Trip to Shrewsbury / Bicton Heath 17-01-2026

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
2511	Harlescott, opp Tesco	Shrewsbury BS	25	Arriva Midlands
2960	Shrewsbury BS	Gains Park, Opp Woodcrest Jct	11	Arriva Midlands
235	Gains Park, Opp Woodcrest Jct	Shrewsbury BS	X77	Tanat Valley
2984	Shrewsbury BS	Bicton Heath, The Woolhams Jct	11	Arriva Midlands
2960	Bicton Heath, The Woolhams Jct	Shrewsbury BS	11	Arriva Midlands
3692	Shrewsbury BS	Harlescott, opp Tesco	64	Arriva Midlands

Today we decided to re-visit Shrewsbury. We had asked Matthew it the week where he would like to go and he chose Shrewsbury. Research for the trip consisted of looking at tickets on the Arrive site and checking the weather. The weather was forecast for mainly dry with the chance of a shower, with some sunshine. Matthew woke up at 08:00 and had his medication. We got up at 10:30 and Matthew had toast and orange juice for breakfast. After getting dressed we set off around 11:40 to pick up uncle Dave. We got in the car and we set off through Blurton and we ran along Beaconsfield Drive and we turned left onto Church Road and at the roundabout we veered left onto Blurton Road past the former Coral shop which is new going to be flats. We ran through Blurton and into Heron Cross and over the A50. At Heron Cross lights we turned left onto Grove Road. We ran forwards onto Wheildon Road and we picked up uncle Dave. Once we had picked up uncle Dave, we continued back up Wheildon Road and we ran forwards onto Grove Road. We turned right onto Blurton Road and at the roundabout we joined the Westbound A50. We came off the A50 onto Stanley Matthews Way and we turned right onto the A5035 and we turned right onto the Northbound A34 through Trentham. We turned left onto Whitm ore Road and we crossed over the A519 onto the A5182. We headed Westwards for a few miles and at the end of the road we turned left onto the Southbound A53 We ran through Whitmore and Balwins gate and we crossed over the A51 by The Swan With Two Necks. We continued through Loggerheads and to the North of Market Drayton and on the other side of town we stopped in a layby. The food wagon had finished serving so we continued towards Shrewsbury down the A53. We ran through Tern Hill and Shawbury and at the edge of town we took a wrong turn and headed along .We did a u-turn at the next roundabout and we turned sharp right onto the A5112. We continued for a short distance and we stopped at a pub. Matthew went to the toilet and after we returned we met back up with mum and uncle Dave. Matthew had a beefburger with and extra chicken burger with fries washed down with a glass of Coke. After we had finished we headed back to the car. We set off onto the A5112 and we drove a few hundred yeard before turning right into Tesco. We parked up and we said goodbye to mum. We walked along the side of Tesco to the the bus stop to wait for a bus into Shrewsbury. A few minutes later we saw a bus approaching. As it got closer we saw it was Arriva Midlands 2511 on a #25 to Shrewsbury.

Arriva Midlands 2511 in Harlescott

We got on the bus and we booked a Shrewsbury and Telford Day Saver at £8.50 before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off Southwards along the unnamed road and we turned right onto Harlescott Lane. We ran under the railway Line and we turned left onto Lancaster Road. We turned right onto York Road and we ran forwards onto Gloucester Road. We turned left onto Little Harlescott Lane and we turned left onto Mount Pleasant Road. We ran under the railway line and we turned left onto the A5191. At the roundabout we did a u-turn and we headed Southwards down the A5191. We ran Southwards into Shrewsbury and we went under the railway line. We turned right onto Smithfield Road and we turned left into the bus station where we got up and got off the bus. Once off the bus we visited the toilet. We walked out for the bus station and we saw First Lakeside 44971 on Layover.

First Lakeside 44971 in Shrewsbury bus station

We decided to go and get cake so we headed onto Smithfield Road. We walked around the corner and on the way to the cake shop we saw Arriva Midlands 2976 on a #512 to Shrewsbury.

