Trip to Bucknall 14-02-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
1321	Bentilee	Bucknall	Charter	Wardle Transport
TLZ 2659	Bucknall	Newcastle	Charter	Procters
TLZ 2659	Newcastle	Bucknall	Charter	Procters
1648	Bucknall	Blurton	Charter	Wardle Transport

Today Matthew was at college. He got up at 07:00 to get ready and had some toast for breakfast. Around 08:00 was Wardle Transport 1321 arrived to take him to college.

Wardle Transport 1321 in Bentilee

They went down Dividy rod to the A52 were they turned right. The continued east along the A52 until they reached Newhouse Road. During college they visited they adventure playground and transport for this we was Procters TLZ 2659. They went down to the A52 and around Hanley. we saw Wardle Transport 4652 in Hanley on the #30 service. They then went along the A53 through Etruria. we saw 65728 on a #34 service. They then went into Newcastle and then to the adventure playground. After a while in the soft play area they set off back to college on Procters TLZ 2659. They returned back through Newcastle on the A53 and around Hanley. They then went down limekiln Bank to Bucknall and then along Newhouse Road. After college we had Wardle Transport 1648. we sat down near the back and the bus set off we passed wardle Transport 1421. They went down Newhouse Road to the A52. we then went passed the Scraggs garage and Ruxley Road and onto Dividy Road. They then went up passed the garage at Adderley Green and down Anchor Road into Longton. He went passed Z Carz garage where we saw R920 WNT & T131 SGA & FD53 UNX & D104 XAN, before going back through Longton, onto King Street and along Duke Street down to the A50 link road and Heron Cross. They went through Blurton back to home. we got off, home around 16:45. He had some toast when he got in. Just after 18:00 we went out to deliver some books. We went along the A5035 and then along Pacific Drive and Constance Avenue. Deliveries done we went back onto new Inn Lane and down to Hanford. We then joined the A34 and went to Trent Vale Macdonalds, where we brought Matthew a meal before returning home via the A34 and A5035. We got home around 19:00 and Matthew then chilled out on his computer before bedtime...Mark

Trip to Bucknall 16-11-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
1649	Blurton	Bucknall	Charter	Wardle Transport
1450	Bucknall	Blurton	Charter	Wardle Transport

Today Matthew had a different bus to college. He got up around 07:20 and was ready for college just before 08:00. The bus usually turns up after 08:00 but the bus was late. Around 08:25 the bus turns up and it was Wardle Transport 1649.

Wardle Transport 1649 in Blurton

Matthew had seen this bus a few days earlier when it had turned up at his respite place in Bentilee. It is an O&H bodied Mercedes 614D with 9 seats. He went to college via the A5035 through Blurton to Heron cross and then onto Duke Street in Heron Cross. Afterwards they then went through Fenton. In Fenton they saw Procters TLZ 2659. They went down Victoria Road to Limekiln Bank and down to Bucknall. After college Matthew came out to see his usual bus was Wardle Transport 1450. He then returned via Limekiln Bank and through Fenton. They went via Duke Street through Heron Cross to Blurton. He got home around 16:15 and then had a short session on his computer before we went to the Black Lion for tea. The route was along the A5035 to Trentham and then on the A34 Northbound to Trent Vale. Whilst we were there we observed a few different buses. When he arrived there he saw Wardle Transport 1424. He also saw Happy Days 221 heading South down the A34. After having sausage eggs chips and bacon and ice cream for afters, we set off to pick up uncle Dave. We went down the A34 and onto the Northbound A500. We turned onto the A50 and then came off in Heron Cross. We then head down through Fenton to pick uncle Dave up. We went back through heron Cross to Blurton. We got home around 18:00 and then Matthew chilled out on his computer until bedtime getting ready for the trip out the next day...Mark

Trip to Newcastle 15-11-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
1321	Bentilee	Bucknall	Charter	Wardle Transport
HIL 7615	Bucknall	Adventure Playground	Charter	Procters
HIL 7615	Adventure Playground	Bucknall	Charter	Procters
1649	Bucknall	Blurton	Charter	Wardle Transport

Today Matthew was in respite. He was having such a good time that he didn't want to come home. He got up and had a wash and ate his breakfast. The bus came at 08:00 to pick him up and it was Wardle Transport 1321.

