Trip to Chorley 22-06-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
33472	Chorley TI	Towngate, Tesco (Stand F)	109	Stagecoach Lancashire
47331	Towngate, opp Job Centre	Chorley TI	109	Stagecoach Lancashire
15566	Chorley TI	Whittle-le-Woods, by Hardacre Lane	125	Stagecoach Lancashire
15563	Whittle-le-Woods, by Moss Lane	Chorley TI	125	Stagecoach Lancashire
MX58 ABO	Chorley TI	Buckshaw Village, opp Old Worden Hall‎	14	Tyrers
47329	Buckshaw Village, opp Old Worden Hall‎	Chorley TI	109	Stagecoach Lancashire

Today we decided to visit Chorley. We had picked up a leaflet on fares around Chorley after traveling on the #125 service last week and this is one of the reasons why Matthew chose Chorley. We didn't do too much research on this trip, other than have a quick look on the Stagecoach website and to check the weather. The weather was down as cloudy with heavy rain showers. Matthew also had a cookery class at Heathfield too, so mum set off around 09:20 to pick up her friend on the way. They went along the A5035 to Dresden and turned onto Belgave Road. They turned right onto Lightwood Road and then right onto Highland Drive. After picking up mum's friend we drove up to the A50 which we did up to the A500. We then went along the a500 up to the A527 Tunstall by-pass. We did this to the end and onto High Lane and down spring Bank Road to Heathfield. Whilst he was there he made a tuna salad wrap and also made a marble cake. After cooking he went into the hall and spent time in the soft play area. I packet the trip bag and came up to fetch Matthew. We set off around 1145 and went down Stanley Matthews Way and onto the A50. we then did the A500 to Etruria to pick up some LPG. As we were in Etruria we decided to go to Heathfield via Smallthorne. We did the A53 up to Sandbach Road and then to Smallthorne roundabout. Here we saw First Potteries 40010 on a Ball Green bound #98 service. We carried on down Smallthorne bank and then left onto Chell Heath Road. We had heard that the M6 was running slow heading North so we decided to eat locally whilst the road cleared a little. we had seen the cafe nearby so we asked if it was still open. having found out that it was we went to fetch Matthew from Heathfield. It was his last time here as he was now too old to attend these classes so he said goodbye to some of the great people that had spent time with Matthew during his many days in and out. We drove to the cafe on Spring Bank Road and parked nearby. Matthew had a breakfast and toast with some squash to wash it down. After eatting. Around 13:00 we left the cafe and got back in the car. Matthew had a can of coke and looked at his marble cake. As he had just had a big breakfast he decided to save it until later to eat after his post bus sausage roll. We headed back onto the A500 via the A527 and North to the M6. The northbound traffic was still moving slowly and as we joined the M6 we saw Caledonian Travel coach LSK 509.

Caledonian Travel LSK 509 on the M6

We caried on North through slow traffic. It cleared around junction 18 and it was quite beyond junction 21A. we came off at junction 27 and went via the A5209, past the BP petrol station which had a Costcutters, A5250, Boundry Lane/Pepper Lane, A49 and then the A5251. At the end of the A521 we turned left onto the A6. We did this north past the Interchange and then we parked in the flat iron car park just off the A6. We walked up the the bus station and Matthew used the toilet. After he had finished we were considering catching Stagecoach 15567 which we had been on before. The we saw required stagecoach Lancashire 33472 on a #109 service.

Stagecoach Lancashire 33472 in Chorley Interchange

We booked Chorley dayrider plus tickets and sat down near the back of the bus. We set off to Euxton and over the west coast main line. we then headed north to Buckshaw. The bus was sparsely filled, but because of how people wee arranged Matthew was only able to get a phot0 of the back few seats.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 33472

We carried on through Buckshaw and then into Leyland. Whist we were on the bus there was quite a heavy shower. I was getting wet from an open window which was half way down the bus. The rain stopped just before we got of the bus. It was a nice wide pavement and he was able to get a really nice shot of this ALX Dart.

Stagecoach Lancashire 33472 in Leyland

We checked the bus stop to see if this was where we caught the return #109, It wasn't of course, but as we looked we saw this fine example of a Pulsar 2 belonging to Fishwicks.

