Trip to Crewe / Nantwich 08-11-2014

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
4030	Crewe BS	Nantwich BS	84	Arriva NW&W
4098	Nantwich BS	Crewe, opp Hope Street	84	Arriva NW&W
4215	Crewe, Camm Street (cnr)	Tarporley, opp Community Centre	84	Arriva NW&W
4030	Tarporley, o/s Community Centre	Crewe BS	84	Arriva NW&W

Today we decided to re-visit Crewe and Nantwich. This decision was mainly based on the weather forecast. Saturday afternoon in most part was predicted to be a bit of a washout in most parts. Looking a the weather on Saturday morning, the appeared to be some dry weather in the afternoon from Crewe Westward and as far north as Warrington. Matthew got up around 10:30 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We gave Matthew a short list of destinations in the area of best weather and he chose Crewe & Nantwich. After Matthew had made the decision, research consisted of looking on the Dennis Dart Forum to see what buses are allocated to Winsford depot. It been a while been to the area and there had been a few changes to the buses. The S-JUA registered double deckers were on their way out and the double deckers which used to work the #375/385 in Southport (of which we have been on 7 of the 8) were just starting to work in the area. There had also been 2 other double deckers from London. There were still a few buses that we hadn't ridden on. We set off a little later than usual today at 12:15. We headed onto the A5035 and then onto Stanley Matthews Way. We went West on the A50 and then North onto the A500. As we passed the A53 roundabout we saw an unidentified Tyrer coaching joining the Southbound carriageway. We carried on North through light drizzle and we crossed under the M6. A couple of miles further down the road we turned right onto the A5020. We had a clear run into Crewe all the way up to the roundabout on Nantwich Road where it was busy as usual. We passed the railway station and turned right into Edleston Road. We crossed over the Chester railway line before coming into town and turning into Delamere Street. We parked up in the car park there and set off to the chip shop restaurant on the other side of the bus station. On the way through the bus station we saw dud Arriva NW&W 4098 on the #84 to Nantwich.

Arriva NW&W 4098 in Crewe bus station

On layover in the bus station was required Arriva NW&W ALX400 double decker 4026.

Arriva NW&W 4026 in Crewe bus station

We carried on through the bus station and to the Chip restaurant. It appeared to changed hand from last time. It was no longer Les's Fish Bar. Matthew went to the toilet and then we ordered sausage chips and beans and had a glass of Coke. The food was very nice but it took around 40 minutes to order and eat the food. After we had finished eating we paid the bill and said goodbye to mum. We walked into the bus station and sitting on the #84 to Chester was required Arriva NW&W 4030.

Arriva NW&W 4030 in Crewe bus station

We got on the bus and we purchased Arriva Day Saver tickets at £5 each. We went upstairs and sat down just in front of the centre stairway. The bus set off out of the bus station on onto Delamere Street.The bus turned into Edleston Road and then right onto Nantwich Road. As we traveled West we past dud Arriva NW&W 4105. The bus carried on along the A534 until we reached the turn for the village of Willaston. We carried on into Willaston and then turned right passing GHA Solo SL17 on the #78 to Congleton. At the end of Coppice Road we turned left and onto the A534 again. We passed dud Arriva NW&W 4143 on the other short #84 turn. We crossed over the Nantwich by-pass and we headed into town. When we got to the bus station we got off and Matthew got another picture of Arriva NW&W 4030.

Arriva NW&W 4030 in Nantwich bus station

We also saw required Arriva NW&W 4215 which was on a Crewe bound #84. We walked into town towards the market and Matthew used the toilets here. On the way back to bus station we stopped at the market stall that sells sweets and we bought a couple of once of spearmint chews. Back at the bus station there was a bit of activity. We saw D&G Dart 182 on a #6 to Leighton Hosptal.

D&G 182 in Nantwich bus station

Behind us was GHA Solo SL14 on the #51 town circular service.

GHA SL14 in Nantwich bus station

We turned around again and we saw D&G 124 on the #45 service to Crewe.

D&G 124 in Nantwich bus station

Parked up between duties at library end of the bus station we saw GHA Solo X319 XBT.

