Trip to Preston / Clayton Brook 22-10-2016

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
15248	Preston BS	Clayton Brook, by Village Centre(lanatwta)	125	Stagecoach Lancashire
15246	Clayton Brook, by Village Centre(lanapamp)	Preston BS	125	Stagecoach Lancashire
15680	Preston BS	Preston, by Withy Trees	40	Stagecoach Lancashire
18380	Preston, Opp Withy Trees	Preston BS	41	Stagecoach Lancashire
15235	Preston BS	Bamber Bridge, by Smith Street	125	Stagecoach Lancashire
15234	Bamber Bridge, o/s Railway Station	Preston BS	125	Stagecoach Lancashire

Today we decided to re-visit Preston. As Matthew had been ill yesterday morning, I had to go to work today. The night before we gave Matthew a list of place from the North West and the Midlands and from the list Matthew picked Preston. We had checked the weather and it was forecast mainly dry weather with some sunshine. Research consisted of going on the Stagecoach website and looking at tickets and downloading the Preston area map to the phone. Matthew got up around 09:30 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. I got home around 11:30 and around 20 minutes later we set off onto the A5035 and then onto Stanley Matthews Way. We ran to the end past the Bet365 Stadium and we joined the Westbound A50. We joined the Northbound A500 and we ran up to Shelton where we came off it. We joined Shelton New Road and we ran past the old Twyfords factory up to the gas garage. We filled up with gas and and we joined the Westbound A53 before continuing North up the A500. We joined the northbound M6 and it was quite busy. We passed through the roadworks and on the Southbound side there were queues due to an earlier lorry fire. Once North of the roadwork we travelled quite quickly. When we got close to Preston we came to a complete stop. There had been an accident and two lanes were blocked off. As we sat in the queue for over half an hour quite a few vehicles passed us. One of the vehicles was Symphony coach OU14 SWY.

Symphony OU14 SWY on the M6

The traffic eventually cleared up as they moved the accident to the side. We then made good time up to the A59. We ran into town from the East and we followed the A59 into town. On the approaches we passed Stagecoach Megabus 50247 which was on a M11 service to London. We followed the A59 onto the A6 and we turned left into Percy Street and into the car park above the bus station. Once we had parked up an sorted out the ticket we went down the stairs to the bus station. Matthew went to the toilet and then we went to eat in the bus station cafe. It was now nearly 15:00. Matthew had a breakfast wash down with a can of Coke. whilst we ate we saw Rotala Preston Bus 20778 on a #14 to Longsand Lane the bus station. We come to start putting buses in the phone and we realised that the phone had gone flat! Stuck on the M6 Matthew had used the phone to entertain himself on the Internet whilst we waited to move. Whilst Matthew was eating his dinner I rushed across to the shops to buy a Micro USB charger cable. If we started off on the #125 service then maybe we could charge the phone up enough to let mum know when we were coming back. We said goodbye to mum and headed to the Stagecoach side of the bus station. There just happened to be a #125 on stand ready to go. As we got closer we saw that it was Stagecoach Lancashire 15248.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15248 in Preston bus station

We got on the bus and we booked a Preston Dayrider Plus ticket at £4.40 each, before we went upstairs and sat down. I immediately got the phone cable out and plugged it into my phone to charge it up on the bus... Another first for us. Adjacent to us was Stagecoach Lancashire 15244 on a #59 to Blackburn. The bus set off out off the bus station and around the Rotala Preston Bus side of the bus station. We ran up to the A59 and we went South-Eastwards out of town. At the main junction we continued onto A6 and down the hill. We crossed over the river Ribble and when we got to The Yew Tree We turned left onto Victoria Road. We then passed BM Coaches YH63 CXZ and JB Travel J900 JBT. This was the previous limit of our travel that we did back in October 2013, when we did Lancashire United 1102 to Higher Walton for Stagecoach Lancashire 15571 back into the bus station. As we stopped at a stop, we noticed a Nissan blimp above garage nearby. At the roundabout the bus turned right onto the B6258 and we ran South for a couple of miles and into Bamber Bridge. After crossing over the railway line we continued south to the A6. We turned left and we ran over the M6 past the Holiday Inn Express. We crossed over the M65 and we turned left into Clayton Brook Road before turning right onto Great Greens Lane. When we got to the shops we got up and got off the bus. Once we got off the bus Matthew took another picture of Stagecoach Lancashire 15248 as it carried on towards Bolton.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15248 in Clayton Brook

