Trip to West End / Hanley 27-07-2018

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
DY08 FFX	Fenton	West End	Charter	Shelton Care Group
DY08 FFX	West End	Fenton	Charter	Shelton Care Group
67655	Fenton, adj Travers Court	Newcastle BS	11	First Potteries
138	Newcastle BS	Hanley, stop B 4	85	D&G
67159	Hanley BS	Fenton, Raglan Walk	23A	First Potteries

Today Matthew was in the residential unit and he was going to his day service. He was also going to Hanley on the bus later on. Matthew got up 08:00. and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. Whilst waiting for time to go to the day centre Matthew spent time in his room watching buses. We saw First Potteries 67660 on a #11 to Newcastle. Around 09:00 we set off on foot to the day centre. We walked onto Temple Street and right onto Christchurch Street. We continued along Christchurch Street and into the day centre. In the morning Matthew went out on Shelton Care Group DY08 FFX. We set off onto Christchurch Street We ran forwards onto Station Bridge Road. At Heron Cross we joined the Westbound A50 and we ran down to Sideway. We turned left onto the Southbound A500 and we ran down to the motorway. We got onto the Southbound M6 and we ran down through Staffordshire anf the West Midlands. We got onto the Southbound M42 and we ran around the West Midlands to the M40. We ran South through Warwickshire into Oxfordshire and we came off the M40 at junction 9. We travelled Southwards down the A34 around Oxford, Newbury and Winchester. We joined the Southbound M3 and we came off at junction 14 into the Eastbound M27. We came off at the following junction and we went North otwards the airport. We turned right onto Wide Lane and at the end we turned left onto the A27. We turned left onto Allington Lane and we arrived at our destination. Matthew went to the toilet and afterwards did the treetop trail. For dinner Matthew had egg sandwich washed down with a can of Coke. When we had finished we returned to Shelton Care Group DY08 FFX for the journey back to Fenton. We set off along Allington Lane and we turned right onto the A27. We turned right onto Wide Lane and we turned left to join the Westbound M27. We went to the next junction and we joined the Northbound M3. We ran around winchester and we joined the Northbound A34. We ran north bypassing Newmbury and Oxford and we joined the Northbound M40 at junction 9. We ran North to the end of the M40 and we joined the Northbound M42. We ran around the East side of the West Midlands and we joined the Westbound M6. WE ran along the M6 throughthe West Midlands and Staffordshire as far as junction 15 where we cam off onto the A500. We travelled North up to Sideway and then we joined the Eastbound A50. We came off the A50 at Heron Cross and we turned left onto Blurton Road. We went through the traffic lights onto Heron Steeet. We carried on forwards onto Station Bridge Road and we turned left onto Christchurch Street. We turned left onto Masterson Street and we turned right onto Watkin Street. We continued onto Temple Street and back to the residential unit. Mathew went upstairs to use his computer and chill out. Until it was time to go out Matthew watched buses out of the window. We saw First Potteries 63172 on a #11 to Newcastle.

First Potteries 63172 in Fenton

Also seen was First Potteries 65037 on a #11 to Hanley.

First Potteries 65037 in Fenton

Later on we went out on the bus. We set off onto temple Street and walked through onto City Road. We saw First Potteries 67152 on a #23 to Hanley. On the way to the bus stop we saw Afford Rent-A-Car minibus HN16 CNA outside their yard.

Afford Rent-A-Car HN16 CNA in Fenton

A few minutes later the bus appeared and it was First Potteries 67655 on a #11 to Newcastle.

First Potteries 67655 in Fenton

We got on the bus and we booked to Newcastle before sitting down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off down City Road and we ran down the hill over the old railway line to Leek and onto the A52. We ran under the railway line and over the A500 and straight into Stoke town centre along Church Street. After a brief stop in Stoke we continued along church Street and forwards onto Hartshill Road. We ran up the hill and into Hartshill. We ran forwards onto George Street and we ran down the hill into Newcastle. We turned left at the roundabout onto Barracks Road and into the bus station where we got up and got off the bus. Matthew went to the toilet and went back to the bus station to wait for a bus to Hanley. A few minutes later we saw D&G bus 138 on a #85 to Hanley. We got on the bus and we booked to hanley before sitting down towards the back of the bus. We set off out of the bus station onto Barracks Road. We crossed the rounadabout onto the A53 and we ran around the one-way system onto the A52. We ran up George Street to the edge of Newcastle and we veered left onto Shelton New Road. We ran to the end and we turned left onto Etruria Vale Road. We turned right onto Clough Street and we turned right onto the anti-clockwise ring road. We turned left ont Broad Street and we got up and got off the bus oppsitre the Potteries museum and art gallery. Once off the bus Matthew took a picture of D&G Bus 138 as it continued towards Hanley bus station.

