Trip to Blackbrook Zoo 11-04-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
FJ10 BJY	Turnhurst Road	Blackbrook Zoo	Charter	Aiming High
FJ10 BJY	Blackbrook Zoo	Turnhurst Road	Charter	Aiming High

Today we had a trip to Blackbrook zoo arranged for Matthew. he got up at 07:30 which during the college holidays is amost unheard of. He had is breakfast of toast and juice and mum and Matthew left at 08:30. They went onto the A5035 and turned into Stanley Matthews Way past the Hem Heath pub. At the other end they joined the Westbound A50 and then onto the Northbound A500. Tey drove up to The A527 Tunstall by-pass and then across to the top of High Lane before turning towards Packmoor. Mum dropped Matthew off at the place and Matthew went to the computer room. When everyone was ready to go we went out to the minibus which was Aiming High FJ10 BJY.

Aiming High FJ10 BJY in Packmoor

we got on and sat down we set off towards The A527 and we went South down High Lane to Smallthorne. we passed bakerbus 186 as we went down ford Green Road and First Potteries 40025 on the 8B. They carried on through Norton Green and brown edge and they met up with the A53 at Endon. They carried on to Leek. we saw Clowes coaches L809 CJF as they passed though Leek. They then headed down the A523 to Winkhill. On the way we passed Clowes Coaches N880 AVV on the #108 to Macclesfield. At winkhill they tuned into the side road to Blackbrook Zoo. When we got to the Zoo Matthew went to the toilet. we walked around the zoo and we looked at the Storks.

Stork

we carried on around and then we stopped at the Meerkat enclosure where Matthew took another picture.

A Meerkat

we then stopped to have there packed lunch. in Matthews case this was chicken sandwiches with a carton of orange juice and a wagon Wheel too. They carried on to the Humboldt Penguin enclosure. The Penguins were fed whilst they were there. here come the Penguins to get there food.

Penguins

After we had been fed Matthew took a picture of one of them having a swim.

A Penguin swimming

we then moved on to the big bird enclosure where they saw ostriches and rheas.

A Rhea

Just after 12:00 we were ready to leave so we said goodbye to the animals and climbed aboard FJ10 BJY to come back. we headed back on to The A523 and then towards Leek. On the way we saw Clowes Coaches M127 YCM on a 235 service to Cheadle. we go to leek and then did the A53 to Endon. On the way we passed First Potteries 40378 and 42727. At Endon they turned towards brown edge and then through Norton Green and to Smallthorne. At the bottom of Smallthorne we turned towards Bradeley and Chell Heath past Heathfield. we turned up towards high lane and then Turnhurst. At the roundabout we headed towards the school. Mum was waiting for them when we arrived before getting in the car Matthew jumped into a taxi to have a look inside. They went to Hanley via High Lane. We saw Wardle transport 2409 on the #500 to Blurton. In Hanley we tried to find a parking space by the Potteries shopping Centre, but as we couldn't they headed home along Victoria Road. On Victoria Road we stopped at wrights pies for a sausage roll, a Manchester tart and a chocolate cake. we carried on along the A50 and to heron cross. on the way how we passed First Potteries 41521 on a #23 service. we got home around 13:45. He chilled out on his computer in the afternoon before having some cheesecake for an afternoon snack. For tea we had bangers and mash followed by more cheesecake. He then chilled out before bedtime around 00:20...Mark

Trp to Leek / Macclesfield 04-04-2013

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
53209	Ladybank Grove (adj), Blurton	Hanley BS	23	First Potteries
3611	Hanley BS	Leek BS	118	Wardle Transport
L809 CJF	Leek BS	Haregate	165	Clowes Coaches
L809 CJF	Haregate	Leek BS	165	Clowes Coaches
N880 AVV	Leek BS	Macclesfield BS	108	Clowes Coaches
227	Macclesfield BS	Biddulph BS	99	Bakerbus

Today we decided to go up to Leek. We decided this after our visit on Tuesday. The only research done was to check which Clowes Coaches services ran on a Thursday. Matthew got up around 09:30 and had toast for breakfast. Mum cooked his some fries and chicken popcorn for dinner and got him ready to go for when I returned hoe from work around 12:40. After a very quick toilet stop we walked around to the stop to see if the #22A had dropped a double decker today. It was ex Chester Dart first Potteries 40136 so we let it go as it wasn't really going in the right direction. A few minutes later we saw First Potteries 53209 on a #23 to Hanley.