We crossed over the road and we walked across the shopping area and we went into the McColls shop. Matthew had a can of Coke and some chocolate bars and we paid for the stuff and headed the return bus stop. We have visited this area before when we travelled here from Chorley back in May. Matthew shared a double Milky way with us and whilst we waited for the return bus we saw Stagecoach Lancashire 15226 on a #125 to Bolton.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15226 in Clayton Brook

A few minutes later we saw a bus approaching from around the corner. As it got closer we saw that it was required Stagecoach Lancashire 15246.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15246 in Clayton Brook

We got on the bus and we flashed the Preston Plus dayrider ticket to the driver before we went upstairs. The rear of the bus was empty so Matthew took a picture inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15246.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15246

The bus set off along Great Greens Lane and we turned left onto Clayton Brook Road. At the end we turned right onto the A6 and headed Northwards. It the meantime I was plugging my phone into various sockets to try and get it to charge but for some reason. I came to the conclusion that the USB sockets on that bus weren't working. Not before I accidentally ran the bell going from on seat to the next. The bus stopped and I shout sorry down to the driver that it had been pressed in error. We continued over the M6 and we turned right onto the B6258 and into Bamber Bridge. We stopped at the level crossing to let a train got past Heading towards Blackburn were Sprinter 150149 and an unidentified nodding donkey. The barriers lifted and we continued North through the centre of Bamber Bridge and a further 2 miles North up to Higher Walton. We turned left onto the A675 and we joined the A6 by The Yew Tree. We ran North Westwards to the A59 and then we ran into the bus station. When we got off we saw dud Stagecoach Lancashire 15913 on an adjacent stand.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15913 in Preston bus station

As it was around 16:30 we didn't want to hang around too long before we caught another bus. We spotted Stagecoach Lancashire 15680 about to work a #40 to Lancaster.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15680 in Preston bus station

Matthew decided he wanted to this bus so we got on it and we flashed the Preston Plus dayrider ticket to the driver. We asked how far we could do the bus to and he told us we could go as far as Broughton, about 30 minutes up the A6. He also told us that within the next hour or so the bus service would reduce to hourly. We set off out of the bus station past the Rotala Preston Bus side and onto Tithebarn Street. We turned right onto Lord Street and right again onto Lancaster Road. We crossed the A59 and we went North up the A6. A few people got off so Matthew took a picture of the empty seats opposite to us.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15680

We decided that we weren't going to go much further as we didn't ant to get stuck! We saw a busy crossroads and we decided to get up and get off the bus. Once off the bus Matthew took another picture of Stagecoach Lancashire 15680 as it carried on towards Lancaster.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15680 in Preston

We crossed over the road and we waited at the stop opposite a shell petrol station. We didn't have the time, as we had no phone, but the was a bus due at 16:51 and we hadn't passed anything. Matthew had a can of Vimto and just as he started to drink the bus came down the road. it was required Stagecoach Lancashire 18380 on a #41 to Preston.

Stagecoach Lancashire 18380 in Preston

We got on the bus and we flashed the Preston Plus dayrider ticket to the driver before we went upstairs. We set off down the A6 and we ran about 3/4 of a mile to the north edge of town we ran across the A59 and around the one way system before entering the bus station from the South. Once we got into the bus station Matthew let the bus empty before taking a picture inside Stagecoach Lancashire 18380.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 18380 in Preston

Once off the bus we had a quick walk around. On an adjacent stand was Stagecoach Lancashire 47329 which was on a #1A to Gamull Lane.

Stagecoach Lancashire 47329 in Preston bus station

Matthew went to the toilet and afterwards we had a quick explore of the Rotala Preston Bus side of the bus station. On stand 16 was Rotala Preston Bus double decker 40595 on a #19 to the Royal Preston Hospital.

Rotala Preston Bus 40595 in Preston bus station

Further down we saw another doubled decker... Rotala Preston Bus 40407 was about to work a #8 to Nook Moor.