Arriva Midlands 2976 in Shrewsbury

We arrived at the cak shop and Matthew had a huge slice of millionaire's shortbreab and a can of Coke. We walked back along Smithfield Road to the bus station and Matthew ate the millionaire's shortbread. We sat and wayched buses for a while. We sa Select Bus 3 on a arrive on a #96 service from Telford before going over to the layover area.

Select Bus 3 in Shrewsbury bus station

We took a few more picture and we headed into the bus station to catch another bus. A short time later we saw a bus come onto the stand. We saw it was Arriva Midlands 2960 on a #11 to Bicton Heath.

Arriva Midlands 2960 in Shrewsbury bus station

We got on the bus and and we flashed the Arriva Midlands Day Saver ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus before the bus set off out off the bus station onto the A458. We went around the Welsh Bridge. We turned left onto Copthorne Road. We ran down Mytton Oak Road and we turned into the hospital and as we travelled through the hospital the Hospital. We turned right onto Mytton Oak Road. We continued through Bowbrook. We turned right onto Gains Park Way. We headed down the hill into Bicton Heath. We turned right onto Gains Avenue and we turned left onto Gains Park Way and we got up and got off the bus. Once off the bus Matthew took another picture of Arriva Midlands 2960 as it continued towards Shrewsbury.

Arriva Midlands 2960 in Gains Park

Once off the bus we had planned to wait around for a while and catch the next #11, but as we settle down in the stop we saw a bus approaching. As it got closer we saw it was Tanat Valley 235 on a X77 to Shrewsbury. We got on the bus and we purchased singles to Shrewsbury at £1.60 before we sat down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off down Gains Park Way and we continued through Bowbrook. We turned left onto Mytton Oak Road and we turned into the hospital where they are building some new hospital wards. We turned left onto Mytton Oak Road and we ran down Copthorne Road. We ran forwards onto the A458. We went around the Welsh Bridge. We turned left onto the A458 and we turned right into the bus station we got up and got off the bus and Matthew took a picture of Tanat Valley 235 before it went off to the layover area.

Tanat Valley 235 in Shrewsbury bus station

We looked across the road and we saw Arriva Midlands 2975 on layover.

Arriva Midlands 2975 in Shrewsbury bus station

We considered what to catch next so we headed inside the bus station. Whilst there we saw Select Bus 6 on a #436 to Bridgnorth.

Select Bus 6 in Shrewsbury bus station

We had a look around to see what we could catch. A few minutes later we saw a bus pull on stand. As it ot closer we saw it was Arriva Midlands 2984 on #11 to Bicton Heath.

Arriva Midlands 2984 in Shrewsbury bus station

We got on the bus and and we flashed the Arriva Midlands Day Saver ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus before the bus set off out off the bus station onto the A458. We went around the Welsh Bridge. We turned left onto Copthorne Road. We ran down Mytton Oak Road and we turned into the hospital and as we travelled through the hospital the Hospital. We turned right onto Mytton Oak Road. We continued through Bowbrook. We turned right onto Gains Park Way. We headed down the hill into Bicton Heath. We turned right onto Gains Avenue where we got up and got off the bus. Once off the bus Matthew got another picture of Arriva Midlands 2984 as it continued on the #11 to Shrewsbury.

Arriva Midlands 2984 in Bicton Heath

We walked down Gains Avenue and we headed thruogh a passgeway onto the A458. We crossed over the road and we went into the Co-op. We bought a bottle of Coke and a chocolate bar. Once we had finished we paid for our stuff and we headed out of the shop. We crossed the A458 and we headed down the passageway. We went back to the same stop and we waited for the bus. Whilst we waited Matthew had a Milky Way. A few minutes later we saw the bus approaching. As it got closer we saw it was Arriva Midlands 2960 on a #11 to Shrewsbury.