Wardle Transport 1321 in Bentilee

He set off down to the bottom of Dividy Road and headed onto the A52. They then turned into Newhouse Road and to college. At college was Procters coach HIL 7615 which was waiting to take them to the adventure playground. the set off down Newhouse Road and then onto the A52. they did this to Hanley and then went around the ring road past Tesco to the A53. Then then went through Etruria to Newcastle and then to the adventure playground. They went outside and played for a while before returning to the coach to go back to college. They headed back to Newcastle. It was here that they saw Bennetts coach SIL 6427 parked up. They then went down the A53 to Festival Park and then onto the Hanley ring road. They did this to the A52, and then they went back down to Bucknall to college. After college Matthew return to respite. This time it was on Wardle Transport 1649. The route was onto Newhouse Road to Bucknall and then past Scraggs depot before going along Dividy Road to Bentilee. Here they saw Z Carz minibus Y569 DSF. They also saw Wardle Transport 1623. For tea Matthew had fish fingers and beans with chocolate cheesecake for afters .He then had a bath and chilled out before bedtime...Mark

Trip to Tatton Park 29-06-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
1450	Blurton	Abbey Hulton	Charter	Wardle Transport
TLZ 2659	Bucknall Road, Hanley	Tatton Park	Charter	Procters
TLZ 2659	Tatton Park	Bucknall Road, Hanley	Charter	Procters
1626	Bucknall Newhouse Road	Heron Cross	Charter	Wardle Transport
BV51 BNO	Heron Cross	Trent Vale	Charter	Z Carz
BV51 BNO	Trent Vale	Heron Cross	Charter	Z Carz

Today Matthew was going on a trip from college. He got up as usual just after 07:00 and the his usual bus came to pick him up for college. It was Wardle Transport 1450.

Wardle Transport 1450 in Blurton

He got to college around 09:00. The coach came to pick them up on Bucknall Road Hanley around 09:30 and it was required Procters coach TLZ 2659. This coach is a 53 seater vehicle. The coach took just under an hour to get to Tatton Park. The route was the A52 to Hanley, and then just before 10:00 they went around Hanley past the Tesco Extra and then down to the Festival Park. They then did he A53 to Basford and then got on the Northbound A500. They did the M6 to e A556 and across to Tatton Park. In the coach parking area there were lots of other vehicles. we saw Copelands Tours MIB 236 there as well as that we saw Howards bus BUS 44A we also saw GHA coach EAZ 2584. In Tatton Park Matthew walked around the gardens and visited the toilets. He also ate a meal which was an all day breakfast with chips. He also had cake for afters. They also went to look at the animals. They also visited the playground area. They then went back to their coach, was Procters TLZ 2659. They returned home around 14:00. The route back was the reverse on the route up. They headed back onto the A556 and then back onto the Southbound M6. They then got back onto the A500 and the A53 to Festival Park. They went around Hanley and then down to Bucknall Road. He them walked back to college. They saw Wardle Transport 1649 on the way back in. They also saw Wardle transport 1450 whilst out. They got back in college just before 15:00 in time for his transport which was Z Carz S973 OVP. Outside he ate cake then was Wardle Transport 1626 back to respite in Heron Cross. he used the toilets. This was once again saw Wardle Transport 1450. Around 17:00 Matthew he being in respite in Heron Cross, Matthew and a couple of the staff went out on Z Carz BV51 BNO. They were going out for tea at the Black Lion in Trent Vale. This is a 33 seat mini coach inside. The route was onto the A50. They saw Wardle Transport 1453 on the way. They then go onto the A500 to Hanford and saw Wardle Transport 1421 running empty and then onto they got onto the Northbound A34. They went out on was Z Carz BV51 BNO. After having a brunch and then toffee sponge and custard for afters, they returned back to was Z Carz BV51 BNO Heron Cross on via the A34, A500 and A50.in Heron Cross he saw First Potteries 40779 on a #23 service. They got back on Z Carz BV51 BNO As often is the case, Matthew wanted to photograph the interior. I told him to wait until we arrived in Heron Cross and then he could photograph the bus empty. He got back into respite around 18:45 came past the in He had a respite unit too bath and then chilled out with some toast for the rest of the evening before bedtime..Mark

Trip to Newcastle/Stoke 08-05-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
1450	Blurton	Abbey Hulton	Charter	Wardle Transport
NIL 3944	Abbey Hulton	Cheddleton	Charter	Procters
NIL 3944	Cheddleton	Abbey Hulton	Charter	Procters
1450	Abbey Hulton	Blurton	Charter	Wardle Transport
40003	Ladybank Grove, Blurton	Newstead	23	First Potteries
40003	Newstead	Church Street, Stoke	23	First Potteries
66841	Church Street, Stoke	Newcastle Town Centre, adj Alma Inn PH	25	First Potteries
61553	Newcastle Under Lyme, adj Seagrave Street	Church Street, Stoke	26	First Potteries
40024	Church Street, Stoke	Stoke railway station	23	First Potteries
66849	Stoke railway station	Church Street, Stoke	25	First Potteries
2962	Stoke railway station	Stanley Matthews Way	500	Wardle Transport

Todays was Matthews first day back at college after the bank holiday weekend. He was also having a trip out on the Beatrice today aswell. Matthew was up shortly after 07:00 and on his college bus at 08:00. It was the usual bus Wardle Transport 1450.

