Trip to Bromsgrove / Droitwich 06-06-2015

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
20654	Bromsgrove BS	Wychbold, adj Grounds	149	Rotala Diamond
67636	Wychbold, adj Grounds	Bromsgrove BS	144A	First Worcester
67661	Bromsgrove BS	Droitwich Spa, Ombersley Street East (Stop 3)	147	First Worcester
20252	Droitwich Spa, Ombersley Street East (Stop 3)	Primsland, opp Newland Road	19C	Rotala Diamond
20252	Primsland, opp Newland Road	Droitwich Spa, Ombersley Street East (Stop 3)	19C	Rotala Diamond
2001	Droitwich Spa, Adj Victoria Square	Bromsgrove BS	145	iGo
67649	Bromsgrove BS	Charford, adj Stoke Turn	147	First Worcester
67640	Charford, opp Stoke Turn	Bromsgrove BS	144A	First Worcester

Today we decided to go to Bromsgrove. We had checked the weather for today and it was for dry weather with sunny intervals. We gave Matthew a choice of place to go and from the list he chose Bromsgrove. Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set off a little after 12:00 and we went onto the A5035 and we headed West towards Trentham. We got to the A34 and we went North until we got to Whitmore Road. We went up the the A519 and then onto the Southbound M6. The traffic report on the radio said there was and approximate 20 minute delay going through junctions 10-8 down to the M5. The motorway was quite busy and we came to a stand just after the M54 junction 10A. Whilst we were slowly moving forwards we were passed by a couple of coaches, one of which was Angelsey based Mercedes coach Eifions BX14 OMH.

Eifions BX14 OMH on the M6

We continued through the traffic and it took longer than 20 extra minutes to get down to junction 8 that's for sure... We joined the M5 and we continued down to Junction 4 for the A38. We drove down the A38 a few miles and we came into Bromsgrove along Birmingham Road. We parked up at Asda and it was now 14:00. Matthew used the toilet and then we headed to the Market Plaice Fish Bar. We were going to eat outside as it was a reasonable day if a little windy, plus they installed a new shelter that was a little like a car port over the outdoor tables. A table inside opened up at the last minute so we went inside out of the wind. Matthew had sausage chips and gravy washed down with a can of Coke. When we had finished eating we said goodbye to mum and we headed off to the bus station. As it was getting on we decided to catch the first thing we saw. We had missed First Worcester 67699 in the newer 'Olympia ' livery which we hadn't seen before. We also saw dud First Worcester 33402 on the #144 and Clearway S895 SNY on the #93 Charford Circular. The first thing that came in was required Rotala Diamond 20654 on a #149 to Webbs of Wychbold.

Rotala Diamond 20654 in Bromsgrove bus station

We got on the bus and we book Worcestershire Connecta tickets at £7 each, valid throughout the county. We sat down near to the back of the bus and the bus set off around the bottom end of town. The bus takes mainly the same route as iGo's 145 service, which we travelled on back in February this year with their Solo 2002. We carried on towards the railway station along New Road and then we headed through the Aston Fields industrial estate. As we passed through the estate we saw and old coach outside one of the units. It looked Elderson Coaches KDT 281P as seen here on Flickr. We carried on into Morrisons negotiating the sharp turn into the car park and around to the store before carrying on Southward down the A38. We turned left at The Hanbury turn pub and we headed into Stoke Prior along the B4091. We turned right onto Shaw Lane and we headed under the railway lines before running parallel with the Birmingham and Worcester canal for a short while. We turned back under the two railway line which were now further apart and we went into Wychbold. We rejoined the A38 and we went South to the M5 roundabout before doing a 180' turn and going back up towards the garden centre. Eventually we did a left turn into Webbs of Wychbold and we stopped at the bespoke shed / bus stop outside the garden centre. We got up to get off the bus and Matthew to a photo inside Rotala Diamond 20654.

Inside Rotala Diamond 20654

The bus had a minute or so layover before departing Northwards, and we took another picture of Rotala Diamond 20654.

