Trip to Hinckley / Earl Shilton 20-02-2016

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
2112	Hinckley, Regent Street (Stand R1)	Earl Shilton, adj Almeys Lane	1	Hinckley Bus
3318	Earl Shilton, adj Almeys Lane	Barwell, adj The Square	158	Arriva Midlands
2203	Barwell, adj East Green	Hinckley, Regent Street (Stand R4)	3	Hinckley bus
2570	Hinckley, Regent Street (Stand R4)	Nuneaton, Adj The Long Shoot	1	Hinckley bus
3318	Nuneaton, Adj The Long Shoot	Barwell, The Square (NE-bound)	158	Arriva Midlands
2170	Barwell, adj East Green	Hinckley, Regent Street (Stand R4)	2	Hinckley bus
3315	Hinckley, Regent Street (Stand R4)	Nuneaton BS	158	Arriva Midlands

Today we decided to revisit Hinckley. A quick check of the weather revealed there was rain all day in the North and West so we would have to choose a Midlands destination. We gave Matthew a choice of destinations and from the list he chose Hinckley. Matthew got up around 10:20 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set off around 12:00 and we headed onto the A5035. We went West towards the A34 and at Trentham we went North. After turning left onto Whitmore Road we joined the A519 for a few hundred yards and then we took the Southbound M6. As we traveled down the motorway we passed a number of coaches going the other way... As we went South we passed Shearers Grand Tourer 308 and an unidentified AC Williams coach. We left the M6 at Junction 11 and we went East on the A460 past the South of Cannock. As we joined the Eastbound A5 we saw Arriva Midlands 3309 on a #1 service. As we passed close to Brownhills we saw National Express West Midlands double decker 4870 on a #10A service. We also saw Arriva Midlands 2736 on a #3 service. East of Brownhills we got onto the fast section of the A5 and we bypassed Tamworth. West of Dordon we saw A2B Travel Dart T311 SMV going in the opposite direction running out service. We had planned to eat at The Copper Kettle roadside cafe, but when we got there it was just closing. We got back in the car and we decided to go through to Hinckley and eat there. We continued along the A5 and we saw Arriva Midlands 3507 emerging from a junction to the left on a #65 to Nuneaton. When we got to the B4666 we turned left and we ran the last couple of miles into town. On the way up we passed required Hinckley Bus 2106 on a #1 to Nuneaton. We couldn't park in the usual car park as the road was blocked after an accident. We parked on Rugby Road and we went into The Stottie Shop. The shop didn't have a toilet so we decided to go to the toilet before we ordered food. We walk along Waterloo Road and we could see the refurbished bus station taking shape along side the new Crescent Shopping Centre. We crossed Station Road and we used the toilet before walking back to Rugby Road past the library. Matthew had a breakfast washed down with a small bottle of Coke. After dinner we said goodbye to mum and we walked up Regent Street to the current main bus stands. The first bus we saw was required Hinckley Bus 2570 on a #1 to Nuneaton.

Hinckley Bus 2570 in Hinckley

Also on Regent Street we saw Stagecoach Warwickshire 36753 on a #10 to Grove Farm.

Stagecoach Warwickshire 36753 in Hinckley

Going North we saw required Hinckley Bus 2172 on a #2 to Barwell.

Hinckley Bus 2172 in Hinckley

Also going North we saw Stagecoach Warwickshire 36157 on a #48 to Leicester.

Stagecoach Warwickshire 36157 in Hinckley

We went to check out what buses were going North. Going South through town we saw Roberts YX63 GXP on a #159 to Coalville.

Roberts YX63 GXP in Hinckley

We saw that there was an #1 to Earl Shilton due, which we have never visited before. We decided to wait for that. We also saw dud Hinckley Bus 2714 on a #8 to Lutterworth.

Hinckley Bus 2714 in Hinckley

At the same time we saw a Dart on the #1 approaching. As it got closer we saw that it was required Hinckley Bus 2112.

Hinckley Bus 2112 in Hinckley

We got on the bus and we purchased Hinckley Bus Day Savers at £4 each. The back of the bus was empty so Matthew took a picture inside Hinckley Bus 2112 before we sat down.

Inside Hinckley Bus 2112

The bus set off northwards out of town and onto the B4667. We crossed the A47 and we went past the hospital before we turned right onto Hinckley Road. We ran the last 3/4's of a mile into the centre of Barwell and the bus stopped in the square outside the Co-operative Food store. After a brief stop we continued East up Shilton Road. At the Junction we turned right onto Leicester Road and then left Elmesthorpe Lane. We then ran through the estates to the East of town after travelling for over a mile we came into the North end of Earl Shilton. We traveled in along Mill Lane, Church Street and onto the High Street. A couple of stops down we got up and got off the bus. Once off the bus Matthew took another picture of Hinckley Bus 2112.

Hinckley Bus 2112 in Earl Shilton

The disappeared down the High Street and we looked at the timetable on the bus stop. The next bus to Barwell was due in 10 minutes so there wasn't time to go exploring. Matthew had a Milky Way and a bottle of Cola whilst we waited. The time past quickly and before long we saw an Arriva Midlands Streetlite approaching. As it got closer we saw that it was required Arriva Midlands 3318 on the #158 to Nuneaton.

