Trip on the Beatrice 31-08-2011

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
FJ10 BJX	John St, Hanley	Cheddleton	Charter	Aiming High
FJ10 BJX	Cheddleton	John St, Hanley	Charter	Aiming High

Today Matthew went on a trip on the Beatrice canal barge. The barge for disabled children, was organised by Aiming High and as usual they organise transport from Hanley on one of their own vehicles. We arrived in Hanley about 09:40 which gave Matthew an opportunity to watch and photograph buses. Whilst stand outside the bus station for around 15 minutes, Matthew first spot this Alton Towers Transport bus entering the bus station.


Alton Towers Transport M425 UNW enters Hanley bus station (Matt)

There were many First buses in and out of the bus station in this short time. one of which was 40169 seen on a #23 Blurton service.


40169 on a #23 Blurton (Matt)

Another interesting service is the #61 to Tunstall operated by Wardle Transport. On weekdays this is many opperated by double decker buses. One such bus seen today on this 30 minutes frequency service is 4652.


Wardle Transport 4652 entering Hanley bus station (Matt)

As it closer to time we walked down to John Street. After a short while the vehicle turned up. on this occasion it was FJ10 BJX.


Aiming High FJ10 BJX in John Street about to work to Cheddleton (Matt)

Matthew then gave me his camera whilst he went on the bus. When he returned he seemed very happy and virtually bounced off the bus. Mum then took him home via the Wrights Pie shop in Hanford where sausage rolls and Manchester tarts were purchased.


Manchester Tarts in the Wrights Pie shop in Hanford (Matt)

With a car full of food, Matthew went home very happy..Mark

Trip to Llandudno 03-07-2011

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
N718 GRV	Wolstatnton	Llandudno	Charter	James Cooper Sons
N718 GRV	Llandudno	Wolstatnton	Charter	James Cooper Sons

respite last weekend where they had taken him to Matthew was taken to Llandudno stopping for fuel around 11:00 in a BP garage near Chester on the way (Wrexhan road service station). 2503 was seen on a #84 Crewe - Chester service. 867 was also seen near Crewe. Whilst in Llandudno he did Arriva NW&W 817 on a local service. Matthew ate dinner with his friends in a cafe and then Brad had ice cream. We spent some time on the promenade. MUI 2448 was also seen.


james Cooper & sons coach in Llandudno (Matt)

Buses seen at Llandudno also include N718 GRV and Arriva NW&W 814. On the way back Matthew returned via Chester Services the A51 & A500. After his day out he returned to the respite unit in Wolstanton around 19:00 and then stopping at the local Co-op food for a snack...Mark

Trip to Llandudno 25-04-2011

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
MIB 246	Longton Hall Road	Mostyn coach park, Llandudno	Charter	Copelands Tours
817	North West Gardens, (NW bound)	Junction, New Road (Stand Z)	14	Arriva NW&W
2276	Llandudno Junction Station Platform 5 (W-bound)	Llandudno, Trinity Square (SW) (SW-bound)	13	Arriva NW&W
818	North West Gardens, (E bound)	Llandudno Junction Station Platform 5 (W-bound)	19	Arriva NW&W
2277	Llandudno Junction Station Platform 5 (W-bound)	North West Gardens, (NW bound)	13	Arriva NW&W
2658	North West Gardens, (NW bound)	Llandudno Palladium (Stand Y)	5	Arriva NW&W
911	Llandudno Palladium (Stand B)	North West Gardens, (E bound)	84	Arriva NW&W
MIB 246	Mostyn coach park, Llandudno	Longton Hall Road	Charter	Copelands Tours

Today we took Matthew out on his first coach trip of the year. We had a choice of Blackpool or Llandudno with Copeland's (the operater which Matthew chose) and he chose to go to Llandudno. Matthew has only been to Llandudno once in recent years, and that was last summer when we did a coach trip to Rhyl and traveled on. In ancient times Matthew has done a pair of class 20's when he was around 2 on a coal day, and also a trip here on Easter Monday in the later 90's with Bakers when buses were still just something that made him lift his head and get excited when in his pram. Planning consisted of downloading all the Sunday timetables for he Llandudno area. As I was getting the car ready to go to meet the coach, I noticed my near neighbours setting off up the road. As we left home we saw them at the local bus stop. When we arrived on longton Hall road we didn't have to wait long for the coach to turn up MIB 246 was power for the day. Matthew loaded onto the coach quickly, and whilst we were waiting for a couple of passengers
I got off to check the car was locked. Behind our coach arrived the Blackpool coach, which was required MIB 236. As it pulled off Matthew's face dropped in disappointment at not getting the coach he wanted. It didn't take him long to forget anout that. Eventually the passengers we were waiting for arrived off a slightly late running PMT bus. It was our near neighbours! We set off around town picking up the other passengers, including a lad the Matthew used to go to school with Anthony Goodrum. After about an hour and a half we pulled into knutsford services for a quick toilet break. Already in the service was MIB 236 on the Blackpool and Matthew spotted this straight away! As soon as he got off our coach he ran and jumped on the other! after taking a picture inside and out, we persuaded him to come off and promised we would get this coach sometime in the future!