Rotala Diamond 20654 in Wychbold

Inside the bespoke bus shed / shelter was a garden bench occupied by a couple of ladies who were trying to get to Worcester. When we had been driving down the radio had retuned to radio Hereford & Worcester. The traffic report had mentioned heavy traffic in Worcester due to Ladies Day at Worcester racecourse. As such we decided to catch the first bus that we saw. There were a couple of buses due just after 15:00. There was a 15:08 #144A to Worcester as well as 15:18 #144A to Catshill. The first bus that turned up was dud First Worcester 67636 on the #144A to Catshill.

First Worcester 67636 in Wychbold

We got on the bus and we flashed the Connecta tickets to the driver. This was a bus bus that we had also been on back in February Rotala from Catshill to Bromsgrove on the #144A service. We sat down near to the back of the bus and the bus set off onto the A38 turning left towards Bromsgrove. We travelled up the A38 to the Southern edge of town and we turned left onto the B4091 for the last Mile or so into the centre. As we passed Bromsgrove school saw another Copeland'd Tours coach in the ground which Matthew identified as dud MIB 536. We also passed dud First Worcester 33402 on the #144 to Worcester. We turned into the bus station and we got off First Worcester 67636. There were two other buses in the bus station. First in the row was required Rotala Diamond 30701 which had just arrived on a #143 from Redditch.

Rotala Diamond 30701 in Bromsgrove bus station

Behind this was required First Worcester 67661 on a #144A to Worcester.

First Worcester 67661 in Bromsgrove bus station

We decided to do required First Worcester 67661 as it was due off and we wanted to keep moving as much as possible to get as many buses we could get. We got on the bus and we flashed out Connects tickets to the driver. The bus was nearly empty so Matthew took a picture of the rear of First Worcester 67661.

Inside First Worcester 67661

We sat down near to the back of the bus and we set off out of town down the B4091. As we joined the A38 we passed dud First Worcester 67664 in commemorative Midland Red livery. We carried n South and as it was a #144A we turned into Webbs of Wychbold to pick up passengers. The same two ladies who were waiting for the Worcester bus whilst we were at the stop got on... I wonder if they realised that the saw us get on a bus going in the other direction around 30 minutes previously? We rejoined the A38 and we carried on Southwards to the Northern end of Droitwich. We went towards town along Bromsgrove Road and then around the town centre along Saltway. We entered town from the West end along Ombersley Street East. We got off the bus and Matthew took another picture of First Worcester 67661 as it carried on Southwards towards Worcester.

First Worcester 67661 in Droitwich Spa

We went in the Spar shop and Matthew had some chocolate as well as a couple of cans to stock up the trip bag. We were considering going to the square to have a picnic when we saw required Rotala Diamond 20252 pull up outside the Spa on one of the town circular services.

Rotala Diamond 20252 in Droitwich Spa

We asked the driver how long it would take to do a full circle and she told us it take around 20 minutes. We got on and flashed the Connecta Worcester to the driver and we sat down towards the rear of the bus. We set off onto the A38 and we headed South. We turned left to head towards Primsland and we passed Rotala Diamond 20263 going the other way. The bus turned at the roundabout by Jackdaw lane and we went back across the A38 via The Ridings. On the other side of the A38 we entered Copcut and we carried on North through Chawson. We passed the railway station before we came into town from the West end. We waited for the bus to empty and Matthew took a picture inside Rotala Diamond 20252.

Inside Rotala Diamond 20252

As the bus was an ALX200 bodied Dart we crossed over the road to get a better picture of this fine beast!

Rotala Diamond 20252 in Droitwich Spa

We walked down to the bandstand to have a picnic. As Matthew started to drink his drink required First Worcester 67663 pulled up at the stop.

First Worcester 67663 in Droitwich Spa

The driver paused for a short while but Matthew was unable to drink his can as quickly as the driver the his apple! We had seen on the timetable that there was a iG0 #145 service just behind it. Matthew finished his can and also polished off a bag of Milky Stars. A few minutes later required iGo 2001 made an appearance.

iGo 2001 in Droitwich Spa

We got on the bus and we flashed the Connecta tickets to the driver of the bus. As the rear of the bus was empty Matthew took a picture inside iGo 2001.

