Trip to Ellesmere Port / Chester 04-02-2017

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
10802	Ellesmere Port BS	Chester, Love Street (Stop E)	X8	Stagecoach Merseyside
37440	Chester BS	Kingsway, opp shops	53	Stagecoach Merseyside
34809	Kingsway, opp shops	Chester BS	53	Stagecoach Merseyside
21259	Chester BS	Blacon, Blacon Parade	1	Stagecoach Merseyside
3146	Blacon, Blacon Parade	Chester BS	1	Arriva NW&W
37441	Chester BS	Kingsway, opp shops	53	Stagecoach Merseyside
37441	Kingsway, opp shops	Chester BS	53	Stagecoach Merseyside

Today we decided to re-visit Ellesmere Port & Chester. We had checked the weather for today and it was for cool sunny weather all over the Midlands and North West. We gave Matthew a list of medium distance places to visit in the area and from the list Matthew chose Ellesmere Port & Chester. We did not do any research which proved to be a bit of a mistake... Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set off around 11:45 and we ran down to the A5035. We turned right onto Stanley Matthews Way and we saw KH Travel DS61 RHZ. We got onto the Westbound A50 and then onto the Northbound A500. As we travelled North we passed Z Carz HK57 LFY coming the other way. We joined the Northbound A500 and as we travelled North we were passed by ASA limousines L17 MOU. Traffic was running well and we made it to junction 20 in good time. We ran West along the M56 and then North a couple of junction up the A53. We came off the motorway onto the A5032 and we ran through the centre of Ellesmere Port before we turned left onto Civic Way. We turned left onto Wellington Road and we went past the bus station where we saw Chester Plus Bus minibus KE15 HFG. We parked up near to the market and we went inside. Matthew used the toilet and then we went to the food court. We managed to get a table quite quickly, however we struggled to get seats! There seemed to be a severe seat shortage and any free seats around were being guarded by people who's friends and family where at the food stall getting food. We got a single chair which Matthew had, and by the time mum had ordered the food the couple at the next table gave us two more seats! This annoyed the woman who had been standing over them in a scary manner, and the couple who came to claim the table seconds later. We got a chair given to us a few minutes later but uncle Dave decided to give it up to the couple who at that time had the table next to us and one chair they had just taken from someone else. It all looked like it was going to get very ugly. We were trying to shout 'Stan' back who was off looking for another chair. Once he spotted what was happening from the other side of the food court he was shouting 'Ethel, stick your bum on that chair quickly!' The food arrived and Matthew had a breakfast followed by a piece of lemon sponge cake which had come free with the food. This was washed down with a can of Coke. When we had finished we said goodbye to mum and we walked past the shops to the bus station. On the way through we saw Stagecoach Merseyside 47709 on a #6 to Stanney Grange. We also saw Stagecoach Merseyside 27256 on a #1 to Liverpool.

Stagecoach Merseyside 27256 in Ellesmere Port bus station

We walked to the end to wait for an Arriva bus to Chester. Whilst we waited we saw Helms Optare Solo 106 on a #7 to Kendal Drive.

Helms 106 in Ellesmere Port bus station

We waited for a while and we saw Stagecoach Merseyside 27260 on a #1 to Chester. We had been there for a while and we hadn't seen a single Arriva bus. I went to check out the timetables on the appropriate stand only to find out that Arriva bus bow longer come through Ellesmere POrt on the #1 & #2 service. We decided to catch the next Stagecoach bus towards Chester and to do Stagecoach buses for a change. A few minutes later we saw a double decker approaching. As it got closer we saw that it was Stagecoach Cambridge (on loan to Stagecoach Merseyside) 10802 on a X8 to Chester.