Arriva Midlands 2960 in Bicton Heath

We got on the bus and and we flashed the Arriva Midlands Day Saver ticket to the driver before we sat down towards the back of the bus before the bus set off down Gains Avenue. We turned left onto Gains Park Way and we continued through Bowbrook. We turned left onto Mytton Oak Road and we turned into the hospital. We turned left onto Mytton Oak Road. We ran down Copthorne Road. We ran forwards onto the A458. We went around the Welsh Bridge. We turned left onto the A458 and we turned right into the bus station we got up and got off the bus. We headed to the toilet but the toilet had shut. I suggested to Matthew we caught a bus out asap and got to Tesco. We looked across and we saw a bus we could catch. We saw it was Arriva Midlands 3692 on a #64 to Market Drayton.

Arriva Midlands 3692 in Shrewsbury bus station

We got on the bus and we placed the Shropshire and Telford Day Saver ticket for the final time today before we sat down towards the back of the bus. We set off out of the bus station onto Raven Mwadows and we turned right onto the A458. We turned left onto Chester Street and we turned right onto Cross Street and under the railway line. We turned left onto the A5191 and we headed Northwards out of town. I explained to Matthew that we could only go so far on this bus if he wanted to get 6 or more buses in for the day. We passed the roundabout with the Heathgates pub and we joined the Northbound A5112. We continued Northwards into Harlescott and we got up and got off the bus. Matthew took another picture of Arriva Midlands 3692 before it returned on a #25 to Shrewsbury.

Arriva Midlands 3692 in Harlescott

We crossed over Harlescott Lane and we headed into Tesco. Matthew went to the toilet and afterwards we bought a chcoclate bar. We walked across to where mum had parked the car. We got in the car and Matthew had a can of Cheery Coke. We set off out of the tesco car park and we turned left onto the Northbound A52. We travelled through Upper Astley for around 5 miles and into Shawbury. We stopped nin Shawbury. I went to the chip show and Matthew and mum went to the Co-op and bought a bottle of Dr Pepper and a chocolate bar. We went back to the car and Matthew had sausage chips and gravy. We set off onto the A53 and we headed Northwards. We crossed over the A41 and Northwards towards Market Drayton. We ran along the Market Drayton by-pass and we continued Northwards towards Loggerheads. we crossed over the A51 and up through Whitmore. We ran Northwards towards Newcastle and we turned right onto Trentham Road. We turned left onto the A519. We joined the Northbound A500. We ran through Hanford up to Stoke and we came off the A500. We turned right onto City Road and right again to go Southwards onto the A500. We veered left onto Wheildon Road and we went to uncle Dave's. We dropped off uncle Dave and Matthew got out to use the toilet and afterwards went to see uncle Rob. He also had some Fanta Orange and updated the calendar. Once we had dropped off uncle Dave we set off onto Wheildon Road. We ran forwards onto Grove Road and we saw green minibus R482 NDM parked up. 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 we got back to Blurton around 20:00. Matthew chilled out on his computer and we did some of the Blog. We also wrote a few emails and generally used the computer to entertain ourselves. We did some of the Blog and Matthew got ready for bed. Matthew settled down around 00:00... Mark

Trip to Ellesmere Port / Chester 02-06-2012

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
3010	Ellesmere Port BS	Chester BS	401	Arriva NW&W
2354	Chester BS	Sealand, Western Avenue (NW-bound)	10	Arriva NW&W
7533	Blacon, Western Avenue (cnr)	Chester BS	10	Arriva NW&W
2572	Chester BS	Chester, opp Sealand Road P&R	10	Arriva NW&W
2354	Chester, opp Sealand Road P&R	Chester BS	10	Arriva NW&W
4488	Chester BS	Queensferry, Solar Services (N-bound)	11	Arriva NW&W
4484	Queensferry, Solar Services (S-bound)	Chester BS	11	Arriva NW&W
2948	Chester BS	Hoole, opp Pipers Lane‎	X30	Arriva NW&W
VN52 KXM	Hoole, Pipers Lane (cnr)‎	Chester BS	21	Widnes Commercial Motors