Wardle Transport 1450 in Blurton

Whilst at college, Matthew did Procters NIL 3944 to Chedleton. He had Procters NIL 3944 back to college too. He came home once again on Wardle Transport 1450. Mathew then had his tea which was sausage carrots and potatoes. As it was a nice evening, I asked Matthew if he fancied a jaunt down to Stoke on the bus to which he said yes! We set off a little after 20:00 and we waited for the Hanley bound bus. We saw the bus heading in the other direction so we decided to cross over and do it to Newstead first. As it approached we could see it was first PMT 40003 as it often is on this turn. We got on the bus and took our seat near the back. we noticed that this bus had been refurbished, and the seats were now in first colours. The old grey and salmon zig-zag pattern seats had been replaced. When we got to Newstead I got up and booked back to Stoke station. When we got back to Blurton, an old school friend of Matthew's got on the bus and we chatted to as we headed towards Stoke. As we were late we decided to get off in Stoke town centre so we could see both of the buses we night catch. As we got off Matthew got a good picture of 40003.

First PMT 40003 in Stoke

Matthew immediately decided he need to go to the toilet so we went to the one's by the market. We got back onto church street just in time to see the #26 to Newcastle, which was required 61553. we decided to turn this down for now, and to wait to see what the following #25 was, as we would be coming back on 61553 anyway. We waited a further few minutes and dud 66841 appeared on the Keele bus. As we traveled up to Newcastle we passed 66849 on the Hanley bound #25, a little further up the road than usual. We did it to the edge of Newcastle where Matthew got a picture of this bus.

First PMT 66841 in Newcastle

We got off the bus and crossed over to wait for 61553. sure enough after a few minutes a appeared from around the corner. As we rode on this bus to stoke, we could see how different this bus was internally to some off the Scania's that were original to PMT. We approached stoke and there were 2 possibilities. if we got to Stoke and the #23 hadn't gone past then we would do this to stoke station. Otherwise it would be the #25. as we approached stoke there was a couple of minutes before the #23 was due off. We got to Stoke and it was waiting at the stop. Cool as a cucumber, Matthew insisted on getting a picture of 61553 before walking over to the Solo across the road.

First PMT 61553 in Stoke

After he had taken the picture we ran over to the #23. another lady had already run across in front of us, obviously she didn't have to stop to take a picture of the other bus! We got across the road and jumped straight on it. We sat down and we didn't even know which one we were on. as we got off we made a conscious decision to what we had been on and it was required 40024. Matthew got a picture just as it pulled away.

First PMT 40024 in Stoke

It had now just about gone dark. We crossed the road for the impending #25. As expected it was dud 66849. It was a little late turning up and quite full. The move is usually to stoke town for the Hanley bound #25. As we pulled into Church street we passed 66852. We now had 2 choices... Wait for the #500 in Stoke Town centre, or walk back to the railways station. As we approached the stop in stoke town centre the bell's in Stoke minster were sounding out and Matthew decided he want to catch the bus from by the station. We had 12 minutes to get there. as we passed the end of Kingsway matthew spotted a coach in front of the Kings Hall. We had to go and have a look. It was Leon's Coaches AT61 LCT which was in town with the Stoke city end of season awards ceremony. We also saw a coach behind the north Staffs hotel which we had to go have a look at. It was Simpson's coaches SM12 SON. we got to the stop by the railway station with about a minute to spare! It rounded the corner and we could see it was a Versa so we knew it was probably not going to be a required bus. As it approached we saw it was Wardle Transport 2962. We did the bus to the end as usual, and just before we got off Matthew got a picture of the very brightly lit interior of this bus.

Inside Wardle Transport 2962

We got off and waited for the bus to come back onto the bus stop so we could take a few more pictures of this beast.

2962 on Stanley Matthews Way

We then walked the long walk home, before getting ready to go to bed...Mark

Trip to The Monkey Forest 03-04-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
FJ10 BJY	Middlehurst, Packmoor	Monkey Forest, Trentham	Charter	Aiming High
FJ10 BJY	Monkey Forest, Trentham	Middlehurst, Packmoor	Charter	Aiming High

Today Matthew went to the Monkey Forest with Aiming High. Matthew didn't go to sleep until 03:00 but that's not particularly novel. We got him up at 08:30 as we had to be at Middlehurst at 10:00. After breakfast we set off Northwards up the A500 up to Tunstall and then across to Packmoor along the new Tunstall by-pass. Matthew got a picture of his transport for today, Aiming High FJ10 BJY.

Aiming High FJ10 BJY in Middlehurst

He also got a picture of Middlehurst own minibus GN60 GZW.