GHA X319 CBT in Nantwich bus station

A few minutes later as expected we saw dud Arriva NW&W 4098 on the #84 to Crewe. We got on the bus and flashed our Arriva Day Saver tickets before going upstairs. We had worked out that the next Chester bound required bus was Arriva NW&W 4215 which was on the 15:00 from Crewe. In theory we might just make it to the bus station but in reality it would probably pass us somewhere between the bus station and Nantwich Road. We headed back along the A534 and across the Nantwich by-pass. We passed dud Arriva NW&W 4105 before we turned towards Willaston. Arriva 4105 was a bus we first had from Pemberton to Wigan back in November 2012. Further along the A534 we passed dud Arriva NW&W 4143 on the #84 short journey to Nantwich. Arriva NW&W 4143 was a bus we first had from the Chester end of the #84 to Vicars Cross back in September 2013. At around 15:00 we were just turning into Edleston Road, so we decided to get off at the next stop to wait for required Arriva NW&W 4215. We got up and got off the bus and Matthew got a picture of Arriva NW&W 4098 as it carried on for the last 1/2 mile or so towards Crewe bus station.

Arriva NW&W 4098 in Crewe

We crossed the road and walk to the adjacent bus stop. Arriva NW&W 4098 was a bus we first had from Rhyl to Pensarn back in June 2012. As we waited for the bus we saw First Potteries 66310 on a #3 to Keele. A minute or so later we saw an Arriva double decker approaching. As it got closer we saw that it was as expected required Arriva NW&W 4215.

Arriva NW&W 4215 in Crewe

We got on the bus and we flashed our Arriva Day Saver tickets before going upstairs on the bus. The bus carried on along Edleston Road before turning right into Nantwich Road. As we went Westwards we passed dud Arriva NW&W 4103 on the next Crewe bound #84 from Chester. Arriva NW&W 4103 was a bus we first had from Wigan to Pemberton back in May 2012. We turned into Willaston and we passed the #78 to Congleton on Coppice Road again. This time is was being worked by GHA Solo X319 CBT which was the one that we had seen on layover at Nantwich earlier. After we joined the A534 again we passed dud Arriva NW&W 4143 on the short #84 from Nantwich. We crossed the by-pass and went into town. This time in the bus station we saw a plain silver GHA Solo parked up n the bus station. We carried on through the town centre and as we turned towards the river we passed required Arriva NW&W 4216 on the next Chester - Crewe #84. We carried out of the town under the canal and past the Marina. We joined the A51 and we carried on through the sticks. We went past Snugbury's and we saw the hay bail Dalek (or Da'lick as they referred to it). WE carried on through the village of Wardle and then we crossed over the Crewe to Chester railway line. We carried on through Calveley and Alpraham. We then saw dud Arriva NW&W 4156. Arriva NW&W 4156 was a bus we first had back in March 2012 from Northwich to Middlewich. At a crossroad we carried on to the A49 Tarporley by-pass before turning right to go through the village. As we had done before we got off the bus opposite the community centre. Matthew got another picture of Arriva NW&W 4215 as it headed off towards Chester.

Arriva NW&W 4215 in Tarporley

We had around 20 minutes to wait for the bus back to Crewe in theory, so we went to the Spar shop attached to the local petrol station. Matthew brought 4 small bottles of pop for £1, a Milky Way and a Galaxy Caramel as well as a can of Coke for later. Everything came to a grand total of £2.70 which seem very good value for a convenience store. We walked to the bus stop and Matthew had one of the small bottles of pop and decided to have a Rice Crispies Squares from the trip bag for a snack. As we waited for the bus, we saw Coachstop YN53 OZO go by.

Coachstop YN53 OZO in Tarporley

The bus went up and down the High Street a couple of times before eventually reversing into the community centre car park. The time for the return bus came and went... It turned up around 10 minutes late. It was Arriva NW&W 4030 again!

Arriva NW&W 4030 in Tarporley

The bus was quite full. We got on the bus and we flashed the day Saver tickets for the last time. We went upstairs and we sat down towards the rear of the top deck as it was nearly full. As we stormed through the Cheshire countryside it started to go dark. We passed a few minutes down the road we passed Arriva NW&W 4103 heading towards Chester which also must have been a little late too. On the outskirts of Nantwich the bus started to empty a little. As we waited at the traffic light near to the river Matthew decided to take a picture of the now empty rear of the bus.

Inside Arriva NW&W 4030

We carried on into the bus station, where we saw GHA Solo YJ06 YRL. We carried on towards Crewe along the A534 with a quick diversion into Willaston Village. In town there was a little bit of traffic. It was now 17:00 and the Crewe - Sheffield United had just finished. the score was 0-0 which meant that they would have to replay their first round FA cup tie at Sheffield... We turned into Edleston Road and crossed over the Crewe to Chester railway line before turning into Delamere Street and into the bus station. We got off and we had a quick walk around taking bus pictures. We saw GHA Solo SL19 on layover outside the old Arriva bus garage.