Todays was the first day of a 3 day holiday to Chester! The weather today was overcast but dry. We set off around 12:00 today and as usual we headed towards Ellesmere Port. After stopping for LPG in Longport, we set off northwards up the A500. As we approached the M6, we could see that the Northbound traffic was running slow. The motorway all the way up junction 19 was very slow, but we stuck with it and eventually we reached the M56. We hit traffic again just before the Daresbury junction and this time I decided to come off. We came off at junction 11 and went round in what seemed like a big circle and then got back on the M56 at junction 12. We then carried on on our usual route of M56, M53 and then the A5032 into Ellesmere Port. We are in town just before 14:00. We ate in the market as we almost always do. There seemed to be a few less tables than usual and so we had to wait for a few minutes. When we did order to food came very quickly. After dinner we went to the bus station. we got there around 14;20 which was just too late for the chester service. as such we had a bit of time to take a few pictures. The GHA crew bus was Dennis Dart N725 KGF as can be seen here.

GHA N725 KGF in Ellesmere Port bus station

Also between turn was Helms B6 P710 BTA in all over white livery.

Helms P710 BTA in Ellesmere Port bus station

After we had taken these pictures we went to the top corner of the bus station the view all the buses coming in and out. Arriva NW&W 2436 was on a Liverpool bound #401 and First Manchester 60054 was also out on #1's too. After a short wait we could see a Pulsar 2 in the distance. As we have only been on 3 of the Birkenhead example there was always going to be a good chance of it being a required one. When it got closer Matthew got a picture of what turned out to be required Arriva NW&W 3010.

Arriva NW&W 3010 approaching Ellesmere Port bus station

The journey down was swift but uneventful. We reached chester just before 15:00. Matthew waited for the bus to empty so he could get a picture of the inside of this bus.

Inside 3010

We sat down in our usual spot for a few minutes to see what was out. We saw dud First Manchester 34260, now sporting a all over advert. There was one of the new Arriva double decker on the 11, and then Arriva 2354 was seen on a #10 to connah's Quay. We looked up to see if this bus was required and it was. we asked Matthew if he wanted to do it and he did.

Arriva NW&W 2354 in Chester bus station

We decided to do this to the border of Wales so we didn't have to buy Matthew a Deeside rover at this point. The journey was quick and it had now gone slightly overcast again. When we got off we crossed over the busy Sealand Road to wait for the bus back. We had just missed Arriva NW&W 2359 which was required but as it was a V reg it's a fairly safe bet we would come across this again. We waited around 15 minutes by the side of the busy road and eventually we culd see a bus a mile or so in the distance. before it got to us we saw another unrefurbished bus heading out of Chester which Matthew went to photograph. As he was taking a picture of that bus we could see our bus was was also an unrefurbished example. As it got closer we saw it was required beast Arriva NW&W 7533. I had heard that this bus was still in service in Chester but this was the first time we had seen it and it was dropped on the bus by accident. The bus itself was running fine although the interior was starting to show it's age a little. A really nice touch was the Arriva turquoise coloured seat frames with I think made it look quite smart. When we reached Chester Matthew waited for an empty bus to photograph this soon to be scrapped bus.

Inside Arriva NW&W 7533

We also got a good picture of the outside of the bus too.

7533 in Chester bus station

We decided to let 7533 go whilst we had a quick toilet stop and I got some sausage rolls for later. Whilst i was getting the sausage roll Matthew was able to get a picture of First Manchester 34260 which we had seen earlier.

First Manchester 34260 in Chester bus station

Also seen and photographed was First Manchester 34228.

First Manchester 34228 in Chester bus station

We waited for the next #10 which was required Arriva NW&W 2572. We leapt off our seat and went across to the stop do catch this bus. We decided to go one stop shorter this time so that we weren't in such a dangerous position at the side of the road. When we got off Matthew got a good picture of Arriva NW&W 2572.

Arriva NW&W 2572 on Sealand Road

We crossed the road to wait for the return service. Whilst we were waiting we also saw First Manchester 69486 on a #31 park and ride service, and Town Lynx MX09 AOL on a #6 to Chester. When the bus turned up it was Arriva 2354, which was not even required for the day!

Arriva NW&W 2354 on Sealand Road

We got back and at least Matthew was able to get a picture of the inside of this unrefurnished beast.

