Trip to Longton / Biddulph 22-12-2018

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
63099	Blurton adj Ladybank Grove	Longton TI	22	First Potteries
63179	Longton, stop C	Newcastle BS	11	First Potteries
121	Newcastle BS	Tunstall, adj stop B	94	D&G Bus
41498	Tunstall, adj stop B	Newcastle BS	99	First Potteries
63100	Newcastle BS	Hanley BS	4A	First Potteries
67640	Hanley BS	Biddulph BS	7A	First Potteries
207	Biddulph BS	Hanley BS	7A	Santa Bus

Today we decided to do a local trip. With it being very close to Christmas and mum agreeing to work on a Saturday when Matthew was home for the first time ever, We thought we'd do some local buses for a change. We did no research for this trip. We didn't even check out the weather. We did no that First Potteries were running a free Santa Bus with donations being excepted for the Donna Louise charity. Matthew got up around 10:00 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. Just after 12:00 we set of to the bus stop all the way down at the bottom of Beaconsfield Drive. As Stoke City were laying at home to Millwall we decided to avoid Stoke town centre today and go to Longton for dinner. We waited for the bus for a few minutes and we heard the whiny engine of a Streetlight approaching. It turned the corner and we saw it was First Potteries 63099 on a #22 to Longton.

First Potteries 63099 in Blurton

We got on the bus and we booked a Smart Day at £5.30 before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off along Beaconsfield Drive and at the end we turned right onto Church Road. We followed the road around to the left onto Blurton Road and at the bottom of the hill we turned right onto Longton Hall Lane. We climbed the hill into Longton and onto the A50. We crossed the roundabout onto Baths Road and we entered Longton Transport Interchange. We got off the bus and Matthew took another picture of First Potteries 63099.

First Potteries 63099 in Longton Interchange

We set off along the path better Wrights Pies and Barclays bank onto The Strand and we spotted First Potteries 67635 on a #6A to Hanley.

First Potteries 67635 in Longton

We continued up The Strand to the Britannia cafe where we decided to have dinner today. Matthew visited the toilet and afterwards he had a breakfast washed down with a can of Coke. Once we had finished we walked back down The Strand to the bus stop where we spotted First Potteries 63179 on a #11 to Newcastle.

First Potteries 63179 in Longton

We got on the bus and we bbut the Smart Day ticket on the scanner before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off down The Strand and we ran under the railway line onto King Street. As we travelled down King Street through Foley some bloke suddenly jumped up and got off the bus once he realised that the bus wasn't going to Bentilee! We continued through Foley into Fenton and forwards onto City Road. 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. As we entered Stoke we saw First Potteries 32649 and 32635 coming back from the BET365 stadium. WE continued into into Stoke town centre along Church Street and we saw First Potteries 32647 on a BET365 shuttle and First Potteries 32648 selling tickets for the shuttle bus (Queue Buster). 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. Once off the bus we headed down towards the bottom end of the bus station and we saw Arriva Midlands 2965 on a #164 to Market Drayton.

Arriva Midlands 2965 in Newcastle bus station

Also seen on Stubbs Street was First Potteries 32650 which was about to work the 14:00 service to the BET365 stadium.

First Potteries 32650 in Newcastle bus station

We walked up to the top end of the bus station to see what we could catch. We spotted D&G Bus 121 on a #94 to Congleton.

D&G 121 in Newcastle bus station

We decided to do this bus, so we got on the bus and we go on the bus and flashed the Smart Day ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus set of out of the bus station onto Barracks Road and at the roundabout we turned left onto Ryecroft. We veered left onto Merrial Street and we turned right onto High Street. We ran forwards onto Liverpool Road and we ran turned left onto Ryecroft. At the roundabout we did a u-turn back onto Ryecroft and we turned left onto Liverpool Road. We turned right onto Enderley Street and at the end we turned left onto Hempstalls Lane. We continued onto Hoon Avenue and forwards again onto Hassam Parade. We turned left onto the B5369 and right onto Oldcastle Avenue. We turned left onto Hanbridge Avenue and we turned left onto Bradwell Lane. We turned right onto Bursley Way and at the roundabout we went forwards onto Arnold Grove. We turned left onto Bradwell Lane and we went past the Potters Wheel pub. We continued left to the roundabout and we ran down Porthill Bank and crossed over the A500. As we crossed over the A500 we saw various coaches include unidentified Hollinshead Coaches coaches and an unidentified white and gold 70 seater coach. Emerging from Chemical Lane we saw Hollinshead Coaches DH13 HOL. We ran forwards onto the A5271 and at the Wayne Walker roundabout (formerly known as Trubshaw Cross), we veered left onto Brownhills Road. We went to the top of the hill and we ran forwards onto Tunstall High Street. At the top end of the high Street we got up and got off the bus. Matthew took another picture of D&G Bus 121 as it continued towards Congleton.

