Trip to Newcastle / Hanley 01-06-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
40146	Magdalen Road, Blurton	Newcastle BS	22	First Potteries
32627	Newcastle BS	Keele village	25	First Potteries
33	Keele village, nr Sneyd Arms	Hanley BS	85	D&G
32639	Hanley BS	Newcastle BS	25	First Potteries
21	Newcastle BS	Audley, outsied Council Offices	94	D&G
60189	Audley ,os Council Offices	Wereton, Westfield Avenue	34	First Potteries
60189	Wereton, Westfield Avenue	Newcastle BS	34	First Potteries

Today mum was attending a wedding, so we decided to have a local trip to fit around this. No research was done other than to check the weather for today which was for fine sunny weather! Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We decided today that we would head towards Newcastle today so we walked to the stop Magdalen Road just before 11:30 to catch the next #22 bus. As we set off we saw 40017 heading towards Longton on the #22. A couple of minutes late First Potteries 40146 appeared from around the corner.

First Potteries 40146 in Blurton

We bought our SmartDay ticket and sat down near the back. It was a required bus for me, but Matthew had been on this bus before when in respite back in February 2012. We went onto the A5035 and then turned into New Inn Lane. We passed 40148 on the third #22 turn and then we headed down onto the A34. We turned onto Harpfields Road and then went through the hospital and then back onto the A34. When we got to Newcastle the bus emptied out an h got a picture of the inside of the bus too.

Inside First Potteries 40146

When we got off the bus the first thing we noticed was First Potteries Volvo Olympian 31518 on layover.

First Potteries 31518 in Newcastle

We decided to wait around for a short while to see if it was going to work. After around 20 minutes we decided we would do the first double decker that we saw, as we have only been on one of the First Potteries B7TL buses. Unfortunately the first double decker saw was dud First Potteries 32627.

First Potteries 32627 in Newcastle

We decided to do this anyway as we hadn't been to Keele for a long time. We had been on 32627 before back in February. We got on the bus and went upstairs and sat down at the back. We set off out of Newcastle and onto the A34 and turned onto Orme Road. At the top off Orme Road the bus turned onto the A525 and we climbed up the hill and turned into the university. After traveling through the University the bus terminated in Keele Village. We stood up and Matthew photographed the inside of this bus.

Inside First Potteries 32627

We got off the bus and then we got a picture of the outside of first Potteries 32627 too.

First Potteries 32627 in Keele

The bus stop has been improved greatly since our last visit here. There is now a shelter and the road in the bus waiting area has been changed to block paving. We decided to cross the road to see if there was another bus due other than the returning 32627. We crossed the road and then found the stop on nextbuses.mobi for the stop stadtawg and we found there was #85 from Crewe to Hanley due at 12:45 in ten minutes. Incidentally, 3G on Vodafone didn't work here...The phone dropped into GPRS and took ages! After a short wait the appeared from in the distance, and we could see it was one of there MCW eVolutions and therefore it was going to be required. As the bus got closer we saw it was D&G 33.

D&G 33 in Keele

We sat down near the back of this reasonably well filled bus. As we got on we picked up one of the new D&G timetable leaflets. As we rode into Newcastle we ad a quick read of the new timetable. From the 3rd of June D&G operate a knutsford town service. We went through the university and straight down the A525 to the edge of Newcastle. After going around the town we entered the bus station from the Southern end. pretty much everybody got off the bus, and a few people got on. The bus waited until 13:00 before departing, heading down Hartshill bank. The bus waited tie again in Stoke and left around 13:15 before heading onto Leek road and then passed the railway station. We headed up through Shelton and then into the bus station past the fire station and the library. when we arrived we waited for the bus to empty and then he got a picture inside this bus.

Inside D&G 33

We got off and Matthew went to use the toilet. afterwards we decided to look for somewhere to eat. Since he new bus station opened we weren't sure if any of the cafe's in old old bus station were open. We knew that our favourite cafe Tony's had closed, but last time I had been the other cafe was still open. We saw Bakerbus 194 parked up in the bus station. Also parked up was required Wardle Transport 4896 parked up. It was 13:30 and we thought it might work te #61 but it hadn't moved by this point. We came out of the bus station and we saw Wardle Transport 1495 on driver shuttle duties.