GHA SL19 in Crewe bus station

WE then headed off towards the car, looking at the buses on stand as we went. We saw relatively new arrival, required Arriva NW&W Cadet 2425 on the #37 to Northwich.

Arriva NW&W 2425 in Crewe bus station

We also saw GHA solo YJ54 ZYC on the #39 to Nantwich.

GHA YJ54 ZYC in Crewe bus station

We carried on through the bus station and we took a few more bus picture before we crossed Delamere Street and went to the car. Mum was waiting fir us with Greggs sausage rolls and Matthew had a 5000ml bottle of Irn Bru. We drover onto Edleston Road before turning left on Nantwich Road. We then headed towards the along the A5020. Once we reached the A500 we carried on East and under the M6. We carried on going East and then South ad through Stoke-on-Trent to the A50. At the A50 we went East for a couple of mile until we got to Longton. We came of the A50 and headed to the Z Carz depot. Z Carz had started to parked buses back on the spare ground again... we saw 3 buses parked up there tonight. First we had Matthew's old college transport Z Carz LDV minibus M420 UEH.

Z Carz M420 UEH Longton

Next we saw Ford minibus NA06 SAO.

Z Carz NA06 SAO Longton

Finally we saw Mercedes minibus M372 NWN.

Z Carz M372 NWN Longton

We turned into Willow Row and there were still quite a few buses in the compound including W221 CDN & CE02 LYX. WE turned back onto the A50 and we came off the road at Heron Cross. Lightning Travel T2 DLT was parked up on the Blurton border and we carried on along Blurton Road through Blurton. We got back home at around 18:00.for a late tea Matthew had bangers and mash with carrots followed by a cake bar. Matthew chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 00:00... Mark

Trip to Rhyl / Chester 03-06-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
4098	Rhyl BS	Pensarn, Abergele & Pensarn Stn (SW-bound)	1	Arriva NW&W
4484	Pensarn, Abergele & Pensarn Stn (NE-bound)	Rhyl BS	12	Arriva NW&W
2355	Chester BS	Golftyn, o/s Quay Shopping Centre	10	Arriva NW&W
2355	Golftyn, o/s Quay Shopping Centre	Chester BS	10	Arriva NW&W
4479	Chester BS	Queensferry, Solar Services (N-bound)	11	Arriva NW&W
2361	Queensferry, Station Road Q3 (SW-bound)	Golftyn, o/s Quay Shopping Centre	10	Arriva NW&W
2361	Golftyn, o/s Quay Shopping Centre	Chester BS	10	Arriva NW&W

Today we decided to go to North Wales. We got up around 08:00 and went downstairs for breakfast. It was an awful day as regards the weather. It was pouring down with rain and very chilly. We set off around 10:00. The plan was to start the day at Prestatyn, and so we drove out of Chester towards Saltney, and then head onto the A55. We got into Prestatyn Before 11:00 but when we got there we found that the bus station was a building site! Not only that, the outdoor market where mum wanted to visit was dead. This was presumably washed out due to the weather. So we decided to drive onto Rhyl and park up there instead. As we came into rhyl we saw an open topped bus disappearing into the distance. After a bit of driving around we found a parking space on street a block or so away from the bus station. The minor downside was we were limited to 2 hours where we were. We walked back and arrived in the bus station. Most service in Rhyl on a Sunday are quite sparse, the only exception being the # Talacre - Pensarn and the #12 Rhyl to Llandudno service. With that information we decided to do a #1 towards Pensarn. The #1 Pensarn turned up first and this was required Arriva NW&W 4098.

Arriva NW&W 4098 in Rhyl bus station

At almost exactly the same time, required Arriva NW&W 4142 appeared on the #1 to Talacre

Arriva NW&W 4142 in Rhyl bus station

After a few minutes the driver reappeared from a quick break. We got on a booked 3 Arriva NW&W day savers at £6.50 each. When we got on we went upstairs. After a quick loop around to the Seaquarium. We set off westward towards Pensarn. As we reached the other side of the bridge over the river Clwyd we hit a little traffic. After the traffic had died down we could see the traffic was queuing in the other direction for a considerable distance. In the traffic was required Arriva NW&W opened topped double decker 3997. The traffic had started moving by the time we reached the edge of Pensarn and the a couple of minutes later we were at the end of the run. As we got off Matthew got a picture of the top deck.

Inside 4098

We got off and Matthew got another picture of these fine beast.