Fishwick's YJ60 GHF in Leyland

We walked around the corner to the right stop, (the stop opposite was out of use, the reason for which soon becomes apparent). There was no shelter at this stop and it started to rain a little. We saw Fishwicks YJ09 CWF heading in the opposite direction. The rain stopped again and then the bus we wanted appeared around the corner. It was required Stagecoach Lancashire 47331.

Stagecoach Lancashire 47331 in Leyland

We got on and Matthew was trying to honk the horn. the driver did it for him on this occasion. It was a well filled Solo and we sat near the back. As the bus headed through Buckshaw it did empty out a little. By the time we got to Chorley the bus was nearly empty. At the interchange the bus finished emptying and Matthew got a picture inside this bus.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 47331

On an adjacent stand was required Stagecoach Lancashire 15566 on a Preston bound #125 service. We decided to do this so Matthew got a quick picture before we got on the bus.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15566 in Chorley Interchange

We got on the bus and sat upstairs. The top deck was nearly empty but there were people dotted about front and back. We headed through town and onto the A6. We then headed North up to the hospital. When we got to Whittle-le-Woods we saw a convenient stop we got off. Matthre took another picture of Stagecoach Lancashire 15566.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15566 in Whittle-le-Woods

We walked down to the total garage which had a Spar shop. Matthew used the toilet and then e brought 2 bottles of Coke, a Milky Way and a Galaxy Caramel. As we walked back to the crossing we heard a noisy vehicle approaching, It was a Tarmac steam lorry and it thundered past at great speed!

Tarmac steam lorry in Whittle-le-Woods

We crossed the road and walked to the stop. Whilst there Matthew had a Milky way and one of his bottle of Coke. We then saw a Preston bus approaching. It was Preston Bus 20776.

Rotala Preston Bus 20776 in Whittle-le-Woods

Right behind this was the #125 service. It was dud Stagecoach Lancashire 15563.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15563 in Whittle-le-Woods

We got on the bus and sat down on the top deck. We followed 20776 down and into the hospital. There was only one other person on the top deck and they got off on the edge of town near B&Q. Matthew took a picture of the top deck at this point.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15563

We carried on into town and into the bus station. e got off the bus and Matthew used the toilet again. He also decided to visit the travel office and he picked up a timetable for the Transdev #124 service. We were about to do a #125 towards bolotn when matthew decided he wanted to go on a Tyrers bus. It was required Tyrer's MX58 ABO. Having worked out where the bus was going we got on and sat down near the back. The bus headed north as if on a #125 but didn't call into the hospital. Just North of the hospital the bus turned left into what looks like an industrial estate called Buckshaw village. At the end of this was a housing estate. When we got to the end of the housing estate we were on the familiar looking Central Avenue. The bus was empty so Matthew took a picture inside this nice example of a Solo.

Inside Tyrer's MX58 ABO

He also got a good picture of the outside too.

Tyrer's MX58 ABO in Buckshaw village

We got off and we were a little worried that we were gong to have to wait nearly an hour. Luckily that was for the Fishwick's #109. The stagecoach service was due any minute. It turned the corner and we could see it was a Solo. It turned out to be required Stagecoach Lancashire 47329.

Stagecoach Lancashire 47329 in Buckshaw village

We got on the bus and sat down near the back. The journey back was swift and we got back to and when we got back Matthew photographed the inside of the 47329 to.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 47329

We carried on into town and into the bus station We spotted Transdev 212 on a #124 to Blackburn.

Transdev Lancashire United 212 in Chorley Interchange

We walked around the bus station and took a few pictures of buses. One such bus was Arriva NW&W 2678 on a #362 to Wigan.

Arriva NW&W 2678 in Chorley Interchange

We walked around to the car where mum was waiting, with Wrights sausage rolls and a can of Irn Bru followed by his marble cake. We set off back via the A6, A5251, A49 and onto the M6 at junction 27. We headed South and the road was clear so we made good time. We headed onto the A500 and then onto the A50. here we saw former Procters coach HIL 7615 pass us. we got off the A50 at Longton to see the Z carz depot. There were 4 buses parked up on the spare ground First was Z carz DAF mini coach W344 WNS.

Z Carz W344 WNS in Longton

The we saw BV51 BNO which we haven't seen for a week or two, a regular school bus.