Wardle Transport 1495 in Hanley

We walked over to the old bus station and along the balcony. Matthew took a picture of the old bus station and then we came down off the balcony to discover that one had now closed too. We walked back and went to a burger and pizza place we saw as we went over. Matthew had a large burger and regular fries washed down with Coke. There were a few seats inside so we had our dinner there. Whilst we were the we could see in the distance all the route that travel down Bucknall New Road and the #6 buses. We saw Arriva Midlands 2356 on the #16 to leek. This bus is currently to loan to Wardle Transport. After eating the food we walked back to the bus station. Wardle Transport 4896 and Bakerbus 194 had both gone by the time we got back, so we decided to do the next #25 towards Newcastle. It came in and we saw it was required First Potteries 32639.

First Potteries 32639 in Hanley

We got on the bus and went upstairs. As it was nearly empty took a picture of the inside too.

Inside First Potteries 32639

Whilst we waited to depart we saw Wardle Transport 2038 on the #350. We set off past the Hind Street layover where we saw wardle transport 4650 & 2963, Scraggs Blue Buses 56 and Bakerbus 217. We headed down through Shelton, past the railway station and into Stoke town centre via Leek Road. We stopped in stoke and the bus cut out. we sat in silence for around 2 minutes and thhen the bus was restarted again and we carried on up Hartshill Road into Newcastle. We got off the bus and Matthew visited the toilet. first Potteries 31518 still hadn't worked off anywhere and didn't look like it was going to any time soon. We had to decided on what bus we were going to do next and Matthew chose the #94 to Audley. Whist we waited for the bus we took a few pictures. One we saw was required First Potteries 60081.

First Potteries 60081 in Newcastle

D&G 21 rolled up to work the 15:15 to Audley and Matthew got a picture.

D&G 21 in Newcastle bus station

We got on the bus and sat down at the back. We set off towards Silverdale and through Park Site. We carried on through Miles Green and to Audley where the bus terminated. We then took a picture of the inside of this bus.

Inside D&G 21

We sat down at the bus stop to wait for the next Newcastle bound bus. We had around 10 minutes to wait in theory for the next bus. As we had not been to Audley for a long time we did not know that the council offices was not the terminus of the #34 bus. Required First Potteries 60170 came around the corner. Matthew got a picture but the bus went straight past.

First Potteries 60170 in Audley

We decided to cross the road to see when the next bus was due the other way. We saw another bus approaching immediately. It was required First Potteries 60189. We decided to do this to the end and then back to Newcastle. It only took a few minutes to get to the terminus in Wereton. We asked the driver how long we had before the bus was due to set off back to Newcastle and he told us about 12 minutes. So we got off and took a picture of the bus in sunshine.

First Potteries 60189 in Wereton

We got back on and Matthew took a picture of the inside of the bus too.

Inside First Potteries 60189

We sat down near the back and waited for the bus to depart. The engine had been switched off and it took 3 attempts to fire it back up again. The bus set off back through Audley and then in and out of Wood Lane. I called mum to ask if she could meet us in Newcastle around 17:00 ,which is how long I thought the bus would take. We carried on down through Chesteron and we went through the industrial estates and joined onto the A34 just north of Milehouse. We continued on into Newcastle past the First bus garage. Visible today as we went passed were 30033,34158,34288,40144 and 65728. We got to the bus station quicker than anticipated getting there just after 16:40. First Potteries 31518 had now disappeared form the bus station. Matthew went to the toilet and then we stood at the top of the bus station and took a few pictures. One of the buses we saw was Wardle Transport 2301 on a #41 service.

Wardle Transport 2301 in Newcastle bus station

We stood at the bottom of the bus station barbecue that is where mum would arrive. We saw her sailing past so we walked up towards the top again. When she had parked up she called to say she was in the Ironmarket, so we walked around to her. We got in the car and we set off up George Street and onto Shelton New Road. We joined the A500 and then we did the A50 up to Longton so that we could have a look at what was parked up at Z Carz. There were 3 vehicle there. First in the row was Scania coach D104 XAN.

