Trip to Bromsgrove / Droitwich 08-08-2015

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
DK55 NLF	Bromsgrove BS	Bromsgrove, adj Princess of Wales Hospital Reception	97	Euroliners
33405	Bromsgrove, Adj Princess of Wales Hospital	Droitwich Spa, Ombersley Street East (Stop 3)	144	First Worcester
33401	Droitwich Spa, Adj Victoria Square	Bromsgrove BS	144	First Worcester
67659	Bromsgrove BS	Droitwich Spa, Ombersley Street East (Stop 3)	144A	First Worcester
33405	Droitwich Spa, Adj Queen Street	Bromsgrove BS	144	First Worcester

Today we decided to revisit Bromsgrove. We had check the weather for today and it was for fine sunny weather all over the Midlands and North West. We gave Matthew a choice of place to go to and initial he chose Middleton. After he heard me and mum discussing car parking he decided to change his mind and chose Bromsgrove. As Matthew had chosen Bromsgrove we decided to got a little earlier than usual so that we could try and get a ride on the #97 to Sidemoor which is usually operated by a Mercedes minibus. Due to the traffic on the M6 we often get there just in time to see it arrive back in the bus station after its ;last run of the day! Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set off around 11:20 onto the A5035 and we saw First Potteries 60069 heading towards Newcastle on a #22 in front to us. We did the A5035 up to Trentham and we turned right onto the Northbound A34. We left the A34 at Whitmore Road and we joined onto the A519 for a short distance before going Southwards on the M6. On the opposite carriage way we saw that traffic was almost at a standstill. There were quite a few coaches including Leons, Dunwoods, Wicksons and Johnson which we believe we away fan travelling from Wolverhampton to Blackburn for their Cahmpionship clash. One of the coaches was Johnsons YD14 GDA. We also saw a North Birmingham Travel Mercedes minibus, Sovereign W613 FUM & Shearings 308 (BK11 GJX). We ground to a halt just after Junction 11 and we crawled down to junction 8 where we left the M6 and took the Southbound M5. We made good time around the West side of Birmingham and we came to a halt again as we left the M5 at junction 4. It didn't take long to get off the motorway and onto the Southbound A38. We over the M42 and we left the A38 to go into town along Birmingham Road. We parked up at Asda and we set off on foot into the bus station. On the way in we saw required First Worcester 32067 on a #144 to Birmingham.

First Worcester 32067 in Bromsgrove bus station

Matthew went to the toilet and mum and Dave went to order food and reserve a table in the the Market Plaice Fish Bar. When Matthew had done we joined mum and uncle Dave and we sat and waited for the food which was done very quickly. Matthew had sausage chips and gravy with a bap and a can of Coke to wash it down with. When we had finished eating we said goodbye to mum and we had the short walk into the bus station. The first thing we saw was required Rotala Diamond 20183 on a #143 to Redditch.

Rotala Diamond 20183 in Bromsgrove bus station

As sometime the smaller operators don't always sell the Worcester County Connecta ticlets, we purchased the tickets off the driver of Rotala Diamond 20183 at £7 each. We also saw Clearway Mercedes minibus PEZ 3058 on the #99 Charford circular.

Clearway PEZ 3058 in Bromsgrove bus station

By the time we had got to the bus station we had around 10 minutes to kill before the #97 to Sidemoor was due. Matthew sat and had a double milky way which he shared with me and uncle Dave. We saw required First Worcester 33401 on a Worcester bound #144 service. We sat in the appropriate stop and a few minutes before departure we saw required Euro Liners DK55 NLF arrive into the bus station.

Euro Liners DK55 NLF in Bromsgrove bus station

We got on the bus and we flashed the County Connecta tickets to the driver before we sat down. As we waited for departure Matthew turned and took a inside the plush interior of Euro Liners DK55 NLF.

Inside Euro Liners DK55 NLF

A few more people joined the bus and at departure time the slam door was shut and the bus set off out of the bus station on the A448. We turned right carrying on along the A448 before turning right again into Willow Road. We went around the housing estate before turning left onto Broad Street. a short way along Broad Street we turned left onto Lincoln Road before going right onto York Road. We wound through the estate eventually rejoining Broad Street off King Edward Road. We turned right onto the B4091 and we saw First Worcester 33403 on a Worcester bound #144 service. As we turned left into the Princess of Wales hospital we also saw First Worcester 67665 on a Worcester bound #144A service. At the hospital we got up and got off the bus. Matthew took another picture of Euro Liners DK55 NLF as it carried on back towards Bromsgrove.