First Potteries 53209 in Blurton

We got on the bus and we booked to Hanley before sitting down on the bus. The bus set off along Beaconsfield Drive and at the end we turned left onto Church Road. At Critchlow's corner we went onto Blurton Road and through Heron Cross and onto Heron Street. We turned left onto Christchurch Street and then left again onto City Road. We dropped down the hill into Stoke town center and we followed the one way system onto Glebe Street before turning left onto Station Road. We went up College and followed it around onto Regent Road before and we passed First Potteries 34158 on a #32A to Uttoxeter. When the bus got into hanley bus station we let the bus empty and Matthew took a picture inside First Potteries 53209.

Inside First Potteries 53209

As we got off the bus we saw required First Potteries 40378 reversing out of the bus station on a #18 to Leek.

First Potteries 40378 in Hanley bus station

We went for a quick walk around the bus station and we spotted Wardle Transport 1495 outside on a driver shuttle. We went over to have a look and Matthew indicated that he wanted to have a look inside. The lady driver who was waiting with the bus let Matthew on to have a look inside...

Inside Wardle Transport 1495

After Matthew had taken a picture we walked back towards the bus station and he took an external picture of Wardle Transport 1495.

Wardle Transport 1495 outside Hanley bus station

We had a walk up to where the buses were on layover and we saw Wardle Transport 3611 parked up there.

Wardle Transport 3611 in Hanley bus station

We went to wait for the next #18 and we saw dud First Potteries 40155 coming into the bus station

First Potteries 40155 in Hanley bus station

At the same time Wardle Transport 3611 came off layover to work a #118 to Buxton. We decided to do the Wardle Transport bus we got on the bus and we booked to Leek. We sat down towards the back of the bus. as the rear of the bus was empty Matthew took a picture of the empty back seat in Wardle Transport 3611.

Inside Wardle Transport 3611

We headed out of the bus station and onto the ring road before going down Limekiln Bank. At the bottom of the hill we turned left. We went through Abbey Hilton & Milton and we joined the A53 at Stockton Brook. In Endon we stopped outside the Plough and we saw a blue Leyland coach parked in the car park. It was preserved B22 XKX.

B22 XKX in Endon

We carried on Northwards through Longnor and we dropped down the step hill to Barnfield before climbing up past Morrison into Leek town centre. We turned right and we went into the bus station where we got off. Matthew got another picture of Wardle Transport 3611.

Wardle Transport 3611 in Leek bus station

We visted the toilet and then we took a few pictures before we decided what to catch next. We saw Bakerbus 180 on the #423 to Biddulph.

Bakerbus 180 in Leek bus station

We also saw Clowes Coaches L814 DJU on the Blackshaw Moor service, but there wasn't a bus back so we decided not to do it.

Clowes Coaches L814 DJU in Leek bus station

A few minutes later we saw dud D&G 28 on the Sainsbury's Free Bus service.

D&G 28 in Leek bus station

Parked up in the bus station was Ashbourne Community Transport DK10 DXX.

Asbourne CT DK10 DXX in Leek bus station

A few minutes later the town circular service appeared, work by Clowes Coaches L809 CJF. We got on the bus and we booked to Haregate. The bus was empty so Matthew took a picture inside Clowes Coaches L809 CJF.

Inside Clowes Coaches L809 CJF

We sat down near to the back of the bus and we set off out of the bus station and onto the A523. We turned left and we crossed the A53 and went onto the Haregate estate. When we got there I got up and booked another ticket to go straight back to Leek. We traveled back through the town and we went up towards Westwood before joining the A53 we cut through the backstreets and joined the A520 and then we came into town and we came into the bus station. We got off the bus and Matthew took a picture of Clowes Coaches L809 CJF.

Clowes Coaches L809 CJF in Leek bus station

Whilst we decided what to do next we took a few more pictures. First we saw required First Potteries 40367 on a #18 to Haregate.

First Potteries 40367 in Leek bus station

Matthew visited the toilet and then we went to the newsagent and brought some pop and chocolate and a rice crispies squares bar. We then saw required Wardle Transport 2532 on #493 to Brown Edge.

Wardle Transport 2532 in Leek bus station

A few minutes later we saw Wardle Transport 2543 on the #16 to Hanley.

Wardle Transport 2543 in Leek bus station

We then saw dud Clowes Coaches N880 AVV on the #108 to Macclesfied.

Clowes Coaches N880 AVV in Leek bus station

We decided to do this bus and we got on the bus and booked to Macclesfield before sitting down towards the back of the bus. The bus set off out of the bus station and we went through the town centre before going down the hill towards Sainsbury's along the A523. We the climbed up the hill past Rudyard Lake and through Rushton Spencer. We crossed the A54 at Bosley and we carried on into town. We passed the railway station before going back into town and into the bus station. Once we got off the bus Matthew didn't want to do the Clowes Coaches bus back towards Leek. I wasn't sure how we were going to get home at this point. I though we were going to have to call mum to pick us up from Congleton after catching the #38 towards Crewe. We walked out of the bus station and we went into town to the public toilets. we also visited a newsagent on the way back. Once we go back to the bus station Matthew took a couple of [pictures. We saw Arriva NW&W Solo 701 on the #21A service to Astra Zeneca.

