Trip to Stafford 26-07-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
2344	Chell Road, Stafford	Weeping Cross, opp Baswich Lane	1	Arriva Midlands
3762	Stafford, opp Radford Bank Inn PH	Stafford Town Centre, adj Railway Station	825	Arriva Midlands
3736	Stafford Town Centre, adj Railway Station	Stafford Town Centre, opp Bridge Street	76	Arriva Midlands
2352	Stafford Town Centre, Gaol Square (Stand 2)	Stafford, adj Radford Bank Inn PH	3	Arriva Midlands
3729	Stafford, opp Radford Bank Inn PH	Stafford Town Centre, Guildhall Shopping Centre (Stand 1)	74	Arriva Midlands

Today we went to Stafford. Its the holidays and due to one reason or another we had been able to go out and do anything. So we promised Matthew we would out today, somewhere reasonably local. When asked if he wanted to got to Stafford Matthew said "yes". Matthew didn't get up until after 11:00 today. Before he got up I had looked out for the #22A to see if it was anything good. Today it was First Potteries 60196. Wardle Transport 1626 was seen about to Hanley. It was another hot and humid day. Since it stopped raining all the time we had experienced a week of sunshine, By the time we had eaten some breakfast and got dressed to go out it was close to 13:00. We headed North to Etruria to pick up LPG before heading Back South down the A500 and then onto the A34. We parked up in Stafford in a car park by Wilkinsons and behind Chell Road. This was a perfect place to park for visiting Theo's cafe, which is where we stopped for dinner. Matthew used the facilities before have a brunch. After eating we walked through the passageway opposite the market onto Chell Road. The first bus we saw was Arriva Midlands 2347, which had pulled up out of service.

Arriva Midlands 2347 on Chell Road

Across the road we saw Wardle Transport 2407 on the #482 service. We decided to stand at the last stop on Chell Road as this is where the local services go from and where the most interesting buses were likely to stop at. We didn't have to wait for long before required Arriva Midlands 2344 turned up on a Baswich service.

Arriva Midlands 2344 on Chell Road

We got on and booked to Baswich, getting an Arriva Staford day saver too as once again mum was travelling with us. We went right around the loop, and when the bus emptied out Matthew took a picture of the inside of the bus looking forward.

Inside Arriva Midlands 2344

Getting off at the end of the loop, we decided to walk down Radford Bank so we didn't have to wait 30 minutes for the next bus. Before we did we stopped at the Weeping Cross bus stop for a few minutes to have a drink. It wasn't very pleasant walking along this road in the hot sunshine. Matthew propelled me down the road as fast as he could and mum lagged behind. It's lucky that we were going downhill or else it might have been even more unpleasant. As we walked down the hill Matthew got a picture of Arriva Midlands 2338 on a #2 service.

Arriva Midlands 2338 on Radford Bank

When we got to the stop and there were a few people waiting. Matthew sat on the seat in the bus stop between two people. I told him he had to give up the seat for his mum so he sat on the floor instead. The first bus to turn up was a Pulsar. We asked Matthew if he wanted to do it and he said yes. As we had never been on a Midlands Pulsar we knew it would be required. It was Arriva Midlands 3762.

Arriva Midlands 3762 on Radford Bank

We did the bus back towards town. As the bus stopped at the railway station we decided to get off to use the facilities. Matthew got another picture as the bus went off into the distance.

Arriva Midlands 3762 by Stafford Station

As we went on the platform we saw 90047 rush through on a Northbound Freightliner. Matthew may not like me saying this, but he even attempted to get a picture of it! After we had done in the station we brought some more pop from the station stall before walking back to the bus stop. We saw a Plaxton Centro approaching, another type that had never been on with Arriva Midlands. I asked Matthew if he wanted to do this and he said yes. We soon saw that it was required Arriva Midlands 3736.

Arriva Midlands 3736 by Stafford Station

We did this into town. The bus service ended at South Walls so we got off and Matthew got a picture of the empty inside of the bus.

Inside Arriva Midlands 3736

We then walked off towards Gaol Square. On the way we saw Ex Arriva NW&W 2114 which now carries the number 2359 in the Arriva Midlands fleet.

Arriva Midlands 2359 former Arriva NW&W 2114

We walked up the road at little further and then stopped for a rest. Whilst we were there we saw Arriva Midlands 2299 parked up, Arriva Midlands 2337 went past as did Arriva Midlands 2231.

Arriva Midlands 2231

We carried on walking up the bank to the stops at Gaol Square. Whilst we there we saw 3 ALX Darts. Arriva Midlaands 2231, 2232 and 2233 were all present at one point. After a few minutes Required Arriva Midlands 2352 appeared on a #3 Walton service, so we decided to do this. We got on the bus first and as such Matthew was able to photograph the bus empty as we got on.

Inside Arriva Midlands 2352

We did this bus to Radford Bank and got off. As we walked to the crossing we saw Heyfordian coach B16 HTL coming along the road.

Heyfordian B16 HTL on Radford Bank

We crossed over and waited at the stop. We didn't have to wait long and another Pulsar appeared. I asked Matthew if he wanted to catch it and he said yes. As it approached we could see it was required Arriva Midlands 3729. We did the bus back past the railways station and the bus went behind Chell Road close to where the car was parked. We had promised Matthew a visit to Morrisons for a snack before we went home and so that is what we did. We got in the car and drove North up the A34 to Stone where we parked up at Morrison's. It was now gone 17:00 as we went into the cafe. We used the facilities and we got to the cafe in time for Matthe to have the last slice of lemon meringue pie. He also wanted something to eat so we got him a very small chips sausage and beans meal with some bread and butter. After we had eaten we went into the store to buy some pop. We left and drove to the Morrisons garage to put some air in the tyres before we set off homeward. We headed around the one way system and then back onto the A34. matthew wanted to go back via Barlaston, so we turned off just before the Darlaston Inn. We then went through barlaston and over the level crossing. We then headed out through rough close to Meir passing Wardle Transport 2408 on the #250 service to Stone.. Onto the A50 we then did a slow pass of the Z Carz depot so Matthew could take a few pictures.

Z Carz V690 EBC in Longton

We then looped around Longton and we to Adderley Green. As we passed near the Wardle Transport depot we passed on of the Caetano Nimbus's running out of service and 1647. At the Adderley Green roundabout we saw 40154 on a #1 service. We then traveled on to Bentilee, We saw Scraggs Blue Buses 38 turned by the Hillberry. We then went to Bucknall, along Leek New Road and then Victoria Road and past Duke Street. We then headed through Heron Cross and then home. We got home around 18:45. For a late supper we had a sausage sandwich before bedtime...Mark