The elusive (to us) MIB 236 in knutsford services (matt)

A toilet break later we were back on the coach. A fairly some journey then followed and the driver pointed out a few sights and facts along the way. When in llandudno we parked on the Mostyn coach park and walked into town. Mum unusually had some company in our near neighbours, so she left us to our own devices! We found some toilets and then found a good vantage point for Matthew to take pictures. I then left him with uncle Dave whilst I fought may way to the front of a very busy chip shop queue! by about 12:40 we were ready to start catching buses... The first bus Matthew wanted was the Alexander bodied dart 2277 that was parked up in trinity square. "what's it on?"..."13"..."Where's it going?"..."Prestatyn".."What time is it due off?"..."oh....now!". So we missed that one. Out came the netbook. The 13 goes via Llandudno junction so if we catch somthing to there we'll probably get a similar bus back. The 14 goes to the junction area before going west. "whens the next 14?"..."12:54"..."Where does it go from?"..."Mostyn Street (NW bound)!". So we walked briskly around the corner to the stop and whithin a couple of minutes Arriva NW&W 817 appears from around the corner. We book our NW&W day rovers and sit down. The 14 takes a weird winding route through countryside and eventually as we approach the Conway area we start to see familiar sights we have seen off the train. Getting close to the tunnel and not wanting end up on the other side, we get off near the road and river area.


Arriva NW&W 817 in Llandudno (matt)

We got off at the new road stop and the bus disappeared around the corner. We decided to follow the bus and then we realised that we were only one stop away from the railway station. We walked across to the station where we saw that there was a 13:30 to llandudno on a service 13.Aafter a few minutes the 13 turned up with another ALX200 in the form of Arriva NW&W 2276 in interurban livery.


Arriva NW&W 2276 in Llandudno (Matt)

We did this back to the square in llandudno and watched it go. We realised that there was not another 14 as this service is every 2 hours on a Sunday service. the next Conway bound bus was a service 19 from the main stop on Mostyn Street just after the hour. off this bus there was a return 19 and another 13. we waited for 15 or so minutes and Arriva NW&W 818 turned up on the 19.


Arriva NW&W 818 in Llandudno (matt)

We set off with the intention of getting off on New road and hopefully we would be able to catch one or the of the buses back. As we approached the New Road stop we passed the 19 with a Plaxton bodied Dart. Decided not to get off and carried on to the stop opposite the station. as we approached the railway station we passed the other bus which was another Plaxton bodied Dennis dart. At this point I realised that we were stuck at Llandudno Junction for an hour! to pass the time we took Matthew to Iceland, where he photographed cakes in the store and chose some cans of Vimto. we drank some of the said cans and also visited the toilet in Llandudno junction station. All things considered the time went passed really quickly. We guessed that the bus back would be 2277 and sure enough it was.


Arriva NW&W 2277 in Llandudno (matt)

by the time we got back we realised that Matthew didn't have much time to get in some more buses. We decided to get in a couple of buses really quickly by catching something from Mostyn Street further into town and than catching something out again. the first bus that turned up was 2658 on a number 5.


Arriva NW&W 2658 in Llandudno (matt)

We did this 2 stops up to the Palladium and got off. Virtually straight away there was a bus opposite on a #84. This was ex London 911. A strange short Plaxton bodied Dart with very few seat in it. We did this back to the main stop in Mostyn Street.


Arriva NW&W 911 in Llandudno (matt)

With about an hour to go before the coach left we decided to et some more chips and eat them on the front. Matthew took a few more pictures and then we went back around to Mostyn Street to take more pictures and meet up with mum. Ona #12 Rhyl, we saw our first glimpse of one of the Ex London ALX400 that are being deployed all across the Arriva NW&W Wales area. This was 4041 and it looked very smart in the interurban livery.


Arriva NW&W 4041 in Llandudno (matt)

After meeting up with mum, it was back to the coach to wait for the 17:15 departure. There was a slight delay in departing as our neighbours couldn't find a toilet in the area as the one on the gardens shut just before we got there. Matthew took some more pictures in the coach park before departure.