D&G 138 in Hanley

Once off the bus Matthew we walked up Broad Street and forwards onto Piccadilly. We crossed over Stafford Street and we walked up through Tontine Square to the intu Potteries hopping centre. We went up to the first floor and we dtopped at Druckers Vienna Patteserie. Matthew had a glass of Coke. Once we had finished Matthew went to the toilet. Once we had finished we walked onto Parliament Row and we stopped at Pound Bakery. Matthew had some sausage rolls. We walked to Old Hall Street and we continued down Lichfield Street to the bus station. We waited for a bus back to Fenton. A few minutes later we saw First Potteries 67159 on a #23A to Newstead.

First Potteries 67159 in Hanley bus station

We got on the bus and we booked to Fenton before sitting down towards the back of the bus. The bus was empty so Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 67159.

Inside First Potteries 67159

We set off onto John Street and we turned left onto Bethesda Street. We crossed over the ring road and we ran down onto Regent Road and forwards onto Cleveland Road. We ran down though Shelton along College Road and we ran down to the railway station. We turned right onto Glebe Street and under the railway line an we ran around the one-way system in Stoke and stopped by Stoke Minster. We turned left onto Church Street and we crossed the A500 and we ran under the railway line. After climbing up the hill into Fenton we turned right into Smithpool Road where we got up and got off the bus. Once off the bus we walked up Temple Street and back to the residential unit and we saw Shelton Care Group DY08 FFX outside.

Shelton Care Group DY08 FFX in Fenton

Matthew we upstairs and returned to his room. Matthew went to the unit to chill out. He went on his computer and watched television. Later on Matthew had a bath and then had toast for supper. He then chilled out in his room until bedtime around 23:00... Mark.

Trip to Accrington 01-03-2014

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
N195 LFV	Accrington BS	West End, opp Percy Street	46	M&M Coaches
MC53 MMC	West End, by Percy Street	Accrington BS	46	M&M Coaches
N201 UHH	Accrington BS	Laneside, by Haywood Road	19	M&M Coaches
1304	Accrington, o/s Victoria Hospital	Accrington, opp Lister Street	7	Transdev Lancashire United
N379 PNY	Accrington, by Lister Street	Accrington BS	1	M&M Coaches
1828	Accrington BS	Great Harwood, by Towngate	7	Transdev Lancashire United
1306	Great Harwood, by Holgate Street	Accrington BS	6	Transdev Lancashire United
573	Accrington BS	Oswaldtwistle, by Rhyddings Street	6A	Transdev Lancashire United
205	Oswaldtwistle, opp Rhyddings Street	Accrington BS	7A	Transdev Lancashire United

Today we decided to pay another visit to Accrington. I gave him a list of places to go of which first choice this week was Sale so he could do a few Finglands buses before they left the First Manchester fleet, but Matthew chose Accrington. We did no research for today other than to check local football fixtures and to check the weather. The weather was forecast for a cool day with sunny intervals. Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set off around 11;40 today, going onto the A5035 and then onto Stanley Matthews way. We saw 2 unidentifed Barkerbus coaches on the car park near the Britannia Stadium before going around the roundabout behind Optare bodied Commandery Coaches YX54 BHD. We went West on the A50 and then North on the A500 up to Shelton New Road so that we could take on LPG. After gassing up went West on the A53 and then back onto the Northbound A500. We turned onto the Northbound M6 and traffic was moving quite well. In Cheshire we passed two Copeland's Tours coaches heading South. First we saw MIB 236 followed by MIB 229 a few minutes later. It was the first time we had seen MIB 229 on the road since arriving at Copeland's Tours. We carried on North up through the roadworks on Thelwall Viaduct and then onto the Eastbound M62. We took the clockwise M60 and just after the M61 junction we passed Stagecarriage S467 GUB. We carried on until we reached the M66 which we did North up to the A56. When we reached the A680 we turned right towards Accrington and drove the last few miles into town. We parked up on the car park near the railway station and we walked into town. On the way we stopped to take a few pictures. We saw Pilkington Bus R846 VEC on the #20 Hyndburn circular service.

Pilkington Bus R846 VEC in Accrington bus station

We also saw required M&M Coaches N201 UHH on the #2 service and required M&M Coaches MC53 MMC on the #46 to Blackburn. After using the toilet we crossed over the road to the bus stop cafe on Peel Street. Matthew had breakfast washed down with a glass of Coke. Whilst we ate we also saw required M&M Coaches N379 PNY on the #1 Oswaldtwistle - Clayton-le-Moors circular service. Three out of Three required buses seen with only one left to view. hen we had finished eating we said goodbye to mum and headed off to the bus stops. As we needed MC53 MMC we decided to check out the final M&M Coaches bus on the #46 which we could do up to the West end for MC53 MMC back. Whilst we waited we saw Transdev Lancashire United 401 on the X41 to Blackburn.

