Trip to Fenton / Hanley 19-04-2017

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
DY08 FFX	Fenton	Hanley	Charter	Shelton Care Group
DY08 FFX	Hanley	Fenton	Charter	Shelton Care Group

Today Matthew was in residential and he was going to his day service. Matthew was also going to visit his uncle Dave later on. Matthew got up around 08:00 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. Whilst waiting to go to the day service we saw First Potteries 67156 on a #23 to Hanley. At 09:00 we set off onto Temple Street and we turned right onto Christchurch Street and to the day centre. In the morning Matthew went to Hanley on Shelton Care Group DY08 FFX. We set off onto Glebedale Road and we turned right onto City Road. At the roundabout we turned left onto Victoria Road. We ran down the hill to Joiners Square and we ran across the roundabout onto Lichfield Street. We turned left onto Regent Road and we stopped at the church where Matthew went to the toilet. Matthew had a drink of orange. When we had finished we returned to Fenton in Shelton Care Group DY08 FFX. We set off onto Downey Street and we turned left onto Jasper Street. We turned left onto Lower Bethesda Street and we turned right onto Regent Road. We went forwards onto Cleveland Road and we turned left onto College Road. We turned right onto Wellesley Street and we went forwards onto Shelton New Road. We stopped at the other day centre to pick up another service user and then we continued back along Cemetery Road and Caledonia Road. We turned left onto Stoke Road and we turned right onto Wellesley Street. We turned left onto College Road and we turned right onto Cleveland Road. We continued onto Regent Road and we turned right onto Lichfield Street. At the roundabout in Joiners Square we continued straight onto Victoria Road and we stopped at the Esso petrol station. At filling up with fuel we turned left onto Victoria Road and we ran down to Asda. Matthew did some shopping and brought a can of Coke. We then continued up Victoria Road and turned sharp right at the roundabout onto City Road. We turned left onto Glebedale Road and back to the day centre. For dinner Matthew had a ham sandwich followed by Tunnock's Caramel bar. In the afternoon Matthew went on the computer. When it was time to go back to the residential unit Matthew set off onto foot onto Christchurch Street and then turned left onto Temple Street. Matthew went up to his room and used his computer and watched buses out of the window. We saw First Potteries 67155 on a #23 to Hanley.

First Potteries 67155 in Fenton

Tonight Matthew was going to uncle Daves house for tea. We set off onto foot onto Temple Street and at the end we turned left onto Smithpool Road. We saw D&G Bus 184 on a #40 to Longton.

D&G 184 in Fenton

A bit further down Smithpool Road we saw D&G Bus 137 on a #40 to Hanley.

D&G 137 in Fenton

We walked across the green that we used to refer to as 'the tip' and onto Willowdale Avenue. We turned right onto Wheildon Road and then into uncle Dave's house. For tea Matthew had beef & potatoes with carrots followed by a Viscount biscuit. Matthew also had a drink of Tango and some custard creams. Matthew watched telly, used the computer and listened to uncle Dave's DJ set. At 18:00 staff came to pick Matthew up to returned to the residential unit. We set off onto Wheildon Road and we turned right onto Willowdale Avenue. We crossed over the tip and we turned right onto Smithpool Road. We saw First Potteries 67157 on a #23A to Newstead. We turned right onto Temple Street and back to the residential unit. Matthew then chilled out in his room on his computer and watched telly. Later on he had a bath and then had toast and orange juice for supper. Matthew went to bed around 23:00... Mark.

Trip to Middleton / Oldham 07-09-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
61240	Middleton BS	Higher Blackley, o/s Hse 506 Victoria Avenue/Glenbrook Road	64	First Manchester
454	Higher Blackley, o/s Open Land Victoria Ave/Glenbrook Road‎	Middleton BS	156	JPT
513	Middleton BS	Moston, opp Moston Lane/Blue Bell	112	JPT
184	Moston, before Moston Lane/Blue Bell	Middleton BS	112	JPT
34098	Middleton BS	Oldham BS	59	First Manchester
34102	Oldham BS	Moorside, Ripponden Road/The Moorside (NE-bound)	83	First Manchester
66858	Moorside, nr Garage Ripponden Road/Turf Pit Lane	Oldham BS	83	First Manchester
40369	Oldham BS	Middleton Junction, Greengate/Middleton Junction (Stop D)‎	415	First Manchester
27598	Middleton Junction, Greengate/Middleton Junction (Stop C)‎‎	Middleton BS	112	Stagecoach Manchester

