Trip to Newcastle / Biddulph 23-07-2022

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
67142	Blurton, Magdalen Road	Trentham, Man in Space	22	First Potteries
67154	Trentham, Trentham, Man in Space	Stoke, Adj stop Q	21	First Potteries
63176	Stoke, Adj stop Q	Newcastle BS	25	First Potteries
67142	Newcastle BS	Burslem, Town Hall	98	First Potteries
63172	Burslem, Wedgwood Street	Tunstall, Adj Stop A	3	First Potteries
67158	Tunstall, Stop B	Newcastle BS	99	First Potteries
63114	Newcastle BS	Hanley BS	4A	First Potteries
67174	Hanley BS	Biddulph BS	7A	First Potteries
65035	Biddulph BS	Hanley BS	7A	First Potteries

Today we decided to do a local trip. No research was done for this trip apart from to check the weather. It was mainly cloudy with a small chance of a shower. Matthew noticed that there were new First buses in Suffolk. Matthew got up around 09:30 and had toast and orange juice for breakfast. We set up Matthew's new phone sim card and afterwards we went out to catch a bus. We walked to the stop all the way over on Magdalen Road. On the was we saw First Potteries 63034 on a #22 to Longton.

First Potteries 63034 in Blurton

We continued to the stop and we waited for the next bus towards Trentham. A few minutes later the bus turned the corner. It was First Potteries 67142 on a #22 to Newcastle.

First Potteries 67142 in Blurton

We got on the bus and booked a Smart Day ticket at £5.90. This ticket is a multi-operator ticket valid throughout the North Staffordshire area. We sat down ear to the back of the bus and the bus set off onto the A5035. We went past the Trentham Hotel we turned right into New Inn Lane where we saw First Potteries 67154 was on the #21 to Hanley. Assuming we didn't hang around too long, we would be on this bus to Stoke. We got up to get off the bus at the man in Space and Matthew took another picture of First Potteries 67142 before it carried on to Newcastle.

First Potteries 67142 in Trentham

A short time later the bus appeared and it was First Potteries 67154 on a #21 to Hanley.

First Potteries 67154 in Trentham

We got on the bus and we placed our Smart Day ticket. As the bus was empty Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 67154 before we sat down.

Inside First Potteries 67154

The bus travelled through Trentham up New Inn Lane, We passed the building site where new housing is being built. At the top of the hill we turned right into Hanford along Wilson Road. We ran down Mayne Street before joining the Northbound A34. We crossed under the A500 and we saw First Potteries 67151 on #21 turn to Trentham. We turned onto London Road and we ran through Oak Hill past the former Oak Hill pub. We continued through the the West End before running into Stoke Town centre and Campbell Place. There was nothing of interest parked up in City cabs and we got up and got off the bus. We walked along Campbell Place and we crossed over the road. As we turned into Church Street we saw First Potteries 63176 on a #25 to Hanley. We headed into Stoke Cafe. Uncle Dave escorted Matthew downstairs to the toilet and I ordered the food. Matthew had a breakfast washed down with a can of Coke. After we had finished eating we walked down Church Street to the Newcastle bus stop. We waited for the next bus towards Newcastle. A short time later we saw a single decker bus approaching. As it got closer we saw it was First Potteries 63176 on a #25 to Keele.

First Potteries 63176 in Stoke

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. We set off along Church Street and off up the hill along Hartshill Road. We passed the Noah's Ark pub and Just after the pub we turned left by the Co-operative Food store and we headed to the hospital. We bounced our way through the hospital grounds over the severe speed bumps and we joined the North bound A34. We went around the roundabout at the bottom end of Newcastle and we turned right onto Barracks Road before entering the bus station from the Southern end. We got up and got off the bus and we spotted an red minibus on Stubbs Lane. It was Warrington's of Ilam ET10 LCT parked up.

Warrington's of Ilam ET10 LCT in Newcastle bus station

We waled up to the top end of the bus station and we took a few bus pictures. We saw Stagecoach Megabus 54263 on a M36 service to Barnstaple.

Stagecoach Megabus 54263 in Newcastle bus station

A few minutes later we saw First Potteries 67142 on a #98 to Ball Green.

First Potteries 67142 in Newcastle bus station

We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day ticket to the driver before we sat town towards the back of the bus. The bus set off onto Barracks Road and up to the Jubilee roundabout. We crossed over onto the A527 and we ran out of town through Brampton up to May bank. We continued forwards through Wolstanton and at the roundabout we turned right onto Porthill Bank and across the A500. We ran up through Longport to Middleport and at Trubshaw Cross we turned right towards Burslem. We ran up Newcastle Street into Burslem and we got up and got off the bus. We took another picture of First Potteries 67142 before it carried on towards Ball Green.

First Potteries 67142 in Burslem

Once off the bus we walked around the corner onto the A50 to wait for a bus towards Tunstall. We didn't have to wait for long before we saw a bus approaching. As it got closer we saw it was First Potteries 63172 on a #3 to Crewe.

First Potteries 63172 in Burslem

We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day ticket to the driver before we sat town towards the back of the bus. We set off onto Scotia Road and we ran up past the old Burslem bus garage to the bottom end of Tunstall. We turned left onto Williamson Street and then we turned right onto Tunstall High Street and we got up and got off the bus. We took another picture of First Potteries 63172 before it carried on towards Crewe.

First Potteries 63172 in Tunstall

Once off the bus we walked down to Tunstall Cafe. Matthew went to the toilet and I ordered him a slice of toffee cheesecake and a can of Coke. Once he had finished eating we went outside onto the High Street. We headed Southwards towards the town and we saw First Potteries 63114 on a #3A to Talke Pits.