Happy Days Coaches 214 in Llandudno (matt)

On departure we made good time until we hit the M56. We had a short stop at Chester services and then we slowly progressed along the M56 until we passed the M53 and we managed to travel a little quicker. We reached newcastle just as it started to go dark and we then had another hour around town dropping of passengers. We hit Longton Hall road just after 21:00.


MIB 246 in Longton Hall Road (matt)

After dropping off uncle Dave I came back and we gave our neighbours a lift. It was a tight squeeze getting 5 and a chair into the car considering the boot was full already. Matthew seemed to enjoy the challenge. Quite a good day, but the coach trip wa a bit of an epic. We will be choosing the trip a little more carefully in future (Mark)

Trip to West Midlands Safari Park 21-11-2010

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
FJ10 BJX	John St, Hanley	West Midlands safari Park	Charter	Aiming High
FJ10 BJX	West Midlands safari Park	John St, Hanley	Charter	Aiming High

Matthew was originally supposed to go to Knowsley, but someone called to say that the trip had been re-arranged and was now going to West Midlands Safari park. Matthew was due to be in respite this weekend so we arranged with respite to take him to Hanley so that he did not miss out on this trip. Usually we take the camera off Matthew after he has photographed his bus, but on this occasion he took it with him and was able photograph some of the animals he saw on this trip. As always Matthew enjoyed himself...

Having done the Aiming High minibus to the Safari Park, The following five pictures below were either taken through the window as they were driven around, or in the walk through sections like the reptile house.


Some kind of Deer (Matt) Suggestions please...


A female Lion (Matt)


Bactrian (two hump) Camel (Matt)


A Seal playing...(Matt)


Rattlesnake!!! (Matt)

After he Van hool took his pictures he was returned to John Street in Hanley. Before he left Hanley he took a couple of coach pictures of coaches that were parked up.


Cresta Coaches YN57 OUS in John Street Hanley (Matt)


Turbostyle WA07KXT in John Street Hanley (Matt)

Afterwards, someone from his respite met him to take him back to the respite house.(Mark)

Trip to Bath 16-10-2010

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
MIB 268	Longton Hall Road, Blurton	Bath Coach Park	Charter	Copelands Tours
46218	Bath BS	Eastfield Avenue	14	First Somerset & Avon
42901	Eastfield Avenue	Royal United Hospital	14	First Somerset & Avon
42967	Royal United Hospital	Bath BS	14	First Somerset & Avon
46237	Bath BS	Bear Flat	267	First Somerset & Avon
40542	Bear Flat	Bath BS	13	First Somerset & Avon
MIB 268	Bath Coach Park	Longton Hall Road, Blurton	Charter	Copelands Tours

Matthew had spotted this trip on the Copelands Tours brochure, and after a bit of persuasion he got mum to book the trip for us. I didn't do as much research as perhaps I should have done, but on the morning of the coach trip I printed out the Bath City zone 1 map, the Bath network map and the Bath Area Bus services map from the First website. I also downloaded the service 178/84 service timetable and the list of low floor services (so I could work out which buses aren't low floor). We set off at around 07:30 to Longton hall Road so we made the 07:55 pick up in good time. MIB 268 was the transport for today. I think Matthew was hoping for a different coach, but he was just glad to be going on such an epic trip. After getting on the coach then came an epic journey around town picking up other passengers. last pick up was Newcastle at 08:50! As per usual the driver called in to say he had picked up all the passengers then we set off. Newcastle, A519, M6, M5.


Mileage machine Copelands Tours MIB 268 in the M5 / M50 Services Southbound(Matt)

After a short break in the M5 / M50 services, we continued south M5 M4
and then into Bath. At the coach park there was a small cafe which we had dinner before moving to the bus station. when at the bus station we decided to stand and watch for a short while to see where the buses were going and to work out what buses were doing what. One the buses we saw was step entranced dart 46225.


46225 enters Bath bus station (Mark)

I left Matthew there for a short while with uncle Dave whilst I picked up some timetables from the office. When I returned we decided to walk up to by the railway station. as we walked up we were able to take further bus and coach pictures. One of the reason I wanted to got to the railway station was to get a photograph from the car park overlooking the bus station. A few weeks before there had been a picture in 'Buses' magazine with the exact same view. here's my best effort...


Bath bus station...Photo inspired by the one that appeared in 'Buses' magazine a month or so ago... (Mark)

We then returned back to the bus station. Matthew spotted 46218 on a local service and we decided to go for it and start riding on the local buses. it was a number #14 service which we saw on the map as a service going to the hospital and with a circular end. we did the bus passed the hospital and we got off in the estate and then waited for the next bus.


46218 disappearing off into the distance along Eastfield Avenue, Weston on service #14 (Matt)

After a short wait 42901 appeared on the following bus. The next stopped appeared to be the terminus as we waited there for a few minutes! We decided to do this bus to the hospital and get off so we could get another different bus.