Rotala Preston Bus 40407 in Preston bus station

We walked out of the bus station and we got a couple more picture and then we returned to the Stagecoach side of the bus station. We need to charge the phone up more, so we decided to do another #125 service. There was another one on stand so we decided to do this. It was required Stagecoach Lancashire 15235.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15235 in Preston bus station

We got on the bus and we flashed the Preston Plus dayrider ticket to the driver before we went upstairs and putting the phone on charge. As we it was after 17:00 we decided only to go as far as Bamber Bridge. We set off out of the bus station and around the other side before we ran down to the A59. We headed East to the A6 and we ran over the Ribble before running onto the A675. In higher Walton we turned right onto the B6258 and we ran South for a couple of miles into town. We were considering going a little further South but we saw the barriers come down. A timely wheelchair ramp usage allowed us to get up and get off the bus before it pulled off. We were able to cross over the road and still get a picture of Stagecoach Lancashire 15235 before it continued south to Bolton.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15235 in Bamber Bridge

We stood at the adjacent bus stop and we were now able to turn the phone on as long as we kept the screen dim. It was around 17:37 and there was a bus due at 17:33 which we hadn't passed. A train went passed and the barriers at the level crossing lifted and a minute or so later another bus appeared. As it got closer we saw that it was required Stagecoach Lancashire 15234.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15234 in Bamber Bridge

We got on the bus and we flashed the Preston Plus dayrider ticket to the driver for the fianl time today before we went upstairs and putting the phone on charge. We set off North through Bamber Bridge and we ran the 2 or so miles up to Higher Walton. On the way I was able to send a text tom mum to let her know about our imminent arrival. At the roundabout we turn left onto the A675 ans we ran Westwards along this road until we got to the A6. We crossed the Ribble and ran up the hill into town, going forwards onto the A59. We ran into the bus station for the final time today, and we let the bus empty before Matthew took a picture inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15234.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15234

Once off the bus we decided to take a few pictures before we headed back to the car. We had followed Stagecoach lancashire 10023 into the bus station on a #41 Lancaster service. On an adjacent stand was Stagecoach Lancashire 18355.

Stagecoach Lancashire 18355 in Preston bus station

We walked a little further down the bus station and we saw dud Transdev Lancashire United 401 on a #152 'Hot Line' service to Burnely.

Transdev Lancashire United 401 in Preston bus station

we then crossed over to the Western side of the bus station where we saw Rotala Preston Bus Streetlite 32306 on a #19 to the Royal Preston Hospital.

Rotala Preston Bus 32306 in Preston bus station

Once we had finished taking picture we met up with mum and we went up the stairs to the car. Mathew had a Greggs sausage roll and a small bottle of Irn Bru. We set off out of the car park and around the one way system and onto the A59. We went Eastwards to the junction of the A6 and then we turned left. We stopped at a Texaco petrol station and we put some petrol in, before we continued East to the M6, where we went South. It was now properly dark as we travelled towards home. There was a speed restriction for some roadworks North of the A49 Winwick Junction and as we got to the 4 lane section South of the M62 the matrix signs were warning of emergency carriageway repairs on the M6 between junction 18 and 17. That darn lorry fire earlier was still causing problems! We made good progress to junction 19 and the matrix signs were flashing up Queue after junction. We passed the junction and there was no sign of bother and we got to around a few hundred yards of Junction 18 and then we hit problems. We decided to come off the M6 at junction 18 and go East a few miles to Holmes Chapel. We then went south for a few miles through Brereton until we got to the A534 at the Arclid cross roads. We went west for a couple of miles along the A534 and we got back onto the M6 at junction 17. We travelled South one junction and then we went south on the A500. As we went towards Stoke we passed 3 unidentified Meredith's coaches and an identified Malbank coach. At Sideway we went East on the A50 uo to Longton, where we came off to checked out what was parked up at Z Carz. In the front row was Z Carz silver minibus CN57 HWA.

Z Carz CN57 HWA in Longton

Also in the first row was Z Carz minibus NA06 SUO.

Z Carz NA06 SUO in Longton

Next to the was Z Carz Merceds minibus CE02 LYX.

Z Carz CE02 LYX in Longton

Nearest vehicle on the front row was Z Carz minibus BU04 GYW

Z Carz BU04 GYW in Longton

In the second row of buses we saw Z Carz minibus MV53 KKO

Z Carz MV53 KKO in Longton

We turned into willow Row to see what was parked up in the compound. Tonight we saw Z Carz Iveco minibus GK02 NWJ.

Z Carz GK02 NWJ in Longton

As it was getting late we decided to abandon our usual tea plans and to go to the chip shop in Lightwood to get chips. We ran up to the Chip shop via Spring bank Road, the A5035 and Lightwood Road. We parked in the car park by the chip shop and Co-op, and mum went in to get chips. Afterwards we drove home down Belgrave Road past a new building and onto the the A5035. We got home around 20:20. For a late tea Matthew had Sausage chips and gravy followed by a jam filled shortcake biscuit. We then sorted out the pictures and chilled out on the sofa. Matthew chilled out on his computer around bedtime around 00:00... Mark