Inside iGo 2001

The bus set off out of town and onto the A38. We headed under the M5 and into Wychbold, and we turned right into Chequers lane. From this point we followed the route of the #149 that we did earlier. We went back along Shaw Lane and through Stoke Prior and onto the B4091. We joined the A38 and we headed up to Aston Fields before entering Morrisons. This time the driver wasn't so lucky entering the car park around the tight curve as there were cars coming the other way. After a bit of manoeuvring we past the store entrance and we headed back onto the road. We passed through the industrial estate and this time the old coach had gone because we were looking out for it. We headed up to the railway station and we went towards town along New Road and we rounded the Southern end of town before going into the bus station. It was now 17:00 so there would only be time for a very quick out and back run. Matthew went to the toilet and whilst he was in there dud First Worcester 33402 made an appearance on the Northbound #144.

First Worcester 33402 in Bromsgrove bus station

As we contemplated going North on the #144 we saw a Southbound #144 coming past the bus station. It was required First Worcester 67649. We decided to do this bus so we walked down to it and got on it. We flashed the tickets to the driver and we sat down near to the back of the bus. The bus set off down the A448 and onto the B4091. As we didn't want to be late back we did the bus out of town about a Km South until the B4091 turned left to head to Hanbury. We got up and got off the bus. Matthew took a picture of First Worcester 67649 as it carried on South towards Worcester.

First Worcester 67649 in Charford

We crossed the road to the stop opposite and the timetable stand revealed the next bus wasn't until 17:38! We had around 15 minutes to wait. Matthew chilled out in the bus stop and we shared a Galaxy caramel. A few minutes later required First Worcester 67635 came past on a #147 service from Halesowen to Worcester.

First Worcester 67635 in Charford

A couple of minutes later we saw the bus approaching from the South. As it got closer we saw it was dud First Worcester 67640.

First Worcester 67640 in Charford

We got on the bus and we flashed the Connecta tickets to the driver for the final time today and we sat down towards the rear of the bus. First Worcester 67640 was a bus that we first had from Catshill to Bromsgrove back in August 2014. The bus carried on back into town up the B4091 and we entered the bus station from the South. As we went to get up the bus behind us emptied and Matthew took a picture inside First Worcester 67640.

Inside First Worcester 67640

When we got back to the bus station we got a chance to photograph Rotala Diamond 30930 which was on the X3 to Arley Kings.

Rotala Diamond 30930 in Bromsgrove bus station

We walked across the road to the Asda car park and we met up with mum. Matthew had his Greggs sausage roll and a can of irn Bru and we set off out of town up Birmingham Road. We joined the Northbound A38 for a few miles before getting on the Northbound M5. Traffic was much lighter than earlier in the day and we rejoined the M6 and we were moving quite well somewhere near to the end of the roadworks at junction 13 we were passed by Vision Coaches RE03 JAK.

Vision Coaches RE03 JAK on the M6

We carried on up the M6 up to junction 15 and we joined the Northbound A500. At Sideway we joined the Eastbound A50 which we did up to Longton so that we could check out what was on Z carz this evening. On the spare ground there was only one bus tonight. It was Z Carz Mercedes minibus M372 NWN.

Z Carz M372 NWN in Longton

We turned left into Willow Row and the only minibus in the compound was Z Carz Renault minibus DS07 LSN.

Z Carz DS07 LSN in Longton

We rejoined the A50 which we did to Heron Cross. We went through Blurton along Blurton Road and forwards onto Church Street. We turned right into Beaconsfield Drive and as it was just after 19:00 we knew the final Longton of the day was due. Part way along we stopped to let First Potteries 32054 go past on the aforementioned service. We got home around 19:15 but we saw The Terrace Pub LDV minibus BF52 MSV across the road. For a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash with carrots followed by a millionaires shortbread. He then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 23:45... Mark