Trip to Newcastle / Biddulph 09-04-2016

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
67631	Magdalen Road, Blurton	Trentham, adj Man-in-Space	22	First Potteries
41540	Trentham, adj Man-in-Space	Stoke-upon-Trent, adj stop R	21	First Potteries
41493	Stoke-upon-Trent, adj stop Q	Newcastle BS	2	First Potteries
37160	Newcastle BS	Tunstall, adj stop A	99	First Potteries
67603	Tunstall, adj stop B	Newcastle BS	99	First Potteries
32055	Newcastle BS	Hanley BS	4A	First Potteries
53830	Hanley BS	Biddulph BS	7A	First Potteries
158	Biddulph BS	Hanley BS	Nines	D&G
63172	Hanley BS	Longton Interchange	6	First Potteries
67631	Longton Interchange	Blurton, opp Ladybank Grove	22	First Potteries

Today we decided to go local... Mum wasn't feeling very well so we decided to do a standard local trip going to Stoke for dinner and Tunstall for a cake. We would go up to Newcastle and later see where we would end up. We checked the weather for today and it was for sunshine with a few showers. Matthew got up around 10:00 and had poached egg on toast washed down with orange juice. We didn't check the buses on the #22 before we set off today, we just went to the bus stop around 11:45, all the way over on Magdalen Road. The bus came around the corner and we could see it was one of the newer batch of Enviro300's a 3 in 11 chance of it being a required one. As it got closer we saw that it was dud First Potteries 67631.

First Potteries 67631 in Blurton

We got on the bus and we booked a Smart Day ticket at £5.30 before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off onto the A5035 and we headed towards Trentham. The bus was empty in front of us so Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 67631.

Inside First Potteries 67631

We crossed the railway line into Trentham and we turned right into New Inn Lane. A couple of stops later we got up and got off the bus, passing dud First Potteries 41540 on the #21 to the the Trentham Hotel. We knew that this would be the next bus back. A check of the timetable revealed that it was due to return in 13 minutes. Since the recent timetable change the frequency of the #21/21A had gone from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes. Just before we saw out bus come up the road we saw dud First Potteries 67602 on the #22 to Longton.

First Potteries 67602 in Trentham

Matthew turned around and got a picture of dud First Potteries 41540 on the #21 to Hanley.

First Potteries 41540 in Trentham

We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day ticket to the driver. The bus was empty so Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 41540.

Inside First Potteries 41540

We sat down at towards the back of the bus and the bus set off up New Inn Lane, We turned into Wilson Road and left into Church Lane. At the bottom of Church Lane we joined the Northbound A34 and we went under the A500 and into Trent Vale. A few hundred yards up the road we turned right onto London Road. We traveled the couple of miles along London Road through the West End and Pats city Cabs, where we saw black minibus SJ54 MWY. We went into Campbell Place and we got up and got off the bus. Matthew took another picture of First Potteries 41540 before it carried on to Hnaley.

First Potteries 41540 in Stoke

As we walked along Campbell Place towards Church Street we saw First Potteries 53828 on a #21A to Trentham Gardens. We turned the corner into Church Street and we went into the Stoke cafe for dinner. Matthew used the toilet and we ordered him a small breakfast which he washed down with a glass of Coke. Whilst we saw and ate we saw the the #25 service was all single deckers today. After we had finished eating we walked along Church Street to the Newcastle bus stop. We turned down the single decker that was at the bus stop on the #25 and we waited for the #2 which was behind it. We saw that it was a Caetano bodied Dart. As it got closer we saw that it was required First Potteries 41493.

First Potteries 41493 in Stoke

We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off along Church Street and forwards onto Hartshill Road. We climbed the hill into Hartshill after running through past Noah's Ark we appears to be being refurbished, we ran down into Newcastle. At the roundabout we turned left onto Barracks Road before we turned into Newcastle bus station. We let the bus empty and Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 41493.

Inside First Potteries 41493

We got off the bus and we sat down on the bench at the bottom of the bus station whilst we decided what bus to do next. We didn't have to wait long before a couple of double deckers appeared. First we saw dud First Potteries 32077 on a #98 to Ball Green.

First Potteries 32077 in Newcastle bus station

This was followed be required First Potteries 37160 on a #99 to Bradeley.

First Potteries 37160 in Newcastle bus station

We decided to go on required First Potteries 37160 as it was going towards Tunstall... Perfect for going to get a slice of cheesecake from the Tunstall Cafe. We walked up to the the top off the bus station to go and get the double decker. On the way we stopped to get a picture of First Potteries 53064, which was on the #97 to the Wolstanton Retail Park.