D&G 121 in Tunstall

We walked a few paces down the High Street and we entered the Tunstall Cafe. Matthew went to the toilet and I ordered his toffee cheesecake and a can of Coke. Once Matthew had finished eating we said goodbye and we crossed the road. We wanted to go back towards either Hanley or Newcastle. We turned down First Potteries 67643 on a #3A to Hanley and we decided to wait for the next Newcastle bus. Whilst we waited we saw Stanton's of Stoke BU54 ALL on a #90 to Tunstall Asda.

Stanton's of Stoke BU54 ALL in Tunstall

A few minutes later we saw a Newcastle bus round the corner. It was First Potteries 41498 on a #99 to Newcastle.

First Potteries 41498 in Tunstall

We got on the bus and we placed the Smart Day ticket under the scanner before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off down the High Street and we stopped at the bottom before joining Brownhills Road. We ran down the hill to Trubshsaw Cross and we continued straight through Longport and over the A500. We went up Porthill Bank and we followed the A527 through Wolstanton & May Bank and into Newcastle. We crossed the roundabout onto Barracks Road and we entered the bus station. As we got off the bus we spotted First Potteries 63100 on a #4 to Hanley.

First Potteries 63100 in Newcastle bus station

We got on the bus and we placed our Smart Day ticket under the scanner before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off out of the bus station and onto Barracks Road. We crossed the Jubilee Roundabout and onto the A53. We ran into Basford and over the A500. We ran down into Etruria and over the A500. We continued along the A53 and we turned left onto Forge Lane. We ran out along the Lane and we crossed over the canal before we returned back into Etruria along festival Way. We crossed under the A53 onto Etruria Road where we saw Alfa coach 68 parked up behind the hotel. We ran into Hanley and into the bus station. We let the bus empty and Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 63100.

Inside First Potteries 63100

Once off the bus Matthew visited the toilet and we decided to go up to the John Street car park to take a few bus pictures. We saw First Potteries 67649 going onto one of the layover spaces.

First Potteries 67649 in Hanley bus station

A few minutes later we saw Arriva Midlands 3697 departing on a #164 to Market Drayton.

Arriva Midlands 3697 in Hanley bus station

Another bus seen was First Potteries 32627 on a #32 to Uttoxeter.

First Potteries 32627 in Hanley bus station

After a few minutes we headed back towards the bus station. On the way we saw First Potteries 67648 which was on layover in between runs on the #3A to Butt Lane.

First Potteries 67648 in Hanley bus station

We crossed the road and turned to see First Potteries 65001 on a #18 to Leek.

First Potteries 65001 in Hanley bus station

Back inside the bus station we stopped at the Spar shop and we brought a couple of cans of Coke and chocolate to stock up supplies in the trip bag. As was usual we went down to the middle stands to wait for a bus to Biddulph. Matthew ate a Toffee Crips and we noticed on the monitor that about 40 minutes behind the next #7A was a duplicate service 'Santa bus' which was going to be operating collecting donations for the Donna Louise charity. We realised that this gave us time to get some food before being able to catch it back to Hanley. A few minutes later and slightly late due to the traffic, First Potteries 67640 appeared on stand on the #7A to Biddulph.

