Trip to Accrington 21-09-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
707	Accrington BS	Accrington, opp Victoria Hospital	231	Transdev Lancashire United
X374 NNO	Accrington, opp Victoria Hospital	Great Harwood, by Towngate	20A	Pilkington Bus
G306 UYK	Great Harwood, by Holgate Street‎	Accrington BS	21	Pilkington Bus
N652 VSS	Accrington, Bridge Street	Accrington, opp Victoria Hospital	9	M&M Coaches
N230 TPK	Accrington, o/s Victoria Hospital	Accrington BS	20	Pilkington Bus
L339 FWO	Accington BS	Forts Arms, adj Sparth Road	1	M&M Coaches
L339 FWO	Forts Arms, adj Sparth Road	Accrington BS	1	M&M Coaches
G306 UYK	Accrington BS	Oswaldtwistle, by Town Hall‎	21	Pilkington Bus
VU52 UEJ	Oswaldtwistle, opp Rhyddings Street‎	Accrington BS	20A	Pilkington Bus

Today we decided to re-visit Accrington. No research was done, we didn't even check the weather! Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. Today we set off around 11:20 as wanted to get home a little earlier. We went ont the A5035 and then along Stanley Matthews Way. We went onto the westbound A50 and onto the Northbound A500. We came off at Shelton to get LPG and we saw 65730 on a #34 service. We got onto the Westbound A53 and back onto the Northbound A500. On the M6 we saw a couple of coaches. First we were passed by National Express 138 (NFZ 9138) on a #921 to Belfast, and then we were passed by Motts MT11 MTT on the Oxford City team coach on it's way to Vauxhall on the Wirral. We carried onto the the M62 and then onto the clockwise M60. Around the A56 junction we passed First West Yorkshire 66762 running out of service. We then headed North on the M66 and onto the A56. We drove the last few miles into town along the A680 and then we parked up just off the Blackburn Road just after 13:15. We set off walking to the bus stop cafe on Peel Street. On the way we saw Pilkington Bus R846 VEC on the #20 Hyndburn circular service.

Pilkington Bus R846 VEC in Accrington

We carried on to the cafe, On Peel Street we saw M&M Coaches N652 VSS on a local service.

M&M Coaches N652 VSS in Accrington bus station

We stopped at the toilet on the way to the cafe. Whilst we were on the wrong side of the road we saw M&M Coaches L339 FWO on the #1 to Clayton-le-Moors.

M&M Coaches L339 FWO in Accrington bus station

We crossed back over to get something to eat. In the cafe Matthew had a small breakfast followed by a slice of jam roll in custard. When we had finished eating we came out of the cafe to see required Pilkington Bus G306 UYK going towards Oswaldtwistle. It must have been running a little late because it carried straight on at the end of Peel Street instead of waiting. We decided to have a walk up to Bridge Street to see what other M&M coaches buses were out. On Bridge Street we saw 2 buses. Dud N202 LPN was on the #46 to Blackburn.

M&M Coaches N202 LPN in Peel Street Accrington

Required M&M Coaches N652 VSS was just departing on the #9 Laneside circular.

M&M Coaches N652 VSS in Peel Street Accrington

We decided to go back towards the stop by the toilet to see if we could catch up with M&M coaches L339 FWO. At the stop was required Transdev Lancashire United 707 on the #231 to Clitheroe.

Transdev Lancashire United 707 in Accrington bus station

We crossed over and Matthew decided he wanted to catch this bus. We got on and sat down. After making inquires with the driver we realised we could do this out to the Victoria Hospital and still be able to cover the Hyndburn circulars and get back for the required M&M Coaches buses. As we waited to depart we saw dud X374 NNO on the following Hyndburn circular. We sat down with Matthew and the bus set off. The bus didn't take long to get to the hospital. We got off and Matthew got a picture of this fine example of a MPD Dart.

Transdev Lancashire United 707 in Whalley Road Accrington

We waited at the stop for the next Hyndburn circular. Going the other way we saw Pilkington Bus N230 TPK. We Also saw Required M&M Coaches N652 VSS returning from the #9 Laneside circular. The plan was to do X374 NNO to Great Harwood and hopefully get G306 UYK back. There were a few people around. We guessed that Accrington Stanley were at home and we must be fairly near to the ground. What we didn't realised until now is that it was a local derby against Rochdale! Just after 14:07 we saw the bus coming up Whalley Road and as expected it was dud Pilkington Bus N374 NNO.

Pilkington Bus X374 NNO in Whalley Road Accrington

We booked a Pilkington Bus day ticket and went upstairs. We carried on towards Clayton-le-Moors and we passed Accrington Stanley where crowds were starting to amass. We also passed required R846 VEC which Matthew had photographed earlier. We didn't have the timetable n us today so we were winging it as such. We got to Great Harwood and thankfully we hadn't passed anything. We got off and we both took pictures of Pilkington Bus X374 NNO.

Pilkington Bus X374 NNO in Great Harwood

We looked to the timetable on the stop to see when the bus was due. It should have been there 2 or 3 minutes ago! We didn't have to wait long before G306 UYK made an appearance. It came around the square and Matthew got a picture of this required Olympian.

Pilkington Bus G306 UYK in Great Harwood

We got on the bus and we went upstairs. The top deck was empty and so he got a picture of the inside of the bus.

Inside Pilkington Bus G306 UYK

The bus returned back through Clayton-le-Moors, the roads were full of parked car of people attending the match. We passed the Pilkington Bus VU52 UEJ which was on the Hyndburn circulars and we also saw the final turn which was required R845 VEC. We got back to Accrington around 14:45. We decided to get off and get a pictuure of g306 UYK from the opposite side of the road.