Euro Liners DK55 NLF in Bromsgrove

We looked at the stop information at the stop outside the hospital and there wasn't another bus for nearly an hour! So we decided to walk back onto the main road to wait for the next #144/144A going towards Bromsgrove. With 4 buses an hour we were confident we wouldn't have to wait too long. We sat on a bench by the bus stop and Matthew had a can of Vimto. After a while we saw required First Worcester 67601 going Northwards. After around 20 minutes I decided to look up the bus times using nextbuses.mobi. The next bus was due at 14:38 in a few minutes time. The buses didn't run at exactly 15 minute intervals... Pretty much bang on the time it was due, we saw a double decker approaching up the road. As it got closer we saw that it was dud First Worcester 33405.

First Worcester 33405 in Bromsgrove

We got on the bus and as it was now heading towards 15:00 we decided to go to Droitwich to check out the local services. We got on the bus and we flashed our Worcestershire County Connecta tickets to the driver and we went upstairs and sat down. We had a short run along the B4091 into town and we passed First Worcester 33402 going North on a Private Charter.We pulled into the bus station for a short booked recovery time period of around 5 minutes. The top deck was now empty and Matthew took a picture inside First Worcester 33405.

Inside First Worcester 33405

Whilst we waited for departure time we saw required Rotala Diamond 20851 on a X3 to Kidderminster and required Rotala Diamond 20304 on a #143 to Redditch. At departure time we set off out of the bus station and onto the A448. We joined the Southbound B4091 for the run out of town and we headed down to the A38. We saw dud First Worcester 67664 in Midland Red colours and we also saw required First Worcester 67648. We passed through Wychbold and we went under the M5. We left the A38 to run the last couple of miles into town. At the edge of town we turned right onto the by-pass and we saw required iGo Solo 2003 parked up in a lay-by between duties. We entered town from the Southern end and we got off at the first stop by the Spar shop. Matthew got another picture of First Worcester 33405 as it carried on towards Worcester.

First Worcester 33405 in Droitwich Spa

At the stop behind us we saw dud Rotala Diamond 20654 on the #19A town circular to Chawson.

Rotala Diamond 20654 in Droitwich Spa

This is a bus we had been on in our last visit to Bromsgrove when it was on the #149 to Webbs of Wychbold back in June. As we didn't required the bus we decided to use the time to go and visit the Spar shop. Matthew picked some chocolate and a couple of cans of pop to re-stock the trip bag. We headed off towards Victoria Square and on the way Matthew indicated that he wanted the toilet. We went in a new direction by following the sign for the shopping centre. Here we saw a Morrisons and a small shopping aracde that had a toilet block. Matthew used the toilet and then we headed back towards where we got off the bus originally. There was another Rotala bus on town circulars... It was an Alexander bodied Dart so we went to see if it was a required one. As we got closer we saw that it was dud Rotala Diamond 20252 on the #19C to Primsland Way.

Rotala Diamond 20252 in Droitwich Spa

This was another bus that travelled on back in June, when we had it around Droitwich on the same service. As far as we knew there were only two different buses on the town circulars, so we walked up to Victoria Square so that we could go after required First Worcester 32067. We had a few minutes to wait for the next Northbound #144, so Matthew sat down in the shade and drank a can of Cherry Coke. Just after he started drink required First Worcester 33401 made an appearance, turning the corner out of Heritage Way.

First Worcester 33401 in Droitwich Spa

Matthew quickly finished his can and threw it in the bin before climbed aboard the bus and we flashed the Worcestershire County Connecta ticket to the driver. We went upstairs and the bus was quite well filled. It was also quite warm too. The bus set off through town and left onto Worcester Road. We crossed the crossroads and onto the B4065 for the journey up to the A38. we carried on North and we went under the M5 and into Wychbold. It was at this point that we passed First Worcester 32067 going South towards Worcester on a #144... Drat! I was hoping we would make it up to Bromsgrove to catch this bus back. We carried on Northwards and we left the A38 to run into town along the B4091. We pulled into the bus station an we got up and got off the bus. Matthew got another picture of First Worcester 33401 as it loaded up with passenger for it continued run North up to Birmingham.

First Worcester 33401 in Bromsgrove bus station

It was a bit late in the day to off towards Redditch or Kidderminster, so we decided it would probably be best if we went back down to Droitwich to try and get First Worcester 32067 in. As we waited for a Southbound bus we saw required Rotala Diamond 30163 on a #143 to Redditch.

Rotala Diamond 30163 in Bromsgrove bus station

We also saw dud First Worcester 67658 come and go on a #144 to Worcester.

First Worcester 67658 in Bromsgrove bus station

We decided to wait for the next bus down. We also saw required Rotala Diamond 30302 on a X3 service to kidderminster.