Stagecoach Merseyside 10802 in Ellesmere Port bus station

We got on the bus and we booked Merseyside Dayrider Plus tickets at £4 each before we went upstairs and sat down. The bus set off out of the bus station onto Wellington Road and we turned left onto Stanney Lane and we ran past The Grace Arms, which was a pub we used to eat at back when we first started to visit Ellesmere Port. We continued down the road for around 1/2 mile and then we turned left into the Coliseum Retail Park. We continued into the adjacent Cheshire Oaks designer outlet and we saw Whittle coach 22 & Caelloi SN12 DUA in the coach park. We got onto the A5117 and we ran Westwards to the A41. We ran South and where we would normally turn right we went straight on towards Chester Zoo. We turned into the zoo and we saw Stagecoach Merseyside 26062 on a PR1 service. We came back out of the Zoo and continued South down the A41. As we passed one of the country lane to the East we saw an unidentified Arrowebrook midi coach going towards there depot. We travelled along the northern by-pass and then we turned right onto the A56 for the run into town. We turned into Station Road and we saw Edwards BJ15 BCU, Llew Jones Coaches SJ15 LLJ & Lakeside YN57 MDU. We also saw Helms 120/121 outside the station on the City Rail Link shuttle service. We turned right onto City Road and we saw an unidentified Johnson Tours coach as well as Merediths BU16 GXZ. At the end of City Road we went around The bars and onto Grosvenor Park Road. We turned right into Love Street and that is where the bus terminated. Last time we saw this service it used to terminate in the bus station (another reason we should have done more research!) The bus emptied out and Matthew got a picture inside Stagecoach Merseyside 10802.

Inside Stagecoach Merseyside 10802

Once off the bus we decided we were going to walk back via Gorse Stacks so we could have a look at the new bus station. We crossed over Love street and we saw Helms 121 again on the City Rail Link shuttle service.

Helms 121 in Chester

We turned right into Foregate Street and then left onto St Oswalds Way. We crossed over the canal and as we got to Frodsham Street we could see the new bus station on Gorse Stacks taking shape.

Chester's new bus station

We walked along Gorse Stacks which is currently closed to traffic and we continued up onto George Street. At the end we saw the Bull & Stirrup pub which appears to be having a major refurbishment.

Bull & Stirrup pub in Chester

We turned left onto Northgate and we walked down to the bus station. When we got to the bus station we headed towards the toilet. On the way we saw Townlynx single decker W603 CWX on the T1 service to Greenfield.

Townlynx W603 CWX in Chester bus station

Matthew went to the toilet and then we returned outside to sit on his usual perch whilst we waited for something interesting we could catch. Whilst we waited for the next interesting Stagecoach bus to appear we saw dud Arriva NW&W 4640 on a #10 to Connah's Quay.

Arriva NW&W 4640 in Chester bus station

We also saw required Arriva NW&W 852 on a #12 to Connah's Quay. A few minutes later we saw coach coming in from the Western entrance. As it got closer we saw it was Ogdens coach YJ12 CGO.

Ogdens YJ12 CGO in Chester bus station

A few minutes later we saw a couple of buses coming into the bus station about to work a #53 and a #52 service. The more interesting bus, required Stagecoach Merseyside 34811 departed on the #51 to Plas Newton. We rushed over to required Stagecoach Merseyside 37440 which was about to leave on a #53 to Kingsway.

Stagecoach Merseyside 37440 in Chester bus station

We got on the bus and we flashed the Merseyside Dayrider Plus tickets to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off out of the bus station onto the ring road and we ran clockwise around the town before we turned left onto the A56. We ran North through Hoole and we turned left onto Newton Lane. We crossed over the bridge of an old disused railway line and then we turned right onto Kingsway. Just before the shops we turned left onto Coniston Road and at the end we turned right onto Plas Newton Lane. We turned right onto the A41 and we ran along to the next junction where we turned right onto Mannings Lane South. We continued forwards onto Kingsway and when we got to the shops we got up to get off the bus. As the bus was empty Matthew took a picture inside Stagecoach Merseyside 37440 before we got off it.

Inside Stagecoach Merseyside 37440

Once off the bus we had 15 minutes before the next one was due. We crossed over the road and we went into the Co-operative Food store where Matthew got a can of Coke and a small bottle of Irn Bru as well as a couple of chocolate bars. We walked back across the road to the bus stop and we saw required Stagecoach Merseyside 34809 to into Coniston Road on the following #53 service. Whilst we waited for the bus to complete the circle, Matthew had a couple of Milky Way bars. Around 8 minutes or so later the bus appeared in the distance and it was as expected Stagecoach Merseyside 34809.