42901 at the Royal United Hospital, Bath (Matt)

After another wait where we saw a Wessex connect minibus, 42967 turned up and we did this bus.


42967 at the Royal United Hospital, Bath (Matt)

back at the bus station we didn't have loads of time so we decide to try and do another short trip out. Matthew had spotted 46237 on a Frome service so I looked it up on the map and there seemed to be a place where a lot of service diverged call 'Bear Flat'. I thought if we did the bus to here then we would have a few choices of bus back. Matthew got a picture and then we walked around and got on the bus.


46237 in Bath bus station about to work the 1528 service #267 to Frome (Matt)

the bus was very full and we were luck to get a seat at all. Bear Flat is about a mile out of town o the other side of the river and at the top of a very steep hill. as the bus turned and leveled off, we got off the bus and Matthew took another picture.


46237 powers away into the distance away from Bear Flat on service #267 to Frome (Matt)

We then crossed the road and waited for a bus back. We then phoned mum and arranged to meet up back at the bus station. There were a couple of choices and we decided to wait for the number 13 bus. When it eventually appeared it was an ex South Yorkshire bus 40542. we did this back to the bus station where I got a picture.


Ex Doncaster 40542 in Dorchester Street Bath (Mark)

After we arrived back in Dorchester Street, We took Matthew to the exit corner of the bus station and then I went to find where mum was sitting. We all met up together in the corner of the bus station and then made our way back towards the coach park stopping a few times to take pictures.


52554 in Dorchester Street on service #1 (Matt)


46235 in Bath bus station between duties (Matt)

We walked back via, Broad Quay, Ambury and Corn Street to the coach park...


First Somerset & Avon hybrid bus 39000 enters Bath bus station (Matt)


Forget the usual sights of Bath... No trip to here is complete without seeing one of their orange bendy Buses! 10176 in Corn Street (Matt)

We had about 30 minutes at the coach park, where we all used the facilities and Matthew took a few pictures of the coaches parked up. We set of back at 17:00 making 1 stop at the Northbound M5 / M50 services.


MIB 268 in the M5 / M50 Services Northbound(Mark)

We reached the outskirts of Stoke at 20:00 and after dropping off most of the other passengers we eventually reached Longton Hall Road at around 20:50.

Trip to Conkers 03-10-2010

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
FJ10 BJX	John St, Hanley	Conkers	Charter	Aiming High
FJ10 BJX	Conkers	John St, Hanley	Charter	Aiming High

Matthew was taken out today by two workers from his potential new respite place. They took him for a teatime visit to the respite house, and at 08:00 on 2 bus journey's. Matthew told me which buses he traveled on and which places he had them between by typing them into the Google search box, and I worked out which services they must have been on. Had we know he was going out on the bus he would have had his camera with him! It' seems like a good start at this new place...fingers crossed for the future...


FJ10 BJX stands just off John Street just before working to Conkers (Matt)

We dropped Matthew off at around 09:30 where he was whisked away in the other Aiming High minibus to the one he had had before. Reports from the staffs say that Matthew had a great time at Conkers. Although the weather meant that they only had about an hour in the outdoor play area, he thoroughly enjoyed putting the crossroads staff members fitness and agility to the test and was laughing at them if they could not keep up!! We collect Matthew at around 16;00...Mark

Trip to Alton Towers 11-06-2010

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
65004	Alton Towers	Werrington PO	32A	First PMT

Today was a trip organised for a website support parents of disabled children. The webmaster had secured a number of ticket for a group of children and their carers to visit Alton Towers. We drove up to Alton Towers and we all met up in the area between the the monorail and the main gate. When everybody had arrived we went in and sorted out the tickets. We spent around 3 hours in the park and we met up and had dinner with some of the other parents. Despite queuing for some of the bigger rides Matthew got board so we only actually went on the Charlie and the chocolate factory and squirrel rides. After diner Matthew was en to ride on the monorail. this was so he could look at all the coaches parked up. We returned on the next monorail back and then Matthew want to look at the coaches a little closer. we had a wander around and here are some of the pictures he took.


X11 BLC at Alton Towers (Matt)


NX03 AEK at Alton Towers (Matt)


YIL 4386 at Alton Towers (Matt)


L641 AYS at Alton Towers (Matt)

At this point matthew didn't want to return into the park, so we decided to let Matthew catch the bus to Werrington whilst mum drove up there to meet us. the next Hanley bound 32A was 65004.


65004 at Alton Towers (Matt)

So moved arranged, I mum to to meet the 32A, whilst Matt and I caught the bus. It was then all back to the car for snacks and to drive home...Mark