Z Carz BV51 BNO in Longton

R920 WNT was parked at the back and finally, relative newcomer W221 CDN was there too..

Z Carz W221 CDN in Longton

We turned Willow Row where we saw Volkswaggon minibus DX55 WGE parked up.

Z Carz DX55 WGE in Longton

We carried on around onto Longton Hall Road and then into Blurton. On Beaconsfield Drive we saw First Potteries 40179 on a #23 service. We got home around 19:00 and We had a late tea of bangers and mash followed by cheesecake. Matthew then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 00:00...Mark

Trip to Bolton / Horwich 15-06-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
15563	Bolton BS	Horwich, Church Street/Brown Cow (W-bound)	125	Stagecoach Lancashire
15583	Horwich, Church Street/Brown Cow (E-bound)‎	Bolton BS	125	Stagecoach Lancashire
15567	Bolton BS	Wallsuches, Chorley Old Road/Mill View Lane (W-bound)	125	Stagecoach Lancashire
15575	Wallsuches, Chorley Old Road/Mill View Lane (E-bound)‎	Bolton BS	125	Stagecoach Lancashire
22403	Bolton BS	Westhoughton, Market St/Westhoughton Church (Stop E)	559	Stagecoach Manchester
21242	Westhoughton, Market St/Westhoughton Church (Stop D)	Bolton BS	540	Stagecoach Manchester

Today we went to Bolton we had also planned to go on the to Bolton - Preston 125 service. We checked the weather for today and it was for sunshine and showers. The night before we were due to go we decided it might be a better idea to go on a slightly shorter trip, so he could ride on more buses. We agreed to go to Bolton another time in the near future and we decided to visit. Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast and orange juice. We set off around 11:30 passed the He Heath pub and down Stanley Matthews Way. We headed North to Etruria to get LPG. We then headed long the A53 towards Newcastle and then cut over to the A34. We stopped at grandma's for a very brief visit and then we carried on North up to the A500. We joined the Northbound M6 and went up to Bolton via the M62, M60, M61 and then the A666. We headed into town and parked near the railway station. We had already decided that we would eat at a cafe called Trinities on Newport Street. We walked over the railway bridge and we in the cafe. It was a perfectly positioned lace for watching buses at the interchange opposite. Matthew used the toilet and then sat down to have a small breakfast followed by a chocolate cake. After we saw First Manchester 61141 on a eating Matthew decided he wanted to catch buses fro the main bus station so we set off through town. On the way we saw Stagecoach Manchester 19638 on a #22 service to Stockport.

Stagecoach Manchester 19638 in Bolton

We walked in to the bus station and we saw First Manchester 60115 on a #8 service to Manchester and 60067 on a Withins service.. In the bus station Arriva NW&W 2464 was on layover. We didn't have to wait long before we saw our first #125 service. It was required Stagecoach Lancashire 15563.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15563 in Bolton bus station

We got on the buses and booked system one tickets which we could use to do the bus as far as Horwich. We went upstairs and sat down after Matthew had taken a picture of the back of the bus.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15563

We set off around town and then along Chorley Old Road. This route was familiar to us from time we did Darts and an Arrow on the #519 back in June 2012. We went beyond Montserrat and into new territory. We decided to get off the bus on the edge of Horwich and we got up and got off the bus outside a pub called The Brown Cow. We crossed the road and realised that the service had a 10 minute frequency and that we wouldn't have to wit for long for the next bus back to Bolton. A few minutes later required Stagecoach Lancashire 15583 made an appearance.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15583 in Horwich

It had now started to rain so the catching of the bus was well timed. On the journey back we passed First Manchester Enviro 400 33734 on a #519. The others that we had seen so far had all been Volvo B7RLE single deckers. We got back to Bolton and Matthew waited for the top deck to empty before getting a picture of the inside of 15583 too.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15583

We decided to go and visit the toilet before catching the next bus so we walked to the tardis style toilet in the bus station which was out of use, and then we walked to the market. After we eventually found and used the toilet we walked back to the bus station. Whilst we were walking back to the #125. We spotted First Manchester 60214 on a #572 service.