Transdev Lancashire United 401 in Accrington bus station

We also saw required Transdev Lancashire United 205 on the #7A to Blackburn. We didn't have to wait long before required M&M Coaches N195 LFV appeared on the #46 to Blackburn. Four out of Four bus out today required!

M&M Coaches N195 LFV in Accrington bus station

We got on the bus and booked a return to the West End. The bus was almost empty when we got on and Matthew was able to get a picture inside the bus straight away.

Inside M&M Coaches N195 LFV

We sat down near the back and the bus set off out of town. As we got on the bus we saw dud but interesting Pilkington BUs G306 UYN on an #20A Hyndburn circular service. We set of out of town and onto Blackburn Road. We passed Transdev Lancashire United Optare Tempo 1307 on a #7 service and we turned to the right and continue on Blackburn Road. When we reached the West end of town we got off N195 LFV and it climbed the hill into the distance towards Blackburn. We crossed over the road and we didn't have to wait for long before we saw MC53 MMC appear over the horizon. As the bus approaches Matthew got a picture of this fine Mercedes minibus.

M&M Coaches MC53 MMC on Blackburn Road

We got on and flashed our return tickets and sat down near the back of the bus. The bus had really nice high backed coach seat fitted throughout. We headed back down the hill and we veered right at the junction to head into town. When we got back to Accrington Matthew waited for the bus to empty before taking a picture inside of M&M Coaches MC53 MMC.

Inside M&M Coaches MC53 MMC

We decided to take a few pictures whilst we waited for N201 UHH to make another appearance. On the X41 to Blacburn was Transdev Lancashire United 440.

Transdev Lancashire United 440 in Accrington bus station

Whilst we had the chance we also took another picture of M&M Coaches MC53 MMC whilst it was stationary.

M&M Coaches MC53 MMC in Accrington bus station

We then saw required Pilkington Bus X591 USC on a clockwise hyndburn circular. We visited the toilet and M&M Coaches N379 PNY appeared on the Clayton-le-Moors bound #1.

M&M Coaches N379 PNY in Accrington bus station

We turned it down for now, as we were going to try and do it up to Oswaldtwistle a bit later. There was quite a bit of activity in bus station at this time. Pilkington Bus X374 NNO was on an anticlockwise Hyndburn Circular and Rossendale Easyride 206 was on the #464 to Rochdale.

Rossendale 206 in Accrington bus station

'Rosso' branded 100 was photographed on the #484 to Bury.

Rossendale 100 in Accrington bus station

We had a quick drink of Cherryade and then we walked around to the stop to wait for the #9 Laneside circular. A few minutes before departure time, required M&M Coaches N201 UHH made an appearance as predicted with our driver friend at the wheel.

M&M Coaches N201 UHH in Bridge Street

We worked out which direction the bus was going in, and booked a single up to the hospital. The plan was now to do this to the Hospital for a Transdev bus back, and then do N379 PNY up to Oswaldtwistle. The bus set off out of town and as we headed up Whalley Road towards the hospital we passed M&M Coaches N379 PNY going the other way... Drat! A couple of minutes later and we would have been on it. The bus turned the corner into Queens Road and we got off. We walked back around the corner and stood at the stop by the hospital to wait for a bus back. We didn't have to wait for long before we saw a required bus approaching. We knew it was required because we had never been on a Transdev Optare Tempo. As it got closer we saw it was required Transdev Lancashire United 1304.

Transdev Lancashire United 1304 on Whalley Road

We got on we booked local day tickets before we sat down near the back. We decided to do this bus through to Oswaldtwistle to try and head off N379 PNY. We headed back down Whalley Road and into town along Abbey Street. We waited in Accrington for a few minutes and then we set off along Blackburn Road. Time was getting on and we didn't know when the bus was due back the other way. A family got on the bus and they were messing about getting on the bus and sorting money and tickets. We decided to cut our losses and get off at the next stop to make sure we didn't miss our final required M&M Coaches bus of the day. We got off crossed the road.A quick look at the bus stop revealed we had around 5 minutes to wait so we could have gone a little further. Pretty much bang on time the final required M&M Coaches bus of the day made it's appearance on the #1 service.

M&M Coaches N379 PNY on Blackburn Road

We got on and sat down near the back. The bus went back into town along Blackburn Road and we turned into Peel Street at the end of our journey. Matthew waited for the bus to empty before getting a picture inside M&M Coaches N379 PNY.

