Rochdale.

Rossendale 223 in Bacup

I asked Matthew if he wanted to do this bus and he said yes. We got on the bus and flashed our tickets before sitting down near the back of this near empty bus. We set off back South and into Whitworth. We saw Rossendale Easyride 143 again, this time on the #463 to Wallbank. We carried on South and we saw Rossendale Easyride Solo 56 on a #448 service. We went into the bus station and we waited for the bus to empty before Matthew got a picture inside Rossendale Easyride 223.

Inside Rossendale 223

We decided to have a walk up to the top of the bus station to take a few pictures. We saw Rossendale Easyride Dart 332 came into the bus station and went on layover.

Rossendale 332 in Rochdale Interchange

We then saw First Manchester 66865 on a #6 Kirkholt circular.

First Manchester 66865 in Rochdale Interchange

We then saw dud First Manchester 37556, a bus which we had been on from Oldham to Watershedding back in January of this year.

First Manchester 37556 in Rochdale Interchange

Finally we saw First Manchester 40320 on another #6 Kirkholt circular.

First Manchester 40320 in Rochdale Interchange

We decided to visit the McColls shop where Matthew brought a bottle of Fanta and a can of Coke as well as some chocolate. He then visited the toilet and we considered which bus to catch next. On the bottom stand was required Rossendale Easyride Dart 163 on a #468 to Bury.

Rossendale 163 in Rochdale Interchange

I asked Matthew if he wanted to do this and he said yes. We got on the bus and flashed the tickets. The bus was nearly empty so Matthew walked past the last person on the bus and took a picture of the back.

Inside Rossendale 163

We sat down and the bus pulled out of the bus station. The bus went North West out of town and past Spotland football ground. We passed through Bagslate Moor and Bamford where we joined back on the route of the #469. When we got on Bury and Rochdale Old Road we decided to get off. We saw a junction with stops on both sides of the road and we got up and got off. Before the bus carried on West Matthew got another picture of Rossendale Easyride 163.

Rossendale 163 in Hooley Bridge

We crossed the road and and we sat down in front of a war memorial in front of the bus stop. A quick check on Nextbuses.mobi revealed we had a 10 minute wait for the next buses which was a #469 to Rochdale. As we had 10 minutes Matthew had a Kinder Egg and a drink of Fanta. When the bus came surprisingly it was required Rossendale Easyride Dart 139.

Rossendale 139 in Hooley Bridge

We got on and sat down near to the back. The bus set off along the road before turning up War Office Road.We turned at the turning circle before going back down to the main road. At the bottom we passed th following First Manchester operated #469 with Mercedes single decker 60262 in charge. I asked Matthew if he wanted to get off and wait for that bus but he didn't. The bus carried onto along Bury Road before passing Asda and the college and coming into town. When we got to the bus station Matthew let the bus empty before getting a picture inside Rossendale Easyride 139.

Inside Rossendale 139

The bus didn't stop for long and Matthew got another picture of Rossendale easyride 139 as it went off into the distance.

Rossendale 139 in Rochdale

We decided to have one last walk around the bus station and to take a few pictures. We noticed there was an elevated walkway along side the bus station and we went to see if we could take bus pictures from there. The area was fenced off at the moment but the position looks as if it would be great to take pictures from in the future. On the way back into the bus station we took a picture of 'Rosso' liveried 237 on the #464 to Accrington.

Rossendale 237 in Rochdale Interchange

We then saw First Manchester 40318 on the #456 to Hollingworth Lake.

First Manchester 40318 in Rochdale Interchange

Just as we were about to leave we saw the most interesting bus of the day, First West Yorkshire 30856 on the #590 from Halifax.

First West Yorkshire 30856 in Rochdale Interchange

Slightly disappointed that it was home time, we walked back to meet mum near the car. As Matthew hadn't had much dinner, we stopped at a local burger shop for a portion of fries. Whilst we waited for the fries, Matthew sat down and was reading his copy of Buses magazine. We walked back to the car and Matthew had his shared his fries with uncle Dave and then had a sausage roll was down with a can of Irn Bru. We drove out of town onto the A58 and we passed another bendy bus on the #471, required First Manchester 12010. We turned onto the M627 and then we took the Westbound M62. We continued west until we reached the M6. On the way back we overtook 3 different mini coaches. First we overtook Whitegate Travel BIG 6693 followed by Mawley Oak Travel Iveco minibus MX58 LYZ further down towards the A54 we overtook Wicksons minicoach WT09 WCT. Going the other way we passed a group of First liveried Wright Streetlites with the door forward configuration. We turned at the A500 and we carried on South to the A50. When we passed the Britannia stadium we could see a fire somewhere along Stanley Matthews Way. We did the A50 to Longton so we could go check out what was parked up at Z Carz tonight. There were 5 vehicle on the spare ground tonight. First in the row was former Alton Towers Transport coach M534 RSO.

Z Carz M534 RSO in Longton

We then saw VW minibus OV05 WSW which was parked in front of Mercedes minibus W221 CDN.

Z Carz OV05 WSW in Longton

Next was plain white Ford minibus FP06 WTW.

Z Carz FP06 WTW in Longton

The last bus on the site was Mercedes minibus M372 NWN.

Z Carz M372 NWN in Longton

We turned into Willow row where the only bus there was long term SORN LDV minibus T408 JUX. We headed back onto the A50 and off at Heron Cross. We saw Lightning Travel T2 DLT before carrying on through Blurton. We Passed First Potteries 60068 on the #22 to longton and then we saw First Potteries 40367 on the #23. We got home at 19:00. For a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash with carrots which I burnt a little, followed by a slice of Victoria Sponge. Matthew then chilled out on his computer before going to be around 00:30... Mark