Today we decided to go to return Middleton. The initial plan was to perhaps ride on the the remaining Darts n the #415 service. Research consisted of only checking the weather which initial was for rain. Matthew got up a little before 10:00 and had orange juice and toast for breakfast. Re-cheking the weather forecast, we saw it was now forecastng sunny intervals and the occasional rain showers. We set off at 11:30 going to the garage to drop something off, and up Blurton Road to pick something up. We then went to Heron Cross and joined the West bound A50. At the A500 we headed North and onto the Northbound M6. Traffic was slow up to junction 18, the aftermath of an earlier accident. We then made good progress up to the M62, onto the M60 ring road around to the A576. We headed into Middleton along this road for a couple of miles passing Healings coach R902 WEC and the we parked by the Dusty Miller pub. We walked to the bus station and we ate at the van on the pavement adjacent from it. Matthew had a bacon and egg barm washed down with Irn Bru. Whilst we ate we saw a few buses. First Manchester 40369 was on the #415 to Oldham. We also saw First Manchester 30880. When we had finished we headed into the bus station and we saw Stagecoach Manchester 17011 on a #112 service.

Stagecoach Manchester 17011 in Middleton bus station

Matthew went to the toilet, but by the time he was done Stagecoach Manchester 17011 had left. We had a look around the bus station to see what we could do. We visited the Travel shop and got some bus maps, and then we saw First Manchester 61240 on a #64 service.

First Manchester 61240 in Middleton bus station

We didn't know the route of the #64, so I looked on the board by the stop and we got on and decided to ask for Heaton Park. We brought System One tickets and before we sat down Matthew got a picture inside this bus.

Inside First Manchester 61240

As we left we saw First Manchester 41781 on a #415. We headed out of Middleton along the A576 and crossed over the M60. Here we passed Heaton park and then turned left on the A6104. We got off the bus and then crossed the road to go back the other way. at our stop there were 3 services. There was the #64 back to Middleton which we had just missed which ran at a 30 minute frequency. There was also a #149 to Manchester via Cheetham Hill. Catching this would mean returning on the #149 and #64 or doing a #135 to Bury for a #163 to Middleton. There was also the #156 to Middleton run by JPT which was often a double decker. We decided to see what was on the #149 and if it wasn't anything special we would turn it down and wait fr the JPT service behind it. We then saw a bus going the other way which was little Gem 1801. Research suggests it was on a service #61 to Manchester. What we didn't know that one stop further up the road would have give us an extra service in each direction, the #115 and #116. We found out when Stagecoach Manchester 34116 approached us and then turned the corner on the #116.

Stagecoach Manchester 34116 in Higher Blackley

We saw Stagecoach Manchester 36075 heading the other way on a #115 service. We waited to see What the #149 to Manchester was, and it was an uninspiring Volvo B7RLE First Manchester 66871.

First Manchester 66871 in Higher Blackley

That wasn't worth going to Cheetham Hill with. The #149 in the other direction was a different story. It was required First Manchester Mercedes Citaro 60228

First Manchester 60228 in Higher Blackley

A few minutes later we could see a JPT bus in the distance. Disappointingly it wasn't a double decker. It was however required JPT 454.

JPT 454 in Higher Blackley

We got on and sat near the back. The journey back was along the same route as the #64 back along the A576. It didn't take long to do the 2 miles back into Middleton and when we reached the end of the run Matthew got a picture inside JPT 454 too.

Inside JPT 454

We had a quick look around and we saw Stagecoach Manchester 33075 on a #80 service. We then took a picture of this bus.

Stagecoach Manchester 33075 in Middleton bus station

We were considering doing 33075, when we spotted JPT step entranced bus 513 on layover.

JPT 513 in Middleton bus station

We saw it was on a #112 service, so we decided to wait a few minutes and catch this bus. We waited for the driver to appear, and when he got in we went around to stand B. A few minutes later the bus came around and we got on it. We booked to Moston and we went upstairs. It was empty at the back so he got his picture straight away.