Pilkington Bus G306 UYK in Accrington bus station

We then decided to see if there was a bus abut to depart from bridge Street. Required N652 was at the stop and it was abut to do the #9 Laneside circular which was perfect timing! We got a picture and we crossed over to get on the bus.

M&M Coaches N652 VSS in Peel Street Accrington

We got on and booked to the Victoria hospital. As the rear of the bus was empty Matthew got a picture inside M&M Coaches N652 VSS.

Inside M&M Coaches N652 VSS

We sat down and the bus set off. The bus went through town and we climbed up the hill towards the Victoria Hospital. That was one required M&M Coaches out of the way, one left to go. We got off at the hospital and Matthew got another picture of the fine Mercedes beast.

M&M Coaches N652 VSS in Whalley Road Accrington

We crossed the road to wait for inbound service. We had about 10 minutes to wait. We guessed that the bus would be dud Pilkington Bus Dart N230 TPK. A few minutes late the bus turned up and it was as expected dud Pilkington Bus N230 TPK.

Pilkington Bus N230 TPK in Whalley Road Accrington

We got on and sat down near the back. I was only a short journey and we were back in town in no time. The bus emptied out and Matthew got a picture inside this bus.

Inside Pilkington Bus N230 TPK

We also got another picture of the outside of this bus too.

Pilkington Bus N230 TPK in Accrington bus station

We had just over 15 minutes to wait before required L339 FWO returned on the #1 to Clayton-le-Moors. Matthew went to the toilet an whilst he was in there the bus turned up. We had a few minutes and so we crossed over the road to get a picture of L339 FWO.

M&M Coaches L339 FWO in Accrington bus station

We got on and sat down. The driver informed us that this was probably going to be the last few days of service for L339 FWO and that it was due to go some time next week. When it was time the bus set off out of town and up to Whalley Road. The bus travelled int clayton-le-Moors and then turned left into Pickup Street. After going through the terrace street the bus returned onto the main road off Sparth Road. The bus then headed back into Accrington. When we got into town the bus emptied out and matthew got a picture inside the empty L339 FWO.

Inside M&M Coaches L339 FWO

He also got another picture of the outside of L339 FWO too.

M&M Coaches L339 FWO in Accrington bus station

We decided to have one more short out and back on Pilkington Bus before we went home. We had around 20 minutes before there were any buses due we decided to visit the newsagents. Matthew had a can of Coke and an orange carton, as well as a Milky Way and a slice of cake. Matthew ate the cake and drank the orange carton, putting the Coke and Milky Way away for later. It was at this point Matthew noticed his camera battery door was open slightly. I returned to the newsagent to see if they had any sellotape for sale but they didn't have any. After we had left the newsagent guy came out to ask how much we needed and he very kindly gave us a piece to hold his camera shut until we got back home. The next Oswaldtwistle bound #21 was G306 UYK so we decided to have another run on this bus. We got on and we down upstairs. Just after 16:00 the bus set off towards Oswalldtwistle. on the Blackburn Road we finally passed the 4th M&M Coaches turn and it was dud N213 UHH on the 2nd #46. At Church we turned int Oswaldtwistle and we got off by the town hall. We crossed over the road and we checked the stop. The bus wasn't due for nearly 20 minutes. We could see another stop nearby so we decided to walk to it. When we gt to that stop we saw the war memorial so we decided to sit there for a while and Matthew had his milky Way and a bottle of Irn Bru. Whilst there we saw and photographed Transdev Lancashire United 1824 on a #6A service.

Transdev Lancashire United 1824 in Oswaldtwistle

A few minutes before the bus back to Accrington was due we crossed over the road to the stop. We also saw Transdev Lancashire United 272 on a #7A to Blackburn. The bus turned up and predicted it was required Pilkington Bus VU52 UEJ. We got on the bus and sat down. The bus returned down onto the Blackburn Road and then back into Accrington. When we got into town Matthew waited for the bus to empty before getting a picture inside this bus.

Inside Pilkington Bus VU52 UEJ

He also got a got a good picture of the outside of VU52 UEJ too.

Pilkington Bus VU52 UEJ in Accrington bus station

On the way back to the car we then saw Rossendale Easyride 105 in the new 'Rosso' livery on the #464 service and we got a picture.

'Rosso' 105 in Accrington bus station

We carried on past the market and onto the Blackburn Road where we met up with mum. We walked back to the car where there were sausage rolls waiting. Matthew washed this down with a drink of Irn Bru. he also had a cake which he decided to save for later. We set off through town following the directions for the M66. This took us a different way out of town along the A679 towards the A56. Until we got to the A56 we had considered turning back! Once on the A56 we headed South and continued onto the M66. We went past bury and then We did the M60 anti-clockwise and then onto the Westbound M62. We then turned onto the Southbound M6. When we reached junction 16 we turned onto the Southbound A500 where we passed a silver Arrowebrook minibus. We carried on south to the A50 and then into Longton to view the Z Carz Depot. First in the row was Mercedes minibus BV51 BNO.

Z Carz BV51 BNO in Longton

Behind this was coach Scania D104 XAN with ALZ 8539 n the background.

Z Carz D104 XAN in Longton

Next in the row was another Mercedes minibus M372 NWN.

Z Carz M372 NWN in Longton

The we saw Volkswagon minibus OV05 WSW..

Z Carz OV05 WSW in Longton

Last in the row was newcomer S952 VMY.

Z Carz S952 VMY in Longton

We turned left into Willow Row where the only bus was T408 JUX hiding behind some taxis. We returned home down Longton Hall Road and onto Blurton Road where we passed First Potteries 42726 on the #23. On Beaconsfield Drive we also passed First Potteries 53155. We got back home for 18:30. For a late tea we had bangers and mash with carrots, for afters he had the cake he had earlier. He then chilled out on his computer until around 01:00 in the morning...Mark