Trip to Llandudno 07-08-2024

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
MIB 615	Fenton	Llandudno, coach park	Charter	Copeland's Tours
MIB 615	Llandudno, coach park	Fenton	Charter	Copeland's Tours

Today Matthew was in the residential unit and he was going to Llandudno on a coach. Matthew got up around 06:00. and had toast for breakfast. Around 09:00 we set off downstairs and onto Temple Street. We turned right onto Christchurch Street and we went into te Co-operative Food store. Matthew brought a bottle of Coke. Once we had finished in the shop we continued along Christchurch Street and we stopped opposite the bench and bar to wait for the coach to arrive. A second coach appeared and it was Copeland's Tours MIB 615 also going to Llandudno.

Copeland's Tours MIB 615 in Fenton

We got on the coach, found our seats and we sat down. We set off along Christchurch Street and we turned left onto Glebedale Road. We turned left onto City Road. We ran over the railway line and then we turned went Forwards onto the A52. We went under the railway line and we joined the Northbound A500. We ran North up to the M6 and we continued North as far as junction 20. At Junction 20 we went Westwards along the M56. We ran Southwards for around 25 miles and we came off the M6 onto the A5117 and stopped at Chester servcies. Matthew went to the toilet before returning to the coach for the last leg of the journey. We re-joined the Southbound M56 and forwards onto the A494. We crossed over the Dee at Queensferry and we joined onto the Westbound A55. We ran to junction 19 and we joined the Northbound A470. We ran into town and we went around the one-way system and parked up just off Mostyn Broadway. Once off the coach we saw a new building being built in Llandudno. We walked into the centre of town and stopped at a toilet. We turned left onto St George's Place. We went onto the Promendae and we spent some time on the beach. We saw grey minibus BP24 ZDM.

BP24 ZDM in Llandudno

We returned Up St Georges Place and back onto Mostyn Street. Whilst we waited we saw Llew Jones SJ71 LLJ on a #19 to Conwy.

Llew Jones SJ71 LLJ in Llandudno

We went to The Coffee Centre. Matthew went to the toilet and afterwards had sausage ships and gravy washed down with a can of Coke. After we had finished eating we walked down Mostyn Street and we crossed over the road. As we turned into St George's Place and we went onto the Promendae. We walked arounf the corner onto Gloddaeth Cres and we continued onto North Parade promenade and into the Leisure Island Amusement Arcade. We ran to Pier Kids Funfair Rides and we went to the toilet and and we walked onto the Llandudno Pier Ferris Wheel. Afterwards Matthew had an ice cream. When we had finished we walked back along North Parade and back up the Saint George's Crescent. Afterwards Matthew had washed down with can of Coke. We went onto the Promendae and we spent some time on the beach. We returned Up St Georges Place and back onto Mostyn Street. We continued onto Mostyn Broadway and Matthew went into a Poundland and Matthew brought egg sandwiches and a bottle of orange Fanta. We came out of the shop and we saw Arriva NW&W 4486 on a #12 to Rhyl. Once off the bus we crossed over the road and we went to the Trinity Square Cafe. Matthew used the toilet and afterwards we went to the bar and Matthew had a glass of Coke. When we had finished we saw Copeland's Tours MIB 536.

Copeland's Tours MIB 536 in Llandudno

When we finished in the coffee shop we walked back to the coach park. As we got to the stop we saw Arriva NW&W 4404 on a #12 to Rhyl.

Arriva NW&W 4404 in Llandudno

A short time later we saw our coach for the return journey. It was Copeland's Tours MIB 615.

Copeland's Tours MIB 615 in Llandudno

Also seen was Selwyns SN16 OGY.

Selwyns SN16 OGY in Llandudno

Another vehicle seen was Selwyns SN16 OGX.

Selwyns SN16 OGX in Llandudno

We got on the coach and we sat down in our seats. We set off onto the one-way system. We ran Eastwards along Mostyn Broadway and we turned left onto Carmen Sylva Road. We turned right onto the B5115 and we headed Eastwards out of town. We ran past the Little Orme to the edge of Rhos on Sea and we turned left onto Church Road. We turned right onto Penrhyn Avenue and we ran down to the see front. We turned right onto Rhos Promenade and we continued onto West Promenade. We turned right onto Cayley Promenade and right onto Whitehall Road. At the roundabout we veered slight left onto the B5115 and we crossed over the A55 at junction 19. We continued Eastwards thriugh Noerh Wales and we ran forwards onto the A494 at Queensferry. We got onto the Eastbound M56. We ran Southwards for around 25 miles and we came off the M6 onto the A5117 and stopped at Chester servcies. Matthew went to the toilet and we saw silver minibus YT06 HPU.

YT06 HPU in Chester servcies

Also seen was Leons 247.