Stagecoach Merseyside 34809 in Kingsway

We got on the bus and we flashed the Merseyside Dayrider Plus tickets to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off down Kingsway. As we travelled down the road we saw an unidentified Tanat valley Coaches coach in the Chester University Kingsway campus. We turned left into Newton Lane and we crossed over the bridge before we turned right onto the A56. We passed required Stagecoach Merseyside 37441 on the following #53 service and we ran down past the end of the railway station and onto the ring road. We ran past Gorse Stacks and we turned left into Northgate. We ran into the town centre over the wall and we turned left into the bus station and onto the stand. We let the bus empty before Matthew took a picture inside Stagecoach Merseyside 34809.

Inside Stagecoach Merseyside 34809

As it was starting to get late we decided to do another bus quite quickly. We decided to done something we haven't done since the middle of 2008, and that was to catch a bus to Blacon. The service, we learned consisted of #1's and #1A's with buses running different ways around the circular end of the service. #1's run clockwise and as you would expect #1A's run anti-clockwise. As it was such a long time ago we could remember very little about the run. The services are shared between Stagecoach and Arriva and tickets are valid on each other buses do to the Quality Bus Partnership set up for this service. The next bus to depart was Stagecoach Merseyside 21259 which was about to do a #1 service.

Stagecoach Merseyside 21259 in Chester bus station

We decided to do this bus so we got on it and we flashed the Merseyside Dayrider Plus tickets to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off out of the bus station onto the ring road and we ran clockwise around to to Liverpool Road. We passed the Stagecoach depot and we could see Stagecoach Merseyside 34793 parked up in the depot. We turned left onto Walpole Street and then right onto Bouverie Street. At the end we turned left onto Cheyney Road and over the Shropshire Union Canal. We went Forwards onto Saughall Road and after a while we deviated left onto St Chads Road. We continued onto Blacon Point Road around the Southern half of the estate and at the end we turned left onto Western Avenue. in the distance we could see Sealand Road, and the junction marks roughly where the English / Welsh border is situated. We turned right Auckland Road, staying in England and then right onto Melbourne Road. We re-joined Western Avenue further North and then we re-joined Saughall Road. We crossed over the disused railway line at the site of the old Blacon railway station and at the end we turned right onto Blacon Avenue. As we turned we saw a large parade of shops so we decided that this would be a good place to get off the bus. We got up and got off the bus and then Matthew took another picture of Stagecoach Merseyside 21259 as it returned towards Chester.

Stagecoach Merseyside 21259 in Blacon

Having sussed out how the buses work on this service we looked at the timetable ans saw there was a 10 minute frequency on the #1, so we decided to stay put. On the other side of the road we saw required Stagecoach Merseyside 21256 on the #1A to Chester. We were hoping the following bus was going to be an Arriva bus so we could get a different operator's bus on this ticket as we were allowed to do on this service. Whilst we waited Matthew ate a Curly Wurly that was in the trip bag. A few minutes later we saw approaching from along Saughall Road and it was indeed an Arriva bus. As it got closer we saw that it was required Arriva NW&W 3146.

Arriva NW&W 3146 in Blacon

We got on it and we flashed the Merseyside Dayrider Plus tickets to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off along Blacon Avenue and we had a long run af around 2/3 of a mile down to a roundabout. This part of the run was peppered with quite severe speed bumps which was doing us and the bus no good at all! We crossed the roundabout onto the A540 and we had another run of around 1/2 mile up to Liverpool Road. We ran around the one-way system and passed the Stagecoach bus depot and into town along Northgate. We turned right onto Hunters Street by the cinema which is currently being refurbished and we entered the bus station. When puled up on stand we got up and got off the bus. As we entered the bus station we saw a National Express liveried coach parked up on the coach stand so we went over to investigate. Closer inspection revealed it was Selwyns FJ13 EBF about to work a #381 to Leeds.