First Potteries 53064 in Newcastle bus station

We walked to the top end of the bus station and First Potteries 37160 was already loading up. We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart day tickets to the driver before we went upstairs. The top deck was empty so Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 37160.

Inside First Potteries 37160

The bus set off out of the bus station and onto barrack Road. We crossed the roundabout and onto the A527 past the Bramptons. We ran through Wolstanton and we turned right onto Porthill Bank. As we traveled along we passed First Potteries double deckers 32079 and 32056 coming the other way on Newcastle bound services. We crossed the A500 and and we went into Longport. At Trubshaw cross we turned left and we climbed the hill up Brownhills Road. At the top of the hill we went onto the High Street passing First Potteries 37157 on a #99 to Newcastle. At the top of the high Street we got up and got off the bus. Matthew took another picture of First Potteries 37160 before it carried on towards Chell Heath.

First Potteries 37160 in Tunstall

Once off the bus we headed into the Tunstall Cafe. Matthew went to the toilet with uncle Dave and I ordered a slice of Cheesecake which he washed down with a glass of a Coke. Once he had finished we left the cafe and we crossed the road. At the bus stop was dud First Potteries 66304 which we decided to turn down.

First Potteries 66304 in Tunstall

Whilst we waited for the next #99 we saw First Potteries 66302 on a #3 to Crewe.

First Potteries 66302 in Tunstall

A few minutes later an early Enviro300 turned the corner which we knew was dud, as we had our last required early Enviro300 last Saturday... As it got closer we saw that it was First Potteries 67603.

First Potteries 67603 in Tunstall

We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day tickets to the driver before we sat down towards the back of bus. The bus set off down the High Street and forwards onto Brownhills Road. At Trubshaw Cross we went forwards toward Longport and stopped at the first stop. The door wouldn't open and the driver ended up shutting off the bus. For a short while, worryingly the bus wouldn't restart for a short while. The driver eventually got the bus re-started and the door open. The bus carried on across the A500 and up Porthill Road. We turned left and ran through Wolstanton, and we came into Newcastle. We crossed the roundabout onto Barracks Road and we went into the bus station. We got off the bus and we headed down to the bottom of the bus station. We considered doing required First Potteries 67633 on a #25, but we decided against it. We went down to the bottom of the bus station whilst we decided what to do next. We then saw First Potteries 32053 on a #99 to Chell Heath.

First Potteries 32053 in Newcastle bus station

A few minute later we saw D&G Bus Dart 184 on a #74 to Audley.

D&G 184 in Newcastle bus station

We also saw D&G Bus 134 on a #73 to Park Site.

D&G 134 in Newcastle bus station

A few minutes later we saw a double decker approaching... It was dud First Potteries 32055 on a #4A to Hanley.

First Potteries 32055 in Newcastle bus station

We decided to do this bus as it was going to Hanley. We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day ticket to the driver before we went upstairs. The top deck was empty at the back, so Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 32055.

Inside First Potteries 32055

The bus set off out of the bus station and onto Barracks Road. We crossed the roundabout onto the A53 and we ran up and over into Etruria. We crossed the A500 and and we headed up to Festival Park. We left the A53 onto Forge Lane passing the site of the new pub being contructed. We came back towards the A53 along Festival Way. We crossed under the A53 and we ran up Etruria Road and into Hanley. We continued onto trinity Street before turning right into Stafford Street. Past the town hall and Radio Stoke. We entered the bus station off Bagnall Street. Once off the bus Matthew went to the toilet before we headed over to John Street car park to take a few bus pictures. One of the first buses we saw was required D&G 119 on the #9 to Biddulph.

D&G 119 in Hanley bus station

We also saw D&G Bus 145 on a #16 to Leek.

D&G 145 in Hanley bus station

Matthew shared a Cadbury's Snack Bar with me and uncle Dave and had a bottle of Cherryade. A few minutes later we saw First Potteries 63099 on a #3 to Crewe.

First Potteries 63099 in Hanley bus station

Whilst we were in the car park we were approached by security. The guy asked what we were up to and I told him we were taking bus pictures. He wanted to make sure we were drinking and causing trouble. He through Matthew was smoking when he was eating chocolate! We then saw required Arriva Midlands 3697 come in on the #164 from Market Drayton and then went on layover.