Leons 247 in Chester servcies

Matthew went to the toilet before returning to the coach for the last leg of the journey. We re-joined the Southbound M56 At junction 9 we joined the Southbound M6 and we ran down to junction 16. We went Southwards down the A500 to Etruria and we cam off the A500. We turned left onto City Road. We went under the railway line and up the hill into Fenton. We turned right into Christchurch Road and we got up and got off the coach. We walked back into Temple Street and we continued to the residential unit. Matthew went upstairs to his room to chill out. He also ate a bakewell tart. Matthew went back to the room and went on his computer. Later on Matthew had a bath and then had toast for supper. He then chilled out in his room until bedtime around 23:00... Mark.

Trip to Hanley / Newcastle 24-11-2023

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
67147	Hanley BS	Fenton, Travers Court	11	First Potteries
63356	Fenton, adj Travers Court	Newcastle BS	11	First Potteries
33829	Newcastle BS	Newcastle, o/s Cherry Tree PH	25	First Potteries

Today Matthew was going back to Blurton. He was also going out on the bus and going to visit Grandma. Matthew got up around 08:00 and had his medication. For breakfast Matthew had toast and orange juice. In the morning we went to Hanley in a Lucky Seven taxi.We went downstairs and we got in the taxi and we set off onto Temple Street. We turned left onto Christchurch Street and we crossed City Road on Manor Street. We ran to the end and we turned left onto Victoria Road. We ran across the roundabout at Joiners Square and we stopped at the Emma Bridgewater factory. Matthew went intside and visited the Factory Shop. Matthew went to the toilet and afterwards we went to the cafe and Matthew had a can of Coke and chocolate cake. When we had finished we set off up Lichfield Street and we crossed the ring road before going to the bus station. We waited for a bus back to Fenton. A short time later we saw a bus arrive on stand. We saw it was First Potteries 67147 on a #11 to Newcastle.

First Potteries 67147 in Hanley bus station

We got on the bus and we booked to Newcastle. we sat down towards the back of the bus. We 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 due to a diversion we came back down beverley Drive and left onto the A5272 and up to Adderley Green. At the roundabout we turned right onto Anchor Road. system onto Commerce Street and 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 the site of the new Burger King. We conrinued down to the flats where we got up and got off the bus. Once off the bus we went o nto Smothpool Road and we stopped at the chip shop to pick up dinner. We walked along Smithpool Road and turned right onto Temple Street and back to the residential unit. We went upstairs ans Matthew had his dinner. He hda sausage chips and gravy washed down with a can of Coke. Matthew went to his room to chill out and wait for me to arrive. Whilst waitimg we saw Stanton's of Stoke new minibus VT73 SOS. We turned up around 15:00 and Matthew came downstairs. We cut through onto City Road and walked down to the bus stop by the flats. Whilst we waited for the bus to Newcastle we saw First Potteries 67157 on a #23 to Hanley.

First Potteries 67157 in Fenton

A few miniutes later we saw a bus approaching. As it got closer we saw it was First Potteries 63356 on a #11 to Newcastle.

First Potteries 63356 in Fenton

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. Near to the roundabout we saw PO Lloyd BV20 HPP. We ran forwards onto George Street and we ran down the hill into Newcastle. We turned left at the roundabout onto Barracks Road passing Leons 247 going the other way. We turned right into the bus station where we got up and got off the bus. Once off the bus we saw 2 buses that were heading in the right direction. We saw First Potteries 35949 on a #25 to Keele. Another bus came on stand and it was First Potteries 33829 on a #25 to Hanley.

First Potteries 33829 in Newcastle bus station

The new wer double decker pulled off before we got to it, but the other one was still there. We got on the bus and we booked to the hospital before we went upstairs and sat down. We set off out of the bus station onto Barracks Road. We ran Southwards onto the A34 and we got up and got off the bus by the Cherry Tree. We got off the bus and Matthew took a picture of First Potteries 33829 as it continued towards Hanley.

First Potteries 33829 in Newcastle

Once off the bus we headed along the A34 and we went up the hill towards Grandma's. At Grandma's Matthew had toast and a can of Irn Bru and used her computer. When it was time to go we went to the pub and we headed down Victoria Street. We turned left onto the A34. We continued southwards into Trent Vale. We continued through 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 67175 on a #101 to Stafford. Once we had finished eating we set off We carried on along the A34 through Hanford and into Trentham where we saw ABC Supreme YA67 VBD heading Northwards. We turned left onto the A5035. We crossed over the railway line and into Blurton. We got back around 19:00. Matthew chilled out on his computer and we sorted a few things out. Matthew also had a can of Cherry Coke and a couple of slices of brioche bread. We wrote the Blog and sent a couple of e-mails. We chilled out on the sofa until bedtime around 00:00... Mark

