Trip to Southport 27-04-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
2142	Kew P&R	Southport, Lord Street stop HC	PR2	Arriva NW&W
7652	Southport, London Street (Stop HB)	Hillside, o/s Alma Court	46	Arriva NW&W
7652	Hillside, opp Leybourne Avenue	Southport, London Street (Stop HE)	43	Arriva NW&W
2343	Southport, London Street (Stop HA)	Ainsdale, adj Woodvale Road	44	Arriva NW&W
7655	Ainsdale, opp Woodvale Road	Southport, Bold Street (Stop FA)	44	Arriva NW&W
3088	Southport, Bold Street (Stop FA)	Crossens, on Preston New Road	49	Arriva NW&W
MX04 VME	Crossens, on Preston New Road	Southport, Monument (Stop CF)	40	Cumfybus
2142	Southport, Lord Street stop HC	Kew P&R Southport	PR2	Arriva NW&W

Today we decided to go to Southport on the off chance that we dropped on another Palatine II, or to pick up a new Dart or two. We didn't do any research other than to check the weather (sunny intervals and 10'). Matthew got up around 09:45, and had breakfast of toast and orange juice. we set off around 11:45 onto the A5035 and past the hem Heath pub. We turned into Stanley Matthews Way passing Z Carz T408 JUX and went onto the A50. As we traveled down we passed City Buses and coaches minibus LV02 ODL. We got on the A500 and traveled North to the M6. The motorway was reasonably clear and we made quite good time up to the M58. We did the M58 west to the A570 and then we headed North West towards Ormskirk. There was heavy traffic in Ormskirk and we saw Arriva NW&W 4100 and 4104 on the Southport Wigan service. We stopped in Morrison's and after going to the toilet Matthew had a breakfast followed by a lemon meringue pie for afters. Afterwards we set off along the a570 and parked up at the Kew park and ride site around 14:00. Matthew went to the toilet and mum got the parking and park and ride tickets. The was already there and waiting an it was required Arriva NW&W 2142.

Arriva NW&W 2142 in Kew

We got on the bus and sat down. There were a few people on the bus today, probably the most we have seen on a PR2 service. The bus wound up through the streets and then we appeared in town on London Street. We got up and Matthew took a picture of the inside of this bus, which is the last of the 4 Enviro 200 buses we required.

Inside Arriva NW&W 2142

We got off the bus and headed down London Street to the railway station. On the way we saw Arriva NW&W 2728 on a #300 to Liverpool.

Arriva NW&W 2728 in Southport

We went into the station and bought our Saveaway tickets and then walked back to the bus stops on Hoghton Street. As we didn't have any gen as to what was out today, we decided to start on the #43/46's service to try and pick up a required Dart or two. We saw that there was a Carr Lane bound #46 due so we waited at the stop. We could see a Marshall Dart in the distance. As it got closer we could see it was dud Arriva NW&W 7652.

Arriva NW&W 7652 in Southport

We got on the bus and it was empty, so Matthew took a picture of the inside of the bus too.

Inside Arriva NW&W 7652

We sat down near the back of the bus. The last time we did this Dart was back in April 2012 on a PR2 service back to Kew. After turning in Eastbank Street, Te bus then turned onto Cemetery Road and onto Eastbourne Road. We passed Arriva NW&W 7673 on the PR2 service. The bus then turned onto Kew Road and Guildford Road. As we went along we passed 7639 on a #46. We also passed required Arriva NW&W 2343 on a #42 to crossens. We the went right into Carr Lane where the bus terminated. The bus went to the nearby roundabout and then came back to Carr Lane to work the next #43. As we got off we had just missed 7654 going back on a #46. I asked Matthew if he wanted to do a #49 or to do 7652 back to Southport on 7652. Matthew chose to do 7652 again. We set off back to Southport and we passed 7651 on a #43. We decided to get of on Hoghton Street so we could cross the road and go to the #42/44 stop. This worked out very well as almost as soon as we got off 7652 we could see Arriva 2343 (the only Plaxton Dart at Southport) approaching in the distance. the bus got closer and Matthew got a picture of this beast.

Arriva NW&W 2343 in Southport

Unlike 7652, this bus was quite full and it filled up even more as we passed through town. The bus has quite an odd route as it heads towards Kew running parallel to Scarisbrick New Road, It then heads west past the hospital and Dobbies garden Centre. Around here we passed 7637 heading North. we then joined up with the #43/6 route at guildford Road. We went through Ansdale and the Roads look familiar around Woodvale so we decided to get off there. We crossed the road and we looked at the timetable. The next service scheduled to stop was a northbound #44, Although a #49 paused there on it way up. We then saw a Marshall Dart on a #44 and a Pulsar II on the following #47. We flagged down the Dart and it was dud 7655.