Inside M&M Coaches N379 PNY

We decided to go to the papershop and get some food in. Matthew brought a bottle or Irn Bru and some chocolate and a Millionaire Shortbread. We sat on the seats outside the shop an Matthew ate the shortbread. We decided we would use the Transdev day ticket to go after Transdev Lancashire United 205. It is a bus we have seen about and one that used to be a Park and Ride bus in Norwich many years ago. At this point I had forgotten it was on the it was on the 7A. I had also forgotten that the #7A and #6A only run on the Oswaldtwistle side of the run. After going to the toilet Transdev Lancashire United 1828 was on the #7 circular service.

Transdev Lancashire United 1828 in Accrington bus station

We got on and sat down near the back. A check of the Blog revealed that this bus was dud! We had been on this bus back from Knuzden back in December 2013. We decided to do this to Great Harwood in the hope of getting Transdev Lancashire United 205 back! The bus set off up Whalley Road and into Clayton-le-Moors. The bus emptied out a little and Matthew took a picture in the bus facing forwards.

Inside Transdev Lancashire United 1828

We turned into Harwood New Road and then we turned into Park Road and Queen Street. When we reached the familiar Towngate area of town we got off the bus and got another picture of Transdev Lancashire United.

Transdev Lancashire United 1828 in Great Harwood

When we got off we didn't have to wait for long before required Transdev Lancashire United 1306 appeared. I was going to turn it down to wait for 205 to turn up. I would have been waiting for a long time... Matthew insisted on doing the bus and he was right...

Transdev Lancashire United 1306 in Great Harwood

We got on and unusually Matthew wanted to sit on the seat behind the driver. We set off back passed Tesco and out of town before turning right towards Clayton-le-Moors. When we got back we we saw Mercedes minibus V53 EWB parked up. We decided to wait for either a #7 or #7A towards Oswaldtwistle. Going in the other direction towards Great Harwood was required Transdev Lancashire United 1827.

Transdev Lancashire United 1827 in Accrington

Required Transdev Lancashire United 573 made an appearance on the #7A so we decided to do this in the hope of heading off 205. Whilst the bus was loading we crossed over the road so that we could get a good picture of 573.

Transdev Lancashire United 573 in Accrington bus station

The bus had filled up and we sat down near the back. The bus set off out of town along the Blackburn Road. About a mile out of town we took the left turn into Market Street. We headed through Oswaldtwistle and we passed Transdev Lancashire United Optare Versa 258 on an inbound #7A. At least that one was out of the way... As we traveled through Oswaldtwistle Matthew took a picture of an empty seat on this bus.

A seat on Transdev Lancashire United 573

We decided to get off near the monument, and we crossed over the road to wait for the bus back. The next bus back was a #7A so perhaps if we were lucky it would be 205. A few minutes later the bus was due and we could see it sweep down into the valley. Unbelievably it just happened to be the bus we were hoping for Transdev Lancashire United 205.

Transdev Lancashire United 205 in Oswaldtwistle

We got on and we sat down near the back. The bus passed through Oswaldtwistle and back onto Blackburn Road. The inside of this bus was unusual with its blue seats and grey handrails. When we got back to Accrington Matthew waited for the bus to empty before getting a picture inside this bus.

Inside Transdev Lancashire United 205

Matthew wanted the toilet and the public toilet on Peel Street had closed for the day. So we took him into a pub called The Calder on Blackburn Road. After he had used the toilet he insisted on going to the bar for a drink. He had a bottle of Coke which he took back to the car. In the car he had his sausage roll and we set off out of town. We went around the time on the A680 and headed down to the A56. We continued onto the M66 and then onto the anti-clockwise M60. The matrix sign were flashing for delays on the M60 between junction 13-10. I knew junction 10 was beyond where we needed but I wasn't sure if 13 was back towards the M62. It turned out that it was and we were stuck in traffic for a short while. Whilst there we saw South Lancs Travel 71 on a #300 service. We joined the M62 and the traffic problems eased as we headed West to the M6. It was now fully dark and w went south to the A500. On the A500 we passed Z Carz CN57 HWA. We went down to the A50 which we did to Longton so that we could check out the Z carz depot. At first we could only see 3 vehicles parked up but Z Carz D104 XAN was maneuvering back into the row. First in the row was Z Carz M534 RSO.

Z Carz M534 RSO in Longton

Next to this was now Z Carz D104 XAN.

Z Carz D104 XAN in Longton

This was followed by Mercedes minibus used on school bus work S952 VMY.

Z Carz S952 VMY in Longton

Finally was Z Carz M372 NWN another bus used on school work.

Z Carz M372 NWN in Longton

We turned into Willow Row to look in the compound where we saw SORN LDV minibus T408 JUX. We headed back onto the A50 and into Heron Cross. There we saw Lightning Travel T2 DLT and the current bus being refurbished YN04 CUY. We got back home around 19:10. Matthew had a late tea of bangers and mash with carrots followed by cake. Matthew then chilled out on his computer until bedtime around 00:30...Mark