Trip to Hanley / Tunstall 09-11-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
42892	Magdalen Road, Blurton	Newcastle BS	22	First Potteries
37158	Newcastle BS	Hanley BS	25	First Potteries
254	Hanley BS	Tunstall, adj stop M	20	Bakerbus
3615	Tunstall, adj stop A	Bradeley, opp Crediton Avenue	91	Wardle Transport
4802	Bradeley, opp Moorland View	Hanley, adj stop J1	19	Wardle Transport

Today we decided to stay locally as mum had thing to do later. No research was done except to check the weather. and this was for a bright sunny day. It was quite cold as we headed into winter with a maximum temperature of 8' predicted. Matthew got up early for a Saturday at around 09:00. I had been out to check what buses were on the #22's so we would know what was out before we set off. First Potteries 42892/894 were both out and required, the other bus being dud First Potteries 40016. Also seen were First Potteries 40003/375/42726/727 on #23's and Wardle Transport 3616/4813 were out on the #46. I then went to pick up uncle Dave. I headed through Blurton into Heron Cross and then into Fenton. After picking up uncle Dave I returned back through Heron Cross passing First Potteries 42726 on a 23A and we then carried on into Blurton. We worked out that if we wanted to go get required First Potteries 42892 we would have to got out to get the 12:20 from Longton to Newcastle. We left the house around 12:20 and we headed to the bus stop. As expected we saw First potteries 42894 heading into Longton just before our bus was due. I flagged it down for a neighbour who was 100yds away from the stop when the bus appeared. Around 13:32 as expected required 42892 rounded the corner and we flagged it down.

First Potteries 42892 in Blurton

We got on and booked a Smart Day ticket before sitting down near the back of the bus. We headed out onto The A5035 and into Trentham. We passed First Potteries 40155 on the #21A. We turned into New Inn Lane and we passed Trentham bound 61238 on the #21. We headed through Hanford and down Church Lane onto the A34. Here we passed First Potteries 40016 on the 3rd #22 turn. We went through Trent Vale and we headed towards the Hospital along Harpfields Road. We passed through the hospital and back onto the A34. We then headed into Newcastle and into the bus station. When we got to the bus station we let the bus empty and Matthew got a picture inside First Potteries 42892.

Inside First Potteries 42892

When we got into the bus station we saw First Potteries 37158 on the next #25 to Hanley. We decided tho have a quick walk around to see what was about. First Potteries 32633 was heading towards Keele on a #25.

First Potteries 32633 in Newcastle bus station

Wardle Transport 3615 was parked up in between #91 duties. First Potteries 65732 was on a #34 turn and Wardle Transport 4806 on the next #91 to Bradeley.

Wardle Transport 4806 in Newcastle bus station

We also saw D&G 129 on the Crewe bound #85 and D&G 173 on the Hanley bound #85. We decided to have a run on required 37158 on the #25 to Hanley. Once in Hanley we could go get chips! Matthew took a picture of First Potteries 37158 and then we got on it.

First Potteries 37158 in Newcastle bus station

We got on the bus and we went upstairs. The bus was quite full so matthew sat with uncle Dave and I sat on my own a few seats away. The bus left Newcastle on the A53 and then onto George Street. The bus then headed though Hartsill. We headed into Stoke passing 37160 & 37156 on #25's. Having been buses that once did the very intense X1 service, I expected the batch of B7TL's from East Anglia to be worn out. 37158 seemed a very nice bus and seemed to be in tip top condition. We carried on through Stoke and past the railway station. Here we passed Wardle Transport 4895 on the X50 to Derby. We carried on through Shelton and into Hanley. When we reached the bus station we let the bus empty out and Matthew got a picture inside First Potteries 37158.

Inside First Potteries 37158

We got off the bus and we headed to the toilets. After using the facilities we walked down to the chip shop on Cheapside. After getting the chips we headed to John Street multi-storey car park to watch buses whilst we ate our chips. Matthew washed his chips down with a can of Ben Shaw's dandelion and burdock. We then took a few bus pictures. A recent transfer from Wardle Transport to Scraggs was required Optare Solo YJ54 BSX.

Scraggs YJ54 BSX in Hanley bus station

The bus still has it's old Wardle Transport fleet number on it (2545). We also saw First Potteries 40028 on a #8B to Brown Edge

First Potteries 40028 in Hanley bus station

Seen in the layover area of the bus station was required First Potteries 41522.