Arriva NW&W 7655 in Woodvale

As we headed North we made arrangements to meet mum in Southport for an ice cream. This was a bus we had also last traveled on in July 2012. We passed Arriva NW&W 7648 on a South bound #44 on Town Lane. We went back up Scarisbrick New road and then parallel before rejoining the road at the roundabout of Eastbank Street. At the end of eastbank Street as we waited at the traffic lights we spotted a Godson coach parked up and he got a picture through the bus window.

Godson FN04 FSV in Southport

We turned right into Lord Street and I realised that we were in the wrong lane to go onto London Street. Surprisingly (to us) the bus stopped on lord Street right by where mum was waiting. We walked up a block to where the ice cram place was and Matthew used the toilet. We had vanilla ices and Matthew ate most of mine too. When we had finished we walked over to the stop to wait for a bus. We let required Cumfybus MX04 VME go on the #40 as we thought we could pick up a new Arriva Pulsar II on a #47 or #49. When the bus arrived on the #49 it was dud 3088.

Arriva NW&W 3088 in Southport

We sat down near the back on this busy service. The seat I sat in was wet which is already worrying on a warm sunny day. I moved over and we carried on North through Churchtown. A few minutes later we arrived at the roundabout and Matthew photographed the inside of 3088 before we got off it.

Inside Arriva NW&W 3088

We went to the toilet and in the process missed Stagecoach 15469 on the southbound #2. We also saw Rigby's coach VOI 2331 heading North.

Rigby's VOI 2331 in Crossens

We let the next #42 go as it was Arriva NW&W 2343. The next bus due was going to be a Cumfybus on the #40 service. We saw the bus approaching and as we have never been on one of these and we had a Saveaway we decided to do this. It was of course required MX04 VME that we saw go North earlier in the day.

Cumfybus MX04 VME in Crossens

We got on the bus and Matthew was trying to beep the horn. The driver ended up doing it for him! He told us tat the bus was going the long way around and we told him that we didn't mind. He then got a picture inside the empty MX04 VME.

Inside Cumfybus MX04 VME

We sat down to enjoy the journey which was very windey. We kept heading out towards the coast and then back inland to the main road taking in every estate down the coast. We crossed over the #2 route seeing stagecoach 18358 on a Preston bound service. We went passed the golf course and we skipped along the promenade before turning onto Lord Street. We got off the bus by the monument and then walked to meet mum on London Street. It was now 17:30 and the next PR2 was due at 17:42. Whilst we waited we saw Arriva NW&W 7652 go by and then Alfa BU13 ZTT too.

Alfa BU13 ZTT in Southport

This was followed by Arriva 7654 on a Northbound #43 service. A few minutes later the PR2 turned up and it was Arriva NW&W 2142 again. We did the bus back down to the Kew park and ride site and when we git there Matthew photographed the inside of this bus again.

Inside Arriva NW&W 2142

After a quick toilet stop we set off towards home. Mum hadn't been able to get any sausage rolls so we stopped at Macdonalds on the roundabout of the A570. Matthew had a chicken nugget meal and whilst we ate we saw Arriva NW&W 4100 and 4104 again. 4100 sounded like a lawnmower! After eating we set off along the A570. Just before we got to the M58 we passed Mercedes minibus SN05 FXF. We got onto the motorway and made good progress. There were a few rain showers as we traveled down the Southbound M6 and we got the the A500 around 19:30. As we headed south we passed Z Carz UK04 BUS going North. We carried onto to the A50 and the to Longton to see what was on the depot. at the depot were mercedes minibus BV51 BNO and we also saw the Scania coach D104 XAN

Z Carz D104 XAN in Longton

The depot was crowded but the bus weren't in very good position to get good photographs. On the end of the row was green Iveco HX51 HRU.

Z Carz HX51 HRU in Longton

We headed down Longton Hall Road and into Blurton. We saw first potteries 41512 on a #23A to Newstead. We got home at 1950. We had chicken and potatoes for tea followed by millionaire shortbread. He then chilled out on his computer before going to be around 00:00...Mark