Z Carz D104 XAN in Longton

next to that was the Lightning Travel Mercedes minibus bus on loan to Z carz FD53 UNX.

Z Carz FD53 UNX in Longton

In the distance was X599 WDY. We went past the willow row compound which had no buses in it today and then we headed back to Blurton via Longton Hall Road. We got hoe around 17:20. For tea we had chicken and potatoes followed by cake. Matthew then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 00:30...Mark

Trip to the Black Lion 15-02-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
MIB 797	Heron Cross	Longton Hall Road	40	Copelands Tours
66838	Longton Hall Road	Trent Vale, adj Woodlands Rd	22	First Potteries
40377	Trent Vale, opp Black Lion	Hanford opp Man in Space	21	First Potteries
40146	Hanford opp Man in Space	Blurton Road, Blurtn	22	First Potteries
40171	Blurton Road, Blurton	Heron Cross	23	First Potteries

Today was Matthew's first trip out on a bus whilst staying at his new respite place. I organised a PA to go to meet Matthew and a member of staff from the place, and created a 4 page document on what buses to catch and where to catch them. The first bus that I organised for Matthew to catch was a Copelands Tours Dennis Dart on the #40 service. This can be one of two Ex PMT step entrance buses with MIB 783 being the most common and MIB 797 putting in a few less appearances. He has been on both of these buses before but not for a year or two so I thought it would be nice for him to travel on one of these buses again whilst he still can. Whilst waiting he saw First PMT 40139. Today it was the turn of MIB 797 to work the service and Matthew got a picture of this before he boarded it.

Copeland Tours MIB 797 in Heron Cross

The next bus I planned for him to get was the #22A turn which unusually brings a long bus onto the run or even sometimes a double decker like 31519. The bus misses out going through the hospital so it can be any length of vehicle. Due to the work being carried out on the hospital sight nothing longer than regular dart can work a #22. More often a Scania, Whilst waiting for the bus Matthew saw Dennis Dart 40144 going towards Longton. today it was a Volvo. It was dud 66838 and Matthew got a picture of it before he boarded.

First PMT 66838 in Longton Hall Road

Matthew got off in Trent Vale and then went to The Black Lion for his dinner. He had his usual from the 2 courses for £6.50 menu which was washed down with a glass of Coke. On the return I had planned for Matthew to stagger his journey and to get in some different buses. I had planned for Matthew to get a AG Scania or Dart to Trentham, for a NE 40153 Dart or 40017 Solo to Blurton, for a AG Dart into Heron cross. After his dinner he walked across the road to wait for the #21 or #21A, whichever came first. It was a #21 which I had planned but it didn't produce a Scania which I had hoped for. Matthew has had the majority of AG's alloaction of Darts but very few of their Scana's. It was however a required bus, Dennis Dart 40377. Matthew got a picture before he boarded.

First PMT 40377 in London Road

After this short journey he got a picture as he got off, With the blind now set ready for the last bit of the loop and it's return journey North.

40377 opposite the Man in Space

At this point he had around a 20 minute wait. He saw UVG Dart 40745 heading North presumably on a #21A.

First PMT 40745 on a Hanley bound #21

He also saw the following #21 which I had not out down for him to catch as the timing was too close with only two minutes before the #22 was due. It was required Scania 60062.

First PMT 60062 on the follow #21 Trentham

A couple of minutes Later the #22 turn up, It was an ALX200 Dart which Matthew quite likes and it was also required. Matthew got a picture of 40146 before he boarded.

First PMT 40146 on the #22 Longton

Matthew now only needs 1 bus to complete the whole allocation of, As he got off in Longton Hall Road, he got another picture of this bus. He also saw Dennis Dart 40143 Heading towards Newcastle on a #22 First PMT ALX200 Dennis Dart.

40146 on Longton Hall Road

Having got of the Longton bus, they crossed over Blurton road to wait for the bus back to Heron Cross. It turned up a few minutes later and it was dud Marshall Dart 40171, which he a picture of before he boarded.

First PMT 40171 on Blurton Road

Back a t Heron Cross he walkedback to the new respite place. As he got back he saw Wardle Transport minibus 1626 and he got a picture of this bus too.