Inside JPT 513

We set off along Grimshaw Lane towards Middleton Junction. We then turned right onto Greengate. The route looked familiar here as it is part of the #415 which we had done previously back in May this year. We carried on past the Stagecoach depot and onto Moston Lane. We got off near the Blue Bell pub in Moston and crossed the road. We didn't have to wait long. We had just missed Stagecoach Manchester 17011 again, and the next bus was another JPT one. We could see it was a single decker. As it got closer we saw it was required JPT 184. We set off back North passing JPT 182 and 154. We got back to Middleton and we spotted required step entranced First Manchester 34098 on the stand in front of us. Matthew cool as a cucumber waited for the bus to empty and then got a picture inside the now empty JPT 184

Inside JPT 184

He also got a picture of the outside of the bus as he had missed getting a picture in Moston.

JPT 184 in Middleton bus station

We walked up to First Manchester 34098 and saw it was on a #59 to Rushcroft. He got a picture before we got on it.

First Manchester 34098 in Middleton bus station

We booked to Oldham and went upstairs. As we left the bus station we saw Stagecoach Magicbus step entranced double decker 16798 on the #80. Stagecoach 16799 was also out. We also saw First Manchester Dart 41788 too. The bus left Middleton and headed out towards Chadderton. As we climbed the hill we could see another First Manchester step entranced bus in the distance! We got int the bus station and we went out of then end to get a picture of 34098. It left the bus station very quickly and we could only get a picture of it as it sped away.

First Manchester 34098 in Oldham bus station

We then headed to the toilet. We took a few pictures and within a couple of minutes another step entranced First Manchester bus had appeared on the other side of the bus station in the form of 34102. We walked along the bus station taking pictures. First Manchester 40330 was on the #415 service. We walked around the other side of the bus station ans we saw that 34102 was still there. It was on a #83 to Sholver, which we guessed was away from Manchester towards to moors. We took a picture and then we walked around to it.

First Manchester 34102 in Oldham bus station

We got on 34102 and inquired with the driver as to how far Sholver was and in which direction it was in. It was heading East so we booked to Sholver and went upstairs. We decided to get off earlier in the Moorside area so that we would get a different bus back. Just before we got off Matthew got a picture inside 34102.

Inside First Manchester 34102

We got off and we watched the bus head up the hill, and Matthew took anther picture of First Manchester 34102.

First Manchester 34102 in Moorside

Where we were there was only a choice of 2 services. The hourly #407 run by Stotts, and the #83. We saw the #407 ging in the other direction. The next bus was a First Manchester #83 service. We could see it was a single decker. As it approached we saw it was required 66858.

First Manchester 66858 in Moorside

It didn't take long to get back to Oldham. It was close to 17:00 and we had to thank about getting back to Middleton. We went to the shop to buy lottery tickets and Matthew had a can of Coke, a flapjack and a Galaxy Caramel. Matthew ate his flapjack and then we thought about which bus to catch back. Conveniently required First Manchester Dennis Dart 40369 was on the next #415!

First Manchester 40369 in Oldham bus station

Having seen that the #415 and the #112 routes intersect at Middleton junction, We decided to do 40369 to there. The bus headed South West to Butler Green and then headed North West to Middleton Junction. When the bus turned left onto Greengate we got up and got off the bus.

First Manchester 40369 in Middleton Junction

As we tried to cross the road we saw JPT 513 and Stagecoach Manchester 22182 going towards Middleton on the #112. After we had crossed we saw JPT 183 heading in the other direction.

JPT 183 in Middleton Junction

A few minutes later we saw stagecoach 17038 heading South. As that bus disappeared we saw a stagecoach single decker approaching. It turned out to be required Stagecoach Manchester 27598.

Stagecoach Manchester 27598 in Middleton Junction

We got on the bus and sat down near the back. The bus went back along Grimshaw Lane and it took us no time at all to get back to Middleton. When we reached Middleton we let the bus empty and Matthew got a picture inside this bus.

Inside Stagecoach Manchester 27598

We got off and crossed over to the other side of the road and then got another picture of Stagecoach Manchester 27598.

Stagecoach Manchester 27598 in Middleton bus station

We took a few more pictures of buses including 40369 which we had caught up with. Getting off 40369 had made the journey nearly as quick and we got an extra bus in. Also we didn't have to go over the bumps in Alkrington Gardens! We walked to the car and mum was waiting with for us with some Greggs sausage rolls. Matthew also had a drink of Ben Shaws dandelion and burdock. We set off out of town onto the A576 and this time we got onto the clockwise M60. We went west to the M56 and then we went onto the A556. We got on the M6 at junction 19 and we did it down to the northern end of the A500. We did the A500 down to the A50 and then we headed into Longton to see what was on the Z Carz depot. There were 3 buses on the spare ground. Newest coach ALZ 8539 was at the front of the row.