First Potteries 67640 in Hanley bus station

We got on the bus and we placed our Smart Day ticket under the scanner before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus waited for time before setting off out of the bus station. We went down John Street and onto Bethesda Street before we went across onto Marsh Street and then we turned right into Trinity Street. We turned left into Stafford Street and we continued forwards to Quadrant Road and we left Hanley along Town Road. We travelled through Sneyd Green and over Smallthorne roundabouts to Chell. At the roundabout we turned right and we ran down the A527 through Brindley Ford. We turned left to run through Brown Lees. We crossed over the A527 at Knypersley and we ran around through the housing estates of Biddulph before running into town via St John's Road, Colliers Way and up Wharf Road to the bus station where we got up and got off the bus. Matthew took another picture of First Potteries 67640 before it carried on back to Hanley.

First Potteries 67640 in Biddulph bus station

Once off the bus we turned the corner onto the High Street and we walked down to the kebab shop. We picked up a couple of portions of fries and a can of orange tango and we returned onto Wharf Road. We used the toilet and we returned to the benches to eat the fries where we saw D&G latest acquisition 27 about to work a #9 to Newcastle.

D&G 27 in Biddulph bus station

We returned to the benches to finish eating the food and we saw A Bristol RE approaching. As it got closer we saw that it was required PMT 207 now owned by the Potteries Omnibus Preservation Society.

PMT 207 in Biddulph bus station

We got on the bus and we placed a donation in the bucket before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off onto High Street and we turned left at the roundabout onto St John's Road. We ran around the estate and we crossed over the A527 at Knypersley We ran through Brown Lees via the diversion route and we rejoined the A527 by the industrial estate. We ran down through Brindley Ford and to Fegg Hayes. We ran up the hill to Chell and we turned left onto High Lane. We ran back through Smallthorne & Sneyd Green passing various Hollinshead coaches and Global Travel BIG 9854. We continued into Hanley we saw Stanton's of Stoke 8701 VT on the edge of town. When we got back to Hanley we got up and got off the bus. when we got back to the bus station we noticed that the next #23 wasn't until 19:30 so we decided to do a taxi. We called for a Lucky Seven taxi and we sat outside the bus station until kit arrived a few minutes later. We got in the taxi and we set off down Lichfield Street and over the ring road. We ran down to joiners Square and we went over the roundabout onto Victoria Road. We ran up the hill into Fenton and forwards onto City Road. We turned right onto the A50 link road and we joined the A50 as far as Heron Cross. We turned left onto Blurton Road and we ran through Blurton. We turned right onto Church Road and right onto Beaconsfield Drive. We got home a little after 18:00 and we got straight in the car to go and visit Z Carz. We set off onto the A5035 and we ran through Dresden up to Longton. We joined the high level Westbound A50 and we turned into Edensor Road. The spare ground was empty so we went into Willow Row to see what was in the compound. We saw Z Carz Peugeot minibus SJ61 OPK parked up in their yard.

Z Carz SJ61 OPK in Longton

Once we had finished there we had a few things to drop off. We continued along the High Level A50 and we turned left into Heathcote Road. We continued onto Longton Hall Road and we turned left onto Blurton Road. We turned right onto Church Road and right onto the A5035. We crossed over the railway line and into Trentham before we turned right into New Inn Lane. We turned right into Pacific Drive and we dropped a few things off. We continued forwards onto Constance Avenue, dropping off a few more things. We rejoined Pacific Drive and we turned right onto New Inn Lane. We ran up the hill into Hanford and we ran down Mayne Street to the A34. We went under the A500 into Trent Vale and we stopped at the Riverside Chip Shop to pick up tea. Once we had the food we went Southwards down the A34 into Hanford & Trentham. We turned left onto the A5035 and we crossed over the railway line and back into Blurton. We got home around 19:15. For a late tea Matthew had sausage chips and gravy. We uploaded the latest pictures and we wrote an e-mail. Later on we went to drop uncle Dave off at home. We set off onto the A5035 and we turned right onto Stanley Matthews Way. We joined the Eastbound A50 and we cam off at Heron Cross. We dropped down into Fenton and we dropped off uncle Dave. Once we had dropped him off we returned to Heron Cross an onto Blurton Road. We turned right onto Church Road and right onto the A5035 and back home. We finished doing some stuff on the Blog and Matthew chilled out watching television and using his computer until bedtime around 01:00.... Mark