First Potteries 41522 in Hanley bus station

Other sightings of interest were First Potteries 40173 on the #23A to Blurton, Bakerbus 205 on the X5, Bakerbus 194 was on the #2 to Bentilee. Wardle Transport 4808 was on the #19 to Bradeley. We decided to walk down to the bus station to see what we could catch out of Hanley. We spent around 15 minutes waiting for something interesting to do and then we decided to do a Bakerbus on the #20 up to Tunstall. Matthew was probably thinking of last time we did this and got a cake in the cafe by the bus stop! We had turned down required First Potteries 32633 on a #20A and we were considering doing dud First Potteries 65729 on the next #20 to Crewe. The bus station was incredibly busy and buses were going on stands all over the place. When our bus was due off we saw it take two laps of the bus station just a get a stand nearby where it supposed to be! It turned out to be required Bakerbus 254, which was our first Bakerbus Streetlite we were about to ride on.

Bakerbus 254 in Hanley bus station

We got on the bus and as it was empty Matthew got a picture inside Bakerbus 254 straight away.

Inside Bakerbus 254

We sat down near the back of the bus and the bus set off out of town. We headed down Albion Street and the onto marsh Street. We then headed up Trinity Street and onto Stafford Street. The bus only had 5 passengers on it as we left hanley and headed up towards Burslem. We got up to the bus lane and then we made better progress. When we reached Tunstall we got off and behind us was our last required First Potteries MPD 43875 heading up to Biddulph on the #99.

First Potteries 43875 in Tunstall

We walked down the street to the cafe and Matthew went to use their toilet. Afterwards he had a piece of toffee cheesecake washed down with a glass of orange Tango. After he had finished we went outside and we saw required First Potteries 37159 on the #99 to Newcastle.

First Potteries 37159 in Tunstall

Behind this was required Wardle Transport 4896 on the #91 to Newcastle. This is our last required Trident from this batch and once again Matthew turned it down because it was going in the wrong direction!

Wardle Transport 4896 in Tunstall

The next #91 to Bradley was required Wardle Transport 3615.

Wardle Transport 3615 in Tunstall

I asked Matthew if he wanted to do this and he said yes. This was the first bus from this batch of 4 Volvo B10's that had arrived from Arriva Yorkshire a few months ago. We got on the bus and booked to Bradeley village. The bus set off and we headed down through Pitts Hill and up over High Lane to Fegg Hayes. The bus went through Chell Heath and into the estate before heading towards Bradeley. We decided to get off on the main road and not go to Bradeley village so that we had a choice of buses. The bus was empty at this point so Matthew got a picture inside Wardle Transport 3615.

Inside Wardle Transport 3615

We got off the bus and Matthew got another picture of this fine beast.

Wardle Transport 3615 in Bradeley

We did a check on nextbuses.mobi to see what was due. There was a #9 at 16:18 and a #19 at 16:31. We saw Bakerbus 268 heading the other way on a #9 to Biddulph. Having not seen a #29 on the site we didn't know if it still ran. So we were taken by surprise when First Potteries 60079 made an appearance.

First Potteries 60079 in Bradeley

We turned it down as I thought it was a dud bus. It turned out that First Potteries 60079 was required! Next bakerbus 247 appeared almost silently...

Bakerbus 247 in Bradeley

It was a required bus as we have only ever been on one of these hybrids albeit several times. We turned it down as we were hoping for something more interesting on the #19. We saw the #19 heading the other way and it was required Wardle Transport 4802. Whilst we waited for it to return another First bus made an appearance on the #29. It was dud First Potteries 61553. A few minutes later we saw Wardle Transport heading down Moorland View from Bradeley village. The bus turned the corner and we got on the bus.

Wardle Transport 4802 in Bradeley

We went upstairs and Matthew took a picture of the empty top deck.

Inside Wardle Transport 4802

The bus headed towards Smallthorne and then turned onto Ford Green Road. We turned left onto Community drive and then we worked our way across to the A53. We crossed the A53 and we headed up Milton Road passing Wardle Transport 4808 on a #19 and also First Potteries 40155 on a #18 to Leek. We headed into Hanley and we got off the bus at the top of John Street. We crossed over the road and went into the car park to meet mum who was waiting for us. matthew had a sausage roll followed by a Manchester Tart. We drove out of Hanley down Lichfield Street and across Joiners Square to Victoria Road. We did the A50 link road and then onto the A50 to Longton so we could check out what was parked up at Z Carz today. There were only 3 buses parked on the spare ground. These were Mercedes minibus S952 VMY.

Z Carz S952 VMY in Longton

Next to this was another Mercedes with a different body style, Z Carz W221 CDN.

Z Carz W221 CDN in Longton

Lastly was another Mercedes minibus, M372 NWN.

Z Carz M372 NWN in Longton

We turned into Willow Row to see if there was anything in the yard. LDV minibus T408 JUX, which hasn't moved for a month or two appeared to be receiving some attention. We headed back onto the A50 and we did this up to Heron Cross. We then went through Blurton. We got home around 17:30. For tea we had bangers and mash with carrots followed by a toffee yoghurt. Matthew then chilled out on his computer until bedtime...Mark