Trip to Hanley / Newcastle 01-10-2021

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
67155	Fenton, adj Travers Court	Hanley BS	23	First Potteries
69172	Hanley BS	Fenton, Victoria Place	11	First Potteries
63118	Fenton, adj Travers Court	Newcastle BS	11	First Potteries
32630	Newcastle BS	Newcastle, adj Seagrave Street	25	First Potteries

Today Matthew was in the residential unit and was coming back to Blurton for the weekend. He was also going out on the bus. Matthew got up and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. After getting ready Matthew went downstairs and went out onto City Road and to the bus stop by the flats. Whilst waiting for the bus we saw white minibus BX14 YHO heading towards Stoke. A short time later we saw First Potteries 67155 on a #23 to Hanley.

First Potteries 67155 in Fenton

We got on the bus and we booked to Hanley before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off down City Road and we joined the A52 to go under the railway line and over the A500. We continued onto Church Street and into the centre of Stoke. After a brief stop we continued around the one-way system onto Elenora Steet and right onto Copeland street. We turned left onto Glebe Street and we went under the railway line before turning left onto Station Road. We went past the railway station ans we turned right onto College Road. After running the hill through Shelton we continued onto Cleveland Road and forwards onto Regent Road past the former Shelton Care building. We turned left onto Lower Bethesda Street and we crossed over the ring road onto Bethesda Street. We turned right onto John Street. We entered the bus station and we got up and got off the bus. We saw Cabability HJ14 DHF. We set off onto Lichfield Street and we went forwards onto Stafford Street. We went into Wilko and we brought some of the weekly shopping. We returned to the bus station and Matthew used the toilet. The toilet was closed so we walked out of the bus station and along Lichfield Street onto Tontine Street. We vwalked across Tontine Square and we went to the indoor market and used the toilet there. When we had finished we headed down through Tontine Square and across Stafford Street. We went down Piccadilly and left onto Cheapside. We stopped at the Seafarer and Matthew had sausage chips and gravy washed down with a can of Coke. After eating dinner Matthew used the toilet before going out onto Cheapside. We walked along Ceapside past the town hall onto Albion Street and left onto Lichfield Street and back to the bus station. We waited for a bus back to Fenton. The bus appeared and it was First Potteries 69172 on a #11 to Newcastle.

First Potteries 69172 in Hanley bus staion

We got on the bus and we booked to Fenton we sat down. We set off up set off onto John Street and we turned left onto Bethesda Street. We turned left onto the ring road and left onto Lichfield Street and we turned right onto Birch Terrace. We followed the road around onto Charles Street and we turned right onto Old Hall Street. We crossed over the ring road onto Bucknall New Road. We ran down the hill through Limekiln lights and we turned right onto Dividy Road. We turned left onto Beverley Drive and right onto Dawlish Drive. We ran through the estate and back onto the A5272. We ran up to Adderley Green. At the roundabout we turned right onto Anchor Road. We turned left onto Market Street and right onto Commerce Street past the former Co-op Bank. We went arounf the roundabout and turned right onto The Strand. After a brief stop we ran down the Strand and under the railway line onto King Street. We continued down through Fenton and forwards onto City Road. We went past KFC and we got up and got off. We walked down City Road and we turned left onto Christchurch Street. We turned right onto Temple Street and back to the residential unit. We went upstairs to chill out before I came to pick him up. Around 15:00 I got droped off by mum and and I waited for Matthew. He came downstairs and we set off onto City Road. We walked towards the bus stop and we saw Afford rent-a-car HV70 RXA parked up in their garage.

Afford rent-a-car HV70 RXA in Fenton

We waited at the bus stop for a bus towards Newcastle. The traffic was unusually busy and the bus was a little late. A short time later we saw the bus approaching. It was First Potteries 63118 on a #11 to Newcastle. We got on the bus and we booked to Newcastle before sitting down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off down City Road and we ran down the hill over the old railway line to Leek and onto the A52. We ran under the railway line and over the A500 and straight into Stoke town centre along Church Street. After a brief stop in Stoke we continued along church Street and forwards onto Hartshill Road. We ran up the hill and into Hartshill. We ran forwards onto George Street and we ran down the hill into Newcastle. We turned left at the roundabout onto Barracks Road and into the bus station where we got up and got off the bus. Once off the bus Matthew took a picture of First Potteries 63118 before it returned to Hanley on a #11 service.

First Potteries 63118 in Newcastle bus station

We walked down to the bottom end of the bus station and we saw Arriva Midlands 3693 on a #64 to Hanley.

Arriva Midlands 3693 in Newcastle bus station

We needed to catch a bus towards grandma's house. We had just missed First Potteries 63178 on a #22 to Longton and First Pottereies 65039 on a #101 to Stafford. We decided to do the #25. We saw it was First Potteries on a #25 to Hanley.

First Potteries 32630 in Newcastle bus station

We got on the bus and we booked to the hospital before going upstairs and sitting down. The bus set off out of the bus station and unusually it turned left onto Barracks Road. We wondered if the bus had been displaying the wrong number or had been diverted. We crossed the jubilee roundabout onto the A53 and we followed the one-way system over to George Street. As the bus was heading towards Stoke we decided to get up and get off the bus and Matthew took a picture of First Potteries 32630 before it continued towards Hanley.

First Potteries 32630 in Newcastle

We had got off opposite The Rigger and we crossed over George Street and onto North Street. We continued onto Victoria Road and we saw a number of Newcastle under Lyme School minibuses. We turned right onto Occupation Street and on to Grandma's. At Grandma's Matthew had toast and a can of Irn Bru and used her computer. Later on he had a drink of Dandelion & burdock When it was time to go we said goodbye to Grandma and we got in the car. We set off just before 18:00 and we ran down Victoria Street. We turned left onto the A34. We continued southwards into Trent Vale and we stopped at the pub. We walked into the pub and we sat down at our one our normal tables. Matthew had a brunch with oatcakes followed by toffee sponge pudding with ice cream. Highlights of the bus sightings included First Potteries 65034 on a #101 to Hanley, and an unidentified ABC Supreme minibus reg like YR71 ???. Once we had finished eating we set off to Blurton. We ran down the A34 and Crossed under the A500 into Hanford. We continued down to Trentham and we saw black minibus OU19 CCN. We got causght it the football traffic and we queued to get off the A34 at Trentham Gardens. We turned left onto the A5035 and we ran over the railway line in to Blurton and back to the house. Matthew chilled out and had a bottle of Coke. We wrote some of the blog and sent a few e-mails. Later on Matthew got into his pyjamams and watch some TV. Matthew went to be around 00:30... Mark