Inside 2354

At this time we were picked up by mum who had booked us in to our B&B for the next 3 nights, Laburnum House in St Anne's Street. We drove back to the B&B and had some sausage rolls and a bit of a chill out before we decide on what we were going to do this evening. For tea we had some small fish and a portion of chips between the 4 of us. we set off a little after 18:00 to see what we could do on the 10/11 corridor, we also thought about how we could do the interesting service #21 operated by Widnes Commercial Motors. When we arrived there was a brand new double decker on the 11 service, As we have never been on any of the new batch of double deckers it was bound to be required. Closer inspection revealed it was Arriva NW&W 4488

Arriva NW&W 4488 in Chester bus station

We got on the bus and as we were going to going into wales now we brought Matthew a Deeside rover too. We decided to do the bus to Queensferry Asda, then at least if we miss the return 11 we could do a #10 instead. There was a time for the bus towards Chester at Queensferry but not for the Holywell bound service, so we had to guess if it was going to make it. It was now damp and trying to rain. We set off and the journey was quite quick. On route we passed Rhyl based Dennis Dart MPD 844. We arrived in Queensferry with about 3 minutes to spare, but the Chester bound bus was already at the stop! We had a quick look around to see where we had to go, and due to limited pedestrian access we had to go about 200 yds to get to the other stop. We ran as fast as we could and luckily we made it. it was required Arriva NW&W 4484. We got on and went upstairs. The journey back was unevetful and when we got back to Chester Matthew got a good picture of this bus.

Arriva NW&W 4484 in Chester bus station

We now had a short wait for the 19:30 X30 Runcorn service. The plan was to do this bus towards Frodsham, and depending on how far the Deeside rover was valid, or how much 2 adult singles cost, we would do this accordingly. The bus came in and it was required Arriva NW&W 2948.

Arriva NW&W 2948 in Chester bus station

After a short time we got on the bus and asked the relevant questions. The Deeside rover was only valid on Hoole Road and the singles would be about £3 each, so we decided to go just to the end of Hoole Road. When we got off Matthew got another picture of this bus.

2948 on Hoole Road

because we had gotten off still in Chester, we had around 45 minutes to wait for the Widnes Commercial Motors run #21 service. We decided to use the time to have a quick wander around. We set off along the Hoole Road towards chester, and we had thought we could cut through to Kingsway to visit the Co-op, a shop we had visited before. Part way down i decided to use my map function on my phone to find where we were and then to find Kingsway. It turned out we had just passed manning lane South which joins onto Kingsway. So we went back a few yards and went across an old railway bridge to reach Kingsway. We passed the old turning point of the #53 service which we remember being used when we first visited Chester back in 2008. After a quick shop in the Co-op, we head back to the Hoole Road. We saw First Manchester 40182 on the last Firstbus run service of the day. Matthew decided he wanted to visit the toilet so we end up having to direct him down onto the old disused railway line and to use the bushes! We got back to the stop on Hoole Road at 20:15, 10 minutes before the #21 was due. At this point we had an impromptu picnic at the bus stop. the Coca Cola we had purchased a few minutes early must have been shaken up a little on the journey back as when he opened the bottle it exploded up his arm! We polished off the bottle and within a few minutes we could see a white minibus coming around the A41 roundabout. as we have never been on one of the Widnes vehicles, unless we were very unlucky it was going to be required. Closer inspection revealed required VN52 KXM.

WCM VN52 KXM on Hoole Road

We got onto this unusual vehicle and sat down. as far as I am aware, we have never been on one of these unusual Rohill bodied minibuses before. The bus only had 15 seats on it, all with seatbelt plus apace for a wheelchair. It also had what seemed like a disproportional destination display on the front. It was a very nippy vehicle to say the least. When we got to Chester, we were able to take pictures of this bus, now displaying #53 Kingsway for it's next journey.

VN52 KXM in Chester bus station

We then walked back to the B&B to retire for the night. I uploaded my pictures to Flickr and we started to write up the blog before going to bed...Mark.