Wardle Transport 1626 in Heron Cross

He also saw Wardle Transport 2531. The respite place report that Matthew was superb whilst he was out and that he really enjoyed himself...Mark

Trip to Hanford (Black Lion) 20-04-2011

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
65038	Newcastle Rd, Black Lion	Hanford, Mayne Street	101	First Potteries
40169	Hanford, Church Lane	Trentham,Trentham hotel	21A	First Potteries
40152	Trentham,Trentham hotel	Blurton, Ladybank Gr(adj)	22	First Potteries

Nearing the end of the Easter holidays, we decided to take Matthew out for a meal. Behaviour permitting we were also going to let him catch a bus home as mum wanted to nip off to visit Grandma whilst we were part way there. On the way we passed 40147 on a 22 which we knew we might have a chance of catching later.


40147 on a 22 to Longton (Matt)

We had the meal at the Black Lion, where as usual we had the 2 courses for £6. The food was really nice, but the meal took a while longer as they were short staffed.
As we left the pub 40147 went passed towards Longton so we knew we would have an half an hour wait. Mum went off to see Grandma leaving me and Matthew behind. I thought that if the buses were timed correctly matthew could get 2 or 3 buses on his way home. First bus to show uop was a 101 stafford, so I asked him if he wanted to do this bus to Hanford and wait for the 22. he agreed so off went went for 2 stops down the road.


65038 on a #101 to Stafford (Matt)

Matthew got on and off as good as gold, and didn't try to take us to stafford instead. In Hanford we waited and once again I said to Matthew if a 21/21A turns up before the 22 we could do this into Trentham and wait there. 40146 went towards newcastle on a 22 so we knew that was another bus he wasn't going to have today. Sure enough, Marshall bodied dennis Dart 40169 turned up on a 21A and we did this to the Trentham Hotel.


40169 on a #21A to trentham (Matt)

As we got on the bus the driver recognised Matthew and said he could remember him catch buses when he was little. It's always nice when people remember him as he has been travelling on buses as hobby since he was 4 or 5!


40169 at journeys end on Longton Road (Matt)

When we got off in Trentham we had a short wait and 40152 produced. Slightly disappointing for Matthew as he had been on this one last we. At least I caught up a bus from matthew's busy week away :-)


40152 on a #22 to Longton (Matt)

We did 40152 to ladybank Grove, and then walked all the way home from there. this was the first time in a long time i've done a bus towards home for a long time (he usually takes me further and further away until I phone mum to be rescued!). Remember Matthew, the better your behaviour the more bus trips we can take... (Mark)

Trip to Newcastle-under-Lyme 15/04/2011

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
40152	Wolstanton	Newcastle BS	99	First Potteries
40145	Newcastle BS	Wolstanton	99	First Potteries

Havimg had a day's break doing something in the countryside, Matthew was back out on the buses today. Having seen 40145 going away from Newcastle, first bus of the day was 40152.


Inside 40152 (Matt)

in Newcastle Matthew waited in town until 40145 turned up again...


40145 in Newcastle bus station (Matt)

Matthew photographed the inside too.


Inside 40145 (Matt)

Back to Wolstanton for a final time...Mark

Trip to Newcastle-under-Lyme 12/04/2011

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
40153	Wolstanton	Newcastle BS	98	First Potteries
40153	Newcastle BS	Wolstanton	98	First Potteries

Matthew was in respite nad he was taken out by someone on the bus to Newcastle and back. the First bus to turn up was 40153 which they did to Newcastle. not before he got a photograph of the bus as he boarded.


40153 In Wolstanton (Matt)

When they arrived in Newcastle Matthew photographed the inside of the bus.


Inside 40153 In Newcastle Bus Station (Matt)

Whilst in the bus station Matthew saw step entranced First Volvo 31519. Whilst in Newcastle Matthew walked around town, stopping at the cake shop where Matthew photographed some cakes in the shop window.


Honeybuns Chocolate Shortbread (Matt)

After his walk around town, Matthew returned to the bus station to catch a bus back. He was unfortunate that it was the same bus back. At least Matthew like these ALX200 buses...Mark