Selwyns FJ13 EBF in Chester bus station

Whilst we waited for another bus to do we went back over to the perch to take a few more bus pictures. We saw Arriva NW&W 4640 again which had obviously completed a round trip to Connah's Quay since we first arrived in the bus station. Across the way we saw Stagecoach Merseyside 37441 arrive and sit out of service opposite the Stagecoach local stands.

Stagecoach Merseyside 37441 in Chester bus station

We suspected that this would eventually do another #51 or #53 service. Mum had now arrived in the car and parked up in the car park by the bus station, so we needed to do a very quick out and back just to get at least one more bus in before we went home. The bus came into work the next #51 and it was dud Stagecoach Merseyside 37440 which we had been on earlier. Stagecoach Merseyside 37441 move across from the other side and became the next #53, so we decided to do this bus. We got on it and we flashed the Merseyside Dayrider Plus tickets to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off out of the bus station and we saw St Giles coach YJ16 EHS We got onto the ring road and we ran clockwise around the town before we turned left onto the A56. We ran North through Hoole and we saw Barratts L5 BCL. We then turned left onto Newton Lane. We crossed over the bridge of an old disused railway line and then we turned right onto Kingsway. Just before the shops we turned left onto Coniston Road. We decided to stay on this bus and get as quickly as we could as mum was waiting for us, so I went up to the driver and flashed the Merseyside Dayrider Plus tickets to the driver for the final time today before sitting back down with matthew and uncle Dave for the return journey. We contined to the end of the road and then we turned right onto Plas Newton Lane. We turned right onto the A41 and we ran along to the next junction where we turned right onto Mannings Lane South. We continued forwards onto Kingsway and we turned left into Newton Lane and crossed over the bridge before we turned right onto the A56. We passed required Stagecoach Merseyside 34811 on the following #53 service and we ran down past the end of the railway station and onto the ring road. We ran past Gorse Stacks and we turned left into Northgate. We ran into the town centre over the wall and we turned left into the bus station and onto the stand. Before we returned to the car we took a few more bus pictures. We saw Avon Buses 155 on a #22 service to West Kirby.

Avon 155 in Chester bus station

We also saw Arriva NW&W Sapphire liveried single decker 2935 about to work the next #11 to Holywell.

Arriva NW&W 2935 in Chester bus station

we met up with mum and we walked back to the car park. Matthew used the toilet and then we returned to the car where there were Greggs sausage rolls and a bottle of irn Bru waiting for him. We drove out of the car park and onto the clockwise ring road. We turned left onto the A56 and we passed Lakeside YN10 AAK. We crossed the A41 got onto the Northbound M53. At the next junction we got onto the eastbound M56. It was now properly dark as we ran through the Cheshire countryside. We overtook LDV minibus AE06 NSU somewhere South of Runcorn. Near to Warrington we joined the Southbound M6 and we didn't see anything as we travelled Southwards in the dark. At junction 16 we got onto the Southbound A500 and we ran down to Sideway where we went east on the A50. As we travelled eastwards we saw an unidentified Ashcroft's Travel coach going the other way. We came of the A50 at Longton and we stopped at Tesco petrol station to take on some diesel where we saw black taxi minibus PO11 CGG. We continued on to Z Carz so we could see what was parked up there this evening. In the first row we saw Z Carz Citroen minibus LV59 DZC.

Z Carz LV59 DZC in Longton

Also in the first row was Z Carz Volkswagen minibus OV05 WSW.

Z Carz OV05 WSW in Longton

Also in the first row was Z Carz Ford minibus HK57 LFY.

Z Carz HK57 LFY in Longton

We also saw Z Carz Ford minibus YS09 LWV.

Z Carz YS09 LWV in Longton

We turned into Willow Row to see what was parked up in the compound this evening. Closest to gate was Z Carz Mercedes minibus CE02 LYX.

Z Carz CE02 LYX in Longton

We turned around and we got back onto the Westbound A50. We ran fast to Heron Cross before going onto Blurton Road. We ran through Blurton and right onto Church Road before we turned right onto Beaconsfield Drive. We got home around 19:00. for a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash with carrots followed by a jam filled shortbread biscuit. Matthew then chilled out on his computer until 00:00... Mark