Trip to Southport 23-06-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
MIB 986	Longton Hall Road	Southport	Charter	Copelands Tours
3084	Southport, opp Duke Street	Crossens, on Rufford Road‎	49A	Arriva NW&W
7673	Crossens, on Rufford Road‎	Highpark, High Park Place (W-bound)	49A	Arriva NW&W
3085	Churchtown, High Park Place (E-bound)	Crossens, on Rufford Road‎	49A	Arriva NW&W
3309	Crossens, on Rufford Road‎	Southport, Market Street (Stop BE)	49A	Arriva NW&W
3083	Southport, opp Duke Street	Scarisbrick, opp Bullens Lane	385	Arriva NW&W
3082	Scarisbrick, adj Bullens Lane	Southport, adj Duke Street	375	Arriva NW&W
3041	Southport, opp Duke Street	Crossens, on Preston New Road‎	47	Arriva NW&W
3079	Crossens, on Preston New Road	Southport, Chapel Street (Stop EA)	42	Arriva NW&W
MIB 986	Southport	Longton Hall Road	Charter	Copelands Tours

Today it was decided to go to Southport. I'm still nowhere near 100% at the moment and mum thought it would be a good idea to go on a coach trip so I don't have to worry about driving. Choices of trip for today on Copelands website were for Blackpool, Bury and Southport and Matthew chose Southport. Research for today trip was minimal as we have been here a few time before however I did wish I'd taken the Arriva Southport map with me to help with choosing which buses to catch to where. The weather forecast for today in Southport had been for rain all day. The only thing that varied during the week as we checked it for today was how heavy it was going to be abd whether there was going to be any sun. We drove down to Longton Hall Road a little after 08:15 getting there around 08;20 just before the coach was due. Whilst we waited we saw First Potteries 40146 on a Newcastle service. A few minutes after the booked time we saw a Copelands Tours coach approach. As it got closer we could see it was MIB 986 which we thought was required. A quick check of the page revealed it to be true and so we picked up another new coach. OUr coach was also picking up Bury passenger as there were only a half a coach full going to each destination. We whizzed around the city quite quickly with very few pick-ups. We also saw required MIB 293 going around town and when we passed it we could see it was doing pick-ups for a holiday trip to Weymouth. from this we assumed MIB 293 to be one of the newer vehicles and it therefore mainly does the holiday work. When we reached Newcastle some of the passengers transferred onto MIB 270 on the Bury trip. We then set off towards Southport non stop. The coach took the route that we always take once it had dropped onto the A500 at Wolstanton. The route was via the M6,M58 and then the A570 through Ormskirk. It was much quiter and easier to navigate Ormskirk around 10:30 in the morning! On the way in we passed a couple of the Wigan turns and these were both Pulsars. We turned left onto Lord Street and then we circled around to the prom, setting down outside the pier around 11:00.

Copelands Tours MIB 986 in Southport

First things first we had to get something to eat. We had spotted that the Cleveland cafe was open today. Its a place we had been before, but the last few times we had been it had seemed to be closed. It was a fair walk down to here from the pier. As we walked down we saw required Arriva NW&W 7653 on a #43 service. When we got there we ordered 3 slices of home made meat and potatoes pie and a breakfast for Matthew. Whilst we ate we saw required Arriva NW&W 7673 heading towards Woodvale on a #49A as well as another Pulsar on the Wigan turns. We also saw an unrefurbished Arriva double decker heading North but we did not see what it was on and where it was going to. The food was really nice but the only downside was that there is no toilet in this cafe. So we made a quick trip into Morrison's to use the facilities, and we promised Matthew that we would go back later for a cake and a drink. Back on Lord Street we thought we would head northwards on a #49A. If it wasn't Arriva 7673 next then perhaps it would be on the following service. We waited for the #49A and turned up with a required Pulsar Arriva NW&W 3084.

Arriva NW&W 3084 in Lord Street

As we headed Northwards along Lord Street we passed required Arriva NW&W 3309 on a southbound #49A. It is quite a big working for a step entranced double decker to be out on a Saturday so we had to go after this. We also passed Arriva 2343 on a #43 service which we would try and go after if we could. We decided to go the Crossens on 3084. We had never been that far north on a #49A before, but it meant that Matthew would be able to photograph the bus empty when we reached the end of the run. When we got to Crossens Matthew did just that.

Inside 3084

We got off and decided to wait for the next service with the hope it was required 7673. Mum who doesn't usually go on the buses kept herself occupied by reading. We let 3084 go on the 12:25 and waited at the stop. We also noticed that this was a great stop to see other services such as the X2, 47, 42 and 44. With a 12 minute Saturday frequency we knew we wouldn't have to wait to long. Sure enough after a few minutes we saw a Marshall Dart round the corner in the near distance. We were lucky in that it was 7673 and Matthew got a picture.

Arriva NW&W 7673 in Crossens

We got on a Matthew photographed the inside too.

Inside 7673

The plan was now to go back towards Southport and get off, trying to guess how far to go to pick up 3309. We decied to go back to High Park / Churchtown area to try and intercept the double decker. On the way we passed a Marshall and a Pulsar along the route. We got off and crossed the road to wait for the 12:58 towards crossens. It turned up and was required Pulsar Arriva NW&W 3085.