Z Carz ALZ 8539 in Longton

Behind this was the vehicle on loan from lightning Travel, Mercedes minibus FD53 UNX

Z Carz FD53 UNX in Longton

Last of all was LDV minibus R920 WNT.

Z Carz R920 WNT in Longton

We turned onto Willow Row and there were 2 buses in the compound. First was old school LDV minibus T408 JUX.

Z Carz T408 JUX in Longton

Then there was Z Carz Y568 XFV from the taxi fleet.

Z Carz Y568 XFV in Longton

We turned around and headed onto Longton Hall Road. In Blurton we saw First Potteries 40020 on the #22 to Longton. We got home at around 19:00. For a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash with carrots followed by cheesecake. He then chilled out on his computer until bedtime...Mark

Trip to Middleton / Ashton 11-05-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
59016	Middleton BS	Ashton BS	419	First Manchester
31929	Ashton BS	Hey Farm Terminus	350	First Manchester
37412	Hey Farm Terminus	Oldham BS	350	First Manchester
40431	Oldham BS	Middleton BS	415	First Manchester

Today we decided to re visit this area after last weeks trip. We asked Matthew where he wanted to go and he chose Middleton. He also showed me a picture of a hybrid on a #419 to Ashton so I knew he wanted to visit this location too. Research consisted of looking at which service go between Middleton and Ashton (as far as I could find only 1), so at looked at service on the map that had a common connection between the 2 locations such as Oldham and the nearby Littlemoss (168,169) and Woodhouses (159) just in case the other option wasn't convenient. We also checked the weather which didn't look to good for this trip. The forecast was for rain which was breaking up as it headed East during the afternoon. Matthew got up around 08:30 as he had got a cookery class at Heathfield. He had some toast for breakfast washed down by orange juice. We set off around 09:30 going onto the A5035 and then passed the Hem Heath pub. We Headed down Stanley Matthews Way and onto the Westbound A50. We then did the Northbound A500 up to the A527 Tunstall by-pass. We went across the by-pass to High Lane and then we headed down to Heathfield School. Matthew cooked a tuna pasta bake which he ate. We picked him up at 12:30 and he went to the toilet before we went out. We headed back onto high Lane and then did the A527 back down to the A500. We then headed North up to the M6. We did this up the The M62 and then we went Eastwards. We went onto the M60 and then we drove around to the junction with the A576 for Middleton. We drove the last few miles into Town and then parked up next to the Middleton Archer pub. As we walked down through the bus station e took a few pictures 40431 was seen on the #415 service and we saw First Manchester 40322 on the #12 Middleton circular.

First Manchester 40322 in Middleton bus station

We had decided we were going to eat at the trailer opposite the bus station, Roberto's. We had Burgers and mum had cheese on toast. The food was very nice and mum's cheese on toast had been seasoned with pepper and herbs. Whilst we ate we listened to Italian music. Apart from the awful weather we could have been eating in a pavement cafe in Rome! Whilst we at in our sheltered location a rain shower came and went. After eating mum and Matthew visited the toilet and then a #419 service appeared. We walked down to it and Matthew took a picture.

First Manchester 59016 in Middleton bus station

We jumped on and booked our system one tickets and then sat near the back. We got on so we quickly that we had to check the ticket to see which bus we were on. As we have not done any hybrd Solo SR's before we new it would be required. It turned out to be First Manchester 59016. The #419 service heads almost into Oldham before heading down the same route into Aston as the #409 service. When we arrived into Ashton around 40 minutes later Matthew waited for the bus to empty out before getting a picture.

Inside First Manchester 59016

We stepped into this bus station for this first time. It is a bus station similar to Bolton and Wigan, with a small bus layover area next to the main road. First thing we did was try and use the toilets. There were 2 silver tardis style toilets and both of them seemed not to be working. So we asked a bus driver where we could find toilets. We were directed to the local Betfred bookies! After using the toilet we visited the travel office to pick up a coupe of maps and timetables, and then walked up towards the bus layover area and we immediately saw First Manchester 31929 arriving on a #350 service.