Arriva Midlands 3318 in Earl Shilton

We got on the bus and we flashed the Hinckley Bus Day Saver tickets to the driver before sitting down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off Southwards and we realised there was more to the town of Earl Shilton than we had thought. The high Street was busy for shops than the centre of Barwell with such establishment as The Man Cave, several pubs and a bank. The back of the bus emptied out and Matthew took a picture inside Arriva Midlands 3318.

Inside Arriva Midlands 3318

We continued on down to Hinckley Road and we turned right onto Shilton Road and we Passed required Hinckley Bus 2570 going North on the #1 service. A couple of minutes later we were in the centre of Barwell and we got up and got off the bus. Matthew took another picture of Arriva Midlands 3318 as it carried on towards Nuneaton.

Arriva Midlands 3318 in Barwell

Right by the bus stop was the public toilets, so we used the key and Matthew used the facilities. When we had finished we walked over to Co-operative Food store and Matthew had a can of Coke and a small bottle of Irn Bru. He also had a couple of chocolate bars and a small box of millionaires shortbread. We sat on the bench outside briefly, and Matthew ate a couple of the shortbread squares. We decided to check out the bus stop by East Green to see it there was a #2 or #3 due before the next #1. It just so happened that there was a departure due before the #1, so we decided to wait there to see what it was. A couple of minutes later we saw a Caetano Dart approaching we new it would be a dud one. I asked Matthew if he wanted to do it and he said yes. As it got closer we saw that it was dud Hinckley Bus 2203.

Hinckley Bus 2203 in Barwell

We got on the bus and we flashed the Hinckley Bus Day Saver tickets to the driver before sitting down towards the back of the bus. This former Wardle Transport bus was on we first had from Hanley to Birches Head back in January 2013. We also had it on our last visit to Hinckley back in September 2015 from Hinckley to Burbage. The bus left Barwell down Chappel Street and we crossed over the A47. We went South down the B4668 and we turned right into Stoneygate Drive. We joined Barwell lane and we passed the Asda Store before turning left onto Ashby Road. We turned right onto Netherley Road and followed it around to the end. At the crossroad we continued forwards onto Tudor Road. A couple of hundred yard later we turned left into Stanley Road which we did to the end. We entered the town from the North down Hollycroft and we ran down into Regent Street. We also saw We got up and got off the bus and Matthew took another picture of Hinckley Bus 2203 before it carried on towards Three Pots.

Hinckley Bus 2203 in Hinckley

Going Northwards we saw Hinckley Bus 2176 going North towards Nuneaton. Almost immediately we saw required Hinckley Bus 2570 come onto Stand 4 on the #1 to Nuneaton.

Hinckley Bus 2570 in Hinckley

We agreed to do he required Solo on the condition that Matthew was well behaved and he didn't try and honk the horn... We got got on the bus and we flashed the Hinckley Bus Day Saver tickets to the driver and we wrestled Matthew past the driver before sitting down towards the back of the bus. Matthew was his usual cheeky self trying to honk the horn on the Solo. The bus set off Southwards down Regent Street and we turned right onto the B4667. There was around a 2 mile run down to the A5 and we passed Hinckley Bus 2112 going back North on the #1 to Earl Shilton. The bus emptied out in front of us so Matthew took a picture inside Hinckley Bus 2570.

Inside Hinckley Bus 2570

After we joined the A5 we traveled a short distance West before going South again down the A47. After a couple of stops we got up so we could get off the bus and return North on the #158. As we passed the driver we had let our guard down and Matthew honked the horn. Luckily the driver saw the funny side. We got off the bus and we crossed over the road at the traffic island which was right next to the Northbound bus stop. We only spent around 2 minutes on the ground and then we saw an Arriva Streetlite coming towards us. As it got closer we saw that it was dud Arriva Midlands 3318 that we had been on from Earl Shilton to Barwell earlier in the day!

Arriva Midlands 3318 in Nuneaton

We got on the bus and we flashed the Hinckley Bus Day Saver tickets to the driver before sitting down towards the back of the bus. We decided to do the bus back up to Barwell, where we could use the toilet and if we had time, perhaps get some chips. The bus went up the A47 and we joined the Eastbound A5. We went left onto the B4667 and we went into Hinckley. After a few minutes on Regent Street we went out of town and onto the B4667. We crossed the A47 and we went past the hospital before we turned right onto Hinckley Road. We ran the last 3/4's of a mile into the centre of Barwell and passed required Hinckley Bus 2106 on the #3 service. The bus stopped in the square outside the Co-operative Food store. We got up and got off the bus and Matthew took another picture of Arriva Midlands 3318.