Rotala Diamond 30302 in Bromsgrove bus station

Shortly afterwards we saw required iGo 2003 on a #145 to Longbridge.

IGo 2003 in Bromsgrove bus station

If we had not done First Worcester 33401 up from Droitwich, this was the bus we would have travelled up on. We sat on a bench and we shared a Galaxy Caramel. A few minutes later we saw required First Worcester 67659 come into the bus station on a #144A to Worcester.

First Worcester 67659 in Bromsgrove bus station

We got on the bus and we flashed the Worcestershire County Connecta tickets to the driver. The bus was nearly empty at this point, so Matthew took a picture of the empty rear of the bus before we sat down near to the back of the bus.

Inside First Worcester 67659

The bus had a few minutes recover time in the bus station and then it left and went southwards down the A448. We turned left onto the B4091 and we went Southwards to the A38. As this was the #144A, at Wychbold we headed into the garden centre to stop at the bespoke shed bus shelter. We then left the garden centre and we carried on Southwards through the village of wychbold and under the M5. On the edge of town we left the A38 to enter town along the B4065. We circled around the town to the South on the by-pass and we got up and got off the stop at Ombersley Stop East. Matthew took a another picture of First Worcester 67659 as it disappeared towards Worcester.

First Worcester 67659 in Droitwich Spa

A quick look at the stop revealed that the town circulars had all but finished for the day. We walked down to Victoria Square and the was a #144 due. It turned the corner and it was required First Worcester 67653. We turned it down hoping that maybe the next one would be required First Worcester 32067. As the variety of chocolate had been a little disappointing at the Spar shop, we decided to see if there was another shop we could use. We set off onto st Andrew Road and we turned left onto Worcester Road. We saw a small newsagents at the junction of High Street and Queen Street and it was right next the the Bromsgrove bound bus stop too. We went into the shop to get more chocolate and drinks and afterwards we sat at the bus stop. Matthew drank a can of Irn Bru and we turned down dud iGo 2001 on the #145. We also saw dud Rotala Diamond 20252 on the #20 town circular service. mum texted us to ask how much longer we would be... It was approaching 17:00 so we decided that we would do the next bus whatever turned up. We saw a double decker approaching down the road and as it got closer we that it was dud First Worcester 33405.

First Worcester 33405 in Droitwich Spa

We got on the bus and we flashed the Worcestershire County Connecta tickets to the driver for the final time today. We went upstairs and we sat down and the bus set off Northwards over the crossroads and onto the B4065. As we joined the A38 we passed required First Worcester Centro 66694 going south on a #147 to Worcester. We carried on further North and we went through Wychbold. Further Northwards we passed the dud Midland Red liveried First Worcester 67664 again. We came into town and we pulled into the bus station where mum was waiting for us. Matthew visited the toilet and then we walked over to the car. We left town up Birmingham Road and we stopped at the BP petrol station to take on Diesel. We carried on North and we had to stop briefly to let a wasp out of the car. We joined the A38 and we went North to the M5. The roads were nice and clear and we made good time up to the M6. We slowed at little as we joined the M6, but by the time we had got North of junction 9 we were almost up to full speed. As we went North we were passed by Walton's of Preston King Long midicoach BX13 CZH.

Walton's of Preston BX13 CZH on the M6

North of the roadwork we stormed up to junction 15 and we went North on the A500 up to Sideway. We joined the Eastbound A50 ans we came off it again at Longton so that we could go check out Z Carz. There were quite a few buses on the spare ground today, but some were right at the back or hidden behind cars. The first bus was Z carz Renault minibus YE52 UZX.

Z Carz YE52 UZX in Longton

We also saw Z Carz airport division Ford minibus DL03 HHU.

Z Carz DL03 HHU in Longton

Next to the maroon coloured Ford was Z carz Iveco minibus GK02 NWJ.

Z Carz GK02 NWJ in Longton

The last bus we could see clearly was another Airport division Ford minibus, Z Carz MJ03 DPU.

Z Carz MJ03 DPU in Longton

We turned into Willow Row to see what was in the compound. In the compound we saw a taxi minibus that I can't remember seeing before, Z Carz Renault minibus DS07 LSN.

Z Carz DS07 LSN in Longton

We also saw another Ford Minibus, Z Carz BN03 OVS.

Z Carz BN03 OVS in Longton

We rejoined the the A50 and we came off it again at heron Cross. We passed First Potteries 53207 on a #23 to Hanley and we travelled through Blurton. We went along Beaconsfield Drive and we got home around 18:30. For a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash with carrots followed by a couple of jammy shortbread biscuits. Matthew then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 01:00... Mark