4098 near Abergele & Pensarn Station

We crossed the road and went to the bus stop for the return bus. The rain was still pouring down and it was lucky that we had a shelter at this stop. As we didn't know how long we had to wait we at a little picnic at the bus stop. We broke out a double Milky Way and had a couple of bottles of pop between us. After around a 15 minute wait we saw a #12 to Rhyl approaching. As it got closer we could see it was 4484. There was no need to look up if this bus was required or not as we had been on it last night! We set off through Pensarn and within about half a mile of leaving town we hit the back end of the traffic. We had approximately 50 minutes to get back to Rhyl. The windows were partially steamed up and you couldn't see that much going on. One amusing thing that we did see was the donkey rides that were taking place in a large gazebo that couldn't of been much bigger that 15x30 feet! We also passed Arriva NW&W 4160 going the other way. After passing through Towyn we reached a crossroads and then the traffic started to move. We got back into Rhyl bus station with about about 5 minutes to spare. Matthew photographed the inside of this bus before we got off.

Inside Arriva NW&W 4484

We then decided to go to dinner. I had seen a pub in Pensarn called the Yacht which looked like it did nice meals. So off we went in the car. We passed the traffic jam again and this time it seemed to go further towards Colwyn Bay. When we got to the pub I had seen it was full and we could not get a seat. We decide to walk just up the street and go into a pub called the Park Hotel. We had 3 Sunday meals as uncle Dave was feeling a little unwell, and they were £6.95 each. the meal wee very nice if a little expensive. Matthew decided he wanted to have a pudding too. He had chocolate fudge cake and custard which we really enjoyed. By the time we had eaten it was 15:00. The plan was now for us all to go back to Rhyl, with mum to do some shopping in Morrisons and the rest of us to do a few more buses. When we got to Rhyl, Matthew decided he wanted to go shopping instead. by the time we had finished it was getting quite late and so we decided to drive back to Chester. We took a slightly scenic route back, taking in Holywell, just missing a Chester bound 11 service. We went back through Connah's Quay and back along the route of the #10 service. on Sealand Road we passed dud Arriva NW&W 689. We even followed the route under past the canal locks and under ring road. We appeared in the town centre opposite the Bull and Stirrup before driving back to the B&B. Back at the room we had some sandwich made with the stuff we had brought in Rhyl. We worked out on what service 689 was likely to reappear on and then worked out a way to avoid it. The bus we decided to catch seemed to work well in getting a #11 service back in to chester and so we formulated a plan. we walked up to the bus station around 18:00 and within a few minutes required Arriva NW&W appeared on a #10 service.

Arriva NW&W 2355 in Chester bus station

The plan at this point was to travel out to Connah's Quay before the #10 left the main road and then do the #11 back. Im not sure if it was because of the awful weather, but Matthew didn't want to get off. we ended up going to the end of the route. I looked up an alternative move. It seemed, although it was hard to tell because the 2 routes had different timing points, that we could probably get off the #10 along the main road and catch the #11 shortly behind. When we turned onto the main road we could see the double decker on the #11 behind us by a few hundred yards. We asked Matthew again if he wanted to get off and do the double decker behind us and he said no! So we did 2354 back into Chester. When we got back Matthew photographed the inside of the bus.

Inside 2355

Arriva 2361 was already at the stop for the next #10. There must be a vehicle and driver change for the last few trips. We decided not to do this at this point, instead we waited for the double decker on the #11. When it arrived it was required 4479. At the same time another bus came in. It was on a service we had never seen before a #13 to Mold. It was dud 2570, so we decided to stay on the #11. This might be something we catch in the future though. Matthew got a picture of 4479 before we got on.

Arriva NW&W 4479 in Chester bus station

On board we set off towards Queensferry. Once again there weren't any adequate timing point to work out how close we would be in catching the #10 return service. The journey seemed to be quite quick and as we got to Queensferry Asda I though we would have a couple of minutes to cross the road and get to the stop. just as get got off we saw 2361 go sailing by on the other side of the road towards Chester. The next return service wasn't for another hour. we decided to cross over and do the service to Connah's Quay again, at least we would only have 30 minutes to wait. firstly, we decided to have some chips between to help us keep warm on this rainy evening. we then had a drink before crossing over 5 minutes before the Connah's Quay service was due. pretty much bang on time, as predicted Arriva NW&W 2361 appeared.

Arriva NW&W 2361 in Quensferry

We did the bus to the Quay shopping centre and then flashed the ticket again for return journey. As we returned the sun started to poke out from behind the clouds making it a little lighter. we decided to get of just before the bus station on the way back so we didn't have as far to walk. We got off at the stop near the Bull and Stirrup and Matthew got a picture of the bus as we drove away.

2361 near Chester bus station

We then walked back to the B&B for the evening. We uploaded a few more pictures on Flickr and settled down for the night...Mark