First Manchester 31929 in Ashton bus station

We got on and then went upstairs. There were a few people on the top deck but they were at the front. So Matthew took a picture of the inside of this bus from the mid point of the bus next to the stairs.

Inside First Manchester 31929

We sat down on the bus and I got the map out to see where we were going. From the map I could see the #350 was a Ashton - Oldham service via Mossley and Saddleworth. We started to leave and we noticed that First Manchester 40380 had arrived in the layover off a #346 service. As we headed towards the hospital we passed First Manchester 40406 on an inbound service. We headed into and passed the Hospital and over the hill and down into Mossley. We then climbed up the hill towards Saddleworth. We had worked out by this point we were traveling on a short service to Hey Farm and not a full #350 to Oldham. When we got to the Hey Farm terminus we got off and got another picture of this fine beast, one of only 3 left in the First Manchester fleet.

First Manchester 31929 at the Hey Farm terminus

We decided to go forward to Oldham, we could then do another Dart from Oldham to Middleton on the #415 service (I'm thinking this service should be branded the Alkrington Rollercoaster). The next bus on the #350 was also a Hey Farm Short, which was worked by First Manchester 37433. Whilst we waited he had a bottle of limeade and a Kit Kat. We then had approximately 9 minutes to wait for the #350 to Oldham. When it turned up it was required First Manchester 37412. Matthews camera didn't fire when the us arrived so he didn't get a picture before we got on. We went upstairs and the top deck was empty, so he got a picture of the top deck of this bus.

Inside First Manchester 37412

One thing I hadn't done was to check the journey time. It takes nearly an hour to travel from Hey Farm to Oldham. We headed up through Saddleworth where there was a co-op and also up and back through Delph which also has a co-op store. We then had a climb up to an old closed down pub at a summit called the Star Inn. We then had the run down into Oldham we went past the depot and then headed into the bus station. We got off the bus and headed to the toilets. Whilst there we saw First Manchester 62217 on a #64 service.

First Manchester 62217 in Oldham bus station

We stopped on a bench and had a bottle of Limeade and a Millionaires Shortbread. We also saw First Manchester 33747 on a #409 service.

First Manchester 33747 in Oldham bus station

We then walked around to the other side to take a few picture whilst we waited for the next #415. First Manchester 37412 made an appearance again, we thought it had gone when it must have been on layover.

First Manchester 37412 in Oldham bus station

We then saw 40431 parked up before working the next #415.

First Manchester 40431 in Oldham bus station

Also seen was this Ex PMT and Chester Solo First Manchester 40181.

First Manchester 40181 in Oldham bus station

We then vsited the shop to get a can of coke and a Galaxy caramel bar and a pack of rice crispy squares. We walked to stand B to wait for 40431. It pulled on to stand a couple of minutes. We boarded the bus and sat down near the back over the back axle. Thee suspension on 40431 was a little loose making it quite bouncy over any potholes. Going into Alkrington it was very bouncy along Kingsway and Kirkway. When we got to Middleton Matthew got a picture of the inside of this bus which still has quite a few of the 'diced carrot' seating.

Inside First Manchester 40431

We got off and walked around the outside and got a picture of 40431.

First Manchester 40431 in Middleton bus station

We stopped and took a couple of pictures. We saw JPT Volvo B6 182 and then JPT Enviro 300 number 455. 300

JPT 455 in Middleton bus station

We then walked back to the car so we could have our Greggs sausage rolls and matthew had a chocolate cake. We left the car park around 18:00 and we went down the A576 passing JPT 184 heading into Middleton. We then got onto the M60. We did this Anti clockwise to the M62 and onto the Southbound M6. We did this down to the A500 and onto the A50 to Longton. When we got to Longton we saw that the ground was virtually empty. In the distance was Z Carz Mercedes T131 SGA.

Z Carz T131 SGA in Longton

Also here was DAF minicoach W344 WNS.

Z Carz W344 WNS in Longton

We turned to go passed the Willow Row compound and there was only one bus there too. It was his old college bus LDV minibus M420 UEH.

Z Carz M420 UEH in Willow Row

We headed down Longton all Road and into Blurton. We were home for 19:15. After looking at our pictures, for a late tea we had bangers and mash followed by Chocolate cake for afters. He then chilled out on his computer before bedtime around 00:00...Mark