First Potteries 63114 in Tunstall

We crossed over the high Street and we walked past thre former Natwest Bank. We cut through towards Matalen and we went to see the Unicorn Pottery sign that has been reclaimed and built into a modern wall. We continued towards the main road and we spotted an ice cream van on the retail park. It was our friend Kev. We had an ice cream 'Matthew style' and we walked up towards the library eating the ice cream. We continued past the old police station onto the High Street and we turned left onto Furlong Road. We went to see the North Stafford Motors ghost sign before returning up Furlong Road. We turned right onto High Street and past the City Centre Central taxi base. We saw City Centre Central DV14 BNK in the yard.

City Centre Central DV14 BNK in Tunstall

Also seen was City Centre Central PO14 OKZ.

City Centre Central PO14 OKZ in Tunstall

We considered going to the stop by LIdl, but there was a bus already at the stop. We missed First Potteries 67099 on a #3 to Hanley. We also missed First Potteries 47519 on a #3 to Crewe on the opposite side of the road. We decided to head back towards the town so we crossed over Furlong Road and past the Wheatsheaf. As we were approaching the roundabout we saw First Potteries 67158 on a #99 to Newcastle. We were sure that we would get across the road and round the corner on to the High Street before the bus departed. We got around the corner and the bus was still there so Matthew got a picture of First Potteries 67158 before we walked down to the stop.

First Potteries 67158 in Tunstall

We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart day ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We sat off down the High Street and forwards onto Brownhills Road. We ran down the hill to Trubshaw Cross and we joined Longport Road. We crossed over the roundabout and climbed Porthill bank before turning left onto Wolstanton High Street. We ran through Wolstanton and out the other side and down into Newcastle. We crossed the Jubilee Roundabout and we ran onto barracks Road before we turned into the bus station. We got up and got off the bus and we saw First Pottereies 31782 on a #101 to Stafford. We decided to head towards Hanley. Almost immediately we saw First Potteries 63114 on a #4A to Hanley.

First Potteries 63114 in Newcastle bus station

We got on the bus and we Smart Day ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off onto the bus station and onto Barracks Road. We crossed the roundabout onto the A53 and we ran up and over into Etruria. We crossed the A500 and and we headed up to Festival Park. We left the A53 onto Forge Lane near to the site of the new link road to Wolstanton. We came back towards the A53 along Festival Way. We crossed under the A53 and we ran up Etruria Road and into Hanley. We continued onto trinity Street before turning right into Stafford Street and after a short wait we continued past the town hall onto Bagnall Street and into the bus station. We then got up and got off the bus. Matthew used the toilet and then we walked over to the John Street. Whilst in the car park we saw D&G Bus 27 on a #9 to Biddulph.

D&G Bus 27 in Hanley bus station

Also seen was First Potteries 67179 on a #7 to Kidsgrove.

First Potteries 67179 in Hanley bus station

We walked back to the bus station and we waited for a bus toward Biddulph. First Potteries 67174 was already on stand, but we had to wait for 10 minutes for a driver. The driver turned up just as the bus was due out and we got on the bus. We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day ticket to the driver before sitting 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 past the sight of the new Tesco Express store. 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. We ran past the building site and we turned right up Wharf Road to the bus station where we got up and got off the bus. Once off the bus Matthew took another picture of First Potteries 67174 before it returned to Hanley on the next #7A.

First Potteries 67174 in Biddulph bus station

Once off the bus we decided to go into town and got to a pub as the public toilet was shut. We turned left onto the High Street and we stopped at The Royal Oak pub, which has been refurbished and re-opened since our last visit. Matthew went to the toilet and afterwards we had a glass of Coke. When we had finished we went outside and we past the former pub The Swan which was closed. We headed back towards Wharf Road and we saw D&G Bus 101 which had just arrived and was about to go out of service.

D&G Bus 101 in Biddulph bus station

We walked down to the bottom of South View to look at a wall and we walked back to the main bus stop. Matthew had a couple of Lotus Biscoff biscuits whilst we waited for the bus. A short time later we saw the bus aproaching. As it got closer we saw it was First Potteries 65035 on a #7A to Hanley.

First Potteries 65035 in Biddulph bus station

We got on the bus and we flashed the Smart Day ticket to the driver for the final time today before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off onto the High Street and we turned left onto St Johns Road. We ran around the estate and onto Woodland Street. We crossed over the A527 at Knypersley. We ran through Brown Lees 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 into into Hanley. When we got back to the bus station. When we got up and got off the bus. We visited the toilet and afterwards, we had arranged with mum to get meet up near to the bus station. As we walked through the bus station we saw D&G Bus 20 on a #16 to Leek. We went outside and we saw D&G Bus 173 parked up.

D&G Bus 173 in Hanley

We crossed over Lichfield Street and we crossed over the ring road and we met up with mum at the Venus Fish Bar. Matthew had sausage chips and gravy washed down with a can of Coke. When we had finished eating we got in the car and we went to Blurton. We set off onto Lichfield Street and we ran down to Joiners Square. We turned right onto the A52 and as we ran towards Stoke. We ran alongside the railway line and we turned right onto City Road. We turned left to to towards the A500 and we veered left onto Whieldon Road. We dropped uncle Dave off and we continued up Whieldon Road and forwards onto Grove Road. We turned right onto Blurton Road and we crossed over the A50. We continued through Blurton and we turned right onto Church Road. We turned right onto the A5035 and back to Blurton. Once back we wrote an e-mail and did the Blog. Matthew chilled out on his computer until 00:00... Mark