Arriva NW&W 3085 in Churchtown

Back at Crossens we let 3085 go on the 13:13 service. The Next one turned up and this was required Arriva NW&W SPD 2292. We let this go as we didn't want to miss 3309. As we waited we saw 2722 coming off the #42 about to work to Formby on a #44.

Arriva NW&W 2722 in Crossens

The next one appeared around the corner and it was what we wanted and well worth the wait. Very much required Arriva NW&W 3309...

Arriva NW&W 3309 in Crossens

So off we went on the bus we thought would probably be the highlight of the day. These double deckers are only usually used on schools work, but with a couple of the buses that usually work to Wigan in the refurbishment programme, this has taken Pulsars off local routes and these need to replaced with something. The journey back was OK. It was nice to see thing from a different / elevated angle, but the journey was made less enjoyable by a bunch of rowdy teenagers. Back at Southport Matthew got another picture of this fine beast.

Arriva NW&W 3309 in Lord Street

We decided to have a bit of a break from buses at this point. We sat outside the Pound bakery and we had some cream doughnuts and drinks. Doughnuts that are 2 for £1 suddenly become £1.35 each when you put a plate under them... Go figure! As we ate we saw required Arriva 4105 arrive and depart on the #375 to Wigan. We knew that we wouldn't see this bus again today as the round trip takes nearly 4 hours. However, Matthew decided he wanted to do the next #385 out at 14:46. We waited for around 20 minutes and it turned up unrequired Pulsar 3083.

Arriva NW&W 3083 in Lord Street

It's amazing how many times we get unrequired Pulsars considering how few of them we had been on before today. Mum had decided to sit this round trip out in order to do a bit of shopping and to get the sausage rolls in for later. As we left town we passed another Pulsar on inbound #385 service. We decided to get off in Scarisbrick to catch the next one back. When we got off it took us quite a while to cross the busy A570. Once across the road we only had to wait around 2 minutes for the #375 to appear. It was another Pulsar! As it got closer we could see it was required Arriva NW&W 3082. We did the bus back into town. We stopped opposite the Arriva office for two or three minutes where we had a driver change before completing the journey onto Lord street where Matthew got his picture.

Arriva NW&W 3082 in Lord Street

We met up again with mum and this time we decided to go to Morrisons with Matthew like we had promised him earlier. After a visit to the toilets we went into the Cafe and Matthew had a lemon meringue pie and coke before we left for one final out and back trip. We had just over an hour to go out and back and to get back to the coach. We decided to do a #47 to Crossens on the most direct route, and then we would have a choice of buses back. We turned down 3084 again on a #49A and then the slightly late running #47 turned up with required branded Arriva NW&W 3041. We did this to the roundabout at Crossens.

Arriva NW&W 3041 in Crossens

Matthew had gotten his picture and then we crossed over to the toilets. We had a choice of 3088 on the #49A and the next #42, which turned up and was required Arriva NW&W 3079. We got on this and as we set of we passed one of the commanders that was going to do the next #44.

Inside Arriva NW&W 3079

The #42 is one of those service that dont stop on Lord street because they cant stop going the other way when they turn right and right again. We ended up getting off in front of the Arriva offices. We saw another double decker on the incoming Wigan - Southport service as we walked back towards the coach. We stopped to get some pop for the journey back and we also stopped for an ice cream. We nearly died of shock when we were told the price for three ice creams was £9! We wont be going back to that ice cream place that is for sure...Back on the promenade we didn't have to wait for long for the coach to appear. I needed he toilet so as we weren't due to depart for 10 minutes I raced off to the arcade to use the toilet there. Matthew was waiting for me as he wouldn't get on the coach without me. Despite the last minute hitch I still wasn't the last person back on the coach. We set off on time and we saw another double decker on the edge of town on the incoming Wigan service. We also passed 4105 which we had seen around 14:00 on the run back down to Ormskirk. There seemed to be only 3 out of a possible 8 buses that were double deck on the Wigans and we weren't lucky enough to get near any of them. At least it gives us something to do another time at Southport. The journey back was quick and it started to rain as we headed Southwards. Despite it being forecast for rain all day in Southport we only had an odd drop or two. We were back in Newcastle just after 19:00, and with only a few drop offs on the return we were back on Longton Hall Road well before 20:00. As it was late and as we hadn't had any chips today we decided to drive to Smithpool road for a small fish with a few chips for tea. Matthew had a cheeseburger instead. We got home a little after after 20:00 and settled down to eat our food...Mark