Middlehurst GN60 GZW in Middlehurst

We left Matthew in their care. Matthew used the toilet in the school and then they boarded the minibus. he saw First Potteries 61238 on a #7 service. The route down to Trentham would likely be Tunstall by-pass, A500 South Bound to Hanford, and then Southwards down the A34 to the Monkey Forest entrance. Here he saw Z Carz D104 XAN. Also present was Procters Coaches NIL 3944. Matthew seemed to be quite interested in the Monkeys as he took lots of pictures.

A Monkey!

The Monkeys here are in fact Barbary Macaques with according there web site are native to Morocco and Algeria.

Another Monkey!

There are 2 different groups that have come from parks elsewhere in Europe.

Monkey on a trunk

He did later find a whole group to take a picture of.

Multiple Monkeys

There is also the Banana Cafe where you get snacks. Matthew had some Chocolate cake here.

The cafe

Matthew used the toilet here before they set off back to Middlehurst. The route would have been the reverse of the route down. A34 North to Hanford, A500 past Tunstall and then across the Tunstall by-pass to Packmoor. They got back around 15:00 and Matthew used the toilet in the school before we set off home. Reports say Matthew enjoyed himself and was well behaved. I think they tell us that regardless to be honest! I don't think we came straight home as we rarely take a straight line anywhere. Likely route are via Bentilee to see the First Potteries garage, or a trip up to Mow Cop and back via High Lane into Hanley. As it was a Tuesday then Matthew would more than likely have had a MacDonalds. We passed the local Post Office and we also stopped at Costcutters in Blurton on the way home. On the way through Blurton we passed First Potteries 40153 on a Longton bound #22 service.

First Potteries 40153 on the #22

We then did the short drive home before settling down for the evening and then bed...Mark

Trip to Bucknall 22-03-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
1450	Heron Cross Duke Street	Bucknall Newhouse Road	Charter	Wardle Transport
NIL 3944	Bucknall Newhouse Road	Newcastle Adventure Playground	Charter	Procters
NIL 3944	Newcastle Adventure Playground	Bucknall Newhouse Road	Charter	Procters
1450	Bucknall Newhouse Road	Ladybank Grove Blurton	Charter	Wardle Transport

Today was a normal college day. Matthew went to college around 08:00 on his usual bus from respite. It He got a picture of this before he got on it. It was Wardle Transport 1450.

Wardle 1450 in Heron Cross

He arrived around 09:00. When he got there he was informed that he would be going out for the morning. The coach was going to be one was Procters NIL 3944. Whilst at college Walk seats 54-57 meaning that this would a different to coach to the ones we had previously had, and therefore Matthew would be traveling a different vehicle. Planning for the trip consisted of looking at which bus tickets we could purchase and printing up section of the stokebus.info transport map of Bucknall. Initial plans of the trip we drove to coach Seat 57. They went to Newcastle and back on later were to travel away from Bucknall into areas that we knew a little about. So I printed information on buses in the Newcastle direction. The coach was a Van Hool one. On the day 12:01 he returned back to college for dinner which included some cake. He saw 1455 and also 1450. he caught bus via Fenton and 30031 was on the 22 that day. He saw Wardle Transport 1421 he returned home on Wardle Transport 1450.

Wardle 1450 in Blurton

He was also able to get a second picture of this bus.

Another picture of 1450 in Blurton

He then went home before going out for a meal from MacDonalds. A chicken Nugget meal and a plain cheesburger. His usual bedtime was around 23:00...Mark

Trip to Fenton 16-06-2011

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
W187 RRE	Blurton	Abbey Hulton	Charter	Z Carz
GN53 ETZ	Abbey Hulton	Newcastle	Charter	Blackfriars
GN53 ETZ	Newcastle	Abbey Hulton	Charter	Blackfriars
S973 OVR	Abbey Hulton	Blurton	Charter	Z carz
40165	Ladybank Grove, Blurton	Mount Pleasant, Temple (adj)	23A	First Potteries

Matthew did his current usual bus out in the morning W187 RRE. Whilst at college he did GN53 ETZ to Newcastle and back. He also saw Copeland's Tours MIB 746 & Procters TLZ 9417 Unusually, the return trip from college was VW bus, S973 OVR!

Later, the same family event that put us in a position for the bus last night, also changed our usual Thursday night routine. As such We went to visit a family member by bus, that we usually do by car on a Wednesday. as we approached the Ladybank stop we saw a Marshall bodied Dart heading towards Newstead. Whilst we waited, we speculated on the identity of the bus and if it would be required. Eventually very much required 40165 turned up on our service.


40165 in Beaconsfield Drive on the 23A to Hanley (Matt)

On the way we passed evening regular 40003 on the 23 diagram. After the short run down through Heron Cross, we got off the bus at the appropriate stop.


40165 departs towards Stoke and Hanley on the 23A (Matt)

After a few hours with said family member, mum came by in the car to pick us up... Mark