Arriva NW&W 701 in Macclesfield bus station

we also saw 'Not In Service' High Peak Solo 377 on layover at the bus station.

High Peak 377 in Macclesfield bus station

We went to the top stand to wait for the Crewe bus. Then an unexpected thing happened... We saw Bakerbus's required step entranced Volvo B6 227 on the #99 to Biddulph!

Bakerbus 227 in Macclesfield bus station

This was perfect... It was going closer to home than Congleton, plus mum knew how to get to Biddulph without the aid of a Sat Nav! We got on the bus and we booked to Biddulph. The bus was nearly empty so Matthew took a picture inside Bakerbus 227 before we sat down.

Inside Bakerbus 227

The bus set off out of the bus station and we went South. I think the route back to Congleton was Southwards down the A523 to Bosley and then left towards Congleton along the A54. At Buglaton we passed though the housing estate and we passed required Bakerbus Volvo B10 164 on the Northbound #99 Service. We called into Congleton Fariground bus station and then we went along the A527 past the railway station and down to Biddulph. At the bus station we got off the bus and Matthew took another picture of Bakerbus 227.

Bakerbus 227 in Biddulph bus station

We sat down for a while whilst we waited for mum to come and get us. Whilst we waited we saw Bakerbus 207 on a #94A to Newcastle. Mum turned up so we walked over to the car park to meet her. we drove down to the A527 and we went through Brindley Ford and Chell and then we skirted the Northern end of Tunstall on the by-pass and down the hill onto the A500. We went South towards Sideway an we joined the eastbound A50 up to Stanley Matthews Way. We joined the A5035 and we got home around 18:00. For tea we had sausage Chips and gravy followed by cake and custard. Matthew then chilled out on his computer and we watched some television until bedtime around 23;30... Mark

Trip to Leek 17-08-2010

Bus	From	To	Service	Operator
L809 CJF	Leek BS	Leek Haregate	165	Clowes Coaches
L809 CJF	Leek Haregate	Leek BS	165	Clowes Coaches
M129 YCM	Leek BS	Macclesfield Business Park	108	Clowes Coaches

Matthew had decided last week that he wanted to visit Leek as he hadn't been there since last December. Matthew hadn't been on a Clowes Coaches bus for over a year and we had seen that they had a new minibus on Andrew Rowland's fotopic site. The original plan was to go to Biddulph to pick up the Tuesdays Congleton - Leek. Followed by a ride on a couple of other Clowes Coaches buses. we set off at around 13:30 an arrived in Biddulph around 14:10. Due to there being major roadworks in Biddulph town centre, we decided to abandon this move. I had thought we could have picked up the bus at Norton, but mum persuaded Matthew we would be better off going straight to Leek and not catch the #195. We drove from Biddulph to Leek via Biddulph Moor and Brown Edge. Just as we arrived in the car park adjacent to Leek bus station, we spotted a Clowes Coaches bus. We knew it had to be a new bus because it was not an Alexander bodied bus and had a prominent roller blind display box. We leapt out quickly and Matthew took the two pictures below.


Matthew's first glimpse of Clowes Coasches new bus L809 CJF on Leek town service #165. (Matt)


Clowes Coasches new bus L809 CJF on Leek town service #165. (Matt)

After we had worked out that the bus was on a Leek Town service, I had discussed with Matthew if we should do this bus to Haregate and back into town on a First PMT bus. We got on the bus and left mum behind, I told her we shouldn't be more than 30 minutes...When we got to Haregate, Matthew decided he wanted to stay on the bus and do the full circuit, so when the next passengers were dropped off, I went and told the driver, flashed the pass and told her to make sure recorded the journey to make sure Clowes got paid for the journey. We arrived back at the bus station at approximately 15:35.

The next planned move was to do the 108 to Rushton Spencer. This time mum was going to travel on the bus with Matthew, and I was going to follow behind in the car and pick them up. After doing the Rushton Spencer move, we were going to return to Leek so Matthew could do the Cheadle bus. We
had approximately 30 minutes to wait for the Rushton Spencer bus, so we had a quick drink and toilet stop. After the toilet stop matthew nearly decided to break the plans by doing the 493 brown edge bus, which on this occasion was D&G 95.




Clowes Coaches M129 YCM enters Leek bus station on service #108 from Ashbourne - Macclesfield. (Matt)

Details to follow...