First Manchester 60214 in Bolton bus station

We walked over to the stop and we saw there was already a #125 service on stand. It was required Stagecoach Lancashire 15567.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15567 in Bolton bus station

We got on and sat upstairs. The bus was quite well filled so he didn't get a picture this time. We decided not to go quite as far so we could try and get an extra bus or two in before we left. This didn't quite work out. We passed a bus just before we got of and then crossed the road. We checked the stop and the service had now began to get more sparse so we had to wait around 12 minutes for the next bus back to Bolton. The bus appeared down the road and it was required stagecoach Lancashire 15575.

Stagecoach Lancashire 15575 in Wallsuches

We got on and sat down upstairs. We headed down through Montserrat we saw passing 33734 again on a #519. We arrived in Bolton and Matthew photographed the inside of 15575 too.

Inside Stagecoach Lancashire 15575

We then decided to have a walk around the bus station. We saw another Scania in the form of First Manchester 60172 on the #562 withins circular. On layover were Arriva NW&W 2464, 2454 and also Marshall Dart 7617.

Arriva NW&W 7617 in Bolton bus station

We also saw stagecoach Manchester 22403 parked up with #559 on the front. when we came back around it had gone so we checked put stand L were the #559 departs from. We decided to do this bus to Westhougton, A place that we had been before back in January 2013 from Wigan. We jumped on and we didn't have time to take a picture as we got on the bus. It was quite well filled so Matthew only got a picture of the rear seat.

Inside Stagecoach Manchester 22403

The route of this service on or parallel to the A579 and then on the A6 into Westhoughton. he us was a little slow leaving town tough traffic but when the service got into the back streets and back onto the A579 it soon quickened up. We got to the stop opposite the market in Westhoughton and then got off and took a picture of this bus.

Stagecoach Manchester 22403 in Westhoughton

We crossed the road and Matthew used the disabled toilet here. We then walked up to the co-operative food store here where Matthew had a Milky way, a can of Coke and a chocolate gateau. We saw Arriva NW&W 2733 on a returning #714 to Bolton. We didn't have to wait long before we saw the next #540 to Bolton which was required Stagecoach Manchester 21242.

Stagecoach Manchester 21242 in Westhoughton

We got on the bus and sat down near the back. It seemed odd getting on Stagecoach bus that had first bus seating inside. The route of the #540 was more direct route along the A58 and then the A676. We also passed an old Olympian which is now a burger van! We got into the bus station and Matthew photographed the inside of Stagecoach Manchester 21242.

Inside Stagecoach Manchester 21242

Arriva 2733 was on the stand in front of us. I thought had seen one of these #714's in front of the interchange earlier so asked the driver if he was heading in that direction and he said no. We set of to walk back to where the car was parked and we stopped to take a few bus pictures on the way. one of those buses was First Manchester 60183, a bus that we had back in May 2009 when it was an Adderley Green allocated bus. we also saw First Manchester 33711 on a #8 service.

First Manchester 33711 in Bolton

We saw mum on the opposite side of the road. She had drive up to meet us and had parked at the side of the job centre. We got in the car and headed out of town towards Bury. We then turned onto the A666 which we did South to the M61. We did the M61 onto the anti-clockwise M60. We did this to the M62 and then onto the M6. As we headed South over Thellwall viaduct, we saw an unusual lookiing Mercedes minibus. We passed the mini coach which was SK06 BTF. A few miles down the road we let it go passed us and Matthew got a picture of it.

Majestic SK06 BTF on the M6

We carried on South and onto the A500. We did this to the A50 and to Longton. There were 5 buses parked up this evening The first was Scania coach d104 XAN and next to that was LDV minibus M420 UEH.

Z Carz M420 UEH in Longton

Next to that was green Iveco minibus HX51 HRU.

Z Carz HX51 HRU in Longton

Next to that was the DAF mini coach W344 WNS.

Z Carz W344 WNS in Longton

Finally was airport transfer minibus DL03 HHU.

Z Carz DL03 HHU in Longton

We carried on down Longton Hall Road and we decided to stop at the St Marys chip shop in Blurton. Matthew had sausage, chips and gravy and a couple of bottle of pop. We went hoe and got back just before 20:00. After eating his chips Matthew had some of the Chocolate Gateau he brought in Westhoughton earlier. He then chilled out on his computer before bedtime around 00:00...Mark.