BusAbout

Day 7: Letting the train take the strain

Well, all that's left to do is go back home. Depart Time Arrive Time Carlise 09:49 Preston 11.01 Preston 11:17 Birmingham NS 12:50 Birmingham NS 13:04 Winchester 15:26 Then the Blue Star 1 bus at 15:40 back home Well you can guess not

Day 6: Mission Accomplished

Well, amazingly we've made it to Carlisle, our last real destination. And on schedule! Believe me, no one is more surprised than me! But, the original idea was to see if we could actually make Scotland. So all that is left is to pop over the border and we've done

Day 5: Dales and Lakes

You know the day is going to be "alreet" when you start it with a full Yorkshire breakfast! The 580 went from directly outside the farm shop and cafe adjacent to our hotel. In a slight change of plan we caught the earlier bus which terminated at Settle but connected

Day 4: White Roses at that

It's a cold start. Still the hotel is adjacent to Derby bus station. And the Chesterfield bus is bang on time A pleasant ride through Derby's former mining communities, Ripley, Alftreton, Clay Cross etc. And you can see the heritage in the people, stocky, well-built men with faces of leather

Day 3: Roses

A deliberate break today. The plan is to explore Leicester, in particular the Richard III visitors' centre which has been built over the carpark, which was built over the school, which was built over the house, which was built over the friary which housed his remains. Let's start off with

Evening 2: Drinkers' Leicester

No trip to Leicester ought really miss an Everard's pub. The CAMRA Good Beer Guide suggests The Globe which dates back to 1720. It's only a few minutes (cold) walk from the hotel and obviously a popular pub for a meal after work. Good range of beers Food was good

Afternoon 2: Reconciliation not Retribution

I was probably 9 or 10 when I first read (probably in Look and Learn) about Coventry Cathedral and how, despite the city and the cathedral itself being firebombed to the ground in 1941, the cathedral had become internationally renowned for its peace efforts. Scroll forward a few years to

Day2: The Midland Heartlands

Before catching the bus let's finish the Tewkesbury photoshoot. The flooding has apparently subsided significantly but it still looks bad to me Saddening to walk down small side roads with doors barricaded by sandbags And, of course, a photo of the abbey must be mandatory for every visit to Tewkesbury

Evening 1: Mediaeval Art

We knew the Royal Hop Pole hotel has history and had heard about a discovered 16th century banqueting hall in its midst. OK, so it's not been at its most impressive since they stuck a chimney right through the middle of it back in the 17th century but it is

Day1: First steps

Well, they say even the longest journey starts with the first step. In our case it starts with the first 2,000 or so steps up to the bus station. That's 2,000 carefully timed steps as we get to the bus stop at 09:29, one minute before we

Only here for the beer

Any readers who might not know me might be wondering why each of the blog posts feature an Evening section why always has one or two pubs, usually micropubs, listed as places we hope to visit. Fear not, gentle reader, our goal is not to get hopelessly drunk in towns

Planning: All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

Everything has to be carried. It's going to be cold and wet. So basically we will both carry a small 22l backpack and Liz will take a handbag slung over her shoulder whilst I will use a waist pack (bum-bag/fanny-pack) to carry the easy-access stuff. Did I mention that

Planning: Day 7 Letting the train take the strain

Timetable Location Depart Location Arrive Seats Carlisle 09:49 Preston 11:01 D/09A+10A Preston 11:17 Birmingham NS 12:50 B/39+40 Birmingham NS 13:04 Winchester 15:26 F/31A+32A Well, just a quick trip back, under 6 hours if all the trains run on

Planning: Day 6 - Popping Over the border

No planning for this post as Day 6 is mainly about seeing Carlisle's attractions but we ought pop over to Scotland, just to complete the trip. No planned bus, we'll take it as the day goes, and as the weather dictates. Remember the English Concessionary Bus Pass cannot be used

Planning: Day 5 - Skipton to Carlisle

Bus Company Service Depart Depart Time Arrive Arrive Time Journey Time Stops Wait Time Kirkby Lonsdale Coaches 580/581 Skipton, Market Place 10:35 Kirkby Lonsdale, Booths 12:13 1:38 44 0 Stagecoach 567 Kirkby Lonsdale New Road 12:30 Kendal Bus Station 13:05 0:35 22 0:

Planning: Day 4 - Derby to Skipton

Bus Company Service Depart Depart Time Arrive Arrive Time Journey Time Stops Wait Time Trent Barton Comet Derby Bus Station 9:35 Chesterfield, New Beetwell Street 10:40 1:05 20 0 Stagecoach X17 Chesterfield Coach Station 11:23 Barnsley Interchange 12:59 1:36 18 0:43 Stagecoach X10

Planing: Day 3 - Leicester to Derby

Bus Company Service Depart Depart Time Arrive Arrive Time Journey Time Stops Wait Time Kinchbus Skylink Leicester Bus Station 16:10 Derby bus Station 18:04 1:50 62 0 Data Distance (approx) 40 miles Bus Time 1:50 Wait Time 0 Total On The Road Time 1:50 Comments

Planning: Day 2 - Tewkesbury to Leicester (via Coventry)

Bus Company Service Depart Depart Time Arrive Arrive Time Journey Time Stops Wait Time Astons Of Kempsey 540 Tewkesbury, Anchor 09:48 Evesham Bus Station 10:46 0:58 37 0 Stagecoach X18 Evesham Bus Station 10:55 Coventry Sainsbury's 13:08 2:13 82 0:10 Mike De Courcey

Planning: Day 1 - Chandlers Ford to Tewkesbury

Bus Company Service Depart Depart Time Arrive Arrive Time Journey Time Stops Wait Time Blue Star 1 Chandlers Ford 09:41 Southampton West Quay 10:12 0:21 20 0 Salisbury Reds X7 Southampton West Quay 11:10 Salisbury, Endless Street 12:27 1:07 58 0:58 Salisbury Reds

The best laid plans...

Nothing wrong with the plans. They all work nicely. But... Firstly we are going to Cheltenham later in the year so somewhere else might be nice. Also the Premier Inn in Cheltenham has upped its rate substantially now it is time to book. Anyway it looks like we could actually

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Priority Number one (and number twos)

Right, lets make this clear, if you haven't worked it out by now this is not going to be a luxury holiday! Number one concern has to be comfort, including comfort breaks. Now transfers at main bus stations ought be OK, there ought be loos and also perhaps snack or

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I have a cunning plan

It's actually surprisingly difficult to plan a bus journey across England. Not only are there multitudes of different bus companies serving each area but their sites and timetables are not connected. Oh, some sites reckon they will plan but most fail. The best of the bunch seems to be https:

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Happy birthday to you!

So, one of us has a birthday this year. And that will tick the age over to a multiple of 10, although over the age of 60 all birthdays are 'big ones'. What to do to celebrate? Me: You know it's a big birthday this year, we ought to do