Arriva Midlands 3697 in Hanley bus station

We decided to go back to the bus station to possibly do the Arriva Midlands Versa. On the way we stopped to to get a picture of First Potteries 42554 which was on layover.

First Potteries 42554 in Hanley bus station

We went back over to the bus station and we stood by stand C to wait for the bus. Just before it came Matthew decided he wanted to do a different bus. We went right down to the bottom of the bus station before settling on the Biddulph bus stop. A few minutes later dud First Potteries 53830 appeared on a #7A to Biddulph.

First Potteries 53830 in Hanley bus station

We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day tickets to the river. We were first on the bus so Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 53830.

Inside First Potteries 53830

We set off out of the bus station and down John Street onto Bethesda Street. We crossed over Broad Street onto Marsh Street and we turned right onto Tontime Street before turning left onto Stafford Street. We loaded up with a few more passengers and we went under the Intu Potteries bridge up Quadrant Road before crossing the ring road and heading out of Hanley through Townsend. We traveled through Sneyd Green and over Smallthorne roundabouts onto high Lane. At the end of High lane we turned right onto the A527. We ran down past Fegg Hayes and we climbed the hill through Brindley Ford. We turned left near to the Bakers Coaches garage and we went through Brown Lees. At Knypersley we crossed over the A527 and we went thtough the housing estate, passing the Barley Mow pub. We come into Biddulph town centre along Princess Street and Well Street and we turn right into High Street. To get to the bus station we turned left onto South View and right onto Wharf Road and we got off the bus. After using the toilet in the bus station, we went to the cash machine and we saw Deans RK11 ZKM parked on the High Street.

Deans RK11 ZKM in Biddulph bus station

We wanted to get something to eat so we turned down the next bus back to Hanley which was D&G Buses 160 on the #9 service.

D&G 160 in Biddulph bus station

We walked up to Wright's Pies and we brought a Manchester Tart and a small bottle of pop. On the way up we had seen a chip chip shop so we went to investigate. It wasn't open for another 15 minutes, so we walked further down the high Street to the Biddulph Kebab & Pizza shop where we brought some fries. We walked back to the bus station and we ate the fries in the bus station shelter. after we had finished eating we saw required D&G Bus 158 on the #9 to Hanley.

D&G 158 in Biddulph bus station

We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day ticket to the driver. The rear of the bus was empty so Matthew took a picture inside D&G Bus 158.

Inside D&G 158

We set of out of town and around the housing estate we followed the road around and we crossed over the A527 into Brown Lees. We rejoined the A527 and we ran down through Brindley Ford into Fegg Hayes. We turned left onto Oxford Road and we ran forwards into Chell Heath. We ran through Snallthorne and along High Lane and into Hanley. When we got to hanley we deiced to go towards Longton so we waited outside for a #6 service. A few minutes later saw First Potteries 63172 on the #6.

First Potteries 63172 in Hanley bus station

We got on the bus and we left Hanley down Lichfield street, following an unidentified Wilfreda Beehive coach down Lichfield Stre and onto Victoria Road. We climbed the hill up through fenton and onto City Road and King Street. In Longton we went under the railway line and we turned right onto Baths Road and into Longton Interchange. We got of the bus and we had a quick walk around. we saw First Potteries 63175 on a #6 to Hanley.

First Potteries 63175 in Longton Interchange

A few minutes later we saw First Potteries 67631 on the #22.

First Potteries 67631 in Longton Interchange

We got on the bus, and we flashed the Smart day ticket to the driver for the final time today. The bus set off out of the Interchange and onto Baths Road. We crossed the A50 onto Folet Road and at the end we turned right onto Longton Hall Road. At thr bottom by the BP garage we turned left onto Blurton Road. At Critclow's Corner we went onto Church Road and under the railway bridge before we turned right into Beaconsfield Drive. At the far end of the drive we got up and got off the bus. When then walked all the way home. Once home we got in the car so that we could drive past Z carz. We ran up to Longton and we saw Z Carz S973 OVP.

Z Carz S973 OVP in Longton

We also saw Z Carz green Ford minibus T418 WYJ.

Z Carz T418 WYJ in Longton

We turned into Willow Row to see what was in the compound and we saw Z Carz HK57 LGW.

Z Carz HK57 LGW in Longton

We headed back onto the A50 and we ran back to heron Cross. We then ran through Blurton along Blurton Road. We turned into Beaconsfield Drive and we got home around 18:30. For a late tea Matthew had bangers & mash with carrots followed by the Manchester Tart that we brought earlier. Matthew then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 00:00... Mark