Arriva Midlands 3318 in Barwell

As we had nearly 30 minutes so we decided to go to the chip shop, the Barwell Fish Bar. We selected a couple of can s form the fridge and the kind gentleman behind the counter gave Matthew a few chips in a cone whilst we waited for him to do the main portion. One we had been served we went outside in the square and the three of us ate the chips and Matthew drank a bottle of Irn Bru that we had brought form the Co-op earlier. We also had a few more millionaire shortbread squares. Whilst we were eating we saw Roberts YX63 GXR on a #159 to Coalville.

Roberts YX63 GXR in Barwell

Once we had finished eating we went across to the toilet on Shilton Road. Once Matthew had used the toilet we walked over to the stop by East Green. There was now last than 10 minutes before the bus was due. A few minutes later we saw a red Hinckley Bus Dart approaching. As it got closer we saw it was required Hinckley Bus 2170 on the #2 to Hinckley.

Hinckley Bus 2170 in Barwell

We got on the bus and we flashed the Hinckley Bus Day Saver tickets to the driver. The bus was empty when we got on it so Matthew took a picture inside Hinckley Bus 2170 before we sat down towards the back of the bus.

Inside Hinckley Bus 2170

The bus left Barwell down Chappel Street and we crossed over the A47. We went South down the B4668 and we turned right into Stoneygate Drive. We joined Barwell lane and we passed the Asda Store before turning left onto Ashby Road. We turned right onto Netherley Road and followed it around to the end. At the crossroad we continued forwards onto Tudor Road. A couple of hundred yard later we turned left into Stanley Road which we did to the end. We entered the town from the North down Hollycroft and we saw Hinckley Bus 2714 on layover on Lower Bond Street. We ran down into Regent Street and on the way in we saw a white Robinson's coach going South down Mansion Street. We also saw Hinckley Bus 2106 on a #3 to Barwell. When we stopped in Regent Street we got up and got off the bus. We saw required Hinckley Bus 2176 on a #7 service. We would have done this bus, but it was on a short service terminating on Roston Drive. We would have to wait until 17:30 for the #158 for the next bus that we could catch with our ticket. Whilst we were over checking out the #7 service we saw Stagecoach Warwickshire 36162 on a #48 to Hinckley.

Stagecoach Warwickshire 36162 in Hinckley

We also saw Hinckley Bus 2003 on a #66 service, but we weren't sure if our ticket was valid on this service.

Hinckley Bus 2003 in Hinckley

We sat on a bench and Matthew ate a Toffee Crisp whilst we waited for the bus. A few minutes later we saw dud Arriva Midlands 3315 pull up on the opposite side of the road on the #158 to Nuneaton.

Arriva Midlands 3315 in Hinckley

We walked across to the bus and we got on it. We flashed the Hinckley Bus Day Saver tickets to the driver before sitting down towards the back of the bus. After a short wait the bus set off down Regent Stree and we turned right onto the B4667. We ran the two or so miles down to the A5 and the bus emptied out, and so Matthew took a picture inside Arriva Midlands 3315.

Inside Arriva Midlands 3315

We crossed the A5 and we ran down the A47 into Nuneaton. After going around the one way system we crossed over the railway and we went into the centre of town and into the bus station. The bus station was that busy we had to park on the end as we couldn't get through onto the stand. We set off towards the toilet and on the way we saw required Stagecoach Midlands 47071 on a #9 service.

Stagecoach Midlands 47071 in Nuneaton bus station

There was someone in the toilet so we had to wait for a couple of minutes before Matthew could use the facilties. Once he had been we set off towards the multi-storey car park where mum had moved the car to. On the was we saw Stagecoach Midlands 36207 a #5 to Camp Hill.

Stagecoach Midlands 36207 in Nuneaton bus station

We walked over to mum and we got in the car. Matthew had a Greggs sausage roll and a bottle of Irn Bru. We set off out off the car park and we drove to the Asda petrol station opposite to put in some diesel. We set off out of town past the railway station and over the railway line onto the A444. When we got to the A5 we went West past Tamworth and Brownhill and to the Southern end of Cannock. We joined the A460 and we ran West to the M6. It was now raining hard as we went North but now that the roadworks have finished we made good time up the the 4 lane section despite the weather. We came off the M6 at junction 15 and we ran up the A500 to Sideway. We then went east to Longton so that we could check out what was at Z Carz this evening. There wasn't as much on the spare ground this evening. At the front was Z carz Ford minibus FP06 WTW.

Z Carz FP06 WTW in Longton

At the back of the site was Z Carz Mercedes minibus M372 NWN, which is currently out of action.

Z Carz M372 NWN in Longton

We turned left into Willow Row and we saw Z Carz silver minibus YJ61 GYZ.

Z Carz YJ61 GYZ in Longton

The compound itself was packed full of minibuses, but there were cars parked in front of them. There was another Z Carz Volkswagen minibus S973 OVP parked on the road. It was Z Carz silver Renault minibus DS07 LSN.

Z Carz DS07 LSN in Longton

We got back onto the A50 and we ran up to Heron Cross before coming off the A50 onto Blurton Road. We ran through Blurton and we went forwards onto Church Street. We turned right onto Beaconsfield Drive and we got home around 19:40. For a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash followed by a jam filled shortbread biscuit. He then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 01:00... Mark